“Shhh. Lie down. It's going to be all right.”
“But last time I did that, I lost you again,” she murmured, raising her hand to touch his face. She fingered his strong cheekbone and he stared soulfully into her eyes, smiling comfortingly until she fell back to sleep.
When she stirred back into consciousness, she was terrified that she had lost Blane again. She was afraid to open her eyes, but the smell of campfire made her heart thud in her chest. She was still there. Thank goodness. But wait, did that mean she was slipping further into insanity? She would have to be sure to schedule an appointment with a therapist when she was back in her own bedroom.
“Alisa,” a familiar woman's voice rang out. The accent was more pronounced than she remembered it, but she sat upright so quickly she nearly howled in pain. Her head had been aching terribly ever since she had been feeling like she'd been experiencing two lives at once, and now the thudding was back.
“Mom?” she gasped, squinting through the pain to see her mother, dressed in a beautiful dress.
“Atta lass,” her mother said with a wink. “Looks like I've some explaining to do.”
Alisa swallowed hard. What was going on?
“This may be hard to believe at first,” her mother said. “So drink this now, it will help with the headaches. And things will be more clear. You'll need to drink an equivalent when you go back, too.”
“Go back?”
“You know, to California. With Carl.”
Her mother said Carl's name with a wrinkling of the nose.
“How will I...? I don't understand.”
“It's all right, sweet one, just drink this for now. When you're back, go visit your brothers. They'll know how to help you.”
Alisa's head was spinning and she drank the vial of pink liquid her mother had proffered. The headache suddenly disappeared and she felt whole for the first time since she'd begun reading that highlander romance from the library.
“You remember that legend I told you about Lord Blane Wyndham, yeah?”
Alisa nodded dumbly.
“The woman he loved was – no, is – you. You know it. You've just hidden the truth from yourself so well that it's taking a wee bit 'o time before it can come back. You sure surprised us all.”
“What are you talking about?”Alisa asked.
“During the wedding! Blipping out of there like it was nothing. Taking your whole self and not just your awareness. That's never happened before. All along the line, our family has had this power, but you're the first to completely disappear. I wanted to tell you so badly for so long, but you begged us to take the memory of your lost love away so you wouldn't come back and put him in danger. You were that afraid.”
“I'm still afraid,” Alisa said. “How do I know I'm not going crazy?”
“There will be signs,” her mother said with a wink. “But you may always wonder. That's probably normal.”
Alisa shook her head. Blane entered the tent, and suddenly the look he fixed upon her nearly brought her to tears. She believed it, deep within herself. Blane was the man she had loved, beyond time and space. And they had found each other again, despite her immense efforts to avoid that.
“They ambush you,” Alisa whispered urgently. “They take away everybody you love and you die. Don't ask me how I know. But I was in the future. I just feel it. We have to get out of here, now, and take everyone. We have to get somewhere safe.”
“What are you talking about?” Blane asked, suddenly pale.
“Lord Todd, he isn't just a pain in the ass. He's powerful. And I already tried telling you, those men, at least one of your men works for him. We have to smoke him out and save your clan. That's got to be why I came back.”
Her mother gazed at her proudly.
“You never fail to surprise me. I'll be waiting here with your true love.”
And with that, her mother left the tent and disappeared with the sound of galloping horses.
7.
“There's no way this is true,” Alisa whispered to herself when she sat up in bed. She stood shakily, still able to taste the sticky cherry flavored mixture her mother had forced her to drink. Water never sounded so good. It would wash the taste out of her mouth. Maybe it would wash out her crazy too.
When she felt a little more refreshed, after a long shower and some breakfast, she called her brother Simon, who she was closest to, both in age and geographically.
“Hey sis,” he said. She could tell he was smiling on the other line. “Been a long time.”
“Can you tell me if I'm crazy?” she asked, examining her reflection in the mirror.
“Certainly. But I have the feeling we shouldn't discuss this over the phone. Can you come by today?”
“Sure, Simon. No problem. We'll talk soon.”
“Great, bye!”
She hung up, feeling considerably more nervous than she had to begin with. She hurriedly got ready to leave and sped off toward Simon's house. He lived an hour away, so it was quite a trek, but she was willing to make it to discover the truth. Carl had left for work so he wouldn't be asking her what she was doing, not that he'd had much interest in her life lately.
She turned up the radio and began singing to herself, her mind swimming with images of Blane. His handsome body, rippling with muscles brought her heart rate up, and she closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself. She looked back at the road and cursed, realizing that she had missed her exit. She sped up to the next and did her best to turn around in a suburban area that she had never been in before.
Suddenly, there was Carl's car. There was no mistaking his bumper stickers, trying to make accounting fun. He was parked in the driveway of a small bungalow. She peered closely at it and could make out his form, kissing another woman passionately. Angry tears sprung from her eyes and she groaned, speeding away and heading to her brother's house.
“We all told you he was no good for you,” Simon said matter-of-factly when he opened the door and saw her in tears. “Mom always knows what's best.”
“That's actually why I'm here,” she said, sighing.
“She told me you'd be coming. Before you say anything else, here. Drink this.”
Simon disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared holding a small vial. The look on his face took her aback. It was as if he were saying, “Yes, it's exactly what you're afraid to believe it is.”
She took the vial and examined it.
“Where did you get this?” she whispered.
“Mom made it. When you got stuck here and told us all to make sure you didn't go back for Blane. None of us understood why until...well. We just thought you missed him too much and felt guilty or something. But it was more than that, you wanted to save everybody. It makes a lot more sense now. The potions have kept you from merging your selves under one primary consciousness. I mean, you shouldn't be too surprised. Mom is a highlander married lowlander so we're kind of a mix. You knew that though.”
“Slow down Simon...”
“Right. Sorry. Drink it and you'll see for yourself. You won't give a crap what happens to the California you when you're back with Blane though,” he said with an annoying, brotherly smile.
“I can't believe this is really happening,” Alisa sighed. She brought the vial to her full lips and drank deeply. Soon, the world was spinning and she felt like she was being torn in half. It didn't hurt, but it was strange enough to make her groan.
Suddenly, there was Blane.
“We've rounded up the clan, lass. We're moving camp.”
“They come from the north,” she said, taking his strong hand in hers. “We have to hurry.”
Blane paused and took a double take at Alisa. Her eyes were hard and serious, no trace left of the confused California girl who had been in and out of his life for the past week. He nearly wept when she leapt into his arms, allowing him to squeeze her and spin her around the room joyously. She was fully present, not just on autopilot as she had been before, when she went back into the f
uture to visit her life with Carl.
“Let us go then,” he said, running forward.
“The best hope we have is to find an ally,” she said. “To the east. Your brother lives there. I think they would help us. We would outnumber Todd's men by at least 80. They'll know better than to bother us again.”
“Right,” he said, holding her hands in his.
“Any word on the spy?” she asked.
“I gave him a chance to turn himself in. We figured it out by learning who disappeared in the night. He had false information, Todd will be heading East.”
He mounted a steed and hollered for everybody to follow him. The clan moved swiftly on foot, able to cover a lot of ground in a single day. They made camp, leaving several men to keep watch over the clan as they migrated.
Blane made camp a little away from the rest of the clan, inviting Alisa to join him. He planned to stay awake for the whole of the night and wanted her to keep him company, but they hadn't been fully together in so long that he wanted some time alone with her. The rest of the clansmen understood and gave them their space.
“Where have you been?” he asked in a hushed whisper, once they were finally alone.
“The future,” she murmured. “I live a completely different life. The world of the Highlanders is where I originated, but my family, as you probably know, can bring any point in time to our awareness. I live here, but leapt into a new time altogether to protect you. We exist in all places and times at once. I mean, we all kind of do. We tap into them, but in the future, I couldn't find you there. My family protected me from you because it would be too risky and I made them promise.”
“I've missed you so much,” he said, tears brimming in his eyes.
She told him everything about her life, and the lore that her mother had told her about, and the actual experience she'd had when Lord Todd confronted her before the wedding, and showed up in the bushes as they were about to perform the ceremony. He listened intently, holding her hand tightly. When she was done, he pulled her close to himself, kissing her passionately.
She'd been waiting for longer than she knew, and melted under his skilled fingers as they roamed her body.
“Blane...” she moaned as his hot mouth kissed the sensitive flesh around her neck and down to her breasts, where he fingered the brass buckle over them and pulled the cloth down, exposing one and taking her pink nipple into his mouth. He groaned appreciatively and she could feel his urgent longing, pressed hard and growing against her thighs.
She slipped her hand up his leg, allowing herself to take the fullness of him in her hands. He shuddered in her grip and he slipped out of the kilt, fully naked and more beautiful than anything she had ever seen. His strong, rippling muscles glowed golden in the firelight, and nobody had ever looked so perfect.
She stroked his cheek as he stripped her slowly, devouring her body with fervent kisses and pulling her body on top of his when she was finally unwrapped. His large hands stroked her breasts, resting on the mound between her legs, toying with her clit and making her moan with deep pleasure.
And then he was on top of her, sliding inside, strong, powerful, and perfect. She closed her eyes and uttered a low moan, winding her fingers in his long hair and buckling under his body as he pulled out of her to thrust again. They both hissed with pleasure as her body enveloped him, his thick, engorged rod penetrating her again and again, filling her with more pleasure each time.
He spoke soft Gaelic into her ear, sending shudders down her body as his loving words pushed her over the edge and into her climax. He cried out as she contracted around his throbbing erection, coaxing him into a full explosive release. They came together, panting heavily and clinging to one another, kissing passionately.
Alisa sat up and felt the remnants of his powerful orgasm leak out of her body and onto the ground, and held her arms open for him to embrace her. They dressed lazily and curled up together, and she fell into a deep, sound sleep, better than any she'd had in years.
8.
“Brother!” Ronan exclaimed, running toward Blane. “Welcome! I see you brought company.”
Blane smiled sheepishly.
“It is the only way I could keep my lost love,” he said. “She insisted on saving our lives, but we wouldn't be able to do that without your help. Is that all right? My men are strong and we will pull our own weight.”
“Of course,” Ronan said, slapping Blane on the back. He suddenly looked profoundly surprised and a wide smile broke out onto his face. “The spirits don't lie! I thought I'd never see you again, Alisa.”
He approached her and held her in a tight bear hug, looking in pure joy over at his brother, glad that he would be able to move on in his life without being consumed by Alisa's disappearance any longer. Blane was somewhat angry that his in-laws to be would have let him worry so when they discovered the truth not long after the wedding, but they had promised their daughter their secrecy and he could scarcely blame them for that.
Suddenly, a familiar sound came from the distance, and everybody stood still, quiet and alert. Alisa was at first afraid, but as the sound grew nearer, her eyes filled with tears. It was a song, one she knew well. Soon, her mother and father appeared, wearing traditional Scottish attire, and they were followed by her many brothers, all of them grinning happily at her. They had brought with them a whole army of lowlanders.
“We'll make sure you're all safe, and when Todd makes his move, he'll wish he'd never been born!” her plucky mother cried out to her from the distance.
Alisa ran forward to meet them and her family embraced her, happy beyond measure that they were finally able to be together and get their lives back to normal.
“I'm so glad I won't ever have to hear about Carl again,” her mother said with a wink, and Alisa laughed.
“Me too,” she said, and meant it. She'd had no idea what she was missing out on.
“Now about that wedding...”
THE END
What the Outlaw Craves
Samantha Leal
Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work!
Table of Contents
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1.
The screaming had been going on for nearly two hours. Lacey buried her head under her pillow and just prayed that it would stop. The banging and crashing had ceased maybe thirty minutes before, but the fight was still in full swing and Charlene, the girl who lived in the apartment on the floor above, didn’t seem to want to let up, even if it was four am.
Lacey could hear them above, shouting and stamping across the vinyl floor. She didn’t know who had gone to see her neighbor, but they were obviously causing trouble. Maybe Charlene owed someone money again. Or maybe whoever the guy was had been a lover and had come back for more. Lacey rolled over and stared at the ceiling. She didn’t know whether she should go up there and try to help or just hope it resolved on its own. In this town, you never knew what you could be walking in on.
Lacey sat up and leaned back against the headboard. Her temples were throbbing and she was so tired, she didn’t know if she would even make it into work the next day at the rate things were going. She had already been given a warning for slacking on the job, so she couldn’t exactly go into the bar, stand there looking half dazed and keep on her feet for nearly ten hours. It would be impossible.
She picked up her cell phone and unlocked it. Should she call Charlene and see what was happening? She tapped at the keys and opened her contact list before stopping and thinking again… What if the guy up there was a drug dealer? Lacey could end up getting hurt or dragged into Charle
ne’s debts again. She put the phone down and instantly felt guilty for being too scared to intervene. She knew there was no point in calling the cops. In Clay Springs, the cops didn’t help and protect the little guy… They fucked them over like all the other criminals running the town.
Lacey shouldn’t have even been there. She’d made her escape. After high school she had packed up her stuff, said goodbye to her family and got the hell out of there, running as far and as fast as she could. She’d traveled for a while and seen a lot of the country but never found anywhere she really wanted to call home. She had several relationships and made plenty of mistakes, and two years after she had set off on her journey, she found herself traveling back through her hometown with no intention of staying. It was a devastating blow when her mother got sick and she had to stay and take care of her. It had been a long illness, but she had recovered. But after being so close to her mother again, Lacey didn’t feel like she could up and leave right away. She got a job at the bar, rented an apartment and suddenly, before she’d even really realized it, she was stuck.
“God,” she said aloud, “Please be quiet.”
She lay down again and wiped her tired eyes. She could hear Charlene screaming bloody murder at someone and telling them to get the fuck out. Lacey didn’t want to feel responsible or guilty for someone else’s drama; she just wanted it to end. Charlene was an adult and knew what she was getting herself into. Plus, Lacey had already bailed her out on countless occasions, and she couldn’t keep giving her money for drugs. At this rate, she would never get back out of that town. She’d be stuck there, in her dingy little apartment for the rest of time.
She looked over to her open closet. Her eyes traveled to the top shelf where hidden right at the back was the shoe box full of cash she had managed to save over the past year. She only worked for minimum wage, and the clientele in the bar left shitty tips, so it had taken her a while to save a thousand dollars. But then Charlene had come knocking one night in tears and begged her to help her out. One of the biker guys was coming to pay her a visit, she’d said, and if she didn’t pay him the money she owed him then he’d knock out all of her teeth. Lacey had panicked and given her what she needed. And then the next week it had happened again, the tears, the pleading… Lacey had eventually helped her close to six times before she decided enough was enough and she’d told Charlene that she simply didn’t have any more savings. But now as she lay there listening, her conscience was pulling at her… Should she go to the closet, open the box and give Charlene a hundred bucks, or should she just stay quiet…?
[Runes of Argyl 01.0] The Runes of Argyl Trilogy Page 20