Love Beyond Dreams (A Scottish Time Travel Romance): Book 6 (Morna's Legacy Series)

by Bethany Claire

  “Aye, verra improper. Now get yerself inside.”

  Isobel gave him little choice, reaching up to knock on the door before scurrying inside her own room.

  CHAPTER 25

  My eyes ached from straining to see in the light of the candle, but I enjoyed working so much that I didn’t care. I always found it difficult to go even a day without painting. To go three had me ready to pull out my hair. Luckily, I found relief in a small art pad and a few pieces of charcoal Jane allowed me to pack, and I took them out to sketch after we made it back from Jane and Adwen’s house. Before I knew it, hours upon hours had gotten away from me.

  Not that I would’ve been able to sleep even if I hadn’t busied myself drawing. I was so tired and sore from riding that I was in that semi-delirious state where you’re too tired to even sleep. I thought I might as well do something with my time rather than lay there looking up at the ceiling.

  When I first heard knuckles against the door, I worried for a moment that it was already daylight. Then I looked over to the window to see the moon still hanging high, and I thought at once it must be Cooper. The kid was a serious insomniac, and he never seemed to hesitate at all to barge into somebody’s bedroom. I was honestly surprised that he even knocked.

  Toby was up in an instant as he leapt off the bed and ran to the door, tail wagging, eager to see his new little buddy. I stood more slowly and reached for a rag to clean my charcoal-covered hands, stretching before moving to crack open the door.

  When I saw Orick rather than Cooper standing outside, I nearly shut the door in his face in response to the nerves that fluttered inside me. Toby prevented me from doing that as he clawed at Orick’s legs until he bent down to pick him up.

  I looked at him and waved him inside, quickly shutting the door so our conversation wouldn’t disturb anyone else.

  “Orick, what are you doing here? I figured you would stay over at Adwen’s tonight.”

  He held Toby close and allowed the pup to lick all over his face before he moved across the room and set the dog down on the bed.

  “I saw the candlelight from beneath yer door and thought ye might be awake.”

  I noticed that he stood a bit awkwardly in the middle of the room, oddly stiff in his posture. He spoke very deliberately, very slowly. I thought perhaps he was nervous, which helped to alleviate my own anxiety considerably. I decided to step toward him and rest a hand on his arm to soothe him. Once I was closer, I could smell the liquor distinctly enough that I knew it went a long way toward accounting for his strange behavior.

  “Yes, I am. I’ve just been drawing.” I pointed over to the sketchpad and watched him look at it before he nodded and smiled uncomfortably.

  “Ach, ye were drawing. No waiting. I’m sorry to have disturbed ye, lass.”

  He tried to step toward the door, but I moved over to block his way.

  “Waiting? What are you talking about?”

  “’Tis nothing. Isobel said,” he hesitated and reached up to run a hand through his hair. “It doesna matter what she said. I’ll speak of it with her come morning. I best leave ye.”

  I enjoyed seeing him like this, uncertain, uncomfortable, and trying his hardest to hide the fact that he was quite drunk. He did a very bad job.

  “Nope. It’s not nothing. Isobel sent you into my room at two in the morning? Why would she do that?”

  He tried to sidestep me, and I reached out to grab his arm. It only succeeded in pulling him in closer to me.

  “Do ye mean to embarrass me, lass? I’m already that. She thought ye stayed awake to wait for me. I see now that she was wrong.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. I wasn’t. I just got caught up in drawing, but why would you be embarrassed?” I didn’t move where from I stood. Whether it was purposeful or if it was only the result of his unsteady feet I didn’t know, but he took another step toward me.

  “I ken ye can tell well enough, Gillian. I am no a man accustomed to so much drink. ’Tis Adwen’s doing. I should be looking in yer eyes. Instead I canna pull my gaze away from the round tips of yer nipples showing through yer nightgown. It embarrasses me to no be so in control of my thoughts. Ye should let me bid ye goodnight.”

  I blushed and took a quick glance downward at the thin gown Isobel had given to me. I’d thought little of it when I opened the door, but Orick was right, my breasts were astonishingly visible. I crossed my arms self-consciously, but my heart sped up and my chest started to rise and fall in quick succession at his words. I hadn’t noticed him staring at my breasts. As tall as he was, I always felt like I stared at his chin anyway.

  I let loose a soft laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood, though it came out breathless and rather needy, and I didn’t miss how his breath caught in his throat at the sound of it.

  “Even if Isobel thought I was waiting on you, why did she send you up here?”

  Now that he’d confessed it, his eyes, though he did make eye contact, repeatedly kept dropping downward. I took a step closer to him just to keep him from doing so. When I did, his breath became shaky and, hesitantly, he moved a hand and rested it on the side of my hip.

  “She said that I dinna treat ye well today. That if I mean to capture yer heart, I must do more than tell ye I care for ye. I must show ye as well, and I dinna do that today. I wouldna want ye to feel neglected.”

  Today was exhausting for everyone. I’d not thought a thing about his behavior toward me.

  The feeling of his light grip on my waist made me tremble. I now stood so close to him that with every breath, my nipples dragged up and down his chest. I could hear his shaky intake of breath, and I knew it took all his strength to keep his hand from traveling elsewhere.

  I looked up at him and said his name so that he’d look into my eyes. When he did so, shockwaves shot through my whole body.

  “I didn’t feel neglected, not at all. Today was about you and Adwen, as it should have been, but Isobel was right about one thing.” I reached a hand up to gently brush my thumb across his cheek. “Sometimes it is nice to be shown just exactly how a man feels.”

  That was all it took for his mouth to sink down, consuming my neck and lips as he cupped at my breast and moved his other hand to my backside. I relaxed against him, allowing him to feel and touch me over the fabric of my nightgown, and I moaned as his teeth grazed against my earlobe.

  He shook with need, and I wrapped my legs around him as he lifted me and carried me over to the bed. He lay me down and followed me downward, rolling onto his side next to me as he kissed me once more, slipping his hand underneath the gown to feel my bare skin. He cupped his hand in between my legs, and we both groaned at the sensation of it. I shrugged out of the loose neck of the gown, pushing my breasts out the top, exposing them to the air for a brief moment as he pulled one of my nipples deep into his mouth.

  I cried out and wove my hands into his hair, pulling it so that he moaned as I gently scratched my fingernails against the back of his neck.

  Toby jumped off the bed understanding that his presence intruded on something too personal for him to be in the middle of.

  Everything was an exquisite sensation. We touched and fondled and grasped at one another with a need so raw that neither of us could breathe. Eventually, he rolled on top of me, spreading my legs with his knee as he gathered the bottom of my gown with his hands, pushing it upwards so that he could touch me.

  I reached down to him in kind. As I stroked him, he stilled his body as if my hand on him woke him up from his blind need. He stopped and collapsed his forehead against my own, kissing me gently as he struggled to catch his breath. Slowly, he rolled to his side and pulled me against his chest.

  “I’m sorry, lass, but I canna have ye, no like this. No when I’m no myself.”

  I understood and respected him for it, no matter how desperately I wanted to be with him.

  “Okay.” I nodded against him, and we lay together both catching our breath as we tried to subdue our need for one another.


  After a time, neither of us shook quite as badly. I turned and smiled up at him.

  “Do you want to talk instead?”

  He grinned and bent his head to kiss me. My whole body lit afire for him once more.

  “’Tis naught to do with ye, lass, but I doona think I can talk anymore this night.”

  “Did you and Adwen talk each other’s ears off?”

  He reached to brush the hair from my face.

  “Aye. Might I simply hold ye instead, Gillian? Lay here and watch ye fall asleep?”

  Nothing sounded better, but I looked down to see Toby sitting by the bed on the floor, just waiting for my permission.

  “Yes, I don’t want to move from your arms. As long as you don’t mind sharing the bed with a dog, because you’re sort of in Toby’s spot.”

  He laughed and patted the small empty space next to us, and Toby jumped right up in response.

  “No, o’course I doona. I wouldna dare take the wee pup’s place. He’s more deserving of a soft bed than most humans.”

  I couldn’t agree with him more. As I snuggled in against his chest, I tried to ignore the small voice in the back of my mind that said I had fallen in love with Orick right then and there. The icy fortress around my heart was melting fast.

  CHAPTER 26

  Morning came much too quickly. When I woke, still in Orick’s arms, I found him wide awake, looking down at me with a happy smile that warmed me all over.

  “Tell me you slept some.”

  He nodded and squeezed me in close with the arm he had wrapped around me.

  “Aye, though ye snore something fierce.”

  I sat up rather defensively, shrugging my shoulders back into my gown, horrified at his claim.

  “I do not.” Although, in truth, I had no way to really know since I wasn’t accustomed to sharing my bed with another.

  “Aye, ye do.” He laughed and, now that he was no longer pinned to the bed by my body, he stood and stretched.

  “That’s mortifying.”

  “Ach, doona worry yerself over it. I’ve spent years on the road with men who snore so loud the horses canna sleep. It dinna bother me.”

  He made his way over to the door, and I stood to follow him.

  “Well, let’s just not ever mention that again, okay?”

  He bent to kiss me as he reached for the handle.

  “Aye, I willna do so again. ’Tis time I make my way to my room so no one knows I stayed here. ’Twould shame ye if someone saw me leave here.”

  The thought didn’t worry me whatsoever.

  “Who cares? We didn’t even do anything.”

  “I care, lass. I willna have ye dishonored on my account. Besides, I’m so covered in road dirt, I’ll have to bathe ’til midday to clean myself.”

  He started to open the door, and I suddenly remembered something I meant to ask him hours ago.

  “Hang on. What did Adwen learn about his dad and brother? Are they okay?”

  Orick’s face twisted into a frustrated expression of disgust. I could tell right away that at the very least, no harm had come to them. He shut the door as he turned to answer me.

  “Aye, they’re fine enough though I doona expect either Lennox or Griffith are pleased to be spending their days in captivity.”

  “Captivity?” Perhaps seventeenth century folk defined fine enough differently than I did.

  “Aye and they deserve to be there. The fools gambled their way into a grave debt with Laird Macaslan. When they couldna pay it, he arrested them on the road and took them for safekeeping at his castle until the debt is paid. Adwen is on his way to talk to Baodan, laird of McMillan Castle, as we speak to see if he can borrow what is needed for their release.”

  “Will he give it to them?”

  “Aye. He will.” Orick fidgeted in the doorway. I could tell he wanted to say something more.

  “What is it?”

  “I told Adwen I would go back with him to Macaslan Castle. Callum stayed there as the laird’s guest. Jane will come so ye are welcome to join us, though since ye are no married, ’twill have to be under the pretense that ye are Jane’s lady maid. Laird Maccaslan is no a forward-thinking man. ’Tis the only way he will approve of ye traveling with us. Ye should also know that the journey is likely to last the month. I know ye told Aiden and Anne that ye would be gone no more than a fortnight.”

  I knew Aiden and Anne both well enough to know that they wouldn’t worry if I didn’t show up when expected. They would just assume I got carried away with everything. I didn’t want to go back. Not now, when I felt like we were just starting to get to really know one another. For once, I felt like it might be possible for me to share normal human emotions with another person.

  “Is there a way I could get word to Aiden and Anne?”

  “Aye, Jane often sends messages back somehow. Seek her help in the matter.”

  “Great.” I reached around him and opened the door to my room, eager to get myself cleaned up as well. “Now go get into that tub you’ve been talking about. You’re kind of smelly.”

  CHAPTER 27

  Come that afternoon, I found myself standing face to face with my only true nemesis here in the seventeenth century—my broad-backed horse named Grock. My legs, hips, and ass hurt just looking at him.

  “Are you sure we can’t just hook some sort of wagon up to him, and he can pull me the whole way there? He looks strong enough, I think.”

  Adwen, who stood closest to me tying packs to the back of each horse, laughed and shook his head apologetically. Orick was inside the inn gathering a few days’ worth of food that Isobel had somehow miraculously whipped up this morning.

  “I’m sorry, lass, but no. We will travel down some steep roads and small trails. Even if we had such a thing, ’twould no be possible. Ye will grow accustomed to it with time.”

  “Yeah. That’s what everybody keeps saying, but I really don’t think so.”

  Grock blew air through his lips as if he were laughing at me.

  With Grock all packed up with the few belongings I had, I reached for Toby’s cloth sling and draped it over my head. The moment the pup saw me slip it on and looked around at the horses, he put two and two together and started whining pathetically.

  “I know. Trust me you’re going to have a better time with it than I will. At least you get to ride comfortably.”

  I picked Toby up, and he continued to whine as I carried him around in an effort to avoid climbing aboard the horse until I absolutely had to. I turned at the sound of hooves approaching and watched Cooper proudly gallop toward us on his miniature horse.

  Toby started to squirm out of my arms and wag his tail frantically the moment he saw Cooper. As soon as Cooper pulled on his reins and dismounted, Toby flew out of my arms and charged toward him, jumping into the child’s open arms to lick his face repeatedly.

  Cooper took to sitting on the ground with the pup, giggling and stroking Toby as he bobbed and weaved his head to try and avoid the brunt of the dog’s kisses. There was really no escaping them.

  I watched the two of them together and, reluctantly, made a rather obvious decision. Taking the sling off, I rolled it up and carried it over to Cooper.

  “I have a big favor to ask of you, kiddo.”

  Cooper spotted the sling right away.

  “Don’t tell me you are going to leave Toby here? Oh, Gillian that would be so awesome. I would take such good care of him, I promise. I would play with him and make sure Isobel doesn’t feed him too much bread, and I will clean him up when he gets dirty.”

  I feared that if I didn’t interrupt, the child would go on forever. I reached out a hand and touched his knee gently.

  “Yes, I’ve decided I’m going to leave Toby in your care if you’re okay with that. But you’ve got to keep him with you all of the time, okay? And take care of him like he was your very own?”

  He bent down and kissed Toby right on the side of his face.

  “I will. I’ll even let him
sleep in my bed with me.”

  I laughed and reached to take Toby from him so I could squeeze him goodbye.

  “You just read my mind. That’s what I was about to ask you next.”

  “Trust me, Gillian. You couldn’t leave him in better hands. You won’t have to worry about him at all while you’re gone.”

  Toby allowed me to scratch his head briefly but then wiggled out of my arms and back into Cooper’s.

  “I know I won’t. I appreciate you doing this.”

  Cooper smiled, and we both turned our heads as Adwen spoke to us from the front of the inn.

  “Time to leave, lass. Cooper, come bid me and yer Aunt Jane goodbye.”

  * * *

  Within just a few short hours of leaving, I felt like Jane was an old girlfriend. Having her on the road with us did wonders to keep me from thinking on the state of my rear end overmuch. I found her to be wickedly funny and forward with everything she said. Her blunt tongue seemed to put both Adwen and Orick at ease, and I found that we all seemed to talk rather freely with one another, laughing and chatting about a million random things.

  During one of our necessary bathroom stops, I took the opportunity to speak with Adwen about something that had been bothering me for days.

  “I’m sorry for being so difficult with you during your last day at Cagair Castle.”

  He didn’t quite turn completely to look at me, but I saw the corner of his mouth turn up in a smile.

  “Doona be sorry, lass. Ye dinna know the truth then, and I know we did plenty that seemed strange to ye.”

  “Yes, but I still hate that I drove you all the way to the village when you didn’t need to go there. How did you get back to the castle?”

  He did turn toward me then and stared at me plainly.

  “I waited for ye to no be able to see me, and I walked back in the rain.”

  I looked down at the ground in an amused apology.

  “Yeah…I figured that. I really am sorry.”