by Lexi Post
Evan pointedly looked at his hand on Nessa’s shoulder. When would he ask the patient lass to marry him? Torr kept his smirk to himself and stepped away.
Evan finally met his gaze. “I will be there in a moment. I need to speak with Nessa.”
Torr barely stopped himself from laughing at the man’s possessiveness. Instead, he simply nodded. He turned from the couple and ascended to the wall-walk. First, he’d have Kerr gather his leaders, then he would talk to Diana.
Chapter Thirteen
Diana sighed with frustration as she left the kitchen. Beth’s obvious infatuation with the older, broader Angus MacPherson hadn’t produced any relevant information. He just had to be the Disruptor. It was clear Graham wasn’t. He was far too loyal to the other side. She’d finally ruled Ian out when she’d found out, from Fergus of all people, that he had known Ian when he was still a youth back at his mom’s clan, so unless the Disruptor came years in advance, that eliminated him. There was still Douglas, but the man’s one-track mind and desperate loneliness and jealousy did not lend itself to a Disruptor. That left Angus, the newest arrival.
It had become so hard not to warn Torr about the impending battle. Two nights were all she had left with him. Though he didn’t speak about his feelings for her, feelings she knew he would never allow himself, his actions both in bed and out of it told her he cared, and it was that little assurance she would take back to Stonehaven with her. The thought of leaving him crushed her, but it was far better than seeing him die.
It would mean that the world would never know Great Britain and her own home would remain in the slums. How could she do this? If she broke almost every rule ever set forth by TWI, what would Jules do? Would Jules send back another agent to the same time and have them work against each other?
Even if she brought Angus back on a silver platter, she would probably be fired and for good reason. How would that affect the future? She had to be crazy.
She sat on the steps outside the Great Hall as the personal ramifications of her actions bore down on her. She couldn’t bear it if TWI left Stonehaven. They were the only family she had and if Jules pulled the operations…she’d be alone—completely and absolutely alone. Her stomach tensed with anticipated pain. She’d been in that lonely state once before and she couldn’t go there again, but if she kept Torr alive, it was a very real possibility.
“Diana.” Torr strode toward her from across the yard. The image of him stabbed through the stomach with a sword flashed across her mind, and she gasped. Aye, all of that may befall her, but she’d rather live through the misery than watch Torr die on the battlefield. Anything but that. She stood as he approached. “Aye.”
He took her hand and walked her inside. As soon as they were out of view of the yard, he pulled her into his arms.
“Torr?”
His mouth came down on hers. It was one of his heart-melting, “I care about you” kisses that made her knees go weak. She kissed him back with all the love she had. He had been doing this a lot lately, like he couldn’t have enough of her, thank the fates.
He broke away, but kept her in his arms. “We go to battle on Sunday.”
She almost nodded her head, but stopped in time. Wait. How did he know? “Why on Sunday?”
“Henry told me everything in exchange for his freedom. That is the kind of man I would not have among my own.”
Her mind raced. Henry told Torr? Had Henry originally told Torr or was it only because he and she had gone for that ride that Henry was taken prisoner? Oh Puck, she had no idea what this meant. Did she change history even more? Would Torr live even without the Disruptor’s help?
He misinterpreted her silence. “Do not ye worry. We have the advantage now. Ye will be safe.”
“But what about you?”
He raised one brow. “Ye have so little faith in my abilities even after I saved ye in the wood?”
Really? He would play the ego card? She was serious! “Torr, I have complete confidence in you. It’s the Comyn I don’t trust.”
He grinned. “Aye, I see yer point, but we will be ready for them, and they do not know that. We have the advantage.”
She could see that having the advantage to Torr was the same as winning the battle, much like a card shark who had stacked the deck. Sometimes men’s egos—
“I want ye to promise me, ye will stay safe in the castle. If the walls are breached, ye hide in my room and lower the bar across the door. I need to know ye will be safe.”
Torr’s worried expression tugged at her heart. “Aye. I promise.”
He hugged her to him. “Thank ye. I think about ye too much as it is. That would not be good while I battle Clan Comyn.”
She rolled her eyes at the backward compliment. She had to remember it was 1306.
Torr released her. “Ye may go back to the bakery now. I have much to do.”
As he headed for the kitchen, he yelled for Beth. She should be angry at him for dismissing her so abruptly, but the jaunt in his step made her smile. Holy Hamlet, the man was excited about going to battle. She shook her head. “I guess I just can’t understand.”
…
Diana paced Torr’s room in only her leine. It was their final night together. Every time she thought about it, her stomach wanted to heave. Luckily, she’d not eaten any dinner and hardly anything at midday. As much as she wanted to rail at fate, she didn’t actually believe in it. Learning she had the ability to time travel and change people’s futures had shown her that humans really could control their own destiny, if they were willing to live with the consequences.
So what would she change? A part of her wanted to stay in 1306. She’d already started creating a new family here, and since Torr would live past this battle, she could stay with him. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t die in the next skirmish, or that he would continue to feel something for her. Besides, he’d made no declaration of undying love, and he wouldn’t.
No, she would go back after the battle was over, before the celebration began. And in a week or so be sent to another time and place to fix what a Disruptor had changed. She had no choice. There were too few time travelers as it was, and the Disruptors had begun to cause serious problems. For all of humanity’s sake, she had to return. The weight of that responsibility, especially in light of what she would do tomorrow, was almost too much to bear.
But tonight…tonight she would show Torr that he would always be in her heart.
The door opened, and he walked in. He stopped and looked at her as if he sensed it would be their last night. Or perhaps it was simply that before battle everyone in this century felt it could be their last. It was not an easy time to live.
He held out his hand. “Come.”
“Where?”
He sighed, though his mouth twitched. “Must ye question everything I ask of ye?”
She smirked. “Nay, I suppose not, as long as you do not confuse me with your horse.”
When she clasped his hand, he pulled her against him and brushed aside wisps of her hair with a gentleness that she’d come to love. “I could never mistake ye for Ceo. Ye are much shorter.”
She elbowed him in the ribs, and he stepped away with a laugh. “Come, I have a surprise for ye.”
“Wait. My brat.”
He shook his head as he scooped her up into his arms and headed for the stairs. “Ye won’t be needing it.”
Once they made the Great Hall, she noticed most were asleep or talking quietly, but Torr continued out the tower door before anyone noticed their presence. Night had descended but for a piece of lightened sky in the west. The gloaming lasted late in the summer so far north.
Torr strode toward the blacksmith building, but she’d already bathed. “Do you need to wash?”
He continued walking, the large round tub clearly in sight, the water clean and warm if the steam rising from it was any indication.
Without hesitation, he stepped into the large round wooden tub and sat with her still in his arms, the wat
er splashing out, as well as over her.
“Torr!” Her voice could only be considered a squeal as the warmth surrounded them, their clothes soaked through.
He gave a full-hearted laugh. His joy emerging from deep within him.
She shook her head. The man was pumped for the battle. It was the only explanation for his odd behavior.
“Ach, it is naught but water.” Still smiling, he brought his hand up behind her head and pulled her in for a kiss.
She melted into him as his tongue swept into her mouth, pushing and retreating, until he licked at her lips.
She pulled back and cupped his face to keep him at bay for a moment. “Torr, why are we sitting in this clean tub of water when we have both bathed?”
He shrugged, but his smile stayed. “We never coupled outside in the pond, so I thought warm water under the stars would do it.”
Holy Hamlet, the man was a romantic if ever there was one! His idea was beyond thoughtful. If he didn’t already have her heart, he would have taken it right then.
She held his head, but his hands were roaming over her legs as she sat sideways on his lap, her knees bent due to the tub’s size, and the water only came to her waist. Catching his playfulness, she let go of him and bent over her knees for a moment, letting the water soak through her leine.
Torr pulled her back up. “What are ye do—” His words died as his eyes found her breasts pushing against the wet linen, her tight nipples outlined by the material. His grin widened. “Ye are a temptress, no doubt.”
When his head dipped to capture one hard nub in his mouth, she smiled as warmth spread from where his teeth played to the area between her legs. Spring break had taught her something after all. Men couldn’t resist a woman in a wet T-shirt, or leine in this case.
Torr lifted his head. “I want ye now.” The huskiness of his voice sent her pulse into double time.
And she wanted him. Now. She pushed away and lifted the wet leine over her head. His gaze riveted to her nudity, and he pulled her toward him, her legs flowing to each side of his waist. He growled. “I said now.” Pure desire raced through her limbs at his words.
His mouth descended on hers again as he held her naked body against his wet clothes. His tongue demanded now, and he rocked his hips against her, causing his hardness to rub her sensitive spot, the rough wool sending hot spikes of pleasure to her empty sheath. She wanted him just as much, every minute between now until time forced them apart again.
Despite his hold on her, she moved her hand down and lifting her hips, pushed his wet leine up to his waist. She anchored her knees to the bottom of the tub and raised herself above him, forcing him to break away from her mouth.
He grabbed her waist and pushed her down onto his tip. She gasped as she descended and he filled her to her very depths, spreading her wide. He kept her sheathed around him, her body holding him tight, her breathing quickening. Unable to help herself, she rotated her hips, wanting them to come together over and over.
He growled and stopped her movements by grasping her ass. “Nay, not yet.”
“Ye said, now.”
He gritted his teeth. “Now ye decide to obey me?”
Her body relaxed at his humor, just enough for her to gain control of her own movements. “But ye feel so good.” She pushed her hands through his hair and grabbed his bulky shoulders, almost bared with his wet clothing falling to the side. She gazed at his skin barely containing the hard muscle beneath it, wanting to memorize every nuance and hair that was a part of him. He wielded so much power and right now in time, he was hers.
Torr grabbed the sides of the tub and lifted them both until he sat on his heels in the water. In this position, it lapped where they were joined.
“Hold on.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. If she could, she’d hold on to him forever. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her pelvis against his. His hands grasped her ass, and he rose up on his knees, spreading his legs for balance.
She hooked her ankles around his back for support, her feet resting on his muscled ass, refusing to let anything come between them.
He groaned at her tightening and pushed against her. Then he began to thrust. Not long hard strokes, but short strokes that started deep and drove deeper, never allowing her space. It was as if he felt the need to stay close as well, and she let herself believe he cared. It was as if he wanted to climb inside her and she would happily let him in.
Their rhythm grew faster and the escalating pleasure at their joining pulsed from her opening through her entire body. Every nerve ending became sensitive to his thrusts, her nipples crushed against his hard, wet chest as her sheath tightened.
She squeezed her legs tighter when her pleasure washed over her and she cried out her release and her joy.
Torr groaned against her hair as his hands forced her pelvis flat against his, and he filled her, prolonging her orgasm. He ground them together, sending more shivers of satisfaction through her, keeping her in her fantasy.
Finally, he sunk into the water, its edge tickling her ass and still-sensitive nub where they joined.
She loosened her arms around his neck, and he lifted his head from her shoulder. He stared at her without a word, and she wished it were daylight instead of dark so she could see into his eyes. God, she loved this man. Did he feel it? Breaking his gaze, she ran her fingers through his hair, her body attuned to every nuance of his.
He moved inside her, which brought her gaze to his again. “What are you thinking?”
He smirked. “That I may have given ye a child tonight.”
Stunned, she stared. Oh Puck, did he want children? It wouldn’t happen with her, not for at least another two months. “What if you have?”
“I would be proud.”
She rolled her eyes. “Nay, I mean would you claim him, care for him, be a father to him?” Her voice turned just a tad shrill by the end of her question, and she took a deep breath, focusing on where her hand lay against his skin to calm herself.
Despite only the moonlight, she witnessed the softening of his face. “Aye, I would.”
Oh, Shakespeare. She would start crying very soon if he didn’t stop being so perfect. “And would you love him?”
Torr’s face contorted as if he was in pain, and he closed his eyes. Beneath her, his body turned rock hard with tension, and despite the beating of his heart, he didn’t breathe. What was she doing? She would disappear on him tomorrow and she wanted him to love a child they would never have?
She pushed off him and stood. “’Tis not important.”
His eyes popped open as he allowed her her escape. “Diana, I—”
She held her hand in front of her as if she could stop his words. “Nay, forget I asked. I do not expect a child from this. It is not the right time.”
His broad shoulders slumped in defeat. She felt like the worst monster to ever crawl out of Tartarus.
She couldn’t leave him like this. “So you better come back from the battle if you want to try again.” She was thankful the moonlight was behind her because she knew her attempt at a smile was ghastly.
Torr rose, his body dripping with water. She thought of a drawing her father had once shown her of Poseidon rising from the sea and she would swear Torr could have posed for it, without the clothes that barely stayed on his frame.
Grasping for the light tone they had started with, she put her hands on her hips. “So, water man, now how are we to return to your room without our clothes?”
“We don’t.”
“We don’t go back to the room, or we don’t return with clothes?”
He stepped from the tub and pulled his wet clothing over his head before he dropped it on the ground.
She sighed as his massive biceps and deltoids bulged with his movement. He was so male.
He turned to where she had thrown her leine on the nearby bench used for dressing. Picking up her clothing, he handed it to her. “Yer leine is damp but not soaked. Ye can put
it on again.” Though his voice was steady, she could hear the strain in it.
She stepped out of the tub and took the garment. He cupped her face before she could dress. “I care too much for ye already.”
Her eyes watered. She would not cry. Luckily, Torr didn’t notice. He took the leine from her hands and held it over her head as if she were a child. As the damp cloth fell over her body, she shivered at its coolness.
“And I will not let ye grow cold out here, either.”
Before she knew what he intended, he picked her up and strode across the yard, completely naked.
She glanced up at the wall-walk and noticed one person watching them. Ian. He waved at her. She waved back as she laughed in Torr’s arms.
He squeezed her. “Shh, I do not want everyone to know I cannot keep my clothes on around ye.”
That made her laugh more, so she buried her face in his wet hair.
Once they were safely behind a closed door, Torr dropped her feet and let her go. He moved to a short row of hooks mounted on the wall and lifted a linen. He buried his face in it and proceeded to dry himself.
She stilled his hand with her own. “Let me?”
His face was unreadable, but he nodded once and released the material.
Lovingly, she dried him. His massive shoulders, bulging arms, even his strong hands, though they were not wet anymore. She then worked her way over his full chest and down the contours of his stomach and abdomen. She avoided his half-aroused state and softly rubbed the material over his taut thighs, before drying his shins and feet.
With a kiss on the top of his right foot, she scooted to the back and proceeded to dry his entire backside, taking a bit longer on his ass to be sure not a drop of water remained. Though his breathing grew louder, he didn’t move, except for a few reflexive muscle reactions.
She stepped back in front of him again, holding the now damp cloth in both hands. “All done.”
He looked down at himself. His arousal was fully hard now. “Ye missed the most important part.”