by Ria Cantrell
With a crease across his brow, Jamie said, “Sounds painful and dangerous. How does a woman walk in such things?”
“I guess it takes practice. I think many times they are meant less for walking and more for seducing.”
“Mmm, aye. Well, I do like these things ye’ wear.” To emphasize his point, Jamie slid his finger inside the leg band and he gently worked it in a slow and tantalizing circle. He watched as his beautiful woman arched back at his touch and he heard her moan softly. “And these spiked shoes, would ye’ use them to seduce me?”
“Oh, definitely…if I thought they would entice you. Medieval men may not find them alluring, perhaps. As you said, they sound rather ridiculous.”
“I said they sound dangerous. I dinna’ say I did nay enjoy a little bit of danger now and again.”
“Yes, I suppose you do.”
“Ye’ are dangerous, Sinead. I am at risk every moment since ye’ fell into the field that day.”
“Risk? Really? Risk of what?”
“Of losing my soul; for I have already lost my heart.”
And with that he gently yanked her panties lower and he parted her with his fingers. Leaning down he teased her with soft bites to her inner thigh, all the while he could feel her starting to writhe as she succumbed to a seduction of his own. She felt the warmth of his breath on her heated flesh and she wanted him so much, she could not even speak the words as her voice stuck in her throat. He watched her and he loved how she responded to him. He bent closer and flicked his tongue against her heat. He felt her buck at the touch and he steadied her hips with his strong hands. “Be still,” he growled playfully. He wanted her to experience her pleasure completely at the work of his tongue.
Sinead felt white heat searing through her and she was aware of her body’s wet response to the onslaught of Jamie’s tongue. It was true they had made love quite a bit since that first time, but this was a first as well. Her former boyfriend was never into it and Jamie had never done it completely before today. Sinead felt a mixture of panic and passion coursing through her as Jamie’s attentions and perfect touch drove her wild with want and need. She heard herself call out, “Oh Jamie.”
He did not answer her in words, but he gently drew her little bud into his mouth. His tongue rolled around it and she nearly lost control at the feel of it. He whispered, “There, my beauty. Do ye’ like that?”
Sinead just nodded, seeing he was watching her. “Good,” he purred and went back to doing what he had started. Sinead clutched at the bedding beneath her. All thoughts of their argument had long disappeared and when the tension built to the point of no return, Sinead nearly squealed from the shear sensation of Jamie’s oral seduction, only it sounded like a strangled cry because she tried to restrain from shrieking the castle down.
Jamie watched her and he said, “Yes, love. I wanted ye’ to have yer’ time first. Ye’ know…to show we have made up.”
Sinead laughed despite the shuddering climax that had just overtaken her. He really was such a loveable pain in the ass and did she mention, as sexy as sin itself. As she calmed ever so slightly, Jamie removed her underpants completely. He slid the straps from her bra over her shoulders and he gently and deftly pulled the cups down so that her breasts spilled from them. It was his turn to moan and he said, “Sinead, I am undone by ye’. I dunna’ think I can wait.”
“I don’t want you to wait. Love me.”
Jamie suckled her peaked breasts; not giving more to one than the other. He loved the taste of her skin and the feel of her nipples in his mouth. When she had come, her wet heat soaked him and he was so enticed, it was difficult to control himself. He was grateful to be out of his trews because he was so hard, it was almost painful. The tight cloth of the trews offered him no place to rise like his kilt could. He needed her and after he moved his finger inside her, he was sufficiently satisfied that she was ready to take him.
He drew her leg up and he was surprised when she raised it over his shoulder. She was quite a flexible little thing Jamie mused, and suddenly he was feeling very lucky again. Tucking her other leg around him, Jamie lowered himself against her. His cock throbbed; aching to be surrounded by her. When he felt her shift ever so slightly, he realized he was in the perfect position to do just that.
As she felt him ease into her, Sinead moaned anew. He was so thick that she felt herself stretching to take him, but he was ever gentle and she knew that with a few more strokes, he would be completely inside. She inhaled, “Jamie, I love when you fill me.”
He could feel her heart beat quicken and her chest rose and fell as if she was trying to catch her breath. He understood her reaction because his own heart thudded wildly beneath his ribs. The feel of her tightness encasing him was his own sort of heaven. She was so naturally responsive to him and after he was certain he wasn’t going to harm her, he rolled his hips slowly. He loved to look at her as he made love with her and he saw her catch her bottom lip with her teeth as he thrust deep within her. How he loved this strange woman from the future with her bold words and her outlandish garments of seduction! She was every bit a part of his soul now though; he was certain of that. When their bodies were joined, he felt their hearts becoming one, as well. He knew he could never live without her and he silently vowed not to.
Sinead watched him, too. His hips did a sexy dance as they undulated against her. He was so good at loving her, she thought. She wondered how she could have ever doubted it. Her muscles tightened about him and she heard him groan in response. Good, she thought. She wanted to make him as wild as he had just made her feel when he went down on her. With each thrust, she clenched around his shaft and when she saw his head toss back on his mighty shoulders, Sinead was certain his climax would be soon. The delicious column of his neck was exposed, and if Sinead did not have her legs over his shoulders, she would have loved to bite into the tender sinew there. She encouraged him with saucy words, and she said, “Yes, my love! I want to make you wild. I want you to come.”
No woman had ever spoken to him like that, especially during lovemaking and Jamie was more than a little enchanted. It seemed to work its magic, too, because he felt the pressure inside him beginning to peak. When he looked down into the eyes of this woman, he saw love there; the kind of love he never thought he would find. As he found release in her body, he also found the part of his life that he had denied himself but suddenly realized he could no longer live without.
Sinead felt him quickening his pace and she rose up beneath him to accept each glorious thrust. Her hands wandered over his back and when he threw his head back again, tossing his mane of hair behind him, her finger nails dug into the flesh of his buttocks. The jolt of painful pleasure was his undoing and he spilled himself deep inside her.
As she felt his hot release, she found herself spiraling into another orgasm that spread throughout her entire body until all of her nerve endings seemed to send waves of ecstasy rippling in and out of her. Their voices mingled in a song of climax. It seemed as if it would not end as both found total contentment in this shared culmination of their love. Their combined essence seemed to flood from within her and she suddenly felt shy at the magnitude of wet response to his very skillful love play.
Jamie waited for his heart to start to slow before he lowered Sinead’s legs from his shoulders. He sensed she had grown quiet and he wondered about it. They had made love numerous times and yet, this time, she seemed to be blushing with awkwardness. Jamie gathered her into his arms and he kissed her deeply. He said, “Ye’ are so beautiful. There is nay anything to be embarrassed about.”
“But you made me…I mean, well I never had that happen before.”
Jamie kissed her again and he said, “I know. It was wonderful. I am a lucky man to marry such a sensually responsive woman. Ye’ need never be shy about what happens between us. I want ye’ to explore each way that pleases ye’; body and soul.”
Jamie’s arms pulled her closer and he lay beside her, tucking her into the warmth
his body provided. She rested her head upon his shoulder and her hand stroked up and down his arm and side. She felt sated and happy. It had been the most amazing climax she had ever had in her life and it felt right to be with him. More than right! If she had had any misgivings before her run because of Morag’s talk, the clarity she sought was hers as Jamie held her and loved her.
Jamie relished the feel of Sinead in his grasp, tenderly nestled against his body. They now rested in the blissful afterglow. Sinead kissed his neck, gently biting the sensitive skin that she had previously wished to do, and she said, “So, what do you think about make-up sex now?”
“T’is a wondrous thing. While I am loath to fight with ye’, my love, I think the make-up part is quite enjoyable.”
“Mm, I thought you might feel that way.”
Kissing him again, more seriously, Sinead said, “I really don’t want to argue with you, either. And I promise to be careful so you don’t have to worry so much. I think we need to both try to understand where the other is coming from. I know it is your belief that you must protect me.”
“T’is not just my belief, love. T’is my duty.”
Sinead appreciated that men in this time were bound to a code that had been infused into their very beings from when they were young. It was not something that Sinead wished to change.
“I know. I’m starting to recognize that. But, you have to realize that I am used to protecting myself, too. I’m strong and I have lived a very independent life.”
Jamie buried his lips into her lustrous hair and he murmured, “Independent sounds like a very lonely way to live.”
“It can be, but it is also nice, too. It is good to know a person can take care of herself and survive the day to day things. City life is not without its dangers.”
“Aye. We have cities here. I am not prone to experiencing them. But here in the Highlands, there are hidden dangers as well. I’ve no wish to frighten ye’, lass, but t’is the way of it.”
“Okay. I get it. Perhaps you can teach me more about it. Help me be better prepared.”
“I’d rather just keep ye’ safe myself, lass.”
Sinead sidled into the nook his body had created and she said with a little laugh, “Alpha males…You can’t be with me every second. I don’t want you to. As much as I love being with you, we can’t be glued to each other. Look, I know it is your code of honor and chivalry that you live by and I love that. I guess it is something I shall have to learn to accept since I am marrying you.”
She felt him shake his head at her words as she laid her own against his chest and she smiled. She added, “Besides, I suppose it will be worth it. If you promise to love me like this again.”
As one hand eased over a breast and he kissed the top of her head, he murmured, “Oh, that I shall promise, lass. Again and again. In fact, just feelin’ ye’ in my arms makes me want to again very soon.”
Sinead actually laughed, outright. She imagined she could get used to being cared for and loved the way only Jamie could and she suddenly felt very lucky, too.
Chapter 34
Hugh kept his distance from the man once again hidden in the shadows. He could still hear the revelry coming from within the fortress behind him as the celebration continued throughout the night. He would not make the mistake again of putting himself even at arm’s length to Dubh MacKenzie if he could help it. When he heard the voice that was as dry as bones in a grave, Hugh mustered his courage and strength. He had fortified it with a stiff drink before hobbling from the gates out into the night.
He held his staff out in front of him and he said, “Step no closer, MacKenzie for I’ll nay be yer’ sport again.”
Dubh laughed sinisterly and he said, “Ye’ drunken sot, do ye’ think I will spare ye’ if I have a mind no’ to?”
Still Hugh stood his ground and he said, “If ye’ kill me, ye’ shall nay have the lass dropped in yer’ lap. I have learned things since last we talked and ye’ will need to know them for yer’ plan to come to pass.”
Intrigued but not totally believing Hugh because his words were slurred. The MacKenzie knew it could be from the drink or from the punishment he had doled upon the man before him. Still he said, “Speak, then for I have already wasted enough precious time.”
“The lass is a witch.”
“Witch! Indeed. I have heard enough of her supposed tales. Witch, banshee, I care not. Is she or is she not the leman of the laird’s son?”
“Aye, indeed. Not just leman. She is set to marry him in a few days hence, upon Twelfth Night.”
“Marry! And ye’ are certain she is of the MacDougal?”
“T’is what’s being said.”
“Hmm, that shall sweeten the pot. I will sue the MacDougal for ransom as well and add to my larder with both. Only, we both know that once the ransom is paid by the one and the son’s life is paid by the other, she will nay be returned. Is she a comely lass?”
“Quite. She is actually very beautiful; for a MacDougal.”
“Ah, then perhaps I shall make her my leman until I tire of her. Once that is done, she will be of no value to anyone so her life will matter not. When shall ye’ bring her to me?”
Hugh shifted his weight from the deadened leg to the better of the two nervously. That was the burning question. When and how? As he had witnessed Jamie MacCollum ride out to apprehend the girl, Hugh knew that it would be quite difficult to get her alone, nevertheless try to lure her to her demise. He mumbled, “She smiled at me today but I did nay speak to her. I tried to follow her but she took to running.”
“Running? Well then she must have known ye’ trailed her.”
Hugh shook his head. “Nay. It was really quite odd, but I suppose nothing is odd when dealing with her kind. Those Unholy are known to often do peculiar things. Nay, she tucked her skirts into trews she donned under her hems and in a thrice she took off.”
“Mayhap she is nay a willing guest after all and she ran to escape.”
“Nay. It was the damdest thing. It appeared to give her great joy. It did nay appear that she was running for her life. She ran to the loch and back. By the time she returned toward the keep, her lover had come to claim her and haul her back within the gated walls. But I daresay! She did nay seem upset to be back. I last saw them embracing and heading back up to their chambers.”
Dubh’s face blackened in the silvery moonlight. What game were these MacCollum playing?
“Is it known by all that the laird’s son is tupping the whore? She should be ripe for my bed until she outwears her usefulness.”
“Those who know are those closest to Jamie MacCollum. To many, they just appear as betrothed. I suppose many suspect they share a chamber, but no one mentions such things to me. I am not the most welcome guest, either,” Hugh bemoaned his plight. He was starting to truly feel the effects of the drink he had taken to fortify himself to stand once again before the Black MacKenzie. He hoped that the evil bastard would not notice the deepening of slurring in his speech. He would surely use it to his advantage and Hugh was not of a mind to be beaten to a pulp yet again. He continued, “I have a plan. I promise to lead her to ye’ before they speak their vows on Twelfth Night.”
“That is still days away. If I have to spend many more nights in the hovel, I promise yer’ reward will suffer greatly.”
Hugh had briefly wondered where Dubh took refuge out of the cold but he did not care enough to really ask. He gathered the Black MacKenzie was lodging amid some crofter’s cottage which may have been abandoned during the frigid blizzard. He just said simply, “I will have her in yer’ hands.”
Even though Hugh did not know how he would lure the woman away from the watchful eye of the MacCollum, he knew his time was up and he would have to make good on the ruse or lose his life for there was no pacifying Dubh MacKenzie when he was of a certain mind.
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“Have ye’ spoken the Binding?”
Jamie’s head whipped around. He had been tendin
g his flock and had not even heard the old woman approach. Damn her! Sometimes it seemed that she could appear without making the slightest sound. It was daunting to a man who had been trained for war as much as he had been trained to shepherd. Both required him to be aware of potential threats and danger, yet here the woman stood, with the aid of her staff and not so much as a scrape on the ground marked her entry.
“Morag, what do ye’ want? Can ye’ nay see I am busy?”
“I asked ye’ if ye’ have spoken the Binding?”
Jamie felt himself flush at her words. Morag was the only woman who always made him feel like he had been caught doing something he should not and he certainly felt like he was going to be chastised like a naughty boy.
Looking back to his work, he mumbled, “Nay.”
“Is she nay the mate of yer’ soul?”
“I would say it is too soon to tell.”
“Is it? Ye’ stand to wed her before God and Kin in thrice settings of the sun and yet ye’ would claim it is too soon to tell if she is mated to yer’ heart, mind, and soul?”
“I love her. That is certain, but….”
“But what, boy? She is the one. The one foretold in my dreams and visions. The one ye’ sought to deny with yer’ oaths made from guilt and regret.”
“How do ye’ know about that? I never spoke of it to ye’.”
“Hm, well do ye’ think an old woman who helped raise ye’ does not know of these things? Ye’ carry Ruiri’s burden as deeply as he and while it is Ruiri’s to keep, ye’ still blame yerself for that day. Ruiri’s time will come, but there are trials yet for him to face. Now is the time to release yerself from the remorse and bind yerself to the love that will offer ye’ solace.”
Tugging at a bale, Jamie said, “It’s not that simple and ye’ know it.”
“Why?”
“Because…she does nay belong here. I dunna’ know if she will, well if she can stay.”
Placing a weathered hand on his shoulder, Morag said more softly, “Lad, none of us know how long a time we have with the ones we love. I can attest to that. What I have learned from my years on this earth was that love is for the present. She is the one. Ye’ know it, else ye’ would not wed her. Ye’ have bedded many a lass ye’ have nay wed. Speak the Binding.”