The last she remembered she was dozing off, leaning back into Aidan’s protective embrace with the squirrel curled up on her lap as they sat under the stars. Aidan must have brought her here to sleep, and she’d been so tired that she hadn’t even noticed.
The door to the cottage opened, and there stood Aidan with a smile on his face and holding something behind his back. In his other hand he held a bowl of food and a spoon.
“Guid mornin’ me bonnie angel,” he said, entering the room.
“Thank ye fer bringin’ me here last night.” Sitting up, she took the squirrel off her chest. She removed the wrapping of cloth that she’d put around it to hold closed its wounds.
“How is Reid?” he asked, entering the room and closing the door with his foot extended behind him. The sunshine that had been streaming into the little cottage disappeared.
“He is goin’ te survive, thanks te the help ye and yer friends gave me last night.”
The squirrel shook its head and stretched. Then it licked its wounds, flicked its tail, and scurried off the pallet to inspect the floor.
“I dinna ken how I can e’er repay ye fer savin’ me pet’s life.”
“Ye dinna have to. I only did what anyone would.”
He put the bowl of food and spoon on the table and headed over to the pallet. “I brought ye food te break the fast. It is cabbie claw. I made it meself from the rest o’ the fish ye caught.”
Effie was familiar with the dish, which was cod fillets covered by an egg sauce and topped off with horseradish. “Well, that sounds wonderful, but I could join the rest o’ ye at the fire. I dinna need me food brought te me.”
“Happy Birthday, me angel.” He whipped out a large bouquet of wildflowers from behind his back and handed it to her. It consisted of purple heather, pink foxglove, and even a large lilac-colored thistle sticking up from the center.
“Och,” she gasped in delighted surprise, taking it from him but being careful not to touch the prickly thistle. “They’re beautiful.” She started to get up, but he sat down on the pallet next to her instead. He took her hands in his, and raised them up so she could smell the flowers. Closing her eyes, she took a sniff and then let out her breath. “No one has e’er given me flowers fer me birthday,” she said with a tear in her eye.
“I told ye I want te fill thet empty void in yer life. Since ye have no one left from yer family or yer clan o’ gypsies, I am goin’ te be the one te take care o’ ye today.”
“Oh, ye really dinna have te do thet.” She felt horrible now for lying to him, and she didn’t deserve any of this. She tried to get up, but he took the flowers, placing them down, and held her on the pallet. Reaching over, he kissed her. She found herself lost not only in his kiss, but in the kindness of someone caring for her and making her feel special.
“I want te take care o’ ye, Effie. Ye saved me squirrel, and I am e’er so grateful.”
“Well, ye saved me life, twice now, so I guess we are even.”
“I have a present fer ye, too.”
“A present? Och, no, I couldna accept it.”
“Aye, ye can.” He reached over to the foot of the pallet and opened a trunk. He pulled out a woman’s long white leine with billowing sleeves and a sleeveless kirtle. The skirt was brown but the bodice was made from the same beautiful purple and green plaid that he wore.
Her hands reached out instinctively, and she took them. “What is this?” she asked.
“Yer own clothes are soiled and ripped. Ye need somethin’ clean and nice te wear on yer birthday, lass.”
“But . . . these are the clothes of someone from yer own clan.” The thought of it warmed her heart and scared her at the same time.
“They are only clothes, lass.”
“It is the same purple and green plaid that ye wear, as well as the rest o’ the MacKeefes.”
“Our auld weaver only kens how te make one type. Thet’s why the MacKeefes all have the same plaid.”
“The dyes for the wool alone must be so expensive.”
“Nay, our weaver dyes the clooth herself. She uses things such as nettle and bracken fer the green and her favorite is makin’ the purple dye from bilberries, whortleberries and even seaslugs, believe it or no’.”
“Seaslugs?” she asked, laughing.
“Come on, Effie, jest put them on.”
“But . . . I am no’ part o’ yer clan, Aidan.”
“Ye will be part o’ the clan as soon as I talk te our chieftain when he returns, and ask him if ye can join the MacKeefes.” He smiled and looked so happy that she thought she was going to die.
“Aidan . . . I dinna think I could.”
“O’ course ye can, me angel.”
“Where did you get them?”
“They are extra clothes o’ me sister, Kyla, but she willna mind, I assure ye.”
She looked down to the clothes, thinking how much she wanted to belong to a family again. To his family – his clan. She missed that sense of belonging, but she couldn’t take them and wear them. Not when she was about to deceive him, and be a traitor to Scotland as well.
“I’d rather no’ wear them.” She pushed them back into his hands.
“Then I will dress ye meself,” he said, reaching out to touch her. She was going to object, until she felt his hot breath on the side of her cheek as he placed sensual kisses on the back of her neck and then around and down to her collar bone.
Squeezing her eyes closed, she held her breath. It felt good. Too damned good, and it scared her.
“What’s the matter, lassie, dinna ye want me te do this?”
“I . . . I’m fine,” she said with a deep sigh. She looked into his eyes, seeing that he trusted her and that he had feelings for her as well. She felt the same way about him. If only she could tell him about her sister and what she had to do to save her. But if word got out, her sister’s life would be endangered.
Besides, if Aidan knew the truth, he was just mad enough to go with his friends to Liddel Castle and try to save her sister himself, and in the process he would most likely be killed. She couldn’t have that. These men didn’t deserve to lose their lives, especially for someone they didn’t even know.
No, she decided. She’d keep her secret and just go forward with the plan. Once her sister was free, she’d be able to tell Aidan everything. Only, by then, sadly, it might be too late to save what they had between them.
“Jest say the word, and I’ll stop,” he told her, his mouth now on her chest with his tongue shooting out to taste her. “Ye are me angel, Effie, and nothin’ can change thet. I have waited a lifetime te find someone like ye.”
“How can ye say thet, when ye’ve jest met me?” Her breathing deepened as he took his finger and drew a circle over her nipple right through her clothes.
“I ken ye are special and thet ye were meant te be with me, becooz ye came te me in a dream.”
“Mayhap it was someone else.” She felt her nipple tighten, and a bolt of desire shot through her as he slid his hand inside the neckline of her bodice and his cool fingers caressed her breast. The hot skin of her body against his cool hand made her arch her back, pushing herself further into his embrace.
“Nay, it was ye, I am sure.”
“How can you be sure?” She let out a soft whimper as Aidan gently pushed aside her bodice and lowered his head to her bosom. He took her into his mouth and his tongue teased her peak, about driving her out of her mind. Gripping his hair tightly in anticipation, she was frightened for more reasons than one. She’d never made love to a man before, and she didn’t want to disappoint him.
He raised his head slightly, his eyes looking up to her. “I ken it was ye, becooz I saw in me dream the birthmark on yer arm.” He reached over and grabbed her arm and pulled away her sleeve to prove his point.
“Well, a lot o’ people have birthmarks.”
“No’ like this one, lassie. Yers looks like a skull.”
“A skull?” When she turned her arm to look
at it from his direction, she realized what he said was true. She also felt like it meant death, and she didn’t want anyone dying because of her.
“I better get up now,” she said, trying to sneak out from under him.
“No’ until I give ye yer birthday present.” He gently pushed her back down on the pallet.
“But ye already have. The clothes and the flowers.”
“Nay, there is more.”
“What more could there possibly be?” Her body was tingling and she was trying to ignore it.
He unfastened his weapon belt and threw it to the floor. His clothes followed. He didn’t wear any braies, and her eyes dropped to his straightened manhood that was hot, hard, and ready.
“I am yer present, me angel, if ye’ll have me.”
Her body shook with anticipation, and she felt a wetness between her thighs that was brought on by his foreplay as well as the fact he was straddling her in the nude, offering himself as her present.
She was far too old for never having had a man, as most girls her age were married while very young and had at least several children by now. She had no husband, and no children, and she didn’t want to die without feeling the ecstasy of coupling with someone at least once in her lifetime. All thoughts of her sister temporarily were swept from her mind, and she knew this may not be moral right now, but she also knew she had to have him.
“This’ll be the best present I e’er got in me life,” she said with a slight smile.
“Then let me help ye.” He reached out and pulled her clothes from her body so quickly that she knew in the back of her mind that he was very experienced with women.
“I . . . I’m scared,” she blurted out, and he just stopped and looked at her with an odd expression on his face.
“I am no’ goin’ te hurt ye,” he assured her.
“I didna mean it thet way.”
“Then what did ye mean?” He settled himself atop her, and she almost cried out in passion when she felt his warm, naked body pressed up against hers. The proof of his desire prodded her, and she suddenly realized he was so big and she so small, that she didn’t know if she could actually take him into her body. She clamped her legs together quickly.
“Effie, what is the matter?” he asked. “Ye are shakin’ like a virgin.”
“I am.”
“Ye are . . . shakin’ . . . or a virgin?” he asked slowly.
“Both.”
“Och!” He sat up suddenly and ran a weary hand through his long, blond hair. “I’m sorry, I didna ken.” He started to scoot off of her, but she reached out and clasped her hands around his arms.
“Nay! I dinna want ye te leave.”
“Effie, I dinna think I am the man ye want te take from ye somethin’ thet ye’ll ne’er be able te get back.”
She thought about that, and knew that she would be taking something from him that he’d never get back either once the stone was gone. She also knew that if she only made love once in her entire life, she wanted it to be with Aidan.
“Ye’re exactly who I want te take me virginity. Now, please, give me the present ye promised me fer me birthday.”
“Are ye sure, lassie? Becooz it is no’ too late te change yer mind.”
“I am sure. I want ye, Aidan. I want ye more than I’ve e’er wanted anyone in me life. Now please. Just be gentle, but show me how it feels te make love. Please.”
“Gladly.” He smiled just then, and for one glorious moment she felt like everything was going to be all right. Even if it wasn’t, she didn’t want to believe it right now. Instead, she decided to embrace the moment and make this so special that she’d never forget it for as long as she lived.
“I’m no’ really sure how te do this,” she admitted.
“By the rood, are ye tellin’ me a stoater like ye ne’er even had a man touch ye?”
“I am glad ye think I am stunnin’, but I assure ye while many laddies have tried, I warded them all off.”
“Why would ye?”
“Becooz, I was busy bein’ a mathair to me wee sister.”
“Well, ye no longer need te do thet, so now ye need te think o’ yerself. Just lay back and close yer eyes.”
“Close me eyes?” She didn’t want to do that. “I dinna want te miss a second o’ this, after I’ve waited so long fer this day.”
“All right. Mayhap thet is a better idea. Instead, I want ye te take a look at e’ery wee bit o’ me.” He stood then, spreading his legs on each side of her, and shaking his pelvis slightly, letting her see all of him. Then he turned slowly and showed her his backside too, shaking his doup as well.
“I like what I see,” she admitted. “And believe me, no bit o’ ye is wee anywhere. Now tell me. Do ye like what ye see as well?”
“I dinna ken. Stand up here and join me and shake what ye have, and I will tell ye.”
“All right,” she said, laughing, standing atop the pallet and holding on to him so she wouldn’t fall. She moved slightly, and he just smiled and shook his head.
“Blethers, thet is no’ a shake, but a shimmy. Now shake it like a wench who is tryin’ te lure me to her bed.”
“Like a hoor, ye mean?”
“Och,” he said and smiled. “I suppose I’m no’ goin’ aboot this right.” He reached out and filled his hands with her breasts, and she liked the way it felt. “I was jest tryin’ to make ye ready.”
“Let me try te do this.” She pushed his hands away slightly, then shook her shoulders, which caused her breasts to bounce back and forth. She smiled when she noticed his eyes widen in delight. “Is this excitin’ ye?”
“Dinna ye see me mansword o’ love?” he asked, which caused her to giggle more. “If ye keep shakin’ yer diddies like thet, I’ll no’ be able te wait much longer.”
“Then dinna wait,” she said, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Make love te me now, Aidan.”
She didn’t have to ask again. He reached down and took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Then he let his hands slip slowly down her back and he gently lowered her to the pallet.
“I feel somethin’ happenin’,” she said, throwing back her head as he straddled her, letting his hand slide up between her legs.
“Yer body is gettin’ ready te take me,” he explained.
“Is thet – ye?” she asked, her heart racing in her chest, as she felt herself being entered.
He laughed then, and pulled back his hand. “Nay, lassie, thet was only me finger. Then he replaced his finger with a part that she didn’t even question was him. He entered her and stopped, reaching down to fondle her breast, and kissed her atop the head at the same time.
“Thet is ye now, I can tell,” she said in a breathy voice.
“No’ all o’ me.” He pushed slowly into her, stretching her small form to take all of him into her body. She knew the emptiness within her had been filled in more ways than one. Then he started moving his hips slowly in a thrusting action. His breathing deepened and she looked up to see passion on his face. He entered her and retreated, the motions starting slowly, and then becoming faster as he pushed into her over and over again.
She felt a new feeling encompassing her being as her body cried out for him, and she felt as if she couldn’t get enough of this wonderful, glorious man.
“Aidan, I like this,” she admitted. Her body was vibrating and she felt so reckless. Every bit of her tingled, and she had never felt so alive in her entire life.
“I told ye, ye would,” he said through heavy breathing. Before she knew what was happening, her head was spinning and she was trying to take him into her more than he would go.
“Och, Aidan, this feels so guid.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself toward him.
“Now let yerself release any fears, lassie and ye will feel the closest thing te heaven thet ye’ve e’er felt.” He picked her up while on his knees and settled her legs around his waist as they continued.
She did as he
said and together they found release, and she felt for the first time in her life that she’d found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Her heart raced and her chest heaved as she struggled to regain her breath from her wonderful experience. He pulled away then, and lay her back down on the pallet, and when he did, her head fell back on something hard.
“Ow!” she said, pushing up and looking behind her. “What was thet?”
“’Twas nothin’, angel,” he told her. “Jest me pillow.”
“Pillow?” she said and laughed. “Thet’s no pillow, as it felt like a rock.” She moved the pallet aside and looked underneath, and there embedded halfway into the ground was a thick, black stone. She knew exactly why it felt like a rock now, because it was a rock. She’d just found the very thing that would free her sister, and it was right there in Aidan’s bed as they made love. It was the exact thing she’d been searching for and also the last thing she wanted to see at this intimate moment. This was the object that could save her sister yet make her lose Aidan forever. “Thet’s no pillow,” she said. “Thet is the Stone o’ Destiny.”
AIDAN
CHAPTER NINE
“Aye, thet is the Stone o’ Scone, or the Stone o’ Destiny as most people call it.” Aidan lay next to Effie, feeling sated and happy. He knew now it was no mistake bringing her here, as he felt like they were meant for each other. And if he had anything to say about it, she was never going to leave.
“Ye really sleep on it,” she said with a smile, rubbing her head.
“Ye get used te it after six months,” he told her, and pulled away the pallet so she could view the coronation stone better.
“’Tis beautiful.” She reached out cautiously and ran her fingers over it. “And there’s some sort o’ etchings on it.”
“They say they are hieroglyphs, or some sort of auld writin’ from ancient Egypt,” Aidan explained.
“Egypt?” she asked. “Ye dinna really believe thet?”
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