So she rocked again.
And again.
As she did, new and intense feelings started to burst through her. Next thing she knew he’d flipped her beneath him. Clouds rushed past the moon as he thrust. High and wide, she wrapped her legs around his, desperate for what he could give her. Eager, unrelenting, he spread kisses over her cheek and down her neck. When she sighed in bliss Adlin plunged, went as deep as she allowed.
With an anguished cry of deep-throated pleasure, she wrapped her ankles around his back. It felt natural and wanting. Mildred pulled him as close as she could, wished in an odd way that they were one.
In. Out. In. Out. Faster, determined, he moved.
Before she could control the feeling, her body seized then released. An electric feeling shot through her torso, fizzling on her lips, fingers, toes, jaw. Her limbs were no longer hers as he cried out. He grabbed her backside and forced her to push one last time.
Unlike their first union, the sensations that now stole her body were far-spread leaving no muscle unused. She clenched her fists, curled her toes, ground her teeth.
This time she screamed then cried when her body blew apart.
Their mutual grunts and groans of pleasure were loud and long and unrelenting.
All vanished but Adlin and her.
“Nay,” he whispered, his body throbbing inside hers. “No tears.”
Tears. When had she cried? He seemed to bring it out in her.
To touch him would be everything but her body was limp and pleasured. She was paralyzed by perfection. Soft, reassuring, he slowly kissed away the moisture on her face. When he lay next to her it was with his strong arms around her so that they could both look up at a thousand stars.
Mildred stared and stared. Bright beside the moon, they twinkled overhead, winking with a shared, private knowledge when small thin clouds cut across them briefly. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
His body became a warm, protective wall. “Aye.”
“I knew you were wearing a tartan when we met,” she remarked. Not because she was uncomfortable but because she simply wanted all truths freed with him.
She heard the smile in his voice. “Oh, I much preferred the term skirt.”
“Why?”
“It broke the tension.”
Mildred smiled but grew serious quickly, nuzzling in close. “Were you really so tense when I arrived?”
His thumb rolled lazily over her inner arm, a surprisingly tender spot. “More than even I would’ve imagined, lass.”
About to ask why, she stopped. She’d heard what he’d said to her family about how he felt. Did she really need him to repeat it? No. Mildred knew as any woman did when a man loved them and this one did her. And even though he’d said as much, what he’d said, how he’d acted when with her family, drove home the fact.
The very thought made the air in her chest catch.
Images of when they first met inundated her mind. The way she’d felt when confronted with his castle. The courage it’d required.
“What did you feel the first time you approached my castle in Cowal?”
She answered automatically. “Driven.”
“Why?”
“Because I had to move forward, turning back wasn’t an option.”
“Why?”
Mildred paused. Why? “Because I didn’t want to let you down.”
“Do you think what you did took courage?”
“Absolutely.” She frowned. “Adlin?”
“Aye.”
“Were you reading my mind again?”
“Aye.”
Though she frowned, she smiled inside. “You don’t like reading my thoughts, do you?”
“Nay.”
“They why do it?”
Adlin sighed. “Because I’m selfish.”
“Selfish?”
On his side, chin perched on his fist, he looked down. “I want every moment with you, Mildred. Every last one.” He shook his head. “I promised myself when you came back to me that I wouldn’t look inside your mind, that it wasn’t a place for me or anyone else. But…” His eyes searched hers. “I find you irresistible.”
How could she say no to that?
Regardless.
“No more,” she whispered. “There needs to be some mystery.”
His lips brushed hers. “Does there?”
“Yes, Adlin.” She cuddled up against him. “It’s the glue that holds us together.”
Why had she said that?
Adlin stared at her for several long seconds before he lay down again. “Mystery is overrated.”
She wrapped her arm over his chest and cushioned her cheek on his warm shoulder. Time to steer the conversation where she desired. Mildred wasn’t the type to let answers find her, but the other way around. “I want to know why we went to my home today. I want to know why you went with me.”
“I wanted to meet your siblings.”
“Pft. You wanted to let everyone who mattered most to me know how you felt.”
Adlin grinned. “Aye. And Jim.”
“What?”
“He loves you, Mildred. Surely you know that.”
She hesitated, her heart uncomfortable. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does.”
“Why, Adlin?”
He hesitated. “Because love should never be ignored.”
Now her heart was afire. “What are you saying?”
“I wanted to meet all the people who mattered most in your life and I did.”
“I don’t love, Jim.”
“I know.”
Mildred propped up on an elbow and looked down. “Why bring him up? Love riddles aside.”
His eyes met hers. “I’m jealous.”
“No,” she whispered then her voice grew surer as her heart skipped a few beats. “You really are, aren’t you?”
He touched her cheek. “Am I not allowed?”
“Adlin… you,” she whispered. “Don’t you know?”
As soon as she said it, Mildred lay down again and stared up at the stars, avoiding what she’d been about to say. They were going down a path that scared her. Instead she switched topics and said, “My brother is more than I thought he was.”
“Aye. He is, Mildred.”
She meant what she said. Watching Jonathan interact with Adlin had shown her something it seemed she’d been unable to see before. Long minutes passed before she spoke again. “At some point he grew up. How did I miss it?”
“You didn’t miss it. You just didn’t want to see it.”
Mildred crossed her arms over her chest. “He’ll fight well.”
Adlin nodded. “He’ll fight very well.”
Though the thought chilled her to the bone she understood that Jonathan had become a man and she was still treating him otherwise. “I’ve acted like a child.”
“Aye.”
She arched a brow at Adlin. “You didn’t need to agree so fast.”
He arched both brows. “Yes, I did.”
“You aggravate me.”
“Always will.”
“Will I ever find it endearing?”
Adlin grinned. “You already do.”
“No.” She looked away. “You dance around subjects and always have a motive. Trust me, I’ll never find that admirable.”
Adlin nuzzled her neck and whispered. “You’ll always find everything about me admirable no matter what. The way I think, the way I challenge you…” his hand ran along her thigh. “The way I touch you. All of these things will stay with you. Whether or not you know it now, I will always be the great love of your life.”
What did he mean by that? A strange sense of foreboding seized her. Mildred’s eyes shot to his. “My life that you speak of… will it include you, Adlin?”
“It has to,” he said automatically. “What’s the point otherwise?”
Her heart missed a beat. “That doesn’t sound reassuring.”
“You think too much.”
> “I don’t think enough.”
Silence settled over them like a too-heavy blanket. Mildred knew she should relish the feel of his body next to hers, the breathtaking scene around them, but no. What if she lost him? What if what they’d only just begun vanished?
As if he forced the words past his lips, Adlin said, “There’s no more time.”
When he leapt to his feet and re-clothed, tartan in place, dread gripped her. Uncomfortable, she stood and dressed. “What’s happening now?”
Adlin nodded at the Defiance. “You’re going home.”
Frightened, she said, “I don’t understand.”
Jaw grinding, he quickly became a powerful Highland laird, his tone clipped. “Bruce is nearly here. I willnae let him have you.” He nodded at the Defiance. “I willnae let him anywhere near you.”
Mildred quickly tied the strings on her dress and nodded. “Fine. Good. Then we go.”
When she tried to stride past him he grabbed her arm and shook his head. “You misunderstand. You go back alone.”
“I what?” she exclaimed.
Before she understood what he was doing, Adlin pulled her after him.
Confused, angry she tried to fight him but he was too strong.
They’d nearly reached the Defiance when a bright light flashed and Adlin stopped, growling.
“Now, brother. I lived up to my end of the bargain. What are you doing?”
Iosbail.
“I’m breaking it. She deserves no part of this.”
Iosbail walked through the Defiance and jumped down.
“Think,” she said sharply to Adlin, her black hair flowing and nearly one with the moonlight. “I have done much to make sure history flows the way it should when I didnae want to nor have to.” She flicked her wrist and Adlin hit an unseen wall. “You have done so much. To think with yer heart now would let us all down.”
Mildred’s hand broke from Adlin’s when he threw up his arms. A white arch pillowed over the wall his sister had just erected.
Frightened, she stumbled back as brother went up against sister. Adlin’s voice sounded foreign and intense. “I can rewrite history.”
“You could never rewrite history, Adlin.”
Iosbail’s voice roared so loud that the ground rumbled. Mildred covered her ears. The moon hid behind the clouds. Even the ocean waves ceased to roar.
Adlin’s tall frame took on a confident swagger as he pushed Iosbail’s unseen wall back, her small frame stumbling. With a sharp motion, he shot his hands in the air and the wall shimmered then vanished. Iosbail fell to her knees and held her throat, gasping.
When he stood over her, rage evident in his shaking body, Mildred shook her head. Though afraid, she knew this was all wrong.
Before she could say a word, Iosbail’s body slid along the ground and rose in the air. No longer gasping, Adlin held her in some sort of suspension. Even then, Iosbail’s eyes narrowed and she croaked, “Yer letting yerself down, brother.”
Iosbail’s body rose and hovered in front of the Defiance. Adlin seemed another man, his kilt moving slowly as if under water. Mildred shook her head and screamed as loud as she could, “Let her go!”
Her words made him stagger and Iosbail fell to the ground.
Mildred took the opportunity to run to Adlin. Halfway to him the air grew so heavy she lost her breath and fell to her knees. Spinning, he stared at her, confused. “Go back now. Live your life. Love, Mildred.”
The closer he came the easier it was to breath. But she sensed he was still stuck in his ways and didn’t let Mildred down. Instead of taking her in his arms, he crouched in front of her. “I want you to be happy.”
He wanted a lot of things and had the power to get them accomplished. Adlin expected a lot of things from her at this moment so she hit him with what he least expected. “You’re an eagle.”
Lips twitched, brows furrowed, but he remained confident. “I can be.”
“An admirable creature,” she remarked as she stood on shaky legs and looked over his shoulder at Iosbail. “Is sending me home right now admirable?”
Adlin stood as well. “Sending you home will avoid heartache.”
Not sure why she said it, despite not wanting to leave him, Mildred said, “Are you in the habit of letting people down?”
“I let nobody down.” He took her hand and led her toward the Defiance.
“Nobody but yourself.” Mildred couldn’t fight his pull. “And me.”
When Adlin turned back, she hid her shock. Gone was the kilt. He now wore long white robes. With a wide swipe of his arms the world vanished. They stood alone in a world devoid of anything. His arm came around her waist and pulled her close. He smelled the same, spice and musk and Adlin… but everything about him was far more intense.
His mouth came next to her ear. “This is who I really am, Mildred. I am over five-hundred years old and more powerful than you can imagine.” He breathed deeply. “Do you think for even an instant that I dinnae know what’s best for everyone?”
Without fear, she put her cheek against his and whispered, “Do not think with your heart but with your mind. You owe me that. You had an agreement with Iosbail, right?”
Adlin held on tight, his body hard and unforgiving against hers.
“Please Adlin. Stay true to your word, whatever that is.”
He held her in that strange white light for what seemed several long minutes before he pulled back, expression tortured. “You deserve better than this.”
Mildred nodded. “So do you and Iosbail and all who will be affected by the decision you’re about to make.”
Adlin’s brows lowered. He hadn’t expected her to say that. She hadn’t expected to say it. But if they’d all come this far, there had to be a bigger picture.
It seemed the strange new world he’d brought them to waited with baited breath. At long last, he nodded and light faded. In a blink, he once again wore the MacLomain plaid and they stood before the Defiance.
“This,” he said so softly she barely heard, “is why I’ll always love you.”
Despite all odds, he’d listened. Why so quickly and easily, she’d never know.
When they turned Iosbail stood with her legs spread, eyes wild and finger pointing at Adlin. “This is why a Highland lad should never think with his cock! Bloody bunch of bastards, every single time,” she muttered.
With a sharp spin she hopped to the base of the Defiance. “Time to go. Bruce is already here.”
Chapter Eleven
Mildred looked at the Defiance and waited.
Not nearly the size of the one they’d been at earlier, this window seemed much more the judge. Arms crossed over her chest, hands nervously clenching her arms, she stood in front of the fire. How could one magical window have so changed her life? Heavy frown, she began to pace. Yet, had the Defiance changed her life? No. Adlin had. Everything about him had transformed the way she looked at life.
When Iosbail entered, Mildred stopped.
After Adlin’s sister placed a dress on the bed, she turned and eyed Mildred as warily as Mildred did her. Iosbail cut to the chase. “I dinnae blame you, lass.”
“You shouldn’t. I saved your hide back there,” Mildred returned. Yes, Iosbail had lived a very long time and was her ancestor but that didn’t mean she should be less than honest.
Iosbail looked at the floor for a moment then her eyes locked on Mildred’s so hard it felt like the holding ceased to exist. “I will say this to you, Mildred, because as a lass, you deserve to hear it.” Iosbail stepped closer and the air thickened. “Never, not for a second, should you ever put who you think you are in the hands of a man. You define you. Not them.”
Mildred was about to agree but Iosbail turned and left the room.
No ‘thank you for keeping Adlin on track’ was to be offered. Who knows, maybe it irked her ancient ancestor that her brother had listened to a mere mortal over her. She supposed it would remain a mystery.
One fact remaine
d. Iosbail was a hard, difficult woman.
For all she’d thought she and Iosbail had come far, they’d actually only traveled five seconds in two days. Not so far at all. Adlin’s sister was obviously bitter and even better at being evasive than her brother.
But Mildred knew why she was here.
Determined, she crawled into the crimson velvet dress and combed out her unruly hair. She pinched some of the colored juice provided onto her lips until they were a full, inviting red. When at last she left Adlin’s chamber with a servant it was with her shoulders back and head held high.
As promised.
The keep was alive as she descended. An unseasonable cold front had moved in and light snow fell beyond the sturdy stone walls. A pipe trilled and echoed up, an eerie sound as it met the small flakes blowing in on the wind. She looked down to see the white, icy orbs shift and dance toward their death below.
But it was no death for her.
More determined than ever, Mildred made her way to the bottom. The feeling of lightheartedness and joy from the previous night was gone. In its place, structure, determination… Bruce.
Iosbail took her arm at the bottom of the stairs and walked with her to a long table set before the fire. Laird Bruce waited, his gaze lusty and appreciative. When she sat next to him she scanned the crowd. Adlin sat at one of the long trestle tables. Instead of avoiding her gaze as he had before their gazes locked and held.
“I intend to have you for the night,” Bruce said.
Expression blank, she smiled. “I will be in the keep but you will not have me until we’re properly married. Surely you understand.”
She started to lift a goblet to her lips but he grabbed her arm. “I ken you traveled here for a chance at the MacLomain laird,” he growled, his cunning eyes slipped to hers. “How did that go, lass?”
“Not well,” she replied automatically. “I believe I spoke of his tastes.”
Bruce lifted his chin slightly and eyed her hair. “Not fair enough.”
She shook her head.
Though he released her arm and drank deeply, Mildred sensed that he didn’t believe her. When he turned his attention to the man beside her she looked to Adlin only to find him looking the other way. Her eyes turned to Iosbail. In true fashion, she was the ever devoted wife to the man she’d just married. Would she spin around the fire tonight enticing every man?
Highland Defiance (The MacLomain Series- Early Years) Page 14