“Aye.” Alec pointed straight ahead to the gently increasing rise in the path. “When we get to the lookout cliff just beyond Danu Castle, ye’ll be able to see the bulk of our land.” He did his best to keep from smiling at the wonderment he saw in her expression. The MacDara lands were vast and impressive—nearly as fine as those they’d had in their beloved Highlands and been forced to leave behind.
Sadie kept turning to and fro in the saddle, eyes sparkling with excitement as she struggled to take in the beauty of the wilderness all at once. She reminded him of the children visiting the park, darting around the playground areas, unable to decide which delight to ride first. Suddenly, the look of eager anticipation left her face. Her smile faded, replaced with a worried scowl, and her gaze dropped to her hands white-knuckling the reins.
Alec pulled Max across the path and stopped, preventing Sadie’s horse from going any farther. He’d not have Sadie upset nor the day ruined. “What is it, lass? What troubles ye?”
Sadie stole a look at him and jerked with a hurried shrug that fueled his concern even more. “The filming…” Her voice trailed off and she visibly winced, turning away to stare down the hillside.
A disturbing mixture of suspicion and impending doom lent a chill to the air and seemed to dim the bright fall day. Alec worried the worn leather reins until the strips grew hot between his fingers. “The filming?” he gently prompted. What the hell was she so afraid to tell him?
Sadie turned back to him, shifting in the saddle, her hands nervously plucking at the worn ridge of braided leather in front of her. “I have…concerns.” She looked away again, seeming as though it pained her to face him. “Delia’s not always trustworthy—contract or not. And I don’t know how successful I’ll be at keeping her to her word.” She jerked with another apologetic shrug, then finally straightened in the saddle and looked him in the eye. “In case you haven’t noticed, she doesn’t overly value my opinions.” She seemed to deflate with a heavy sigh. “Delia doesn’t always listen to me.”
Aye. He’d noticed her sister’s disdain, but he wouldna pain Sadie by admitting to such. Alec guided his horse away from blocking the path and split the air with a sharp whistle to get Sadie’s mount to follow. “Dinna fash about it, lass. Between the two of us, you and I will keep yer sister to the terms of the agreement. ’Tis why we shall spend our days together overseein’ the making of this movie.”
He’d not have the disagreeable business of dealing with the production company ruin the promise of this day. They’d recovered nicely from the brief moment of tension back at the stables when he’d handled her innocent question so badly. He’d be damned if he allowed anything else to jeopardize their outing.
Alec pointed down the ever-steepening incline of the land to a weathered spire of metal and stone pushing up through a dense cluster of pines. “Below is the rooftop of Castle Danu.” He turned back and fixed Sadie with a reassuring smile. “Our destination lies just up ahead. We’ll enjoy the fine meal Mistress Lydia’s prepared for us and have no more talk of the troubles we might face in the coming weeks. Máthair always said, ‘Ne’er let tomorrow’s worries steal today’s joy.’ ”
Sadie responded with a genuine smile and visibly relaxed, lifting the reins and leaning forward to urge her mount up beside his. “Your mother is a very wise woman.” The dimple in her right cheek deepened, and then she laughed. A real laugh, starting with a joyful snort, then followed by a giddy bubbling sound of happiness that most women in this century would do their damnedest to either hold back or alter. Sadie shook the reins in his direction. “And I love the way she picks on you. Shows how much she cares about you.”
“Aye—she cares about me all right. At times, too damn much.” Alec dismounted and waved Sadie forward. “Come. I’ll help ye down, and then we’ll lead the horses over to the spring before we walk the rest of the way.”
Yanking at the awkward drape of his kilt, Alec attempted to shift his man parts into a less noticeable position while still somewhat hidden by his horse. Damnation. He could hang the MacDara colors from his hardened pole of a cock. He’d no’ had this much trouble managin’ a hard-on since he’d been a lad. And the thought of Sadie sliding down into his arms was no’ helpin’ the situation a damn bit.
Alec sidled up to Sadie’s horse. He lightly slid his hand up her thigh and rested it on the curve of her waist. Taking a deep breath and subtly releasing it, he motioned her forward. “Come ta me.” Lore a’mighty, the woman had no idea what he truly meant by those words.
Sadie’s lips barely parted and the tip of her tongue raced back and forth across her full bottom lip, making it appear even more bite-able. Did Alec imagine she hitched in an excited breath? Could that be desire he saw flashing in her eyes?
Sadie slid her hand into his and squeezed. Leaning over a bit, she peeped down at the ground, then glanced back at him and squeezed his hand even tighter. “You’re gonna catch me when I jump—right? That’s a long way down.”
“Aye, lass.” Alec chuckled and yanked her forward into his arms, stopping her descent as soon as he held her snug against his chest. “See? I’ve caught ye tight and I’ll ne’er let ye fall. I swear it.” Damn, the feel of her rivals heaven.
Her hands rested lightly atop his shoulders, her touch hot as smoldering coals through the linen of his shirt. Sadie caught her breath, then slowly shifted her attention from his mouth to his eyes. He saw so much in the rich, dark depths of her gaze, so much emotion, so much need. Aye, lass. Yer need matches mine.
Ever so shyly, Sadie trailed a fingertip down the angle of Alec’s jaw, then tickled it across his bottom lip. Without breaking the seductive hold of their locked gazes, Alec darted his tongue across her finger, then gently caught the end of it, just past her nail, between his teeth.
Sadie hitched in another shivering breath, her eyes flaring open wider. Her tongue raced across her bottom lip faster as she watched him first suck the tip of her finger, then take it full in his mouth with a long, slow draw and a cradling swipe of his tongue.
Alec finally drew back a bit, trailing light kisses down across her knuckles. He shifted positions, cradling her back in one arm, and barely grazed his mouth across hers. “I mean t’taste every bit of ye before this day is over,” he whispered against the warm velvet of her skin. All reservations and doubts could just be damned. He’d been cautious for fifteen years. The time for caution was over.
Sadie’s response urged him on, reassured him. She purred out an inviting groan, pulled him down, and completed the kiss. Her passion—her unabashed need for more—threatened Alec’s control. By all the gods both old and new, he could take her right here on the path.
She wiggled against him, pressing hungrily against the painfully hard length of him that was threatening to slice through the folds of his kilt. Not here. Not on the trail. Not in the rocks and dirt. Lore a’mighty, he needed her so badly he could barely form a coherent thought. His control waning, he gently shifted back and put a hair’s breadth of space between them.
“Horses.” It was the only word he could rasp out while shuddering with the burn to take this delightful woman that fate had seen fit to place in his life.
Sadie blinked up at him. “Horses?” she finally squeaked. She stared at him as though he’d lost his mind—and he had. All that existed was her.
Alec jerked his head toward a break in the tree line to the far side of the path. In the distance, the light tinkling of swiftly moving water could barely be heard over the breeze tossing the dried leaves along the ground.
“Horses in the clearing—by the spring.” Dammit to hell. She’d surely think him a fool if he didna find the strength to speak in full sentences. He sucked in a deep breath, doing his best to maintain some semblance of control; he couldna kiss her again. Not just yet or they’d ne’er make it to the clearing. “The horses can rest beside the stream while we find a lovely bit of ground—long grasses not yet dry and brittle by summer’s passing—soft enough for a fine pall
et to…rest upon.”
Complete understanding and so much more flickered in Sadie’s eyes.
“Good idea,” Sadie whispered in a strained voice. Pushing her way out of his arms, she caught up the reins of her mount and led the way into the clearing.
Alec hurried to follow, whispering to Max as they crunched through the dried leaves, “I’m countin’ on ye t’keep wee Bess out of trouble while I’m enjoying Mistress Sadie’s company, ye ken?”
The great black horse bobbed his head and flicked an ear. His soft nickering response almost sounded like an amused chuckle. Sadie’s mount responded with a huffing nicker of her own and a saucy swish of her long tail. It was almost as though the two horses were chatting about the humans and what was about to transpire in the secluded clearing.
“None of that now, ye rascals, or there’ll be no extra treats for ye this evenin’.” Alec had been around horses all his life. They were nearly as bad as people when it came to plotting mischief. He pulled the thick blanket roll and the picnic basket from behind the saddle, then moved to Bess and retrieved Sadie’s backpack and another blanket roll tucked behind it.
“How about here?” Sadie called out. She stood in a sheltered corner of the clearing, hemmed in by great limestone boulders and the overhanging branches of a trio of ancient pines. Not too far from the soft corner of thick pine needles and rolling hillocks of wild grass was the origin of a tiny creek that gurgled down the mountainside to spill into the Cape Fear River. A crystal-clear trickle of water bubbled from a split in the stones.
“Aye.” ’Twas the only word he could manage.
They quickly set to unrolling the blankets and spreading them across the ground. Sadie’s stolen glances at Alec while she smoothed out the pallet fueled the already raging inferno within him. He shoved the backpack and picnic basket out of the way to the far corner, then took Sadie’s hands in his. “ ’Tis good enough.” He slowly pulled her closer, gathering her up into his arms. “Come t’me. I’ve waited as long as I can.”
Sadie curled her fingers into the neckline of his tunic and pulled him down to her. Her soft groan vibrated up between them as she opened her mouth to his for a kiss that was anything but shy.
Drowning in the taste of her, Alec pushed her sweatshirt out of the way and slid his hand up the velvet of her bare back. God a’mighty, I need more. He worked his hand higher and around to the front until he finally filled his grasp with one of the full, firm breasts that had been teasing him for so long.
Sadie nudged him back a step. “Wait a minute.”
“Wait?” Alec blinked as though she’d just slapped him. He shook away her words and reached for her. “Nay…I canna wait a moment longer.”
Holding up a finger and backing up a step, Sadie gave him a look as though she were about to unleash a scolding. “No. Wait just a minute—” Without another word, she shucked her sweatshirt off over her head, danced away her already unlaced boots, and wiggled out of her jeans. Then she scampered to the center of the pallet, one arm folded across the lacy bra encasing her mouthwatering bounty while her other hand shielded the matching triangle of lace at the juncture of her thighs.
The minute had been well worth the wait. Alec stripped away his tunic and kilt, then stepped toward her, peeling off and kicking away his worn leather boots in the process. He gently pulled her hands away from her body, intertwined his fingers with hers, and held her arms stretched out to the sides. “Ne’er attempt to hide yer beauty from me.” He allowed his gaze to devour every seductive bit of her curves, then leaned closer and locked with her wide eyes. “I’ll ne’er get my fill of ye. Never.”
He pulled her forward, catching her warm silkiness against the aching length of him as he trailed kisses down the racing pulse along her neck and behind her ear. He sucked in a deep breath, inhaling her delicious scent. “I’m drunk with the need of ye,” he whispered into her hair.
He slid the flimsy barriers of lace off her body, a groan escaping him as he rained kisses across the mounded tops of her breasts cupped between his hands.
Sadie smoothed her hands down his bare chest. With an excruciatingly pleasant scoring with her fingernails, she wound delicious circles along the sides of his rib cage, then to his tensed buttocks. She dug in, pulling him hard against her with a teasing grind of her hips. She smiled up at him as she slid one hand between them, then tickled her fingertips up the length of him with a touch that brought him to the balls of his feet. “I’m pretty high on need myself,” she whispered as she wrapped her fingers around his length and pulled, rubbing him against her in the process.
Alec lowered them both to the blankets without taking his hands away from the hardened pearls of her nipples. “The day is ours,” he whispered against the curve of her throat. “ ’Tis time to sate this need.” He sucked a nipple deep in his mouth, tonguing and nipping the hard button while slowly trailing a hand down Sadie’s stomach and under the bit of satin and lace between her legs. He ignored Sadie’s surprised squeak as he ripped her panties away with an impatient flick of his wrist. He lifted his head and kissed her soundly before settling his mouth to her other breast and sliding his fingers inside her.
Sadie panted out a pleased groan, arching her back as she hooked a leg over his hips and ground her body against him. “Oh my God,” she rasped out when he slid another finger deep into her wetness, thumbing the nubbin of her sex with the same rhythm of his mouth pulling on her nipple.
“Condom,” she gasped as she bucked against his hand, wet, hot spasms of her orgasm clutching at his fingers. “Get the condoms,” she moaned as she grabbed his wrist and held his hand tight between her legs, gyrating her hips to meet the faster plunging of his fingers.
Infuriated disbelief hit Alec like a bucket of ice water. He swallowed hard, doing his damnedest to keep from throwing back his head and roaring aloud at his own stupidity. How the hell could I forget condoms? How many lectures had Dwyn given all the MacDara sons about the importance of the modern-day store-bought protection?
Alec slowly pushed himself up to a seated position and slid away from Sadie’s embrace of pure heaven. “I didna bring any,” he choked out. “I am a damn fool.” He huffed out a pained groan as he hugged his bent legs and rested his forehead against his knees. “There will be no consummation of our pleasure today.” He stole a glance back at her, dreading the disdain he’d surely see on her face. “I can pleasure ye—in many ways. But there’ll be no—” He turned away and scrubbed a hand across his face. How the hell could he have been so damn stupid? “There’ll be no grande finale, as my brother would say.” Aye, grande finale. That’s what Ross always called it when speaking in code about his lady friends in front of their little sister.
Alec forced himself to look Sadie in the eyes as she rolled to her stomach and pushed herself onto her elbows. He could at least be a man about this and face the tongue-lashing for his inconsiderate stupidity that the angry woman was surely about to give him.
Sadie frowned, blinking at him as though she’d just awakened from a bad dream and couldn’t believe he was sitting there. “Bullshit,” she finally said, then rose to her hands and knees and crawled away from him to the far side of the pallet.
God a’mighty, she’s tryin’ t’kill me. That delectable arse and that sweet prize between her thighs, winking at him with those glistening wet folds with every sway of her hips. How many times had he fantasized about bending her over the porch railing?
Totally ignoring him, Sadie hooked the loop of her backpack with one finger and pulled it over in front of her. She yanked open the zipper to one of the side pockets, digging into the depths of the bag like a starving waif searching for food. Her face lit up with a smug, satisfied look as she pulled her hand out of the bag—clutching several condom packets. “I brought some.”
Suddenly, all was right in the world—or at least this very heated corner of it. “So ye wanted me too?” That knowledge hardened his cock to an alarming level. Must get control. He’d be da
mned if he made it this far just to spill himself afore he was well seated inside her bliss.
“Definitely,” Sadie breathed out as she slowly crawled toward him. “I guess I’ve wanted you since the day I saw you swinging that sword in the practice ring.” A devilish smile lit her face as her gaze lowered to his crotch. “How well do you swing that sword?”
“With deadly accuracy, I assure ye.” Alec met her halfway and rolled her beneath him.
Sadie tore open the packet, pulled free the condom, then nudged a quick teasing kiss to his collarbone as she pushed him away. “Allow me to sheath your sword, my chieftain.”
Alec obligingly rolled to his back, swallowing hard and praying for control as Sadie kissed her way down the center of his chest, then traced a fingernail down his stomach. As she nipped and tongued her way ever lower, Alec clenched the blankets in his fists. “Yer a cruel woman, Mistress Sadie Williams,” he said in a strained growl as she swiped her tongue around the head of his cock.
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” she promised, then sucked him in deep and hard with long, slow strokes of her tongue while her hand teased his balls with light, tickling caresses.
Sons a bitches. Such torturous pleasure. Must stop her afore I explode.
“By the gods!” Alec forced himself to lift her away, holding her just above his throbbing cock. “The sheath. I beg ye. Now.”
Without a word, Sadie smoothed the condom down the aching length of him, then crawled her way up his body, coming to a stop when she was high enough to cradle his face between her breasts. She reached down between them, took his cock in one hand, and rubbed the tip of it back and forth across her slick opening.
“Enough teasing,” Alec said. He grabbed her hips and thrust upward, encasing himself in the wet heat he’d needed for so long.
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