Ach! Who could it be? Could it be Max? It’s the dead of night, and when last he checked on Max – well after his nanny had tucked him into bed – the lad was fast asleep. Maybe he awoke and can’t fall back asleep, so he’s searching for his Da. After all, whenever he wakes up, he always looks for Oliver and not his mother.
Oliver moves to his door. The thought of Max standing alone in the dim hallway by himself this late makes him worry; he unlocks the door and quickly opens it wide. Ughh! Revulsion overtakes Oliver, and letting out a hiss, he swings the door forcefully shut, but it’s stopped mid-way. It’s Sophie.
“Is this how much you despise me?” Sophie says gently while still holding the door. She knows that if she let's go, Oliver will be quick to slam it back.
“Leave whatever discussion you want for tomorrow morn. I need to sleep now,” Oliver says wearily, yet forcefully
The pale moonlight trickles through the uppermost windows of Oliver’s darkened chambers, casting enough light to reveal the outline of Sophie’s generous curves. The delicate arisad she’s wearing is draped around her shoulders and runs the length of her body. Oliver knows she is naked beneath the cloth. This is not the first attempt to seduce him by going unclad in his presence, but, so far, he has successfully turned her away each time. Why she keeps trying is what he can’t understand.
“I needed to talk to you now. It’s aboot our future…” Sophie says, in a calm and seductive tone.
“We don’t have a future!” Why must he constantly remind her of this?
“It’s about Max, a future that includes him.”
The mention of Max calms Oliver a bit. He loves his son more than life itself, and whatever concerns his well-being is of the utmost importance to Oliver. He knows that sometimes Sophie uses this as leverage against him, but whenever something has to do with Max, Oliver listens. Quietly, he let's go of the door and walks into his chamber; Sophie follows him and shuts the door behind her.
“What aboot, Max?” he says, standing a distance away from her.
“Deh, you think he needs a better life from his parent?”
Has she finally come to her senses? Is she ready to finally take proper responsibility as a mother? Oliver is surprised by her words. Has someone finally talked some sense into the lass? He stands a moment and slowly looks her up and down. Has she been at the wine again? He can’t smell it on her.
“Ah! I see you finally had your senses come back,” Oliver says.
“Aye...” She walks closer to him. “I have thought of it. I think Max will be a happier child if we marry.”
“Oh! Away an bile yer heid!” Oliver snaps out in anger. “Do you think me an idjit. Is this your little way of tricking me into marrying you?”
“Ah'm only thinking of our son’s future here,” Sophie says in hesitation, mostly because he understands what she is about to do.
“Max? When was the last time ya showed him love? Were you aware he had a fever three days ago? Naw! That’s because you have no love fur him!”
He knew she didn’t. After all, she had been out “socializing” while Oliver, the nanny, and the family physician had attended to Max. Even mentioning it now, she shows no sign of worry or remorse. Hell, she still hasn’t even bothered to ask about the boy’s well-being.
“What kind of mother are you? Why do you constantly use our son fur your selfish gain?” “If I didnae see you with a bump, I wouldnae thought you ever birthed him.”
“Oh! Away with your thoughts! You just love to overreact!” Sophie snaps, losing her calm façade
Oliver isn’t surprised.
“Do you know how the villager's gossip aboot me being an unwed woman in a man’s gaff?! You need to marry me! It’s the honorable thing to do!”
“I never forced you here. You came willingly. I have told you, leave if you want, but you willnae take the lad with you,” Oliver replies. Oh, how he wished she would just leave him be.
“If I leave, Max goes with me! You deh na get the chance to see him,” Sophie growls the threat like a rabid dog.
“The council will be the judge of that. And I will cease all the money I give you fer your upkeep and his if you run away with him,” Oliver replies to her without hesitation.
Oliver knows that threatening to take Max away is the only thing Sophie can do to hurt him. She’s made this threat several times in the past, and always to extort money. To keep the peace, he has bent to her will, but not this evening. Tonight his threat to her cut her funds entirely has caught her off guard, and he sees the panic on her face.
Gently, she walks toward him, “Ma love, we can’t keep living like this fur the sake of Max.”
As the arisad unravels and falls in a pile around her feet, Oliver sighs knowingly. She is naked.
“You can’t keep hating me,” she says in a sweet, calm voice, walking toward him.
“Leave,” Oliver says.
“I need you…”
“Leave now!” Oliver orders in a stern voice that startles Sophie.
“Why do ya hate me so much?”
“I will call the guard if you deh na leave me now,” He says adamantly. There shall be no more games this evening.
Sophie, knowing he means full well what he’s said, bends to pick the arisad off the chamber floor.
“You can keep searching for that daft wench, but trust in me; you won’t find her!” She spits with so much hate and vitrol that it cuts the air in half.
Silently, Oliver prays she is wrong.
Chapter 31
“You need to impress him with your dressing. You don’t need to dress like a farm girl,” Gavina says as she tosses dress after dress on Amelia's little bed.
“Ah'm a farm girl. I can’t hide that,” Amelia replies.
“I ken, and he kens too. Everyone kens,” Gavina says as she rolls her eyes, causing Amelia to chuckle.
“But you can’t dress like a farm girl to this dance. Trust me when I say, Sam had taken me to one of those, and I am glad that I dressed well.”
“What was it like?” Amelia asks with a smile. Her friend is always good with stories and knows how to make one's imagination run wild with fantasy and intrigue.
“It was braw, and everyone was looking elegant, especially the lassies,” Gavina says with a smile, and her eyes light up. Then she stops.
“Which is why you need to find the perfect gown for tonight.” She says, continuing to toss dress after dress onto the bed.
Watching her, Amelia realizes that Gavina is too busy on her dress mission to tell her the story she’d just mentioned.
“What aboot this?” Amelia says. She raises the dark purple tartan gown off the bed into the air for her friend to see.
“Naw! You sure look beautiful in it, but it’s too auld,” Gavina says, “In fact, all the clothes here look too auld. Most of them are worn thin.”
Gavi was right. All her clothing has become threadbare. Even the gowns Oliver had purchased for her were looking worn and tattered. She had traded some of her extra grain for some used gowns at the thrift market, but wearing them while working in her field had made them fray and fade quickly. Amelia had never imagined that one day her wardrobe would be in such a state of disarray. It made sense though, any extra money for clothing had gone to outfitting Owen, not Amelia.
“Ya, I ken, I can cancel going with him,” Amelia says with a gentle voice.
“Deh even think aboot that!” Gavina snaps, and Amelia chuckles at the seriousness in her friend’s voice.
Sometimes, Gavina can act like a mother hen to her, especially when she notices Amelia’s self-confidence is waning. Is going out with Thomas this evening really that important? Well, according to Gavina, it is. Gav has scolded her over and over for shying away from the opposite sex.
Moreover, it has been six weeks since she met Thomas, and he has been nothing but kind and nice to her. Even though he is a man of much wealth and fame, he had never treated her with any disrespect or indifference. They had become clos
e, and he seems to get on bonnie well with Owen, who too enjoys his visits.
Thomas had confided his feelings for her several times, but she has not reciprocated nor responded with any emotion other than a slight smile. When he’d invited her to escort him to this evening's dance in the village, Amelia had at first rebuffed the idea, but Gavina was quick to answer on her behalf that she would indeed be pleased to accept. As Thomas had stood looking inquisitively at Amelia, her eyes eventually drifted to meet his gaze, and with an aura of defeat, she’d nodded “aye.”
“Well, there is no clothing to wear. I'd rather not go then disgrace myself,” Amelia says with a shrug.
“I ken, you will say that, so I come prepared,” Gavina says and walks to retrieve her burlap bag. Reaching in, she draws out a beautiful dark purple gown and hands it to Amelia.
“There you go, try this one.”
Somewhat stunned, Amelia looks deep into the beautifully patterned material with surprise. She knows this gown. “This is the gown that Sam got for ya a month ago. Right?”
“Aye, I did some stitching on it. It will fit ya perfectly,” Gavina says reluctantly.
“Gavi…ya deh have to,” Amelia says, almost close to tears.
“I had to. I could nae let ya go to that gathering dressed in your farm wear. Friends are meant to help each other. Besides, I waited till ah'm sure you ya donnae have any wear, so you deh feel bad that ah'm giving ya the gown,”
Amelia chuckled, “Why, I’ll be . . .” She rushes to Gavina and embraces her quickly as tears stream down her cheeks. She knows how much Gavina prized that gown and how expensive it must have been. Stitching it to her size is something she’d never expected. With Gavina, she couldn’t have asked for a better friend.
LATER THAT EVENING, when she tried on the gown, it fit her perfectly. Amelia praised Gavina for doing such a fantastic job. But her friend hadn’t stopped at the cloth; she also took it upon herself to help Amelia do up her hair and pretty her face.
When Thomas arrived to pick her up that evening, his gaze said a thousand words. And he wasn’t slow to compliment her beauty. He took her by the hand and escorted her to the carriage as a gentleman should. Once safely aboard, the coachman gave a tug on the reigns, and with a short command, the carriage headed down the road toward the village square.
The dance held in the town hall was lively and festive. Thomas couldn’t take his eyes off her. What a bonnie lass! When any man approached Amelia to ask for a dance, he had quickly intervened to inform them that she was with him.
As the event wound to a close, Thomas asked if it was okay for them to visit his home. She agrees; after all, Owen is with Gavina for the night. There, he offers her a glass of wine, and they talk about the night’s events; the odd-looking couple who’d created a scene in the corner, the talented musicians, random musings. Thomas has a good wit and humour, which Amelia enjoys immensely.
While they laugh at one of his jokes, Thomas shifts calmly and moving closely beside Amelia. He looks directly into her eyes …
“You look so beautiful when you laugh,” he says softly and touches her cheek, tracing a finger to her lips. Amelia hesitates; her initial reaction is to pull away, she stops herself.
“Amelia, why do you keep rejecting me,” he says with a calm voice and a dreamy look in his eyes.
She can’t deny it; he’s right. Amelia has been resisting him. Even when she knows deep down that she too wants to be with him, deserves (?) to be with him. Perhaps the time has come. Time to let go of Oliver. Time to allow herself to be happy. Time to let another man into her heart. He inches closer and closer, and this time Amelia doesn’t pull away. Understanding that he has her consent, he draws her nearer and kisses her.
His lips were warm on hers; at first, her lips were closed to his kiss, but she gently parts them, and as he moves in with his tongue Amelia eagerly reciprocates. Tasting her lips, he moans in desire and slowly put purposely moves his hand from her lap to her breasts. Thomas cups and gently squeezes them. Amelia hastens her kiss; she loves the way he is teasing her breasts. Her nipples are hard and engorged.
He quickly undresses Amelia and abruptly stops to take in her curvaceous body. “Oh, love…you’re a bonnie goddess!” He whispers out loud to himself. As his eyes scan her naked body, Amelia's shyness envelops her. No man has ever looked at her this way...except Oliver. She sheepishly covers her body with her delicate hands, but Thomas gently takes hold and slowly pulls them out of the way.
“You’re a beautiful lass, Miss Amelia …” he says wistfully.
Then, without words, Thomas bends over and suckles her breast while sliding his hand between her legs. It’s moist and hot as he massages her vagina, playfully patting and caressing. Amelia breathes deeply, and he seems to react to each breath with his tongue on her breast while fingering her. It’s so wet now. He lightly bites her nipples and continues with his fingers until she begins to moan; it has been a very long time since she has felt this way.
Answering her desire, he hastily rips open his pants and slides his manhood inside her. They both groan in pleasure, and soon their moans deepen. The rhythm intensifies, each thrust hitting deeper and deeper inside of her. When he can no longer hold on, he calls out her name as a flood of ecstasy rolls over them and sweeps them both away, exhausted and spent.
At this very moment, all thoughts of Oliver have been washed from Amelia’s mind; she had sorely missed the way he made love to her and had vowed never to forget … but this precious memory was rapidly dissolving into nothing. She was lost in the pleasure bestowed upon her by Thomas Gant.
Chapter 32
It has been five months since Amelia and Thomas first met, and their special bond has grown from friendship to lovers. Even though it took her a great deal of time to grow close to him, she has let him fully into her world.
Gavina was right; she can’t continue to harbor feelings for a past lover. It has been years since she has had any contact with Oliver. Even though they have a son together, room exists to let another man into her heart. "Love sometimes does not go the way you have planned," she remembers Gavina saying.
It was not easy putting thoughts of Oliver out of her mind; after all, he was the first man she had ever truly loved. It was like starting over. Now and then, her mind drifted to Oliver, and she found herself wondering what had happened to him. Did he have a perfect life with Sophie and their child? Have they had more children? He did always say he wanted three or four ... Maybe he’d finally fulfilled his dreams. Perhaps he had found true happiness after all.
Although the memories of Oliver had not completely abandoned her, Amelia’s relationship with Thomas has grown ever stronger. For the past three years, her main focus and top priority had been the care and well-being of her son, and this had not changed. However, the addition of Thomas in their lives has added a whole new dimension. The lad now had a “father figure” about, well, at least when Thomas would spend time with them, which was quite regularly. Still, Oliver continuously came to mind; what they shared and what they could have had together. Amelia continuously reminded herself that these thoughts would fade with time.
Moreover, she had every reason to be happy with Thomas. Not only did he show great love for her, but also that of Owen, showering him with the fatherly love he’d been without over the course of his nearly four years. And then there was the land from Thomas, who had made Amelia’s dream come true when she had least expected it; her dream of owning a larger farm.
She remembered fondly the day he’d taken her for a picnic to an extensive piece of farmland and, while there, asked what she would do had the land been hers’. Amelia had spoken with much enthusiasm as to the types of crops she’d grow and how she would market and profit from her produce. Thomas had sat smiling as he listened to her grand plans before saying, ‘It’s yours,” At first, she laughed at Thomas’s joke, but when he said, “No. It’s true. I want you to have it,” she sat stunned, unable to speak. She broke down crying and, in
a fit of euphoria, had thrown herself on Thomas. They made love on the picnic blanket in the warm sun.
After the initial surprise, Amelia had rejected Thomas’s offer, recalling the land arrangement between her father and Clach that resulted in great suffering to Amelia. But Thomas would not take no for an answer and eventually persuaded her on Amelia’s condition that it be a lease. She would work the land for four years, after which she would repay Thomas for four years of interest. He agreed, knowing secretly that he would refuse payment when the time came.
Epilogue
TONIGHT, Thomas has invited Amelia to accompany him to an art showing at the town hall. She’d accepted, of course. She feels so worldly when he takes her to showings and concerts; she’s so blessed to be his fancy. Walking around the hall and listening to him speak fluently and intelligently about the art on display is a lovely thing; it’s enriching to one’s soul. He never hesitates to make her introductions to his associates and friends, no matter the occasion.
He leans over and whispers gently in Amelia’s ear, “Cannae get you a drink, my lady…?”
Smiling, she replies, “Aye.”
This time he kisses her ear passionately and again whispers, “Stay here, I will be back.”
Amelia nods and composes herself, watching him as he walks toward the barman. Hmmm ... perhaps they’ll have to create their own “art” later tonight in the bedroom, she thinks to herself with a smile.
“Amelia?”
Snapping out of her thoughts, she turns to face Oliver.
Chapter 33
“Amelia.”
Oliver calls out her name again, as if calling her name this second time is to ascertain if she is indeed the person he is seeing. Amelia understands what he is doing. She is in the same position as him, and equally dumbfounded.
Highland Lover: A Historical Highlander Steamy Romance Collection (Highland Lover Series Book 6) Page 13