Highland Charm: First Fantasies

by April Holthaus

  Laurie arched against him. Her breath came in little pants as he continued to tease her flesh. When she rubbed her arse against his hard cock, he nearly lost his seed. Hard and throbbing, he clamped down on his jaw, seeking and then finding control.

  The more he teased, the more she rocked against his erection, the more he teased.

  “Have you changed your mind? Do you want to stay with me?”

  “Mmm.”

  Laurie was fire, flaming hotter with each caress. Never before had he wanted a lass with such desperation. He reached below and cupped her precious mound through the cloth of her wet skirt, rubbing her most sensitive place. The thunder of her heart resonated in his chest. He stroked her slowly, faster, slower again, drawing out the pleasure. Her need. His need. Their need.

  Her moans grew loader with every stroke. The sensations pulsing through her hit him hard. Hot. Burning hot.

  She hummed with desire. He felt her need deep in the core of his being. She was ready for him. He rose and stood in the tub with her in his arms, water dripped from his body and Laurie’s garments. He held her to his chest and gazed at her. She was lovely, soft and pliant in her state of intense arousal.

  He lowered his head. “You please me, lass.”

  She smiled. “I want you.”

  He growled and captured her lips in a sizzling kiss.

  A sudden draft hit his wet skin as the chamber door jerked open.

  “God’s teeth. What in…” Patrick’s words trailed off as he saw the group at the door.

  Two male servants, holding buckets full of hot water, stood gaping. Aine, with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her plump red face, appeared ready to burst. Elspeth held a stack of drying cloths against her chest, her face a deep rose. And Duncan stood behind the lot, unable to hide his censure.

  Laurie hid her face in Patrick’s chest.

  Shifting her weight, he concealed the evidence of his lusty desire within the folds of her sodden skirt. He placed her head against his shoulder, hiding her shamed face. She trembled in his arms. Hot tears against his skin pricked his conscience, causing a pang of guilt.

  Aine stepped forward. “Patrick MacLachlan, what are you about? Taking advantage of the sweet lass like that. Put her down. ’Tis highly improper. You should be ashamed.”

  “Out.” His temper flared. “All of you. Get out.”

  As one, they leaped back, unwilling to deal with their chief’s wrath.

  “Elspeth, wait, bring those cloths here,” he said. “Duncan, get everyone else out of here. Now. And shut that blasted door.”

  Elspeth stepped farther into the chamber while the servants scrambled to disappear.

  Duncan followed the others and closed the door.

  Patrick stepped from the tub, uncaring of the water dripping onto the floor. He carried Laurie to a chair by the fire and placed her in it. She sat quietly, her body trembling, her teeth chattering, staring forward.

  He took the cloths from Elspeth, laying all but the largest on the floor. He squatted in front of Laurie and wrapped the soft cloth around her shoulders, pulling it snug. He leaned back on his heels. He’d made a muddle of things. He’d acted a fool.

  He should have given her more time to grow accustomed to him.

  “Beth, you may leave us now.”

  “Nae. I cannae leave you alone with her. Thank goodness Duncan summoned us.” She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her chin defiantly. “Cover yourself.”

  Patrick raised his eyes toward heaven. Saints preserve him from pushy women and gallant guardsman. He picked up one of the cloths, stood, and wrapped it around his torso. “I will not hurt her, Leave us.”

  Elspeth hesitated, but reluctantly left the chamber, passing Duncan on the way out. The man glanced in and when their gazes locked, Patrick saw anger in his man’s eyes.

  “Close the door,” Patrick ordered.

  Duncan inclined his head before shutting the door. Patrick would deal with him later.

  “I owe you an apology.” He once again squatted in front of Laurie. “’Twas wrong to encourage you as I did.”

  She shook her head though wouldn’t look at him. “My fault too.”

  “Nae.” He reached for the cloth at her shoulder. “We need to get you out of these wet garments.”

  She blocked him with her hand. “Please, go away.”

  “Aye, I will leave.” She looked so miserable, he had to comply.

  Rubbing the ache in his chest, he rose and strode to a trunk in the corner. After opening the lid, he removed a clean leine and plaide. He pulled the leine over his head, the cloth becoming damp from the moisture on his skin. If he thought too much about the way she’d felt against him, he wouldn’t leave the chamber and he’d make a bigger mess of things.

  From the bench, he picked up his belt and pouch, and placed them on the bed. He lay down and wrapped the plaide around his body, securing it with the belt. ’Twas obvious the Lady Laurie had a champion in his man Duncan. Patrick tightened his throat muscles to keep a possessive growl from escaping.

  He attached his pouch as he went to another chest. From within, he retrieved a pair of deer hides. These he wrapped around his feet and legs, securing them with strips of leather. Then he pulled out a knife, attaching it to his thigh under his tunic with another strip of leather.

  How should he deal with Duncan’s intrusion? He had ordered the man to protect Laurie with his life. In a way, that was what the man did by stopping Patrick from taking the lass.

  He’d need to tread carefully in handling his man.

  Laurie’s eyes widened when he grasped his claymore. Patrick swept his hand over the exquisite workmanship. He touched the large, sparkling sapphire in the crosspiece of the ornate hilt with reverence before he secured the weapon on his back.

  With a terse nod to Laurie, he strode to the door. “You will stay in this chamber,” he said with his back to her. “Nothing has changed.” Under his breath, he added, “You belong to me.”

  He opened the door to leave but turned to her. Moisture pooled in her eyes. He’d meant to give her pleasure. Instead, he caused pain. He truly was a scoundrel. “I will send Elspeth to you.”

  Patrick slammed the door on his way out. Though it wasn’t to Laurie he sought to demonstrate his anger.

  Laurie heard Patrick’s muffled voice through the door. She supposed he gave Duncan orders to guard her and not let her leave. Whatever. At the moment, she was too embarrassed to do anything but sit and seethe at her raging hormones.

  She sniffled, but refused to cry. If a person could die from humiliation, she’d surely be dead. Her stupidity in the arms of Patrick made it more imperative to find a way to return home soon. She didn’t dare get emotionally attached to the man. She needed to get back to her own time.

  “Stop your bellyaching,” a familiar female voice said from the direction of the bed. “He won’t want you if you mope about and feel sorry for yourself.”

  Scrambling from the chair, Laurie dropped the drying cloth to the floor. She stared at the bed. No one was there.

  She was losing it. Surely she was. She was starting to feel like Alice, lost in a medieval Wonderland. Laurie took a couple of steps closer to the bed. Had she too slipped through a rabbit hole, only to find her world turned inside out?

  “Men dinnae like women who sulk,” the voice said.

  I’m not sulking,” she said, talking to herself. She really was going crazy.

  Laurie frowned, shook her head and walked toward the bed. It looked no different than when she first entered the room. Bed neatly made. Pillows neatly arranged. So where was the voice coming from?

  She froze when Caitrina appeared in front of her, ever so slowly shimmering into solid form.

  Laurie’s mouth dropped open. What the hell? She should’ve realized Caitrina was near; the place reeked of her unique fragrance.

  Caitrina moved forward, appearing to float over the floor, her silky green gown glistening in the late afternoon light.
She looked beautiful and intimidating.

  “How did you get here?” Laurie asked, her voice a tad shaky.

  “I have been with you all along. Watching.” A mischievous smile curved Caitrina’s perfect lips. “You have made a mess of things, you have.”

  “What?” A forgotten memory came to Laurie. She’d had a conversation with Caitrina at the cottage after too many bottles of wine. Caitrina admitted to being a faerie. She’d said the man in Laurie’s dreams and visions—Patrick—was her soul mate. That fate would bring them together. Until now, Laurie had thought the memory a delusional drunken dream.

  Now she knew better.

  Laurie curled fists to her hips and glared. “I’ve traveled through time to this barbaric place. A medieval, macho man has manhandled me. And you’ve been watching.”

  “Dinnae overreact.”

  “How could you?” Laurie wanted to pummel Caitrina. “Take me home, now.”

  Pursing her lips, Caitrina shook her head. “Cannae. Besides, you looked like you were enjoying the manhandling.”

  Laurie bristled. The remark came too close to the truth. “What do you mean, you can’t? You’re a faerie. Do your magic and send me home.”

  Caitrina had the nerve to grin. “I dinnae have the power to return you. Only you do.”

  “Please, spare me. Who do you think you are? The good witch in The Wizard of Oz, and all I need to do is tap the heels of my ruby slippers and quote there’s nowhere like home and I’ll find myself in my garden in Anderson Creek?”

  “Of course not, dinnae be ridiculous.”

  “Then how do I get home?”

  “You will figure it out.”

  “What do you mean?” Laurie asked. “I don’t know how this happened. I don’t know how I got here. Well, except for the part where you pushed me through the garden gate, and I found myself in medieval Scotland. I don’t have any idea how to get home.”

  Caitrina lifted her arm in farewell and faded into a fine mist. “You’ll find the way home when you fulfill your destiny.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  When were guys in white jackets going to show up with a straitjacket and take her away? None of this could be real.

  People didn’t travel back in time. Faeries only existed in faerie tales.

  Laurie’s mind raced. She paced from the bed to the fireplace, back and forth across the chamber while mumbling her chaotic thoughts to the silent room.

  Patrick’s arms around her felt real. The memory grounded her. She shivered and wrapped one of the drying cloths around her shoulders. Picking up another cloth, she ran her fingers over the coarse fabric.

  She needed to suspend long-held beliefs as to the workings of the natural world to accept the existence of faeries and time travel?

  Well, duh, she traveled through time.

  Caitrina spoke of destiny. Laurie rubbed her aching temples. Did her destiny truly involve Patrick? Her heartbeat spiked at the thought. He was a control freak and ordered her about, which she didn’t like, but he made her feel wanted. Special.

  Lost in her whirling thoughts, she tensed when the door creaked open behind her. When she spun around, Elspeth stood in the threshold, blushing.

  “Come in,” Laurie said in an effort to be friendly.

  “Patrick sent me to assist you.” The young woman warily stepped into the room. “I will help you to bed.”

  “Why? It’s the middle of the afternoon, I’m not tired.”

  Elspeth winced. “Patrick thought you should rest.”

  “Sorry. I don’t mean to offend you.” Laurie sighed. “It’s just that I need fresh air.”

  “I will open the shutters.” Elspeth rushed to a window.

  “No. I mean—”

  “I am here to assist you.” The young woman twisted around.

  “Why are you being nice to me? I’m a stranger.”

  “You are a guest in my brother’s home. Highlanders live by a strict code of hospitality. Besides, I like you.”

  “Listen, I have to get out of this room.” Laurie flipped her wet braid over her shoulder. “You promised to show me your garden. Can we go now?”

  “You cannae go outside in that damp gown. You will catch your death.”

  “Then help me change.”

  Elspeth assisted with removing the soggy dress, and Laurie slipped into her comfy twenty-first century clothes. As they walked out of the castle proper and into the courtyard, Laurie tightened her tartan stole around her shoulders and used the brooch Caitrina gave her to secure the wool fabric.

  “’Tis unusually warm for late spring,” Elspeth said.

  “Is it?” Laurie hardly noticed the temperature, her emotions churned with too many conflicting and confusing feelings.

  Images of Patrick’s bath remained vivid in her mind. She still tasted him on her lips and felt his hands on her breasts. She tried hard to push the memory to the farthest corner of her mind, refusing to admit her desire for him.

  She pretended nothing naughty happened between her and Patrick. Naughty—what a silly word to describe what happened. They’d almost had sex.

  She shouldn’t feel such a thrill.

  With a sigh, she concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other without thinking too hard. The afternoon might be salvageable, if she didn’t run into the irresistible man.

  Laurie smiled at her guard and Elspeth as if she didn’t have a care in the world. They strolled the short distance to the garden nestled within the security of the castle’s outer fortifications. Enclosed within a high wall, the sanctuary offered both protection and solitude. She and Elspeth entered through the narrow stone archway, leaving Duncan outside to stand guard.

  Laid out in a geometric grid, the castle garden provided a well at the center for irrigation. Heavy wooden planks held the soil in beds, most containing medicinal and culinary herbs and vegetables edged by lavender and white violets. Strawberry plants filled one bed and a large section dedicated to roses lay to the side. Though not yet in bloom, the roses’ shiny new leaves glistened in the sunlight. At the center of the rose garden grew a bench of living plants.

  “’Tis a turf bench of chamomile. ’Twill flower soon,” Elspeth said with pride.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it. Must be beautiful when in bloom.” Laurie followed Elspeth as they meandered through the garden.

  “Most of the seedlings are collected from local fields and woods then planted here. Other plants are brought to me by friends and travelers who visit the castle.”

  “What you’ve created here is amazing.”

  “Thank you. My love for the garden came from my mother.” Elspeth’s voice saddened. “We spent hours together tending the plants. Since she is gone, I nurture the garden in her memory.”

  “What happened to your mother?”

  “My father and mother are missing—presumed dead by many—they disappeared three years ago while traveling across our land. After that, Patrick became chief of our clan.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” Laurie’s chest tightened with sympathy.

  “Aye, well.” Elspeth stopped to pick a brown leaf from one of the rose bushes. “My brother Archie often brings me gifts of seeds and cuttings from the Continent when he returns from his travels.”

  “How many brothers and sisters do you have?”

  “I am the only lass.” A sweet pout plumped Elspeth’s lips. “After Patrick, Archie is the eldest. He travels in France with my betrothed Alexander Campbell on embassage for the king. Suibhne attends university in Glasgow while our wee brother, Iain the Younger, fosters with the Campbells of Glen Orchy.” Elspeth’s face glowed with love for her family.

  “You must miss them.”

  “Aye, sure, but now you are here.”

  Laurie couldn’t help but smile as she glanced around the verdant garden. She needed this diversion. She stood near the well and spun in a circle. Her mood lifted. The garden held a tranquil beauty, pleasing and calming. Both, she desperately re
quired.

  “Elspeth, the garden is wonderful.”

  The young woman gave Laurie an impetuous hug. “I hoped you would like it. As my companion you will be expected to help with the chores.”

  “At home, I was learning about gardening.”

  “Tell me about your home and how you came to be at Castle Lachlan. I would like verra much to ken where you came from. Patrick is secretive about your past.”

  Laurie cleared her throat and glanced around nervously. She wasn’t sure where to begin or how much to share. And she definitely didn’t want anyone to overhear. Still, she needed to tell someone. She truly needed a friend.

  Somehow, she sensed she could trust Elspeth. The younger woman seemed so young and innocent; she couldn’t be much more than eighteen or nineteen. Yet an ageless wisdom shone in her silver eyes.

  Elspeth seemed to understand Laurie’s hesitation and took her by the hand, leading her into the rose garden, where they sat on the turf bench. “Laurie, dinnae fear telling me. You must have a special gift, as I do. I see things others dinnae.”

  Okay, this was awkward. Laurie seldom shared her personal life with anyone other than with her uncle David, who raised her, or her cousin Finn, when he wasn’t acting her boss. There were no women Laurie felt close to, at least not close enough to confide in. She’d always been too busy dealing with her business life, where the competitive nature of the work made it difficult to trust. Caitrina was the first woman she considered a friend.

  Look where that got her.

  She liked Elspeth. She easily believed the young woman had a special gift. From her flowed a sense of serenity.

  Cautiously, Laurie began her story. She told Elspeth she quit her job and went to North Carolina. How she found the cottage with its garden and decided to move there. The story unwound and she told her about the strange happenings. About her dreams and visions. How she traveled through time, ending up in sixteenth century Scotland.

  Precious expressions crossed Elspeth’s face while she listened. Wide-eyed through most of the story, she seemed to understand, though Laurie could tell at times Elspeth didn’t comprehend specific words or phrases.