Taken in Time

by Tin Kuhn

  CHAPTER 12

  MALCOLM

  A ra falls asleep in my arms and I can’t help but feel relieved and content. She willingly gave herself to me. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. The way her skin felt on my hands set my blood on fire. Her coming with me twice in one night was beyond anything I could have imagined. She made me feel desired again. I wanted to take her right now and claim her innocence, but I could see she was worn out. I choose to let her rest, but it was not an easy decision. I wanted more of her, all of her.

  I assumed she would want nothing more to do with me after what happened at Calder’s camp. I was worried when the Vikings took us, but I knew they couldn’t harm me once I laid eyes on Calder.

  Years ago, Calder went on a rampage and tried to take out as many Viking Chieftains as he could. He was almost successful, but then he attacked my tribe and I defeated him. His father, Om, showed up moments before I was going to take Calder’s life. He persuaded me to let his son go and said he’d keep him in line. He promised me Calder would never harm me or my tribe again. Om even gave me gold to sweeten the deal. I agreed to it and let Calder walk away with his life.

  Ara was a different story. They thought she was a maiden easy for the taking until I said she was mine. Calder tried to tell me that the same agreement didn’t apply to her. He tried to argue that the agreement should be revoked since I became a Laird. That’s when I became angry and took off my tunic showing him my tribal tattoos. I told him I never stopped being a Viking Chieftain. I still had my tribe.

  I knew they wanted something in exchange for letting us go, but I didn’t think I’d have to take Ara in front of that repulsive Chieftain, Calder. I tried to offer gold, but Calder refused. He demanded I take Ara in front of him. I knew I had no other choice and had to risk losing Ara’s affection towards me. I couldn’t leave her there either. I had fallen for her. I knew they would harm her and rape her.

  I held onto her for the rest of the night. I didn’t want to let her go even if my arm was getting numb. I knew now that I had to convince her to stay here and be with me. I didn’t want her to leave. I would still try to help her, but I hoped she would stay. I’d fallen fast and hard for her. I needed to make her mine.

  ***

  We arrived at Laird Alec’s grand castle. His castle was nicely built with perfect fitting grey stones. He had a massive landscape with beautiful gardens and impressive fountains. His soldiers were posted all along the walls and towers. There would be a number of nobles attending this wedding and he needed to secure the castle. I would need to inform him about the Vikings we came upon while traveling here, too.

  “Wow.” Ara breathed taking in her surroundings. I held her hand. I couldn’t help but take in her beauty. The sun shined perfectly on her face and her breasts. Those breasts I got to touch last night. My cock is aching to be inside her.

  “Malcolm!” Alec waved from the entrance. He always looked so poised and well put together. He is an inch taller than me with pitch black hair. He walked up to us and hugged me. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to make it.”

  I laughed. “We had some trouble along the way.”

  “Lady Pais…” Alec stopped himself and noticed I didn’t have my ex-wife with me. He looked down at our hands and looked back at me with an arched brow.

  “This is Aramina Smith. I met her along the way here.” I introduced them. “Ara, this is Laird Alec Mackenzie.”

  “Call me Ara. Pleasure to meet you, Laird Alec.” Ara smiled. “Malcolm means he saved me along the way.”

  “Ah. Yes, that sounds like him.” Alec said. “Let’s get ye two freshened up before the wedding. I’ll get my servant to show ye to yer chambers.”

  “I should just stay in the room. I don’t have anything to wear anyway.” Ara said.

  “Nonsense. The chambermaids will help ye with clothes and a bath.” Alec motioned one of the servants to take Ara away. He waited for her to disappear into the castle and then faced me. “Spill.”

  “I found Ara fighting off a Viking. She said she was taken.” I began.

  “I meant what happened to Lady Paisley?” Alec asked as we walked into his castle.

  “Gone. Caught another man’s face in her pussy when I arrived.” I said casually. Now that I found Ara, it didn’t matter to me anymore. I’m glad things worked out the way they did.

  “Damn. Not a very good way to return home. And the marriage?” He asked.

  “Handled. I’m no longer married to her.”

  “Good. Now, what about Ara?” He asked with a sly grin on his face.

  “She needs help getting back home. I told her ye could help. Perhaps send her back on one of yer ships.”

  “But?” He asked stopping in the hall and crossing his arms. Alec ken me too well.

  “But I want her to stay with me.” I sighed scratching the back of my neck.

  “I ken it. The way ye looked at her. Ye never looked at Lady Paisley that way.” He grinned. “Now tell me about these Vikings.” He said leading me to his study.

  I told him all the details and we hoped they wouldn’t come to his castle, but still he added more guards to protect his castle. I headed to my guest chambers. I needed to get ready for his wedding. I was in need of a bath even though I didn’t want to wash Ara’s scent off of me. Luckily, his castle had baths in each chamber.

  As I sat in the bath, I thought about how good our morning was. Waking up to Ara in my arms was sheer happiness. I kissed her temple when she woke up and she had the most beautiful smile on her face. Her cheeks blushed a little from remembering what we did. I caressed her face and rubbed her arms. My hands made it down to her pussy, but she stopped me and told me we needed to go. She would hate for me to miss my best friend’s wedding. She was right and she felt so right for me. She was the one thing that was missing in my life. I felt whole with her.

  As I got dressed, my thoughts drifted back to Ara. What was she doing and what would she be wearing? I wanted to sneak into her room and kiss her. Hell, I wanted to do more than just kiss her, but there was no time. The wedding would be starting soon. I had to shake away thoughts of her in order to get dressed.

  I took one last look in the mirror. My red and black plaid tartan looked good. I still looked a bit rugged with a slight beard growing in. I didn’t like looking completely polished like Alec. I didn’t feel like myself when I shaved my beard off or kept it well trimmed for Lady Paisley.

  I headed back down to the main hall. There were tons of people hanging around talking. I looked around for Ara, but she wasn’t down yet. Perhaps she was already at the chapel. I saw Laird Alec and my other friend, Laird Brodie, and headed over to them.

  I met Laird Brodie years ago when I raided his castle. He made a bet with me for his treasure. If I could defeat him, I could take his treasure, but if I couldn’t I had to be his servant. I laughed at the memory of dueling with him. It was no easy feat to defeat him. He was a master at sword fighting, but in the end I won. No one had ever talked to me the way Laird Brodie did. I ended up only taking a portion of his treasure and we turned out to be good friends.

  He fought with us in battle. He was a true warrior. Brodie never married or fell in love, but he didn’t seem to care either. He enjoyed having different ladies each month, or was it each week? I could never keep up with the number of ladies he went through. He seemed to enjoy life and the ladies a bit too much.

  We hugged and I stepped back.

  “Are ye ready?” I asked Alec holding his shoulder.

  “Ready to marry my love.” Alec smiled looking good in his green plaid tartan colors. He never looked happier.

  “Who the hell is that?” Brodie asked looking up at the stairs. I noticed a few other men looking in the same direction.

  My breathing stopped. It was Ara walking down the stairs. She looks like a beautiful seductive angel. She is breathtaking in her maroon silk dress. Her hair hung straight down like a beautiful silk curtain. Her bodice wrapped around her f
igure and held her breasts up quite nicely. My god. I wanted to take her hand and lead her back into her chambers to claim her.

  She reached the bottom of the steps and a man stopped her. He reached for her hand and kissed it. Then he had the nerve to walk all the way around her to check her out like she was a concubine. My blood simmered. I wanted to smash his face into the wall and beat him to a pulp. As he turned, I realized who he was, Laird Gavin.

  “That’s Malcolm’s friend, Ara.” Alec told Brodie. “Him and Lady Paisley are over.”

  Brodie raised his eyebrow at me. “Already have a replacement?”

  I ignored him and asked Alec, “What is Laird Gavin doing here?”

  “He’s friends with Lady Grace’s father, so he had to be invited.” Alec replied sharply. “Come on. We have to get to the chapel.”

  I nodded, but instead of walking with them I walked back to Ara and held out my arm. “Shall we?”

  “Of course. Nice to meet you, Laird Gavin.” Ara half smiled at Laird Gavin and put her hand on my arm. He nodded and smiled at Ara.

  “Laird Malcolm.” Laird Gavin sneered. He’s very dissatisfied about me taking Ara away. Good. Now, hopefully, he’ll keep his distance from her. She’s mine after all and I will protect what’s mine, especially from an awful man like him.

  “Laird Gavin.” I grinned walking away with Ara.

  “You clean up well.” Ara complimented me.

  “Not as well as ye.” I said looking at her. She blushed and smiled at me. “Thanks for the save back there. He was giving me the creeps.”

  “I’ll always save ye.” I said softly. She gazed into my eyes and I thought she was going to kiss me.

  “Who is he? You two don’t seem to like each other.” Ara pointed out.

  “He’s not a good man, Ara.” I replied. “It’s best to stay away from him.”

  I led her to the chapel. The ceremony and reception was beautiful, but it was so hard for me to take my eyes away from Ara. Her beauty and breasts distracted me. My mouth watered and my cock wanted nothing more but to get inside her.

  I kept noticing Laird Gavin staring at her throughout the reception. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her either and I hated it. I wanted to tell him to stop staring at her and find someone else. I tried to shield Ara from his view whenever I could, but he kept coming around. It was like he was waiting for me to leave.

  I made sure to escort Ara to her chambers. The last thing I need was for Laird Gavin to end up escorting Ara to her chambers. I kissed Ara’s hand and bid her good night. I desperately wanted to stay with her, but Brodie found me and dragged me away for some drinking festivities. I couldn’t get Ara off my mind the rest of the night.

  CHAPTER 13

  MALCOLM

  I n the morning, I went straight to Ara’s chambers. I missed her last night. I didn’t think it’d be so difficult for me to sleep without her. I knocked several times and called out her name, but she didn’t answer. I went inside, but she was nowhere to be found. I stood outside on her balcony and saw her running in the gardens. Laird Gavin was chasing after her. Ara’s face turned back to look at Laird Gavin and she looked terrified.

  I immediately sprang into action. I jumped off the second story balcony and headed off after them. The jump from the balcony wasn’t that high given my height. I would have wasted precious time running through the castle to get to the gardens. This was quicker.

  My blood was pumping and my heart was pounding. I needed to protect Ara. I couldn’t let any man lay a hand on her, especially Laird Gavin. His reputation was the worst. The way he treated his servants and previous wives he married, beating them down and tossing them out of his castle like trash.

  Suddenly, I lost sight of Laird Gavin. This garden was like a giant maze with tall towering green bushes. I couldn’t see over them. I stopped to listen to see which way he went, but I didn’t hear anything. I was starting to feel the fear of losing Ara. Then I heard branches cracking to my left and Ara whimpering. I jumped through a bush wall ignoring the cuts and scratches it left on my arms. I saw Ara face down on the ground struggling to get up with Laird Gavin on top of her. I yanked him off of her and pulled her up. She looked so relieved to see me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my chest.

  “What is the meaning of this, Laird Gavin?” I asked menacingly.

  “She is mine.” He said standing up. “Now let go of her and hand her over.”

  “No. Ara is mine and only mine.” I growled holding her tightly against me.

  Then Laird Gavin laughs. “I have an arrangement with her family. She is to marry me and have my bairn. Now hand her over.”

  “What?” Ara and I both exclaimed.

  “That’s impossible.” Ara said. “I’m not from here. There’s no way.”

  “Tsk. Tsk. My Aramina Smith, or is it Aramina Miller?” Ara gasped at Laird Gavin. “You did, after all, marry Patrick Miller.” He said. I was surprised to know that he knew this information about her.

  “How did you know?” Ara asked looking stunned.

  “You see, I made a deal with a Philip Smith from this century. He said he’d give me his unborn daughter, which never happened since he kept having boys. So I decided I was going to take one of his boys as payment, but he and his whole family disappeared. That infuriated me. Then, one day, I met an oracle. She was quite fascinating telling me that the Smith line will bear a daughter, but not in this century. A daughter will be born in the 21th century, which still upset me. But then, the oracle said there was a way to bring ye to me using black druid magic.” Laird Gavin laughed. “That I would meet you at Laird Alec Mackenzie’s wedding. Now here ye are.”

  “I am not some object you can have and I am, most certainly, not giving you a child.” Ara said.

  “Laird Gavin, if you don’t want me to end you here and now, I suggest you leave Ara alone and remove yourself from this castle.” I warned him.

  Laird Gavin glared at me. “This isn’t over. I will see you again my Aramina.” Laird Gavin said walking away.

  I held Ara tightly in my arms as if I’m going to lose her. I know when deals are made, they have to be honored, but there’s just no way in hell I’m going to let that despicable man take Ara away from me. Not now when I’ve fallen for her. He’ll kill her after his son is born. Ara’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

  “Now I know how I ended up here. I’m not crazy. This isn’t some weird dream.” Ara says. “He did this.”

  I lift her chin and stare into her beautiful brown eyes, those eyes that I can get lost in for days. “I won’t let him get his hands on you again. Now I ken why ye are so different. Ye are not even from this time. Why didn’t ye t…”

  “Would you have believed me? Wouldn’t you have thought I had gone mad or must have been crazy?” Ara asked.

  “Aye.” I said agreeing with her. “Let’s get ye back to the castle.”

  ***

  We found Alec in his large study talking to his wife and Brodie. They were looking over maps and trying to decide where to go for their honeymoon. I hated to interrupt them, but I didn’t think I had a choice. I needed their opinion. I told them what happened with Laird Gavin in the gardens.

  “An oracle with black druid magic?” Alec asked in disbelief.

  “Those are supposed to be myths and stories, not real.” Brodie stated.

  “Yet he brought me back in time.” Ara said looking nervously at me.

  Alec is pinching his nose thinking about what our next move should be. None of us knew an oracle or even a witch. We’ve only heard of these myths and stories, but we always thought it was made for the children. I still can’t wrap my head around Ara being from a different century, but it’s starting to make sense, the bucket list, her mentioning an airport, her attire when I first met her.

  “Easy. Just marry Malcolm and have his baby.” Brodie said shrugging his shoulders.

  “What?” Ara cried out.

  “He’s right.” A
lec said pointing at Brodie. “If Laird Gavin comes back here with official paperwork for the deal with Philip Smith, then there’s nothing more we can do. You have two options: marry Laird Gavin or marry Malcolm.”

  “That’s it?” Ara asked. “No ending Laird Gavin option?”

  “Marrying me will be the quickest and easiest option.” I said hoping she would agree. The idea excited me thinking she could really stay here with me. She could be mine. “Then we can deal with Laird Gavin later.”

  Both Brodie and Alec nodded and she walked out of the room.

  “I’ll go talk to her.” Lady Grace, Alec’s wife, said walking after Ara.

  “Malcolm?” Alec questioned.

  “Prepare the wedding. Just us. Nothing big.” I said. Ara would come around to the idea. She was just overwhelmed by everything.

  “Afraid she’ll run away with a crowd?” Brodie joked.

  I shoved him back jokingly. “She’ll be fine. I know she wants me.” Both my friends laughed. Alec took out the whiskey and poured us all a glass.

  “And I’ve never seen ye so taken by a maiden before.” Brodie stated wiggling his eye brows. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and laugh at him.

  “To Malcolm and Ara.” Alec cheered. We all raised our glasses and took a drink.

  “Perhaps this time, this bride ye won’t kick out of yer castle.” Brodie laughed. He always had a good sense of humor.

  “Not Ara.” I smiled. I downed the rest of my whiskey and set the glass down on the table. “I need to go talk to my soon to be wife.”

  I headed to Ara’s chambers. I could hear the ladies talking from the hall. The door was slightly opened and I decided to eavesdrop.

  “What really is bothering ye?” Lady Grace asked Ara.

  Ara sighed. “I guess I never thought I wouldn’t be returning home, to my life. I thought, we would come here and you guys would just send me back somehow. I didn’t expect not to ever go back. Everything just feels so rushed. It went from confusion to survival to marriage all in less than a week.”