Woken By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance-Highlander Forever Book 7

by Preston, Rebecca

  At any rate, she was done being drawn in by mysterious strangers in the woods. She was smarter than that now… and she wasn't going anywhere, ever again, without iron on her person.

  In the end, she awoke just before lunch feeling reasonably refreshed, if oddly sore from her exertions – had she run through the woods with that much zest, really? She dressed quickly and headed downstairs, hoping that she'd run into Galen on her way… but a quick scan of the dining hall indicated that he was either fast asleep, or still on Watch. Probably the latter, she thought with a sigh. He really did work too hard.

  In the end, she didn't end up seeing Galen until the following evening. He rolled in from patrol late that day, and she ran out to the courtyard to meet him, but one look at his drawn, haggard face told her that she'd be just as well telling her story to a brick wall for all the good it would do her. He was asleep on his feet – she was just grateful he was unharmed. Brendan had come out to meet him, too, and one look at the Captain's face told her that Galen wouldn't be on patrol again for at least a few days – she slipped away smiling as she heard Brendan began to scold the exhausted guard for overworking himself.

  The next day, he looked much less haggard at dinner – and she grinned when he ruefully admitted to spending just about the whole day in bed. As a result, he was ravenous, and she sat by his side as he filled up on plate after plate of meat, his appetite clearly working overtime to make up for the ridiculous amounts of extra shifts he'd been pulling.

  "Did Brendan tell you off?" she asked, not wanting to bring up her news until he was full.

  He nodded, rolling his eyes, then swallowed his current mouthful before responding. "Oh, aye. Endangering myself and my health, all of that. He's getting soft in his old age," Galen said with a grin on his face – the Captain was a few years younger than Galen, in fact. "So, I'm off duty for a day or two… or until that elf fills another guard with elf shot," he added darkly.

  Julia braced herself. This seemed as good an introduction as any. "Speaking of…"

  "Speaking of what? The elf?" He looked up, his brow furrowed.

  "Yeah. Good news and bad news. The good news is, I managed to get definite confirmation that he's the one responsible for the attacks, the livestock deaths and the crop failures."

  "I didn't need definite confirmation," Galen said suspiciously. "What's the bad news? How did you get this confirmation?"

  "Those are the same question." She took a deep breath, readying herself for the storm. "I might have gone to see Glimmerbright the other night."

  Sure enough, his fist hit the table with a thunderous crash, nearly upsetting her goblet of water and drawing alarmed stares from a gaggle of guards who were sitting a few feet away. "Tell me you're joking," he said flatly, his eyes cold.

  But Julia lifted her chin. She was used to his temper tantrums by now… and she wasn't going to let herself be intimidated by some condescending man.

  She'd wasted enough of her life on that kind of thing.

  Chapter 46

  "Tell me you didn't go against my wishes intentionally, Julia."

  "I didn't do it to go against your wishes," she snapped, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Galen, your wishes are of less significance to me than you'd imagine. I went because I needed to talk to him. I needed to hear it from him, once and for all, that he was responsible for the attacks. And he is. So now we can move to the next stage –"

  "Next stage? Of course, he's responsible!" Galen gritted his teeth. "You're telling me you went to see that dangerous monster, by yourself, in the middle of the night –"

  "Yes, and you'll note that I'm alive and well without a scrape to show for it," Julia snapped, her eyes narrowed, "which is more than I can say for just about anyone else in this castle who's tangled with him. So maybe instead of giving me a lecture, you should be asking me for advice. I clearly know something that you and all your brutes don't."

  Galen stared at her for a long moment, and for a few seconds she was utterly certain he was going to upend the entire table in a rage – she even gathered her skirts, preparing to make a hasty leap backwards to avoid spilling gravy on her favorite dress. But the rage in his eyes faded – slowly but surely – and to her surprise, he took a deep, shuddering breath, clearly working hard to calm himself. And when he nodded his head gruffly, she thought she must be dreaming.

  "Aye," he said, his voice betraying that his anger wasn't quite banished. "Aye, that's good work."

  "Thank you for saying so," she said, raising an eyebrow with a mixture of surprise and delight. "I know it was dangerous, but I took my knife, so –"

  "You went armed to a meeting with a Fae?" he choked out, louder than he'd clearly intended – she hid a grin as he drew yet more curious looks from the guards up the table. Then he rose to his feet abruptly, jerking his head for her to follow him. "Look, can we discuss this somewhere more private?"

  "So you can shout at me undisturbed?" she countered.

  "I may shout," he said with some dignity. "But I can promise not to shout at you, if that will make you feel better."

  A mad urge struck her. "Well, if you're in a fit state to entertain, I'm willing to come to your quarters."

  His eyes widened a little at that invitation, and she swallowed a smile. Just as she'd expected – it seemed the invitation was a forward one. Well, good. She'd had just about enough of the sexual tension between them, the not-quite-courtship. One way or another, she was putting an end to it… they could either decide to be friends or decide to be something more. She was tired of being strung along by two men at once. Glimmerbright had proven himself far from marriage material… but she hadn't quite given up on Galen as an option.

  Maybe not marriage, quite yet… but he'd just about earned a step in that direction, she suspected. That was if he felt the same way. She hoped she wasn't embarrassing herself as they headed through the quiet corridors of the castle, Galen flushed pink and not looking at her. Exactly how wanton was she being here? she wondered. Too late to ask advice from her friends, too late to wonder… all she could do was commit to her actions and hope it all went well.

  His quarters were pleasant, and surprisingly roomy – she peered around the little room she found herself in with some surprise. "This is much bigger than my room."

  "Aye, we'd be looking at moving you to a bigger room eventually," he explained, "but a few of the larger spaces are being used to tend the sick guards, so…"

  "I'm not complaining," she said, shrugging her shoulders as she peered curiously around the place. It was neat and well-kept, the stone floors swept clean and the bed neatly made, even though she knew he must only have gotten out of it a few hours ago. That was a good sign. She wasn't ever going to live with another messy man in her life… not after a brief but terrible experiment with having her brother as a roommate. She'd always thought he was neat enough back home… but it turned out that that impression had come from her mother doing all his cleaning and tidying for him. When she hadn't done the same, it had become quickly clear that James couldn't tell one end of a mop from the other, and they'd quickly parted ways as roommates.

  But she could definitely cohabitate with a man this neat, she thought, glancing back at him with approval. He was lingering awkwardly in the door, his face still pink. This was a good idea, she thought with amusement. He was clearly too embarrassed about having her here to yell at her too much about the risk she'd taken with Glimmerbright.

  "Anyway, what was I saying?" she said briskly. There was something about other people feeling awkward that made her feel supremely confident… a coping mechanism, maybe. "I heard the music last night, so I headed into the woods for a meeting with him. We bickered a little, played some word games, he had a platter of chocolate-dipped strawberries which I think was intended as a trap –"

  Galen went white as a sheet. "He offered you food?"

  "I got a concrete verbal contract that there'd be no obligations attached, I'm not stupid," she said, rolling her eyes and thinkin
g of Hades and Persephone. Maybe if she hadn't had the iron on her, she might have been tempted to let herself owe the handsome Glimmerbright a debt… thank God she'd kept her wits about her, now she knew what kind of man – or creature, at least – he really was.

  "A concrete – okay," Galen said, gritting his teeth. "I see."

  "I know, I know. You think it would've been easier to just stick an iron blade in his ribs. That's why I had a conversation with him, and you risk getting shot full of paralysis arrows if you even get close to him."

  "True enough," Galen acknowledged, shaking his head. It was funny – he was clearly split right down the middle between frustration with her… and admiration at what she'd achieved.

  It felt good, to have impressed him. Felt good that he felt so much for her in the first place, given how uncomfortable and hostile he'd been to her at first. Now that she knew that protectiveness was his way of showing that he cared… well, it was still unacceptable to be condescend to, but she understood his impulses a lot better.

  "Anyway. From what he said, he draws power from the land by being here, and that's what's killing the crops and the livestock. Shooting the guards full of elf shot is about self-defense, which is fair enough given what I walked in on my first day here," she added, raising a pointed eyebrow at him. "As for luring children away… from what he said, that's a natural side effect of a Sidhe's charm."

  "Aye, charm's the right word," Galen said with a roll of his eyes. "Charm as in magical."

  "Are you jealous?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

  His face purpled. "Of a monster?"

  "He asked me to marry him, you know."

  Galen almost choked. Purple-faced, he stared at her, opening and shutting his mouth, utterly lost for words… and with a surge of triumph in her heart, she let herself laugh, taking a few steps toward him as she waved her hands apologetically.

  "Don't choke to death, Galen, I said no."

  "Marry you!" He stared at her wildly, reaching out to take her by the forearms and draw her close.

  His hands were surprisingly warm and soft on her arms and she went were she was bade, suddenly struck by the scent of him, the closeness. No illusions here, no magic charms, no tricks of the light – only a man she'd been getting to know these last few weeks, his eyes full of shock and worry for her… and an undeniable undertone of admiration.

  "Julia, do you have any idea how close to disaster you came?"

  "I knew what I was doing," she said firmly, sliding her hands into his and squeezing them reassuringly. "I did my research … and I took the knife you gave me," she added softly. The smile that crossed his face at that suggested that he was a little reassured… but he still looked hesitant.

  "Julia, I – we haven't exactly discussed – I haven't …" He cleared his throat hard, and she realized he was blushing. "I'm glad you turned him down. But I feel… I feel obliged to. To bring up my own, uh, intentions toward –"

  She couldn't help it. She couldn't fight the grin that was breaking out across her face… nor could she resist reaching up to grab his face and pull him down into a kiss.

  Chapter 47

  If Galen had looked shocked when she'd told him that Glimmerbright had proposed marriage to her, he looked utterly floored when she pulled back from kissing him. He all but staggered a little, gripping her forearms almost tightly enough to bruise, a mixture of wonder and shock and desire on his face. She, too, was a little breathless, and she giggled a little, ducking her head, suddenly shy at the look on his face.

  "What was that?" he said faintly.

  "What do you think it was?" she said, exasperated. "Galen, I've been waiting for you to kiss me since you brought me back from the forest."

  "I thought –" He cleared his throat. "I thought that may have just been… high spirits."

  So, he did remember their kiss in the stables. Typical. For a man who spoke so little, he certainly spent a lot of time overthinking. "It was. And my spirits haven't settled. So?"

  "So – what?"

  "So, what are your intentions?"

  He looked at her for a long, breathless moment… and for a moment she felt just like she had that first night in the forest with Glimmerbright, when the look on his face had stolen the breath from her lungs and the pulse from her veins… but there was no magic here, no illusion, no altering her senses to flatter or mislead her. There was just Galen Grant, broad-shouldered, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with a passion she'd seen glimpses of but never really uncovered… not until now, when wordlessly, he moved toward her, pulling her into his arms as though they'd been made to fit together like that.

  The kiss was deeper this time, freer, and she could feel her body responding to him almost immediately with the pent-up need of weeks and weeks of flirtation, of attraction, of wondering whether he wanted her the same way she wanted him… and from the way he was kissing her she knew now, once and for all, that he did. Before she knew it he'd pushed her gently down to the bed and they were sitting side by side, her hands on his shoulders, his on her waist… but it wasn't enough, none of it was ever going to be enough. She'd waited for weeks – she wanted him here, now, none of this foolish fabric or armor keeping them separate… he grunted with surprise when she set about unlacing his tunic and pulled back from her a little, his eyes widening.

  "Are you sure?"

  "Of course I'm sure," she said, torn between exasperation and amusement. For someone who'd been so rude, so blunt, so controlling of her behavior earlier, he was certainly hesitating now… not that she'd have preferred it the other way around, of course. She kissed him hard, deep, trying to convey with her body just how sure she was about him, how much she wanted him, how much she was hoping he'd just let himself loose and pull her into his arms and into his bed…

  And she grinned in triumph when she felt his fingers begin to unlace the bodice of her gown.

  Before long, they were in his bed, and she couldn't help but sigh with contentment at the feeling of his body against hers. It had been good thinking on her part, to ensure they came here… his bed was much larger than the narrow single bed in her quarters. His broad shoulders would barely have fit, leaving barely any extra room for… well. His hands were roaming, still cautious but less so now, his desire beginning to take hold as he caressed her, exploring the curves of her body, finding every single sensitive spot and lighting her up from the inside with electricity… she groaned, torn between enjoying what he was doing… and impatience for him to go further…

  But Galen Grant, it seemed, would not be rushed. There was that characteristic stubbornness, that determination to go at his own pace… and to her surprise that turned her on more than she'd believed possible. His lips against her throat, his hands roaming cautiously across her ribs, her belly, curving around the small of her back… she could feel his manhood pressing against her thigh, hard and demanding, so it wasn't a question of not wanting her, of not being ready… every other man she'd ever slept with had always stampeded right to sex. What was taking him so long?

  But her puzzlement quickly gave way to simply enjoying what he was doing, abandoning herself to his caresses… was this what all the magazines meant when they talked about foreplay? Was this how it was meant to feel every time? This burn in every part of her, this unbelievable excitement, the way it felt like every nerve ending was responding to his touch in a never-ending feedback loop that was driving her toward… toward… something. And when his fingers finally slipped between her legs to seek the slick, wet heat there she almost screamed at the shock of sensation that shot through her. Not unfamiliar, exactly, but much more powerful than anything she'd ever felt before, any interaction with any other lover… she lost herself in the feeling, rocking her hips, utterly at his mercy and loving every second of it. She didn't want it to end, didn't want him to stop… she was nearing some impossible peak, a place she'd heard about but never actually visited, the mythical female orgasm that, no matter what the women's magazines might have told her, she
'd always suspected wasn't an option for her. Some women couldn't, right? She'd always told herself, after every not-so-great sexual encounter, that she was the problem… her body just wasn't wired for that kind of pleasure that was all.

  So, what the hell was going on now? She shivered as Galen held her close, shifting his weight, his manhood coming forward to brush against her sex… and when he entered her she had to fight down another scream, mindful of scaring the whole damn castle. It felt – he felt – she could hear herself whimpering, moaning, tempted to stuff a whole fist in her mouth to silence herself. Her body was responding to him in a way she'd never experienced – it was almost out of her control, the way her hips rocked up to meet him, sending pleasure through her like a lightning bolt with every thrust. He was groaning, too, the heat of his body intoxicating her, the scent of him, musky and masculine and utterly delightful… her nails were digging into his shoulders, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. She needed something to keep her anchored – something to hold her down – because it felt like her entire body was about to – about to —

  "Oh my God –"

  In the crystalline moment of her first ever orgasm, Julia remembered realizing that there was a reason the French called it the little death. Everything froze – time, space, her heart, her breathing, everything – and then seemed to explode outwards again, sending waves of unbelievable pleasure rocketing through her body as her limbs trembled and shook in the grip of it. She may have screamed, she wasn't sure – Galen was groaning his own pleasure against her throat, too, as he spent himself inside of her. It was impossible to tell how long they held each other there, adrift in the waves of pleasure that gripped them both, but when her mind finally came back to her a little, it was with a sense of peace and satisfaction like none she'd ever felt.

  Holy shit, she thought distantly, unable to rouse even enough energy to lift her head. So that was what sex was supposed to be like? That was what she'd been missing out on for a decade of her life, ever since she'd given her virginity to a high school boyfriend who'd had no idea what he was doing with her body and no interest in learning? She wanted a refund. She wanted a cosmic refund. She wanted all the years she'd spent worrying about there being something wrong with her body given back to her so she could spend them doing more of this.