Distracted By The Highlander: A Scottish Time Travel Romance (Highlander Forever Book 4)

by Rebecca Preston

  "Are you sure?" she said, a little surprised by how breathy her voice was, by the way her heart was pounding. "Your arm —"

  He growled, half amused and half annoyed, and closed the distance between them again, kissing her hard. That was enough of an answer for her… she wasn't going to push the matter, not when she so desperately wanted this, this closeness, this contact, the feeling of his arms around her, his good hand roaming curiously across her body. He wasn't shy, she thought with some amusement. For all his talk of courting, for all his respect of her, it seemed that when it came down to it, he wasn't going to hesitate.

  That suited her fine. It felt like she'd been waiting for this for her whole life.

  He helped her out of her skirts, maneuvering the complex intricacies of the garment with a practiced ease that made her blush a little. He undressed, too — hesitating only a little over unlacing his boots one-handed — and then they were both naked, wrapped in each other's arms with the quilt from his sizable bed pulled over them. The night was cold but his body was so warm, so hard under her hands, so exciting to explore… she could hear his breath accelerating as her hands roamed, and it wasn't long before they were both breathing hard, their desire escalating as their kisses deepened and they grew closer and closer to each other, to what they both wanted …

  When he slid himself inside her, she gasped, almost freezing up. It had been such a long time since she'd done anything like this… the few terrible dates she'd been on since she and her college boyfriend had broken up hadn't gone nearly well enough to reach this stage. But God, it felt good… and it wasn't long before she was rocking her hips up to meet him, digging her nails into his back, trying as she did to avoid the bandaged places and moaning, abandoned to the sensations of Liam's hands on her, his mouth on her neck, his body against hers.

  They lay together for a long while afterwards, his fingertips tracing idle, tender circles on her bare skin. And when they fell asleep, still entwined in one another, the sleep that claimed her was deep and dreamless, utterly soaked in the bone-deep satisfaction she felt.

  Chapter 42

  They woke up late the next day — later than usual, at least, Kay gauged from the considerable sunlight that was streaming in through Liam's window. His room had a different view from hers, and she peered out the window, interested to see what he could see from up here… but not so interested that she was willing to get out of bed just yet. Not with this gorgeous man curled around her, his arms squeezing her tightly… she smiled, settling into his embrace, feeling drowsy and utterly content. But it wasn't long before her worry started to wake up, stretching its wings, bothering her with whispered questions… what about the wisps? What were they going to do about the wisps?

  Soon enough, Liam was awake too, and though he smiled sleepily at her, clearly pleased to have her in his arms, she could tell he was worried about the wisps, too. He sat up in bed, his mind clearly on his injured arm, and she sat up too, curious to see if it had improved at all. To her relief, she watched as he lifted his hand and opened and closed his fist, his fingers working normally. Then he swung the arm around experimentally, a grin breaking out across his face, equal parts relief and triumph.

  "I'm healed! All thanks to you," he said with a broad grin dancing across his handsome face, pulling her into a celebratory hug with both of his arms this time. "Thanks to your tender touch…"

  "Or the venom just wore off overnight," she pointed out, a little exasperated by the credit he was giving her… but not minding the physical contact at all. "I'm not magic, I just cleaned your wounds for you."

  "You did a bit more than that," he pointed out with a grin.

  She ducked her head shyly. She was a little worried about having slept with him, honestly. In the moment, it had felt right — it had felt like the most natural thing in the world, in fact. But now she was awake, in the broad light of day, she was starting to worry. In medieval times, sex was a vastly different idea than it was where she came from. What if he didn't respect her anymore? What if rumors began to fly that she was a hussy or a harlot or something? But somehow, looking at Liam, she didn't get the idea that he respected her any less. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was gazing at her as though she were the most beautiful creature in the world. Could this work? she wondered, feeling a sense of wonder rising in her chest. Could she make a life with this man, somehow?

  "We have to figure out how to fight these things," Liam said abruptly, his mind clearly straying back to the night before now that the worry about his injured arm had eased. "They're such nimble little bastards… you can swing and slash at them all you like, but they just get straight out of the way. We brought a few of Brendan's best archers with us too, but it was a waste of arrows if I'm honest." He sighed. "Still, they're iron-tipped, maybe leaving them in the bog will do something…"

  She sighed, not liking seeing him so defeated. "I'm working on something," she promised him, reaching out to touch his arm as she remembered the blacksmith's basket of iron filings. "Something that might help… something that these things can't get away from that easily."

  "Good news," Liam said simply, grinning at her. "I knew you'd figure something out. The Sidhe knew what they were doing when they sent you to me, I can see that now. You're something special, Kay Morris."

  She blushed to the roots of her hair, a little taken aback by the strength of the compliment. What happened to playing it cool? That was a pretty serious thing to say to someone you'd only just slept with… and there she was worrying that she was the one taking the relationship too seriously. Not a bad problem to have, she decided, smiling at him.

  It felt strange to return to the hustle and bustle of the castle when so much had changed between the two of them. They headed down to a late breakfast together, and passed the rest of the day pleasantly, working together in the stables — he'd long since given up on trying to stop her from helping out there, and besides, she had to visit Shadow with a piece of apple as thanks for comforting her the other night.

  To their surprise, they had a special guest join them for supper that night. Kay saw him riding in through the gate. He was a scrawny young man with jet black hair, tall but with poor posture — a stoop that suggested he was a little wary of being struck. She'd have assumed he was a lad from the village bringing a message if it hadn't been for the priest's robes he was wearing. It seemed some things never changed — she might have been confused by all the armor and medieval gowns she saw each day, but she recognized a priest easily.

  "Father Caleb," Laird Donal said when the priest was settled at the high table with them. He was something of a guest of honor, it seemed, for all that he seemed deeply nervous to be here. How old was this man? He didn't look old enough to drive a car, let alone be the priest of a village… she imagined the villagers dragging Maggie before this man and had to suppress a laugh. "Might I introduce you to Kay Morris, our most recent… arrival?"

  He peered over at her, blinking those pale eyes thoughtfully. "Ah, I see. Like Anna and the rest. Welcome to the area." That was interesting — Kay blinked, a little thrown off by the way he spoke. That wasn't a Scottish accent, but it sounded similar… she realized belatedly that he must be Irish. Well, that made sense, she supposed, feeling a little disoriented. She'd been so stuck in the castle and its surroundings for so long that she'd forgotten that there was still a whole world out there.

  "Well, Father Caleb? What news is there in the village?" Donal asked once the pleasantries had been exchanged.

  Kay's heart sank at the look on Father Caleb's face — the way he seemed to tense up before he answered, bracing himself for the response.

  "Not good, I'm afraid, Laird Donal. Not good at all."

  Chapter 43

  It was as though a sigh went up from the table, muted but noticeable. All the men were leaning in to listen — Brendan especially, his brows furrowed, and Liam at her side looked uncharacteristically tense as he waited for the priest to explain himself.

  "Wh
ere to start? We've lost more livestock," he said, shaking his head. "Several prize cows have been lost these last few nights… it seems whatever's doing this is hungry for more meat. At this rate, the attacks are going to have a serious impact on the livelihood of our herdsmen."

  "We're doing all we can," Donal promised, his eyes shadowed. "Truly. And if it comes to it, the castle has emergency stores of food to help the villagers through the winter, if the losses continue at this rate…"

  "That may be necessary," Father Caleb said heavily. "And I'm afraid there's more. Yet another herdsman has disappeared. Hasn't been heard of for several days… which is very unlike him. No bones have been discovered yet, but I'm afraid the sentiment in the village is that it's only a matter of time."

  Brendan clenched his fist on the table, his face drawn. Kay could tell he was thinking of his own lost guard, and she sighed, wishing she could do something — anything — to make this better. But the worst news was yet to come.

  "Another point of interest," he said, clearing his throat a little worriedly. "I understand that Old Maggie is an — an ally and friend of you all here, at the castle, so I feel it necessary to inform you of what I witnessed on the way over here."

  "What's that?" Liam broke in, clearly concerned about the old woman. "What happened? Is she okay?"

  "She's just fine," Father Caleb said heavily. "But the villagers… they suspect her, I'm afraid, of having something to do with these disappearances. They've been speaking to me about it at length —"

  "She has nothing to do with the wisps. She's helping us deal with them, if anything," Liam explained, his jaw tight — but Father Caleb spread his hands helplessly.

  "I know that. I have a lot of time for Old Maggie. She may be a little… eccentric… but I truly believe she has a good heart and a God-fearing spirit, deep down."

  Kay smothered a laugh at that. She had a suspicion that Maggie didn't fear anything at all — least of all God.

  "But the villagers are frightened. When I rode out, I overheard them discussing a plan to attack Maggie's cottage tomorrow morning."

  "Attack it?" Liam leaned forward, looking horrified… and not because he was worried about Maggie, that was for sure. "Do they know who they're tangling with?"

  "They want to act," Father Caleb said simply, looking distraught. "That's the long and the short of it… they just want to get something done, to feel like they have some control of what's happening. I counseled against it, of course, and they told me they wouldn't, but I could see it in their eyes that they were lying to me."

  "Lying to a priest," Laird Donal said under his breath. "They really must be scared."

  "Indeed."

  "Well — I'm happy to ride out first thing tomorrow, go and see what they're planning to do at Maggie's," Liam said with a frown.

  "I'll send some of my men along with you if you'd like. Bit of a show of force."

  "I'd advise against that," Father Caleb said quickly, looking worried. "If you ride in like an army… well, they're likely to react poorly. I'd hate to see any escalation of tensions between the Keep and the village, especially when things were finally beginning to settle down…"

  "Fine," Brendan said, gritting his teeth. "Liam, you go by yourself. But my men will be on high alert — the minute we hear any sign of danger…"

  "I'll take Kay with me," Liam said firmly, reaching out to squeeze Kay's hand unexpectedly. "She and I have been meaning to check up with Maggie about a few wisp-related enquiries — it'll be easy enough for us also to make sure that no villagers are planning to burn her cottage down."

  "Is that likely?" Kay asked him later in private, once Father Caleb had ridden home with a full belly and a slightly less worried look on his pinched face. "The villagers attacking Maggie, I mean."

  "It's not … unlikely," Liam said carefully. "They've had their troubles with her before… a woman like that, you can imagine why she's often accused of witchcraft."

  "I can," she said, a little amused despite herself. "She's kind of a witch, isn't she?"

  "Well, arguably… but at any rate, it's not Maggie that I'm worried about. Or her cottage. It's the fate of the villagers who see fit to tangle with her. I don't know that what she said about throwing them in the Loch was entirely a joke… and there are worse things than cold water in those depths."

  "Like the Monster?" Kay asked frankly — and his eyes widened in shock. "Oh, I know about the Monster. I met it my first night here, actually. Stuck its great big head out of the water and looked at me. I thought I was dreaming, of course, but… well, a lot of this place feels like a dream."

  He was shaking his head, laughing to himself. She realized they were heading for his quarters, and grinned a little to herself, coyly wondering if she'd be invited to spend the night. "It certainly has felt that way since you've arrived, Kay Morris," he said softly as they reached his door. Then he reached down and pulled her into his arms, putting to rest once and for all any question as to whether she'd be invited to stay with him. They were inside within minutes, all over each other, their hands roaming and their breath quickening in the cool evening air. All the problems of the last few days seemed to recede in the heat between them, the energy of their contact, the sure, firm caresses of Liam's hands, his lips on hers, his body steering her toward the bed.

  They could deal with the problems tomorrow, Kay thought to herself, dizzy as Liam laid her down and pressed his long, firm body against hers. Tomorrow, right now, seemed a million miles away… and she wouldn't have had it any other way as she buried her face in Liam's broad shoulder, losing herself to the simple joy of his company.

  Chapter 44

  The next day, Liam woke her before dawn, and she blinked blearily, a little thrown by the unfamiliar surroundings and unaccustomed waking hour. But it wasn't long before she'd remembered — they were heading out to check on Maggie, to make sure she was safe from the villagers… and more to the point, that the villagers were safe from her. A little amused despite herself, she headed down the stairs after Liam, well aware that he was much more worried about the villagers than he was about the little old woman who lived at the edge of the forest.

  They grabbed just a light breakfast. A few oat cakes buttered liberally with a dollop of honey and ate them on the way out to the stables. They were still hot, sweet and delicious, and Kay almost wasn't able to save the last bite for Shadow… but she did, and the mare clearly appreciated it, uttering a low whinny of greeting as she and Liam strode down the aisle of the barn.

  "She's made such good friends with you." Liam chuckled as the horse shoved her great head into Kay's shoulder with evident affection. Kay grinned, rubbing the horse's ears the way she liked before she grabbed her favorite saddle and led her over to the hitching post to saddle her up.

  The sun was just coming up over the horizon as they rode out through the gate and headed down the land bridge towards the mainland, the guards on the gate giving them a cheerful wave goodbye as they rode out. It was freezing cold in the dawn air, but Kay's thick, comfortable cloak kept her warm — she was already getting used to the weather being like this, she realized to her surprise. Funny, how quickly you got accustomed to things that at first had seemed unthinkably bizarre. She barely even thought twice about bathing herself in a bowl these days… though now she thought about it, her longing for a hot shower was just as sharp as it had ever been.

  To their relief, when Maggie's cottage came into view it looked just the same as it always had… no smoking ruin, no sign of trouble. What there was, was a handful of villagers, barely more than half a dozen, standing around their sixth member, who was sitting on the ground and rubbing his head with an expression of great disdain. Though the villagers were wielding torches, they didn't look especially angry — more embarrassed, honestly, and a couple of them turned tail and fled down the road when they saw Liam and Kay coming on horseback.

  "What are you all doing out this early?" Liam demanded, reining his gelding to a halt a few pages fr
om the bedraggled little group. "You know there's danger about, especially at night."

  "That old witch has split my skull clean in two," the man on the ground proclaimed. Kay hopped down from Shadow's back, curious despite herself.

  "Is that so? There's no bleeding," she said curiously as she headed over. "Let me take a look…" Sure enough, the man winced when she put a gentle hand onto his skull, and she took a breath in through her teeth when she felt a sizable lump forming, right on the crown of his head. "It's not split, but you've a nasty bump here. What happened?"

  "That old witch!" he said again, gesturing furiously toward Maggie's cottage, where the door was shut and the windows barred, for all the world as though nobody lived there. "She cracked me on the head with her walking stick."

  Kay heard Liam stifle a laugh… it was all she could do to keep from giggling herself. She cleared her throat. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have been … visiting… at such an odd hour."

  "Aye, that's true," Liam boomed from horseback. "All of you, mind that you don't pay Maggie here any more unexpected visits, you hear?"

  Thoroughly chastened — it was clear that the little group knew full well what Liam and Kay were referring to — the villagers sloped off down the road, the man with the bump on his head still talking loudly about how that old witch must have had a magic-powered staff, he'd never have been hurt so badly by some tiny old woman. And once they were gone, Liam burst out laughing.