by Fiona Faris
“Ye ken… I had forgotten what it felt like to be unsafe. When I was a child, every day was uncertain. Me maither, and I spent nights on the streets, and sometimes we could hear the screams of other women and girls like me as they fell victim to men like that man. We were only lucky that maither began to work for the English noblewoman before it was our turn. Even then, we never knew when we would be tossed out back into the danger. We made ourselves as small as we could so that they wouldnae send us out, and so that we wouldnae get the attention of the men workin’ on the woman’s manor either,” she said.
Uielam frowned, only looking on in concern as she gulped down her third cup and poured herself another. He was not sure what worried him more, the fact that she was drinking too much or the story that she was telling.
“I had forgotten what that was like. When me maither, and I returned to the clan, it was a lot less crowded, and there was nayone sleepin’ on the streets. Maither said that the Laird was good, and he protected everyone. After a few years here, I came to agree with her. I lived in the castle half of the week, and I had a home to return to for the other half. I completely forgot me childhood and how bleak life had been. I stopped being grateful for the little things… I have been so ungrateful, Uielam…” She said.
Uielam put his cup down with a grimace. Her hands were shaking around her mug, the evidence of how hard she was trying to keep herself together. Tossing the awkwardness between them away, he took the cup from her, setting it away from the blanket and pulled her into his arms. It was the only way he knew to comfort her, and she looked like she desperately needed comfort.
“Ye are wrong Lilia, ye were nae ungrateful. Nayone should ever have to feel unsafe the way ye and yer maither felt. Yer safety is nae somethin’ to be grateful for, instead, everyone must make sure monsters like that are stopped,” he said.
Lilia began to cry then, as though his words broke down her walls, which she had fought so desperately to keep up. He pulled her closer to himself, allowing her to nestle her body against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I am sorry that ye had to face that. I am sorry that we cannae save everyone. This town is safe because me faither’s castle is here and so there are more guards in this town… however the clan is vast… there are parts which are less safe… like the southern borders were enemies began stirring up trouble recently. Faither does his best to make sure that all of his people are safe, but the discipline can wane with distance from the castle. There might be people somewhere in this clan with nayone to save them, and that just makes me blood boil. I felt panic when I saw ye in danger… I was angry and afraid, and I moved without thinkin’. I cannae begin to imagine how ye must have felt. I want to make sure that ye never have to go through that again. That as many as I could possibly save in this clan will never have to go through that again,” he said.
He had been prattling on without even realizing it. He just felt so strongly, especially with Lilia’s tears soaking the front of his shirt.
“Ye are a good man, Uielam.” Lilia sniffled suddenly, startling him. His eyes were wide, and his cheeks warmed.
She thinks me a good man?
“I… I daenae think that is true Lilia…” he denied, feeling insecure and every bit a fraud at that moment. “I am selfish and spoiled… I am fickle when it comes to romance unlike me faither and I dae everythin’ expectin’ that things will go me way. I mean, the way that I have treated ye is a perfect example of this. I continuously teased ye even after ye rejected me so many times, pompously refusin’ to believe that ye were uninterested in me. I couldnae believe that anyone would be uninterested in me… I am ashamed to admit, but I daenae think that I deserve yer words of praise.”
Lilia shook her head against his chest.
“Nay, ye are wrong. Ye dae deserve it, and ye are indeed a good man. It’s true all that ye said, ye are flawed, and at least ye are beginnin’ to recognize that, but even despite these flaws, Uielam ye have always been a good man. Beneath all of that pride and yer spoiled nature, ye have always been kind deep in yer core. Ye are kind to animals… ye are kind to yer subordinates even with yer pompous attitude… I mean, look at how ye treat Miller. Sure ye tease him, but ye ken his limits, and ye daenae cross them. Ye never take yer anger out on him as ye have seen how he reacts to it. Ye pay him generously, and daenae work him like a slave. Ye daenae ken this, but Miller speaks fondly of ye. He says that ye are a good man despite yer flaws, and he hopes to continue workin’ for ye until he is old. Dae ye think he would say that if ye were nae a good man?”
Uielam blinked in shock. He had not known that Miller thought of him that way. In fact, he had never considered how Miler might think of him. He felt a strange warmth in his heart, hearing what Miller thought of him. Never did he believe that Miller’s approval would mean so much to him. Or perhaps it was because it was Lilia who was telling him.
“Ye probably daenae remember this, but I found out that ye were a good man when I was eighteen summers old.” She continued, “Ye arrested the head guard of the castle at the time and relieved him of his position to help a maid.”
Uielam’s jaw dropped at that.
“I did?” he exclaimed. He indeed had no memory of such an event.
“Aye, ye did although it was yer misbehavior that led to this outcome. Ye’d been in the hallway of the servant’s quarters attempting stubbornly to flirt with me when ye overheard two of the younger guards making a bet on whether or nae the maid would accept the head guard’s interests or whether she’d refuse and be kicked out of the castle and lose her job. I kenned all about it, of course. The head guard at the time had been preyin’ on the young maids, and those who didnae accept his advances were sacked. I hadnae expected that ye would notice what they had said or that ye would even care, but ye had,” she replied.
“Ye stopped yer flirtin’ immediately and became serious as ye asked me what they had been talkin’ about. I told ye, and ye left. It wasnae until the day when the maid was cryin’ as the head guard accused her of stealin’ and was in the middle of throwin’ her out that I found out that ye hadnae just ignored what ye saw. After I told ye what had happened, ye had begun to watch the head guard with Osgar and waited until that very moment to catch him in the act. Ye and Osgar revealed that from yer investigations, ye found that he had been pressurin’ young maids into his bed and framin’ those who refused him,” she continued. At this point, Uielam had begun to remember faintly what it was that she spoke of.
“Ye asked that he be relieved of his post and asked the guards to drag him to the dungeon and make sure ye never saw him again. What’s more, ye and Osgar found all of those girls who had been thrown out of the castle and given then their jobs back as well as compensation. That day, all the maids swooned over ye, and for once, I was unashamedly one of them that did. I realized then that despite all of yer flaws, ye are a good man in yer center. Ye did that, and the very next day ye were back to yer womanizin’ ways, but I didnae forget, and I am sure that all of those maids who ye helped didnae forget either,” she finished.
Uielam was shocked. He did remember what she was talking about, what with her perfect recount of the events that had occurred. Then he had been irritated by the head guard’s behavior, that was all he remembered. He had heard of what the man was doing and consumed in his thirst to punish him. He’d shared it with Osgar. Together they had set out to right the wrong. He had not seen it as anything special, so of course, he did not remember it. In fact, he just realized that the former head guard would still be in the dungeons.
It had been five years already since that happened. When he’d ordered that the man be imprisoned, he’d not really considered the period for his imprisonment. If Lilia had not reminded him, he would probably have never remembered that he had such a prisoner. Considering what the man had done, however, he deserved a few more years.
“Ye are a good man Uielam… And ye will make a great Laird,” she said with conviction.
&nb
sp; Chapter Sixteen
Uielam looked flustered at her words. His cheeks were flushed from shyness, and he was looking everywhere but at her. He looked so vulnerable and real at that moment, no longer Uielam Younger but just a man holding her in his arms. She longed for him.
Ye’re pished, Lilia. The ale is gettin’ to yer head.
She warned herself in her mind, but she was already way past listening to such warnings. It was true that she was a bit drunk, but there could never be a more perfect moment. She’d been hoping for a moment like this when he would come to her, not as The Younger, but as a man. Her drunkenness, if anything, gave her the boldness to seize the opportunity.
Ye are only reactin’ like this because of the scare ye had today. That is why ye want him.
She disagreed with her thoughts again. It was true that the attack made her vulnerable, but he was helpless as well. Besides, she had always wanted him.
“I… It means a lot that ye would say that…” Uielam was saying. She angled her head up so that she could look at him. His eyes looked even bluer from her angle as they caught the firelight. It might have been the alcohol, but she could not help but be dazzled.
“I havenae told anyone this but I worry sometimes,” he confessed. A frown scrunched up her features in her confusion.
“Worry about what?” she asked.
“Me inheritance of the Lairdship. I sometimes worry that I will nae be a good Laird. Faither is strong, and he is righteous. He leads the clan in peace and prosperity, and he has conquered all who brought war to our clan, protecting our people as well as establishing our strength to all those who would dare attack us. He did all this and is still a great faither to me, and he was clearly a good husband to me maither with how happy they looked in all their portraits and the love between them that is known through the whole clan. Sometimes I am nae sure I will be able to take his place or be even half the man that he is,” Uielam said.
He looked so vulnerable she found herself reaching for him. She cupped his face in her hands making him look down and meet her eyes.
“Ye are as good a man as yer faither is, and ye will be even greater. If ye asked him, I am sure that he would say the same,” she told him. He covered her hand against his cheek with his own and leaned into her touch. Lost in the moment, she pushed herself up and pressed her lips to his. He gasped in obvious surprise and she took the chance to deepen the kiss, her tongue slipping between his lips in search of his.
Uielam pulled back, leaving her bereft as he grabbed her hands and moved them from his face.
“Ye should nae dae that Lilia… Ye’re pished and nae thinkin’ straight. Also ye are still shaken up from the attack. This is nae a good idea,” Uielam said and swallowed. On instinct she leaned down to kiss his throat instead. He groaned and pulled away from her even further.
“Lilia…” He warned. Undeterred, she took her hands from his and placed them on his shoulders, adjusting herself so she was straddling him instead of sitting in his lap. He looked up at her with need in his eyes as she hovered over him with her hair veiling them both.
“Ye’re right. I am a bit pished, and aye, I am vulnerable from the attack. These only make me need ye more, however. I have always wanted ye but never allowed meself to indulge. Being pished allows me that. And after what happened, there is nothin’ I want more than to be in yer arms,” she whispered, lowering her head to kiss him softly, and this time he did not resist. “You make me feel safe.”
She kissed him again, harder this time, and he wrapped his arms around her, the hold on his control he had snapping as he grabbed her hips and ground her against him. She gasped into his kiss as his movements sparked an aching need deep in her body. She dug her fingers into his scalp as their kiss intensified. He was warm and smelled like the forest. In his arms, she felt safer than she ever had.
“Lilia…” he said again, this time a moan against her lips. He lifted her by the hips, rising to change their position as he lay her back against the blankets.
“I should nae be doing this…” He muttered as he lowered himself unto her, peppering kisses down her neck as he went. “I wish I were a better man and could continue to hold meself back from ye, but I am nae, and I cannae stop wantin’ ye.”
With those words, he claimed her lips, his kiss demanding and possessive. She gave herself willingly, glad that he chose not to hold himself back. She did not want him to hold back, she was done holding back as well. She moaned softly as his tongue delved into her mouth, and he responded with a rough grunt deep in his throat.
His hands began to explore as he kissed her, and she arched into his touch. He slipped into her shift dress quickly, and his hand found her breasts. She moaned into his kiss as he caressed her. She loved the feel of his large hands on her soft mounds, and he touched her so expertly, his thumb dancing lightly over her nipples just enough to make her wet between her thighs. Uielam broke the kiss, raising himself up so that he could focus entirely on his task of moving her dress so that he could watch his hands as they fumbled with her breasts.
“I have been dreamin’ of these since I accidentally saw them… by the gods, ye’re bonnie Lilia…” He rasped as he drank n the sight of her bare flesh hungrily. His gaze on her skin felt like fire, and she whimpered in need. Uielam did not keep her waiting long, he bent his head to her breasts, kissing each mound before taking her nipple in his mouth. Her back arched instinctively, offering up her skin to him on a silver platter.
Uielam did not shy away. He devoured her hungrily, as though taking pleasure in pleasuring her. He moved his hand south, and Lilia could vaguely feel his warm fingers as they trailed down her belly. She whimpered again, the muscles in her belly spasming beneath his touch as she grabbed his hair with both hands.
His finger slipped into her slick folds, and her hips jerked from the pleasure that accompanied the ministrations of his tongue on her nipple. She cried out his name as he added a second finger and delved deeper, teasing her entrance before plunging in.
Heat spread from the middle of her thighs up through her spine and into her head, bursting into a thousand different colors before her eyes. He let her nipple out of his mouth with an audible pop and watched her with hazy lust-filled eyes as he expertly pressed his palm against her sensitive nub, rubbing against her as he began to thrust his fingers in and out.
She arched her back as he pleasured her, words falling from her mouth, although she had no idea what it was that she was saying. The ceiling swam in her vision, and she began to spiral out of control. She gripped the blankets, trying to find something to anchor her, but it did not work.
“Uielam, please!” She cried out. She was not sure what it was that she was begging for, but she needed relief before the pleasure tore her apart.
…
Uielam was being driven by his lust, and Lilia had the reigns. She was beautiful, her moans like music to his ears, her face the perfect picture. Every inch of her drove him mad as he pleasured her. Her slender fingers raked across the blankets searching for purchase; her breasts bounced on her chest as she arched her back, the tautness of her belly quivered in her pleasure, and the warm slickness of her walls gripped his fingers, squeezing so tight that his fingers overlapped inside her.
His breathing was shallow as his entire hand was soaked in her juices. He was harder than rock beneath his kilt. His member strained against his clothes, begging him for attention. He was so aroused that it hurt. It felt as though he would break out of his own skin.
“Uielam, please!” Lilia’s sweet voice cried out. His erection jerked in response, as though yearning to fulfill her wishes. He shook his head to clear it. He didn’t want to think of his own pleasure, just wanting to give her pleasure. She seemed to be at her limit, and he knew just what to do to give her release.
He leaned forward to steal her lips in a kiss one more time. She was so wet that even his palm against her nub was slick with her juices. He pressed his palm against her harder, beginning to shake his h
and so that his palm rubbed against her nub very quickly while his fingers continued to thrust.
The effect was immediate as Lilia screamed into his kiss, her hands coming up immediately to grab his head as she kissed him hungrily, taking over the kiss and kissing him so hard it was as though she took everything from within him. He groaned against her lips. He was at his limit as well.
Lilia came hard, her thighs snapping shut on his hand while her inner walls pulsed around his fingers, sucking them even deeper into her and squeezing as though she meant to break them. She said his name over and over as her hips bucked, and he tried to find respite by burying his face in her neck.
It was over, and she released him, her body going lax and powerless. Uielam struggled to control his breathing as he took his hand from between her thighs, and it came away covered in her sweet nectar. His member bucked again, he was straining even harder than before, and now he was sensitive, the cloth of his kilt rubbing against him sending tingles up his spine.