Lost in the Highlands, Volume One

by Lorraine Beaumont

  What was the point?

  Giving the fur on the floor a sidelong glance he made his way to his bed. With a heavy heart, he lifted the covers and climbed underneath.

  He started when his feet hit something other than his mattress.

  Jerking back the furs he looked down. The lass, his lass, he amended, was curled into a ball, hugging one of his pillows. Relief along with another emotion filled him and he decided it was one he didn’t want to ponder overmuch, at least not now. Lifting his hand, he moved her hair from her face. She made the softest mewling sound in her sleep and squirmed closer to the warmth of his body. As he watched her, he decided he would let her sleep here tonight but on the morrow, he fully intended to give her a firm dressing down, but even as he thought that, the corners of his lips lifted into one of his rare smiles.

  Carefully, so as not to wake her, he pulled the furs back up to cover them both and then laid his head down next to hers on one of the pillows. Without thinking, he reached forward, gathered her sleeping form in his arms, and spooned her from behind as he drifted off into the most restful sleep he had in quite some time.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  LOCH MORAR, SCOTLAND

  Sometime during the reign of King James

  A dream…a most delicious, delectable dream…her foggy brain insisted as a warm calloused hand slid down inside her gown, covering her right breast and then gently caressed the peak of her rigid nipple. A pair of soft lips soon followed, accompanied by the rough scruff of beard against the top.

  “Ye taste as sweet as honey, lass.” A light stream of air whispered against her naked flesh and her body responded even though she was a little disappointed, because now she knew she was definitely dreaming.

  Every night, her dream Highlander gave her that very same line, soon followed by him telling her he was going to claim her for his verra own…

  “I want ta taste ye,” he murmured into her mouth, nibbling her lips as he slid down to her neck, trailing kisses down her throat.

  Her body tensed…wait…she didn’t remember the taste part…

  “I want to claim ye for my verra own, lass,” he said gruffly, the sound coming from deep in his throat vibrated against her ear as though he was really with her, and not some delusion she conjured while she slept.

  Definitely a dream.

  Relaxing again, she let her sexy dream highlander have his way with her person.

  Threading her hands into his long dark hair, she cradled his head to her breast as his lips kissed and his mouth sucked the sensitive skin.

  Before she knew it, her dream Highlander’s hand was under her gown, sliding further up her leg, to the warmth between her thighs.

  A zing of pleasure shot through Paige as soon as his fingers touched the sensitive flesh, and even though she was sure she was dreaming, there was a small part of her brain sounding off a warning that said, maybe this felt a bit too real, a bit too good, but she chose to ignore it.

  Fisting the sheets, her legs fell open a little wider as his fingers delved deeply inside, invading her body, and then pulling out, just enough, before sliding back inside again.

  Every caress, every kiss, brought Paige closer to the edge and each time he bit her nipple, a bolt of pleasure shot through her body. She felt pulled in a million different directions, his hands, his mouth, his body, all at once. She was awash in pleasure. With one last gentle stroke her entire body tensed, and before she knew it she was spiraling out of control, shattering from within against his hand.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  LOCH MORAR, SCOTLAND

  Sometime during the reign of King James

  Mortification set in the moment she felt the bed give beside her. After her explosive orgasm, she was pretty much ripped awake from the best dream she ever had only to realize that she wasn’t dreaming at all. That is when the mortification began to set in. Not only wasn’t she dreaming, but a very real, very hot, Highlander, was lying on his back next to her. She knew this because she heard him breathing and felt the side of his warm body pressed against her own. Now that she remembered where she was and what she had just let a complete stranger do, she thought she just might die of embarrassment.

  Thank the Lord it was dark.

  The storm continued to rage outside and shake the walls of the castle.

  Again, she felt him shift beside her and she thought she should say something, but she couldn’t think of anything to say other than, Wow, that was awesome, but of course, she wouldn’t say that. Even in her dream Paige had never thanked him (her dream Highlander) for doing all those wonderful things to her body. And now that she knew it had really happened, she was completely and unequivocally, mortified, and embarrassed, and of course so satiated that all she wanted to do was roll over and snuggle closer to him.

  As if reading her thoughts, he turned over on his side, wrapped his arm around her waist, and pulled her back against the length of his warm hard body once more.

  In the darkness, as the storm rumbled and kicked up a good fuss outside, she waited for him to say something, anything… but as the minutes passed and his breathing became heavier, she had a feeling he wasn’t going to say a word about what just happened without her prompting him to do so. Which, she wasn’t, of course.

  Instead, she reveled in the way his muscular body felt pressed closely to her own and how his breath warmed the back of her neck and shoulder.

  Too soon, his breathing evened out and she felt the distinct rumbling from his chest as he began to snore.

  Relaxing against him, now that he was sleeping once more, she felt torn. Part of her was glad for the reprieve. The other part however, the one that was apparently never satisfied, was a little upset he didn’t say anything about what just happened between them. Who knew, maybe he wouldn’t remember. Maybe if she got out of the bed, he would think it was all a dream and she wouldn’t have to suffer through more embarrassment than was necessary for the duration of her stay, however long that may be. Now that she had that far-reaching thought in her mind, she made the hasty decision on what she had to do.

  Carefully, so as not to wake him, Paige lifted his hand from her waist and reluctantly climbed from under the warmth of the furs. When her bare feet hit the hard, cold floor, she started second-guessing her decision to move. Garnering her resolve, she powered through it, and quickly made her way over to the smelly fur on the floor in front of the fire (her makeshift bed) and lay down on top.

  Shivering, she twisted the fur around her body and as the storm continued to rage outside, she finally drifted off into a restless slumber.

  ♦

  Gavin slid his hand over to the now empty space at his side. He wasn’t worried, though. She obviously only needed a moment of privacy. But when the minutes continued to tick by and she still did not come back to his bed, an all too familiar heaviness settled around his heart, reinforcing the wall that had started to crumble.

  ♦

  The storm had vanished by the time Paige woke and as she looked over at the now empty bed, it would seem, so had her highlander. Her face heated as she remembered a bit too clearly what happened in that very same bed only a few short hours ago. Standing up, she hurriedly crossed the room to get ready for the day.

  Once again, there was clean water in the basin and she splashed it on her face before washing up as best as she could. When she finished, she walked over in front of the fire, lifted the fur off the floor, and folded it into a nice square before placing it on the trunk. She made his bed as well. Fluffing the pillows more than needed, she tried to prolong the inevitable but her stomach grumbled loudly, reminding her that she had yet to eat anything substantial since yesterday and that was almost too little food to even count. So even though she was being a chicken and didn’t want to leave his room to face him in the light of day, her grumbling belly had other ideas.

  So, with one last look around, she left the room and made her way down the dark gloomy corridor, to the top of the stairs.

  Mu
ch like the first night she was here, Paige stared down into the hall and was surprised to see it appeared empty save for the monstrous dog that was taking up residence in front of the damn door, sleeping.

  Again, her belly grumbled, spurring her to make a decision. Throwing caution to the wind, she very carefully and as quietly as she could, made her way down the stairs.

  The dog thankfully didn’t move from its resting place. With her heart pounding too loudly, she gathered her skirts in her hand, preparing to make a break for the kitchen.

  Taking off, she rounded the corner, and came to a skidding a halt. In the corner, where she could not see before, was a chair, and in that chair, was her Highlander, and he was staring right at her.

  He didn’t look happy.

  Her breath caught in her throat as she waffled in place, not sure if she should run back to his room or face him and in doing so get this ridiculous humiliation business out of the way once and for all. So, garnering her slipping resolve, she stayed right where she was.

  “Good morning,” she called as cheerily as she could under the circumstances, albeit quieter than she normally would have due to the sleeping massive dog across the room.

  He didn’t move. Not a muscle and for a moment she didn’t think he was going to say anything to her at all. On the verge of turning around and running back to his room, he finally spoke.

  “Aye, it would seem some of us are having a good morning,” he said in the sexy Scottish brogue of his that set her heart to pounding once more.

  Uncrossing his long legs, he stood from the chair. As he approached she was reminded of a panther, beautifully graceful but also deadly. She shivered in spite of the brave front she was putting on as he drew nearer.

  “Och, lass,” he sighed and stopped in front of her. “What am I ta do with ye?”

  Anything you want, she almost blurted. “Whatever do you mean?” she squeaked out in a pitch too high, her voice betraying the calm façade’ she was attempting to master but also obviously failing miserably by the look on his too handsome face.

  A frown marred his perfect brow as he continued to stare her down. “Ye do not like it here much, do ye?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that,” she attempted to sound breezy, not stupid and embarrassed like she felt.

  His frown deepened as he lifted his hand to her face. Her betraying body leaned towards his and she had all she could do to remain standing upright at the slightest touch from him. “Did ye sleep well?” His brow lifted a notch.

  “Um…” He stroked his thumb across her jaw, which was doing a good job of distracting her from what she wanted to say.

  “I can see that ye did, sleep well, that is. Aye?” His lips twitched upward and his eyes sparked with a mischievous gleam.

  The urge to lean forward, to place her hand on his beautiful face as he was hers was overwhelming and just as she was about to do something that she was sure she would have kicked herself for later, he dropped his hand and stepped back away from her.

  Instinctively, she took a step forward, to what…chase after him? She wasn’t sure, but whatever it was she forced herself to stop as he betraying eyes drifted back to his mouth, that very same mouth that had kissed her and…

  “Well?”

  “Huh?” She lifted her eyes back to his.

  “Ah, lass, ye confuse me.” He raked his hand through his hair, in exasperation she supposed.

  “What do you find so confusing about me?”

  “Ye run hot and cold. One moment ye are in my arms, writhing and mewling. Then after ye have yer fill from me, ye run away, scared, from the very thing that has given ye such pleasure.”

  Her mouth popped open. Paige didn’t know what to say to that. Since when were men so perceptive and blatantly candid? And to answer her own question, she would have said, never. She’d never met a man in her world like him but apparently things were a lot different here, in his world…in the past. Just thinking that made a bubble of hysterical laughter slip from her mouth.

  Appalled at what she had just done, she covered her mouth but it was already too late. His expression turned on a dime and not in a good way.

  “Lass,” he exhaled, shaking his head. “I am getting a little tired of yer foolish games.”

  “Games?” she repeated.

  “Aye…” His eyes were deadly serious.

  In spite of the heat she felt with him near, her body involuntarily shivered.

  “Tend ta yer chores, lass,” he said as he turned to go.

  “Wait,” she called, feeling unsettled.

  He stopped and turned towards her with an unreadable expression on his too handsome face as his brow slowly hitched up another notch.

  Paige swallowed past the lump that had taken up residence in her throat. “What do you mean?”

  “Which part?”

  “Obviously, the game part,” she deadpanned, being smart, partly because she was tired, and because she was nervous.

  His eyes flashed with something akin to anger, making her shiver. “Ye need ta make up yer mind.” And with that he turned on his heel, stalked across the hall and out the door.

  Luckily, for her, the dog followed him out.

  Shaking all over, she sat down in the chair he had vacated only moments before and rubbed her aching head. “That’s just great, Paige. Now he is angry again!”

  She covered her face with her hands. “God, what am I doing?”

  Of course, she didn’t have an answer to her question any more than she had an answer to how she got here in the first place. And if she wasn’t so damn hungry she probably would have gone straight back to his room and had a good lie down on the floor until she woke up in her own time. But as with most things she did, nothing was easy, so instead, she stood up, and made her way to the kitchen to find something to eat.

  ♦

  After she ate some fresh fruit, a piece of bread and something that looked like beef jerky. Paige started on her daily chores which surprisingly didn’t last as long as she would have thought.

  Once she was finished, she decided to go outside and see where all her highlanders had disappeared. Granted, there was only one highlander that she really cared to see but she included the others too so it would sound better. And it made her feel less pathetic, so she stuck with it.

  As she stepped through the door, the sunlight instantly blinded her. Lifting her hand, she shielded her eyes. Since she had been inside the dim castle for most of the day doing her “chores” per her roomies, instructions, it took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust even though the sun was already slipping down from the sky.

  Wispy clouds floated past in stark contrast to the gray-blue backdrop of sky.

  On the lookout for the dog, she made her way down the stairs. A cool breeze blew gently and made gooseflesh rise on her sweat-dampened skin. Leaves rustled on the branches of the only tree standing in the middle of the courtyard as the dirt under her feet made a slight crunching noise as she continued across the yard.

  A chicken was scratching the dirt and pecking at some unseen bug or grain as she passed by.

  She made it a few feet when she had a distinct feeling that she was being watched again. It probably had more to do with her conscience than her prickling skin. Or so she thought, until she turned around and saw a shadow slipping around the edge of the castle.

  She took two steps forward, part of her thinking that she should maybe follow it, but then another part of her mind, the sane part, said, “Hell No!”

  For once, she let the voice of reason control her actions and went with the “Hell No!”, and instead, walked in the other direction.

  As she followed a well-worn dirt path out of the confines of the castle, the sound of metal hitting metal, rang out, and drew her over across the yard, past a low stone-wall with a gentle slope leading to a lower grassy field.

  When she rounded the corner, her eyes widened at what she saw.

  Stopping abruptly, she rubbed her eyes, for surely, she was s
eeing things.

  In the field below shirtless Highlanders split into groups of two, jabbing, slicing and pirouetting away from each other wielding very large swords. Their long hair whirled out, as did their kilts as their agile half-naked bodies, dipped, ducked, and sidestepped away from their opponents.

  Rooted to the ground, she watched her Highlander as his muscles rippled, bunched, and elongated with each movement under a glistening sheen of sweat that covered every inch of his exposed skin as he deftly, swiftly, and accurately wielded his sword, out maneuvering his would- be opponent at every turn.

  Her mouth popped open of its own accord as her body grew heated and her knees became weak. Not able to take her eyes from the surreal scene, she reached down and placed her hand on the rough surface of the rock wall, then sat down before she fell.

  It was quite a sight to behold and what could only be described as poetry in motion.

  ♦

  At least an hour passed as they continued at a relentless pace until the sun finally slipped down in the horizon and the reddish color of the sky transposed itself into purplish hues turning the full light of the day into twilight.

  Before anyone noticed, Paige made herself move from her gawking spot and headed back up to the castle to make sure the stew she prepared earlier would be ready for them when they came inside.

  She only hoped it was edible.

  ♦

  Gavin lowered his sword arm and embraced Morgan with a hearty slap to his back. “That was a fine bit of sparring,” he told the brawny man who stood a full head taller than him and who was also the only man older than he was.

  “I suppose ye were not so bad either for a mere bairn barely weaned from ye mother’s teat.”