Highland Tryst

by Eliza Knight

  Delicate fingers glided up his arm and threaded through his hair, tugging him until his mouth met hers. Lips that were full, inviting. A tongue that was velvety soft.

  “Mmm…” she moaned against his mouth, her back arching.

  It was all the invitation Fin needed. Surroundings forgotten, he let himself drift into that ethereal world where only the person whose lips are attached to your own mattered. He slid his tongue along the crevice of her mouth, and when she opened for him, he sunk in deep, taking possession, claiming her.

  The rapid pace of his heart beat against his ribs, and blood long left dormant raced through his limbs and flooded into his groin. His cock grew long and hard, and he rolled over on top of the woman to slide his length against the sweet spot he craved. Oh, how he craved… His hands slid up and down her trim legs, over her waist and to the outside curves of her breasts. Feather-soft touches, meant to tease, to entice. The lass shivered beneath him, her pelvis lifting up against his, and he pressed down, letting his thick cock probe against the juncture of her thighs. Thoughts of slipping inside her hot, wet channel seized him, and he growled low in his throat.

  He’d had it wrong. She was no angel, but a siren. And at that moment, he did not care, only wanted to sink inside her. Her thighs widened, giving him even more access to the delicious heat between them. Warmth spread from her loins to his.

  Good God! She was a vixen! Forget demons. Forget metal monsters. Feminine heat was all he knew.

  Both of her arms wrapped around him, and she issued sexy little pants and moans. Fin answered each moan with one of his own as their bodies gyrated, and their mouths devoured each other.

  “Thank ye, Gordana,” he murmured against her lips.

  She stiffened beneath him, pulled her mouth away, clamped her legs closed, and her hands pushed against his chest in resistance. “Get off me!”

  “Huh?” Fin blinked, dazed, and his gaze locked with sharp green eyes. “What is the matter?”

  “I don’t know who Gordana is, but it isn’t me, and I’ve had about enough of male cockiness lately. Get off.” Her voice was laced with anger.

  “Oh no, lass.” He stroked her cheek and smiled indulgently. “Gordana sent me here. I was only thanking her in spirit for bringing me to ye.”

  She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Good God, she was beautiful, and he wanted her with a fierce longing he’d never known before. Fin lowered his head until their noses met, and then lower still until his lips brushed gently against hers again.

  The lass resisted for a moment, and just when he was about to pull back in defeat, her eyes drifted closed, and she kissed him back.

  What was she doing?

  Kari didn’t know, and she didn’t care.

  Several teenagers were making cat-calls, a few telling them to get a room. Fin snarled something at them she didn’t understand, and they scurried away.

  The man was hot. His mouth tasted delicious; his body felt even better. He kissed with sweet sin, and she wanted so badly to be wicked with him. And on top of those superficial reasons, he was taking away her pain. Steve had hurt her for the last time, and right now, all she wanted was to forget about his latest indiscretion and her embarrassment at having let it go on for as long as she had.

  Besides, couldn’t this be Fate? She had sworn never to believe in love unless a Highlander dropped at her feet, and what had happened? Just that! Well, she refused to believe this feeling was love, impossible—it had to be lust. She must be hallucinating, a result of bumping her head.

  Kari stroked her hands down the bare muscled ridges of his back to the rough wool of his kilt and then gripped his taut buttocks. Her breath quickened in her throat. She’d never touched a male form so well built. It was like he really was a Highland warrior, reincarnated from one of her favorite novels. Tall, rippling with muscle, chiseled face, piercing eyes, soft shoulder-length hair…Every inch of him pulsed with power, sensuality. She spread her legs beneath him again and wrapped them around his waist, instantly rewarded with the feel of his large cock settling between her thighs. Good Lord, he was well endowed!

  Kari rocked her hips, taking pleasure in the sparks of intensity that came with the movement. The man deepened the kiss, making her feel delirious. She didn’t even know him, but in his arms, she felt safe. There was something about him, perhaps the way he’d lovingly stroked her cheek, which connected her to him instantly.

  If he asked her to, she would say, “screw it,” and strip off her scrubs and let him fuck her brains out right then and there. He had that much power over her with a few touches and his kiss. No other man had ever made her feel this way.

  Above them, the storm had settled, and the sun battled with the darkened clouds to shine through slits in the black. The rain only drizzled slightly on the otherwise empty beach, the short-tempered storm abating somewhat.

  The Highlander’s lips traversed from her mouth over her neck, sending tingling frissons to her core. His lips were soft, and the prickly shadow of his beard was abrasive. Gooseflesh rose everywhere he touched, and her nipples jutted against her scrubs, begging for attention.

  The man must have known exactly what her body needed because he headed south, his lips capturing one turgid nipple, nibbling with his teeth.

  She reached to pull her shirt up, but he stayed her hand, lifting the fabric himself to reveal the flesh of her belly. He placed his lips on her bare skin, and she nearly shrieked with pleasure. His tongue darted out to play lazy circles around her navel, and then his mouth moved lower, to breathe hotly on the center of her. Her sex pulsed with heat, and currents of electricity rocketed through her body.

  Goodness…he was bringing out a side of her she didn’t even recognize. Never before would she have allowed this much touching on a beach…

  His mouth hovered over her most intimate place, and she tried to wriggle out of her pants, but he shook his head, his wicked eyes meeting hers.

  “Not yet, lass.”

  Her head fell back and tossed from side to side as his mouth came down on her bud, teething the sensitive flesh through her thin pants. Thank God, she hadn’t worn any panties today, either.

  Oh. My. God.

  She sucked in a breath through her teeth as he relentlessly mouthed her clit with his lips, tongue and teeth. She threaded her fingers through his hair and held on tight as he continued his delicious torture. Then she knew nothing but bliss as an orgasm ripped through her body like a firework. Her limbs trembled, shook, and her insides quivered frantically.

  Kari pulled the Highlander up for a searing kiss, her hand traveling up his muscular thigh to feel the weighty length of his bare cock in her hands.

  So, it was true. The man wore nothing beneath his kilt. She’d thought that was only rubbish in her novels. His cock was huge. Long. Thick. Hot. She wanted to suck him, ride him, anything he wanted. And again, and again…

  But before she could voice her needs, he pulled her hand away and stopped kissing her.

  “I cannot, in all conscience, take advantage of ye in such a public place.” He raked a hand through his dark shoulder-length hair. “But ye gods, do I want to.”

  Kari looked around the empty beach and gave him a tempting smile, her body still pulsing and begging for more of his touch. “There is no one here.”

  His eyes widened as he glanced around. “’Tis true…but I still cannot take advantage of a maiden.”

  “A maiden?” Kari raised a quizzical brow.

  “Aye, lass.”

  A seductive, throaty laugh she didn’t recognize left her throat. “I am no maiden.”

  The Highlander’s intense gaze flicked back to hers and held her captive. Then he narrowed his eyes as her words sank in. “Not a maiden, ye say? Would ye be expecting coin then?”

  Kari laughed aloud. “No, warrior, only pleasure.” Where did that come from? She was never so bold.

  “That I can provide.” He bent his head again and licked a path from one corner of her mouth to th
e other. “But, I do not know your name or your family.”

  She threaded her hands through his hair. “Kari Howard. And my family won’t care.”

  “Have they left ye orphaned then?”

  She narrowed her eyes. Why was he making this so difficult? “No. I’m a grown woman, and I make my own decisions.”

  The man pursed his lips. “France certainly is odd. Have the demons completely run rampant?”

  Well that explained it… The man was completely cracked. She leaned up on her elbows and tried to wriggle away from him. Surprisingly, he sat back on his heels and let her go. Kari stood up and smoothed out her scrubs, swiping sand from her ass.

  Normally she was a lot more careful about who she hooked up with. She blamed Steve and the emotional toll finding him in bed with another woman had taken. Maybe she was a bit cracked herself.

  Taking a deep breath, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at the beautiful man kneeling before her. “What is your name?”

  “Fin.”

  “Do you have a last name, Fin?”

  He looked away. Good Lord, was he a criminal too? Why didn’t he want to share his full name?

  “Okay, you don’t have to tell me, Fin, but I’ve suddenly remembered I need to be somewhere. It was lovely to meet you.”

  With those words, Kari whirled on her heel and hurried back to her car, wet sand flicking up behind her. Maybe she’d been hit by lightning? She remembered the loud crack and the bright lights, even remembered ducking down to avoid it. How else could she explain her momentary lapse into insanity?

  Yes, that was it, she’d been struck by lightning.

  She reached her car, hit the unlock button and grasped the handle when long, thick fingers curled around her forearm.

  “Was it something I said, lass?” Fin’s voice was gruff, filled with emotion—regret, sadness.

  Her heart clenched, and she turned around to face him. A violent tremble shook hands, so she shoved them into her pockets. Could this really be happening? He seemed to be totally cognizant. How was it possible?

  His face was dark, cloudy like he held many horrors behind his eyes. What life had he led before he dropped at her feet? As much as she wanted to reach out to him, she knew she couldn’t. She had too many things going on in her own life—like needing to make sure Steve got the fuck out of her apartment, and she needed to find a new job. Every day, facing the resident Steve slept with would be mortifying. And although she had randomly hooked up with the kilt-wearing, burr-talking hottie, that was not her usual style, and inside she was crumbling.

  “Yes and no, Fin. I don’t know you. I don’t know where you’re from, what your background is. You are a complete stranger to me. And while I…” She trailed off, not able to finish what she wanted to say. It was too intimate, and she’d already shut the door on being close to this man.

  “While ye enjoyed it, ye are afraid of me. Tell me.” His demand was soft yet imploring, insight on point. Something in his voice—in the way his intense gaze caught and held hers—made how she’d felt safe earlier in his arms come bubbling back to the surface.

  She sighed and looked down at the pavement. “Yes, I enjoyed it, but I have a lot going on in my life right now. You can’t be real!”

  “I’m real, lass.” He nodded, his eyes sad. “I understand your hesitation, but can ye…” His eyes flicked over the parking lot, and trepidation glinted behind their dark depths.

  The man was worried, maybe even scared. It couldn’t be. He seemed the epitome of strength, a tower to lean against when everything else was crumbling. Did he realize she was just as alien to him as he was to her?

  Kari chewed her lip. “Yes?”

  “Where am I?”

  Had he suffered a head injury? Kari narrowed her eyes and tilted her head, examining the Highlander. He wore no shirt and had a kilt wrapped around his body, tied with a braided leather belt. Soft leather boots rode up to his knees. No weapons. “Ocean Valley.”

  “Ocean Valley.” The words sounded foreign on his tongue. “France?”

  “No. The United States.”

  There was that anxiety again… Rushing over his face before being covered again by his need for control. The muscle in his jaw ticked.

  “United States?”

  Was he for real? “Yeah, America.”

  “America.” He rolled the word around his mouth as if testing it out—as if he’d never said it before.

  “How did you get here, Fin?”

  A bitter laugh escaped him. “Ye’d never believe me.”

  She placed a reassuring hand on his thick forearm. “Try me.”

  He turned toward her, his eyes flashing lightning. “Magic.”

  3

  Fin watched as annoyance sparked in the fiery Kari’s gaze. He’d known she wouldn’t believe him. Saints, but this was hell. Gordana’s magic had not worked and God had interceded, sending him straight to purgatory. Surrounded by demons and a tempting woman he could never be with—this could only be the place he was doomed to walk and suffer in for all eternity.

  “My apologies for having taken up your time, lass,” he muttered and then turned to leave. He would go back to the beach. If he had to, he’d spend the next several thousand years staring into its depths. Praying for the day he was relieved of his punishment.

  “Wait,” she called gently. He turned to see her looking down at the strange black ground, her lip caught between her teeth.

  Fin didn’t move but waited to hear what she would say—despite the unearthly pull to take her in his arms. He’d sensed a bond with her, something beyond the physical, as if he were meant to be here with her. That sensation had been the reason he at first believed that Gordana had sent him here to find his soul mate. But now… Now he didn’t know what the hell was happening.

  “Would you like to get a cup of coffee? Sort things out? I don’t feel right just leaving you here.”

  He didn’t know what coffee was, but he knew “cup” meant it was a beverage of some sort. A loud grumble came from his belly. Could you be hungry in Hell? “I would appreciate it, lass.” He kept his voice calm, not wanting to scare her off. For the truth was, she knew this strange land, and he did not. If he was going to survive it for however long he was doomed to be here, then he might as well have an ally.

  Kari nodded but didn’t say anything, instead she opened a door on the behemoth metal box and motioned for him to get in. “I’ll drive.”

  He hesitated. Drive? She would drive this metal box as a man would drive a wagon? Was this a trick of some sort?

  “Do you have a horse?” he asked.

  “What?” Kari wrinkled her brow. In a soft voice she said, “You act as though you’ve never been in a car before. I promise I’m a good driver. Come on, I won’t bite.”

  “I have not seen a… car.” The word was strange on his tongue. “How can I trust that you’re a good driver of this”—he waved his hand—“thing?”

  She raised a brow. “I’m alive, aren’t I?”

  The lass had a point. And since when was he such a timid fool? He was a warrior, not a lily-livered swine.

  With more confidence than he felt, Fin walked toward and slid onto the supple leather seat. She shut the door and walked around to the other side. Inside were strange buttons, a wheel. His heart sped up a bit at the unfamiliar surroundings. He felt completely out of control—something he was not used to. She climbed in and pulled a belt from the wall near her shoulder, clicking it into place at her opposite hip.

  Kari glanced at him, then reached over him, the scent of her permeating his breathing space, and he sucked in deeply. She pulled a belt from the wall beside his shoulder and clicked him in too. The belt held him firmly in place against the chair—trapping him. Another trick? She was tying him up?

  Fin glanced at her sideways. The logical part of his head told him she would not also tie herself up. What would he do if this were a trick? Could he escape? Aye, he could. He fiddled with the
strap—it was a flimsy thing he could easily rip through if need be. But the truth of the matter was, he needed to trust her.

  “Why must we go in this…car,” he let the words roll oddly off his tongue, “when I smelled many things cooking along the beach? Could we not get a beverage there?”

  She smiled and looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were from the Middle Ages. We’re going to a quiet place I like, trust me.” She stuck a metal stick into a slot. The car lit up and rumbled beneath him.

  He braced himself, trying to heed her words about trust. “It’s alive? What kind of beast is this?”

  Kari laughed. “Oh my God, are you serious? You really have never been in a car…”

  “Lass, I never lie.”

  He reached behind his back—his claymore was gone. He slipped a finger into his boot; at least he still had his dirk for protection.

  “How is it you’ve never been in a car?” she asked.

  “They do not exist where I am from. We use horses.”

  “Really?” She seemed skeptical. “Where are you from?”

  The beast lurched forward and then rode smoothly over the paved road. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Your world is so different than mine. I am from Scotland.”

  “Fin, I’ve been to Scotland—they have cars there.”

  “Perhaps cars have come to the Lowlands, but I am from the Highlands.”

  “I drove into the Highlands. Cars are there too.”

  He shook his head, feeling slightly queasy at the speed with which they’d taken off. “Impossible.” Fin opened his eyes when her car came to a stop in front of a small building.

  “Fin, what is impossible is that you’ve never heard of or seen a car if you are truly from Scotland.”

  Fin turned to face Kari, his large hands engulfing her smaller ones. “I am entirely serious, lass.”

  Her eyes widened, then she furrowed her brow, took the metal stick out of the slot, the rumbling of the beast ceasing. “How did you get here?”