To Win a Highland Scot: A Time-Traveler’s Highland Love, Book 3

by Gill, Tamara

  Maya thought over his words, wondering if, in part, he spoke of his loss that he'd been made to stand by, to watch as Sorcha was taken from him. At the same time, powerless to stop it.

  "You will seek retribution. When do you think you’ll do that?" she asked, knowing that immortal as Boyd was, she wasn't so certain how far that immortality cloaked him. What if he was so severely injured, cut into pieces like the historical fabled William Wallace, what then? What would happen to him if such a fate befell him?

  "We need to prepare. A month or two, if I know the O’Cains at all. They will wait for their clan to pull together, train and plot. But doona flash yourself, lass. It'll not be me who'll die. I can assure you of that," he stated, stepping back and continuing to clean his body, reaching between his legs and lathing his private bits. For a moment, she couldn't do anything but stare and admire the virile, hot Scot.

  "I should leave you to your bath. I'll sit on the bank and wait for you." She turned to go, and he clasped her about the stomach, pulling her up against him.

  "Nay, lass," he breathed against her ear, sending goosebumps to prickle over her skin. "I doona want you to leave me."

  Maya closed her eyes, having not thought that her coming down to the pool would end in such a pleasurable way, but now that Boyd suggested it, having him, here in this clear, warm water, was all she wanted.

  "Perhaps you ought to help me out of my gown, then?" she suggested, looking over her shoulder and meeting his eye.

  Heat flickered in his green orbs, a wicked grin on his lips. "’Twould be my pleasure, lass." He reached down into the water, lifting the half-sodden dress up and over her head, throwing it onto the grassy bank.

  He ran a finger down her spine before his lips followed his finger's progress. "Your skin is so soft and smooth. I doona think I've ever seen anything so lovely."

  Maya closed her eyes, reveling in his touch. His hands moved over her, teasing and caressing her body. He clasped her breasts, kneaded them. Teased her nipples to hard little points, before sliding his hand down between her legs.

  "You make me want you, all of you, forever," he groaned against her shoulder, kissing her neck, her ear, working his way around to her nape. He ground himself against her, his hard cock sliding against her bottom.

  Maya moaned, reaching up behind her to hold his face as he kissed her neck. Heat pooled between her legs. She wanted him too. So much. More than she ever thought to want anyone in her life, but right now, right at this moment, if he did not take her, she would surely die.

  Chapter 22

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Need roared through Boyd. His rock-hard cock wept to take her. She was simply the most perfect woman he'd ever known. She made him laugh, forget his troubles, was kind and sweet. And gods blood, she made him burn.

  He kept her pinned to his front, bent down a little, and took her from behind. Her sigh of pleasure mingled with his. So tight and wet, unbelievably ready for him. Her need as great as his.

  He rocked into her, holding her stomach, his other hand playing with her puckered nipple. Tonight he'd kiss her sweet peaks, but right now… Now he required release, to forget, even for a moment, the threat against the woman in his arms, his clan, and home.

  She moaned his name, and it almost unmanned him. He tupped her harder, giving her what she wanted, what they both did, and then he felt it. The first tremors of her release, convulsing on his cock and milking him of his. He came hard and quick, her name on his lips like a sacred plea. She moved against him, taking from him what she wanted, her pleasure, before slumping back against his shoulder. A tup as quick as that was enough to make one dizzy.

  Their breathing ragged, he pulled out, turning her to face him. "What am I going to do with you, lass?"

  She wrapped her hands around his neck, leaning up to place a light kiss on his lips. "More of the same, I hope."

  A little delirious, for a moment he couldn't remember what he'd asked her, and then he did. "Aye, of course," he agreed, but that was not what he meant at all by his statement. How could he let her go when the time came? When the tapestry was ready, how could he stand by and allow her to touch it, possibly catapulting her back through time to her old life?

  He pushed her long, dark locks from her face, needing to see her sweet mouth, her little nose, and large, luminescent eyes that he'd come quite enamored of. "I will miss you, Maya lass."

  She tipped her head to the side, her eyes dimming a little with sadness. "I'll miss you too."

  "Tell me why you cannot stay?" he asked, already knowing the answer to his question. This time was not her own. She was born centuries into the future, had a life there, friends and family who would want to know where she was. This time was hard, ancient to her way of living, and dangerous. Already there were clans aware of her presence and willing to hurt her to get to Boyd. He couldn't allow that. Even though he wished he were selfish enough to have her linger, live with him here, forever.

  "As much as I'd like to, you know that I cannot. There must be rules to time travel. Certainly, I'm misplaced, and my being here would have to have a changing effect on the future. I do not want to risk that, no matter how alluring you are for me to remain."

  Of course, he understood. Still, it did not make it easy to hear. Would she stay if he fell in love with her? Told her that she was his savior? If she fell in love with him? An unattainable dream, it would seem.

  Boyd swooped her up into his arms and lowered her into the water, bathing her after their lovemaking.

  He swept his hand over her body, paying homage to the sweet delicacy between her long legs, her breasts that required wiping multiple times. She chuckled, moaned in his arms as he brought her to a second orgasm. Boyd stared down at her, marveling at her beauty, her trust in him after only a few short weeks.

  And the years loomed ahead, lonely and devoid of life, only honor and duty, and he wasn't so sure when Maya left, there would be anything left to live for. Not in this time, at least.

  The Fae Queen hovered in the tress, masked by magic, and watched Boyd Macleod savor and cherish his Maya lass from the future with an affection she'd not seen before.

  Not even with his wife, Sorcha.

  Her eyes narrowed, anger thrumming through her and threatening to break the hold on her invisibility spell. This was getting out of her control, and she would have to do something about it.

  Her curse against the laird she had thought unbreakable, certainly his love for Sorcha had led her to believe so. How wrong she was after watching the two lovers frolic in the water. Two carefree lovers who looked as if there were no troubles in the world.

  No longer would she tolerate such a farce. She would have to move on Maya, ensure she returned to her time or some other such place that no one would think to look. No human went against the Fae and merely walked away unharmed. He deserved to pay for breaking the rules, and a hundred years was not nearly long enough. A blink in time for the Fae. No, he deserved to live alone and lonely in his grand castle.

  Titania smirked, thinking of the laird when he found his new lover gone. Oh yes, this would be fun indeed, now she just needed to decide when to take his lady. The sooner, the better, by the looks of it, before they fell in love and broke her hold on the laird forever.

  Maya linked her arm around Boyd's a little while later as they walked back to the castle. Sated and somewhat tired after their pleasurable afternoon, they spoke little as they walked along the worn track, lost in their thoughts. Boyd didn't elaborate on what else the Laird O’Cain had said to the farmer who had sought refuge at Druiminn castle, but nor did he need to for her to know it wasn’t good.

  That the farmer's wife had died was serious enough, heartbreaking for the man and women in general who were susceptible to such violence, now and even in the future.

  Men could be such assholes sometimes, no matter the centuries.

  The clan was on edge. Maya could see it in their haunted eyes, the way they stood, looked about. They appeare
d permanently on guard. O’Cain had issued a warning threat, and everyone knew that the enemy laird would follow through.

  One day and soon.

  Walking through the bailey, Maya spotted Jeane sitting at a table with a group of women, each employed with cutting up and peeling vegetables. "I'm going to go help Jeane. Do you mind?" she asked Boyd, who had stopped to watch several men train with swords.

  "Nay, lass, do as you will. I shall remain here."

  Maya threw him a small smile before joining Jeane, seating herself and picking up a knife to slice the vegetables. For a moment, the clanswoman didn't speak before Jeane put paid to their silence.

  "Doona stop talking on Maya's behalf. She's just like us, a woman. You may speak freely."

  Maya didn't expect the women to be overly friendly with her. Not after the gathering where she was accused of being a witch. Although Boyd had explained her presence, the people remained distant and afraid.

  "Is it true that you are here to win our laird’s hand in marriage? ’Tis an impossible feat, doona you know? He'll never marry again. Our laird had one love and one love only, and she's gone now."

  Maya glanced up from cutting a carrot to find a young woman with long, red hair pulled off her face by two long braids, staring at her with a knowing smirk.

  Was the lass jealous? Did she want Boyd for herself? The thought sent anger to simmer in her blood. "What do you know of Macleod's wife? He hasn't spoken much of her." Or at all, not to Maya, at least. She dearly would love to know about the woman who held his heart in her hand. From what she could remember of the tapestry she was beautiful, but other than that, a historical figure, forgotten in time.

  "My great-grandmother remembered her. She's passed on now, but my mother knows all that my great-grandmother did during her life. My family lives just outside the castle grounds near the river. We've been loyal to the Macleod clan for centuries."

  "That is amazing," Maya said, noting the pride that blossomed on the young woman's face. Better than disdain. "May I ask what was said about Sorcha?"

  "Some say she was a changeling, thrown into the mortal world when just a babe. Brought up by human parents and not knowing the power, the truth of her life."

  It was all so odd listening to them speak of the Fae, of other worlds and realms. Of immortality, but then, she had time traveled, had seen for herself the Fae Queen, and could not disprove the women's tales. To do so would be equal to imagining herself as crazy as they were, and she was not crazy. All of this was real, was happening, and valid. There was little doubt about that.

  "Sorcha grew up on a large estate near Loch Carron, was brought here with her parents as a possible match for the Macleod's son. They fell in love during that summer and were handfasted before the first snowfall the following year. The one and only time the laird has been happy."

  "Until now." Maya heard Jeane's whispered words and ignored them.

  "And then she was taken," Maya pressed, needing to know as much as she could. To make sense of the past at Castle Druiminn.

  "Aye, a year after they were married, just over there near the bridge that crosses the river, it happened. The Fae found their missing child, now a woman, and demanded her return. Of course, they coudna just take Sorcha. They had to make Macleod pay for daring to love a Fae."

  Maya looked out across the bailey and spotted Boyd standing with Douglas, a tightness about Boyd's mouth telling Maya that their conversation was not pleasant. More bad news, she supposed.

  "Do you think Sorcha will ever return?"

  Another young woman nodded enthusiastically. "Oh aye, she will. She loved our laird, and as soon as she can, she will return. Their love was as grand as any mountain range, as deep and endearing as the ocean floor. Sorcha will be back, she's a Scot at heart, and her heart was left here at Druiminn."

  Maya swallowed the panic that seized her at the thought of Sorcha returning. What would Boyd do if she did? What would happen to her? He'd probably have the tapestry finished earlier than planned and shove her hand against the silk image quicker than she could say his name.

  Jeane threw her a consoling look. "Whereas I doona believe Sorcha will be back. A hundred years have passed. Nay, the Fae lass has moved on, has another life, just as our laird needs to do. Find someone else."

  Everyone at the table turned to look at Maya, and she fought not to fidget. Wishing she were that someone Boyd needed while also praying she was not. How could she choose between two times, two lives? Sorcha had no choice. A little voice inside Maya wished that she didn't either, for she wasn't sure how she would choose when it came time to make that decision.

  Chapter 23

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Before long, Maya had been at Castle Druiminn a month, which left her only three months until Samhain and when Boyd was expecting the delivery of the tapestry.

  She had thrown herself into castle life, helping Mrs. Fletcher with running the house as best she could. She had not been brought up to run such a grand home, an old and historic castle such as Druiminn.

  Still, she helped with chores in the garden, walked daily with Jeane, sometimes to the seashore at low tide, or even to the heated pool, since Boyd seemed affable enough to let them go down there with only three armed guards now instead of himself and an army of men.

  Today Jeane needed Maya to help her look in on a small cottage that was being built not far from the castle and was to be a home for the apothecary the estate had procured.

  "You are not to leave the path or Jeane's side. Look in on the building work, but dinna venture farther. ’Tis not safe," Boyd said to her, clasping her face in his hands, a warning light in his eyes. "Your usual guards will accompany you."

  Maya wrapped her arms lazily about his neck, grinning up at the overprotective laird. He was truly adorable when he got the little worry frown between his brows that she'd come to treasure.

  "I'll be fine, Boyd. The cottage is visible from the top of the castle battlements, and the three guards you have following us about will surely protect us. We're just going to discuss the layout of the house inside. I think Jeane has suggested a cellar must be built into the structure."

  "Aye, I know all about my cousin's plans. Mayhap it's time that she returned to her home."

  "No," Maya declared. "You wouldn't take her away from Douglas so soon, would you? You know he asked her to marry him, don't you?"

  "Nay, I dinna know that. When?"

  "A few weeks ago," she said, stepping out of his hold and picking up the woolen shawl over the chair before the fire. Over the last few weeks, they had not parted from each other's side, not at night at least, and it was perfectly lovely that they did not.

  Maya had started to dread October. As the crops grew higher in the fields, so too did her time become shorter with Boyd. All the while, Boyd grew more and more distracted through the day over the impending threat that the O’Cain clan had issued. That the Fae Queen had been absent this past month, too, did not help. Maya had not seen her since she appeared floating in the rafters, and a sense of expectation hung over the castle. As if at any moment everything could change, and not for the better.

  "I shall give them my blessing to marry," Boyd said, pulling her from her thoughts.

  "They will love that. And you should. I know Jeane would prefer to have your approval." She grinned at him from over by the bedroom door. "You know that the more time they spend together, the less time she needs to keep me company, and I can be all yours."

  "Hmm, well then." His brogue turned deep and cajoling as he stalked across the room. "Mayhap I'll seek her out now and tell her I approve so she may run off to Douglas and allow you to stay with me."

  Maya laughed, leaning up to kiss Boyd before pushing him away jokingly when he went to grab her. "No, today we're doing something important for the clan. And I will tell you this, Boyd Macleod. The little building we're going to discuss being built still stands in my time, so it needs to go up. You'll not distract me from my purpose."
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  "Fine, lass. Do as you will, but know when you're free, I'll be in the solar." He winked, and she laughed as she closed the door, starting down the hall and knowing all the while she had a goofy, lopsided smile on her lips.

  Maya met Jeane out in the keep where she took a basket from Mrs. Fletcher. "Food for the workmen, lass," the housekeeper said, pride in her voice. "We doona need them hungry when they're working."

  "Good morning, Mrs. Fletcher. A lovely day," Maya said, smiling at them both, the smell of fresh-baked bread wafting up from the basket.

  "Och, aye it is, Maya lass, but alas will not be for long. Soon we'll have our first frost, and then the winter snows will be upon us," Mrs. Fletcher said, looking up to the sky as if the weather was already turning.

  "I hope you like the cold," Jeane said, smiling. "Scottish winter is sure to be different to an English one."

  "I think I shall be okay." Maya met Mrs. Fletcher’s eyes and knew the older woman was thinking of her return to her own time while Scotland would brace for winter.

  They thanked the housekeeper again before starting out of the castle. It only took several minutes to make the small cottage. Several men were digging a hole within a wooden boundary that outlined the cottage walls. Others were unloading a cart of rectangular stone, similar in color to the castle that she could just see through the tops of the trees.

  The day was warmer than the last this past week, and Maya went and sat under a tall pine watching as Jeane discussed the cottage with a man who looked to be in charge of everyone else working there.

  She started when two men in light-colored trews and matching tunics sat beside her, pinning her between them. "Hello, Maya. How lovely to meet you at last. I've heard so much about you."

  Maya looked between the men, a sense of power emanating from them in waves. She went to stand, and they both clasped the tops of her arms, holding her still. "Do not move or make a scene, human. With a flick of my fingers, all who stand before you could be dead. Would you like that on your conscience?"