After a last hug, he left the keep and Cailyn, with no plans to return in the near future.
****
His men kept sliding questioning gazes at him, and Jamie ignored them. Sure he'd barked at them several times, but that shouldn't cause them to act so bothered. In all the years as captain of his ship, he'd ruled with a soft-spoken, but firm manner. After all, most of his sailors were men who'd proven themselves before joining him. Men who preferred to remain neutral during the Scottish-English war, each with good reason to not take sides.
"Captain Westcott," his first mate and close friend, Geoffrey, finally spoke. "Will we go directly to the ship?"
"Aye." Jamie frowned at him. "Why do you ask?"
"I thought perhaps you'd like to stop at a brothel and see about your dour disposition." The man had the gall to grin and shake his head.
"There is no need for it," Jamie snapped.
"Perhaps you require something else then. Whatever it is, there is no need for you to take it out on the men." Geoffrey rode alongside him, his steed prancing.
Something else?
"Aye, Captain, we all have a purpose in life, and sometimes it's easier to accept that we don't always control our destiny." Geoffrey's eyes bore into his. "I, for one, know what mine is. I will return home, been too long away from my wife and children."
"I did not know you were married." Jamie studied the stout, ruddy man, imagining him with children.
Geoffrey chuckled. "Made time for it, Cap'n. Have four wee ones." The man gazed toward the distance. "My oldest boy is about to marry, start a family of 'is own."
"Well good on you mate," Jamie told him meaning it.
"I will miss the seas, but I miss my family more." With a grin, Geoffrey urged his mount forward, when one of the other men pulled the first mate into conversation.
Jamie pondered his friend’s words. What was his destiny? Was he fighting it? Cailyn's face appeared instantly in his mind. Was he a coward to not accept that he more than cared for her?
"Geoffrey!" He called reigning his horse to a stop. "Take the ships to England, I will stay in Scotland for the winter season."
"Aye, Captain," Geoffrey waved over his shoulder, and the men galloped off without him.
*****
"I'm not hungry," Cailyn repeated once again. This time her brother, Conor, was the one to ask. "I will eat later."
The sound of the door closing gave her leave to climb into the bed. Ever since he left, she'd been in the room where Jamie slept. Pretending to straighten it, she'd fought not to cry.
"Augh." She punched at the bedding. And her a McDougall, a strong Scottish woman. She did not need to be simpering over a man who'd left without so much as a farewell.In fact, she should ride after him and throttled him.A good lesson for his lack of chivalry.
Anger rose and she clenched her hands into fists. Cailyn stalked to the door and continued on to the stables. Moments later, rider and horse galloped toward the path that Jamie had taken.
Just an hour into her unintended trip, she slowed and climbed down from her horse. Cailyn walked to a clearing and sank down onto a fallen tree trunk. This was a mistake. Jamie had chosen to leave. She'd not go after him.
The sound of hooves alerted her to a rider approaching. Cailyn jumped to her feet and reached for her dirk, only to realize she'd left it behind in her haste.
Dropping her horse's reins, she darted to the tree line and hid behind a tree.
A rider came into the clearing, and took in her horse before scanning the foliage.
Cailyn stepped from behind the thicket. "What brings you here?"
Jamie dismounted and stood beside his steed. "I was returning to Somerset. To speak to you."
She took in the proud man who stood rigid, his chiseled, handsome face and sea-green eyes locked with hers. "You were returning to speak to me?" Cailyn looked past him. "Where are your men?"
He shrugged a wide shoulder. "They are going to the ship." He motioned to her horse. "Where are you headed? What brings you to this clearing?"
"I considered catching up to you and giving you a piece of my mind for leaving without a proper goodbye. Then I realized it wasn't worth the effort for a man without honor."
"You are correct, I am without honor." He stepped closer to her. "I am a man who is not worthy of a woman like you."
She took a step toward him and stopped. "True. So why come back then?"
"You." Jamie closed the distance between them, and without a word, cupped her face and took her mouth. His lips crushed hers, and he began to kiss her with so much force that she couldn't breathe. Finally when he pulled back, both were breathing hard.
He held his hand out to her. As she took it, the unspoken message of what both needed at the moment passed between them. Pulling a blanket roll from his saddle, Jamie led her toward a patch of grass.
He spread the blanket and they went to their knees, facing each other. Cailyn threw herself against him, and they fell over, onto the blanket. "You left without saying goodbye," she kissed his mouth. "That was not only rude…" she pecked the cleft in his chin. "But absolutely horrible of you." She pressed another kiss onto the side of his neck.
"Precisely why I was returning," Jamie rolled her onto her back and lay over her. "That, and the absolute need to have you again."
His hand slid up her skirts, and he took her mouth again. His tongue probed past her lips into her mouth, and she relished the taste of him.
Smooth fingertips gliding over the skin of her leg, reached the inner thigh andmade heat rush to her core. "Too many clothes," he mumbled between kisses.
Cailyn pushed his jacket from his shoulders and slipped her hands under the fabric of his shirt. Without hesitating, she slid her palms up his back, pushing it off too. Jamie lifted off her, and helped her take off the garment. He stood to remove his breeches while she watched entranced, never tiring atthe sight of his sleek, muscular body. When he smiled at her,a dimple formed on his cheek. It took her breath away.
His eyes slid to her lips and down to her chest. "I want to see all of you, as well, Cailyn."
She allowed him to pull her up to her knees. His thick cock jutted proudly at eye level. Cailyn leaned forward to press a kiss onto the head, and Jamie's breath hitched. Encouraged, Cailyn swirled her tongue around the tip, while sliding one hand up to his taut ass, and another down the length of him.
His hips thrust forward and she took the tip of his member into her mouth. "Cailyn--," he gasped when she began to suckle. Invigorated by his grunts of pleasure, she wrapped her fingers around the length, gliding them up and down, while letting him slide in and out of her mouth.
"So--so good," Jamie stuttered, and his legs quaked. "I must stop you before you bring me to come undone." His hands on her face, he pulled out from her lips.
He wasted no time now undressing her. Pieces of clothing fell one-by-one to the ground, and Cailyn shivered at the cool breeze on her nude skin.
"Now, Jamie, hurry. My brothers will notice my absence, and may come searching for me." She fell onto her back and held her arms up to him.
Jamie positioned himself between her legs and took his cock in hand. "I will try to be gentle." He began to slide in slowly, until fully seated inside her.
The exquisite feel of his smooth skin sliding in, only to move back out, made Cailyn cry out. His slow and precise movements drew her toward the edge of reason. Gliding her hands up his arms, she held on, allowing him to set the pace.
Jamie's tongue traced a pattern at her throat, and he nipped at the sensitive area. The tempo of his movements began to increase. Hands under her hips lifted Cailyn, allowing him deeper access.
"Harder," Cailyn cried, "I'm so close."
"You feel too good, I don't think I will be able to last much longer," Jamie grunted. His deep green eyes met hers as he slammed in and out of her, until both screamed out in unison.
Jamie rolled to his side, taking her with him.
Moments later, Cailyn clo
sed her eyes and pressed her face into his chest. "Must you go now?"
"Roll over," Jamie commanded, not exactly answering her question. "He guided her onto her side, facing away from him. "I will remain with you here a bit longer, I am already hard for you again." He pressed into her, proving the point.
His hands caressed her hip and moved to her crux, his deft fingers going to her already reawaked center. The light touch sent a bolt of heat through her, and she arched into his hand.
Jamie strummed the tip of his finger back and forth against her core until she began to mewl with want. He bit, teeth blunt into her shoulder; the combination of sensations tipping her toward cresting. "Come for me, beauty." He pushed two fingers into her, and at the same time pushed his cock between her rear cheeks. The friction of him sliding between them, along with her movements, brought her closer.
"Jamie!" Cailyn began to crest, only to explode into fragments when he lifted her leg and thrust into her. His thickness filled her, and she screamed his name as he drove into her, while his fingers continue to flick across her now-engorged center.
The slapping of their bodies as she floated downward told her he'd not come yet. Cailyn reached between them and cupped his sack. He bucked hard at it, and she squeezed him gently.
"I cannot get enough of you," he grunted against her ear, and continued to pump, his thighs hitting against hers. With a loud groan, Jamie climaxed, his entire body shuddering against hers.
They remained joined, and he pulled her against his chest. The sporadic sounds of his breathing lulling her to a false sense of permanence. Cailyn tried to wiggle away, but he held her firm in place.
"Don't move away. Not yet." Jamie whispered.
"I --" the sound of approaching horses spurred them to action. They pulled apart and rose.
Cailyn grabbed her discarded clothing and ran to the trees, Jamie behind her, holding his clothes, and sword as well.
Just in time, they finished dressing when the familiar sound of Conor's voice rang over the clearing. "Cailyn?"
****
"What plans do you have, Captain Westcott?" The laird asked, his eyes boring into Jamie's. "It is obvious my sister cannot live on a ship."
Jamie cleared his throat and looked from one brother to the other. Both large men, and although he himself was not a small man, the scowling Scots made him ill-at-ease. "I plan to take her to live on my estate in England, Laird."
"Away from Scotland?" Conor the younger brother looked to Cailyn, who sat next to him, her hands folded on her lap.
Concern etched on her brow, Cailyn responded, "I can come back to visit. I suppose I didn't consider having to move." A tear trickled down her cheek, and Jamie fought the urge to wipe it away.
Distress replaced the scowls on both brothers' faces. However, when the laird turned his attention back to Jamie, his grimace returned. "My sister should remain in Scotland. It has not been long since the war ended; I do not think it safe for her to live in England."
Anger rose, and Jamie clenched his jaw. "I can provide more than suitable protection for her."
The room became silent until Victoria burst through the door. Hands on her hips, she eyed both the McDougall men, and then Jamie. His beautiful sister went to Cailyn and put a hand on her shoulder. "God's foot, why do men have to make this so complicated? Jamie, our family has an estate in the lowlands, why don't you move there? It's not so far away that we cannot visit regularly, and they…" she motioned to Conor and Calum, “can be assured of her safety.”
"That is your estate," Jamie responded, not sure he wanted to take Victoria's land from her.
His beautiful sister rolled her eyes. "Once the stubborn lot of you agree on the terms because, you and Cailyn must marry, it will be my wedding gift to you." She smiled at Cailyn, who looked at him with a hopeful expression. "Come now, Cailyn, let us have tea. You are exhausted."
****
Dinner that evening was a festive occasion. Cailyn finally relaxed when seeing her brothers and Jamie lift their cups to toast their upcoming nuptials. Not really a surprise, since Conor had immediately surmised what they'd been doing when he'd come upon them.
Calum eyed the group at the table. "Well, there is still a matter that I must see completed. Since our clan must stop this needless war with the McNeils, we will join with them, as planned."
"Who's going to marry Lisbeth?" Cailyn asked. Everyone's attention riveted to Calum.
"Dugan." The laird lifted his cup and motioned at her cousin, who up to this point had been too busy flirting with a serving wench to pay much attention.
"The missive has been delivered, and the McNeil has agreed. Lisbeth McNeil and Dugan McDougall will marry next week."
"What?" Dugan's ale flew from his mouth and he began to sputter.
Cailyn laughed and leaned into the familiar warmth of Jamie's arm.
"Good on you, Dugan."
The toasting resumed.
Cailyn's eyes on Jamie's face, her hand slid up his thigh. "What say you, Captain Westcott, should our wedding be as quick?"
He took her hand and pressed it over his hardened cock. "Most definitely, Miss McDougall."
The End.
###
Thank you for reading Highland Desire. I thoroughly enjoyed writing this novella.
I hope you take the time to read the entire Highland Temptations series.
Highland Temptation Series
Highlander's Captive
Highland Temptress
Highlander Returns
Highland Desire
The two books are a trilogy entitled, Highland Grooms, which begins with Dugan and Lisbeth, and ends with Calum and his current wife, Meagan.
Be sure to visit my website http://www.hildiemcqueen.com for more information on all my books, and to see pictures I took while visiting the Highlands of Scotland.
Connect with Me Online:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HildieMcQueen
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Sláinte!
Hildie
Highland Desire Page 2
