The Imposter

by Jenna Stone

  “Do you mind if I wear this?” I asked breathlessly, unable to think as his fingers trailed lightly over the skin of my neck and he kissed me softly, just below my ear. My knees were about to give out and I leaned back against his chest.

  “Nay, no at all,” he said as he ran his hand over the thin fabric of his linen shirt that I was wearing.

  His hand slowly traced the line of my side and when his fingers met the bare skin of my thigh beneath his shirt tail, I let out a soft moan.

  “In fact, I like seeing ye in my shirt.”

  “Good, because I like it too. It smells like you,” I said honestly. I had found his shirt hanging on the back of a chair in our room. Missing him while he was meeting with Collin, I had stripped naked and pulled his shirt over my head for comfort.

  His fingers trailed lazily up my bare thigh and skirted just beneath the tail of his shirt. It was as if fire coursed through my veins as his fingers teased my skin, awakening my nerve endings.

  Devon continued his assault of my senses as he leisurely placed kisses up and down my neck.

  Oh how this man affects me. I think I’m falling in love with you Devon McClain.

  He scooped me up effortlessly and laid me on the massive bed. His eyes blazed with passion and I was relieved to see that his earlier look of worry was long gone, the weight no longer heavy on his shoulders from his meeting with Collin.

  He settled on top of me, supporting his weight with his elbows. The fire cast a warm glow on his face, and as he looked down at me and brushed my hair tenderly back behind my ear, I felt wanted, cherished and almost loved.

  “I could watch ye like this forever,” he whispered, tracing the line of my lips with his thumb. “How I want ye, Kate,” his words were strained.

  I reached up and put a hand on his chest, feeling his heart thunder beneath my palm.

  “Ye do that tae me. Only ye can do that tae me Kate,” he said, reaching up and placing his hand over mine, holding my palm to his heart.

  “You do that to me too,” I said boldly, moving our hands to my own heart, closing my eyes as I savored the feeling of his palm against the skin between my breasts.

  He groaned appreciatively and moved his hand to cup my breast through the thin linen of his shirt. I gasped in surprise as his touch sent shivers of pleasure down my spine.

  He looked down at me, watching me respond to his touch. His thumb grazed lightly over my nipple and I moaned softly, never having felt such a pleasurable sensation.

  Devon smiled approvingly and bent down to kiss me softly, he ran his tongue over my bottom lip asking for entrance to my mouth. I opened my mouth in invitation and he deepened the kiss. I felt his desire for me building as his tongue dueled with mine, with each thrust of his tongue into my mouth his kiss grew more needful, more pressing.

  His thumb flicked lightly over my nipple again and I cried out with pleasure, not being able to contain myself under his sweet torment. Devon growled deeply in his throat and took my nipple between his thumb and forefinger, driving me to the brink of insanity.

  “Devon!” I cried out against his lips, my breathing ragged and my voice nearly unrecognizable as my own.

  His hips pressed against me in response to his name. My body reacted instantly, surging my hips up to meet his. His fingers left my breast and slid down the length of my body.

  No! Don’t stop…please don’t stop!

  I sighed in relief as he worked his way up under the tail of my shirt, gliding his fingers over my flushed skin and back up to my breast. The feeling of his fingers against my bare skin without the barrier of the linen shirt was exquisite.

  When his fingers returned to my breast and he began to tease my nipple skin to skin, I became wild with desire, calling out his name again and pressing my hips up against him again. I had never before felt such delicious passion and I threw my head back against the pillow, succumbing to Devon’s expert fingers as they played my breast.

  Devon trailed kisses down my neck as he continued to tease my sensitive nipple with his fingers. His breath was warm above my breast and his lips hovered just above his skilled fingers as his eyes watched me respond to his touch. His mouth came down on my nipple through the linen fabric and I came undone. The sensation of his wet mouth on my breast was so foreign, so arousing. I arched my back in response to his assault and when I thought that I could take no more, he began to suckle through the fabric, teasing my nipple with his tongue and his teeth.

  My hands were everywhere, clawing his back, running through his hair, pulling him closer.

  His teeth nipped playfully at me through the fabric and his eyes met mine. They were clouded with desire. He smiled that lopsided smile as he continued to torment my nipple with his fingers. Playfully, he blew on the wet fabric, and I inhaled sharply as the chill of his breath caused a tantalizing sensation on my skin.

  “Ye like that do ye?” he whispered devilishly, as he held eye contact with me and shifted the neckline of his shirt so as to bare my breast. His palm cupped me and he again flicked his thumb gently over my nipple, eliciting a groan from me at I anticipated his sweet torment. “Yes,” I whispered, unashamed that I did like what he was doing to me.

  Ever so slowly, he brought his mouth down to my breast, taking me into his mouth – flesh against flesh. I writhed in ecstasy beneath him, as his tongue licked my sensitive skin and caused my nipple to harden with arousal. I came undone when he began so suckle, growling deep in his throat.

  He groaned loudly and suckled my naked breast, teasing me with his tongue and biting me gently. He worshiped my body with unflagging joy, finding his own pleasure by giving pleasure to me.

  “Oh my sweet Katherine,” he growled, pressing himself against me.

  I froze, tensing beneath him. My passion was instantly gone, and my thoughts sprung back to reality.

  “What’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked, now looking up at me with concerned worry in his green eyes.

  I watched as the passion faded from his eyes. His overwhelming concern for me, his innocence in this situation coupled with the fact that he had just cried out her name brought my walls crashing down.

  He’s falling in love with her. With Katherine Berkshire, not me.

  Hot tears stained my cheeks and I sat up abruptly, covering myself with his shirt. Devon looked confused, hurt and unsure of how to proceed. He raised a hand to touch me and then thought better of it, retracting his hand and placing it on the bed between us.

  Seeing him like this was painful. It was all because of my lies.

  “I’m sorry, Kate,” he whispered, raking a hand through his just-tousled hair. “I’ve pushed ye tae soon, and I’m sorry.” His eyes searched mine for a response and he still did not more to touch me.

  I wiped away my tears and looked away from him, biting my lip. I remembered how that drove him wild, and promptly stopped biting my lip.

  “It’s not you, Devon…it’s alright. You didn’t do anything wrong,” I stammered, flustered by my overreaction. “It’s just that my father used to call me that – Katherine, and…”

  “Hush, love, it’s alright,” he said as he cautiously brushed my hair back from my face, gauging how I would react to his touch. Seeing that I did not flinch or move away from him, he reached up and wiped the remnants of my tears away with his thumbs. “Ye doona need tae explain it tae me now,” he purred, gentling me and gathering me softly against his chest.

  I was so confused. I had let down my guard with Devon, had almost been successful at forgetting about Katherine Berkshire. I was so embarrassed by my overreaction and I wondered what Devon must be thinking about me now.

  “Lay yer head, lass,” he whispered as he rubbed my back soothingly and settled me next to him in the massive bed.

  I curled against him, feeling supported and safe. His hands stroked my skin reassuringly, but I could tell that he had been caught off guard by my unexpected reaction.

  “Hush, Kate…everything’s going tae be alright. I’m here
now,” he whispered.

  My heart wrenched at his statement. There was simply no way that everything was going to be alright. It was only a matter of time…

  Chapter Eleven

  “No, no, no! Not like that!” Leti exclaimed, dropping her own knitting into her lap and grabbing my hands, which were hopelessly twisted in the grips of the tangled yarn.

  “Urrghhh,” I grumbled in frustration.

  “Ye wrap the yarn with this hand,” she instructed, firmly holding my left hand in the correct position, “And then ye use the point of the needle in yer right hand to come from behind the yarn and loop it,” she continued, guiding the movement of my hands. She guided me through a few more slow, tedious stitched, then cautiously removed her hands from guiding mine, eyes remaining watchful as I tried to follow her instruction.

  The yarn felt foreign between my fingers, and I couldn’t quite wrap my brain around how exactly one was to hold the knitting needles, and the yarn, and loop the yarn, while still holding both the needles. There was simply too much going on, and I needed at least one more if not two more hands to make this knitting thing possible. Slowly, and cautiously, I churned out two more stitches under Leti’s watchful eye.

  “There ye go,” she encouraged, picking up her knitting, and resuming the clicking sound that the needles made as she knitted the yarn into something useful.

  “Can’t I just buy him socks?” I questioned.

  “Hmmph,” Leti snorted, clearly disapproving of the fact that her new sister-in-law was completely incompetent in all of the womanly arts. “That would cost a fortune, Kate! Every girl learns to knit in the Highlands. I still can’t fathom how ye never learned to klickit. What did ye do all winter?”

  “If only you knew,” I muttered under my breath. Thoughts of reading next to a cozy fire danced in my head. In England, I had enjoyed a life of privilege and never had the need to learn ordinary skills such as knitting. Suddenly, I was ashamed at just how spoiled my upbringing had been. In a place as rugged as the Highlands, my skill set was utterly useless.

  “Were ye sheltered as a lass? I mean, it’s unheard of for a girl to not learn to ride a horse, ye don’t knit, and …..”

  “I guess that I was a bit sheltered now that I think of it. My training was a bit different. I just learned to do different things.” I tried to keep my answer as vague as possible to avoid spinning a web deluded with more lies. My heart ached to tell Leti the truth. I was not Katherine Berkshire. I wanted so badly to tell the truth and I looked her face over cautiously, weighing my options. She would never believe me. “I think I just might get the hang of this knitting, though. Give me a few more years and I might end up with a sock.” I smiled, refusing to be disheartened by the meager stitches that had collected in my lap.

  “Ye’ll learn, although I’d say yer not the quickest study,” Leti clucked, her needles making a rhythmic clicking as the sock dangling beneath them began to take shape. She paused to pull more yarn out of the ball resting in the basket beside her chair.

  I painstakingly looped the yarn around my needle again, using the tip of the needle in my right hand to pull the yarn back through the loop. Now I had successfully made about three stitches. The dream of one day knitting and entire sock loomed far, very far in the distant future. I wanted to do this for Devon. I wanted badly to please him and make him happy.

  “Ye’ve taken tae him, I can see that.” Leti continued knitting, not looking up to meet my eyes. “It’s good for him, ye ken, having a wife. He misses his Da, we both do, and I can see how ye have added a spark back into him. I was worrit for him when Da passed.”

  “It’s not what either of us wanted, or expected, but I have to admit that your brother isn’t half bad,” I responded, feeling the butterflies go wild in my stomach as I thought about my husband. He was much better than half bad. He was wonderful. My thoughts wandered to kissing him.

  “Was he kind tae ye?” she questioned, eyes still cast down in a way that was not usual for the always bold Leti that I had grown to know and love. “I’ll kill him if he wasna,” she added as an afterthought.

  “Of course he’s kind to me,” I responded, trying my hardest to continue knitting and keep up with the conversation.

  “I mean, well, I mean was he kind to ye?” she questioned, probing further. “On yer wedding night,”

  “Oh,” I stopped knitting, loosing my train of thought. I felt the color rise to my cheeks. She was asking me if her brother had been kind to me on our wedding night! “Yes, he was kind,” I said unsure of how much detail was expected in my answer.

  “I’m nervous about it, ye ken. Brennan tells me that it will be wonderful, magical, but I have a hard time believing him.” Now it was her face that was flushed with color. “I’ve heard stories. I’ve heard stories from women that scare me to death.”

  “It is wonderful, Leti,” I said, seeking to alleviate her fears. “Brennan is a good man, and it will be wonderful. You don’t need to be afraid,” I smiled, looking over at her. She was frantically knitting, eyes focused on her work, not wanting to make eye contact.

  “I’ll take yer word for it, but I think that I’ll still be worrit right up until the deed is done. I just don’t see how it could be wonderful. I’ve seen goats, and sheep, and even a pair of horses one time, and weel…” she trailed off, embarrassed.

  I chuckled, and gave up on my knitting, tossing it into the basket on the floor beside my chair. “It’s not like that, I promise. You know how when Brennan kisses you, it drives you mad with the wanting of him? You know that feeling that grows deep within your belly, and you’re not quite sure what it is, but you want more?”

  “I do,” she said, eyes intent on the clicking needles in her lap.

  “It’s like that, but only better.” I hated myself for embellishing, myself knowing no more about the actual act of lovemaking than Leti. I couldn’t tell her that Devon and I had not actually consummated our marriage.

  “I’ll take yer word for it.” She smiled. “Thanks, sister.”

  Reluctantly, I picked up my knitting again, resolving to conquer this seemingly impossible project. From Leti’s silence, I deemed it likely that a change of subject was warranted.

  “I hope that Devon has a good supply of socks built up, because at this rate, it will be awhile before he gets any new ones,” I smiled, resuming the looping and twisting of the yarn. “When do you and Brennan plan to marry?” I questioned, enjoying the comfort of some much needed feminine talk.

  Leti’s face immediately lit up. She was so in love with Brennan that it was hard for her to contain her feelings. “This spring, I expect, but sooner if Collin will allow it. We’d be marrit tomorrow if Collin would allow it, but he wants us to wait until the Gathering in the spring.”

  “Why would he want you to wait?” This idea struck me as strange being that Collin had such haste when marrying me off to his brother. I guess being on the receiving end of the dowry had sped things along.

  “Who knows,” Leti responded. “Collin and I have never been close and he isna one to share the reasons for his decisions. Father had already given us his blessing, but had not yet chosen a date for the ceremony. Unfortunately, now that Collin is Laird, we are at his mercy.”

  “Knowing Brennan, I’m surprised that he hasn’t just run off with you and married you anyway!” I chuckled, knowing that Brennan must be driven mad by the power that Collin wielded in this situation.

  “The idea has crossed both of our minds,” Leti smiled devilishly. “But, my Da would have hated that, I mean, hated the idea of us stealing away. He would have wanted us marrit proper, in front of the Clan. And for that, for honoring his wishes, I will insist that we wait for Collin’s blessing.”

  “It’s going to be a long winter!”

  “Och, tell me about it! I’m just trying tae enjoy having him home for awhile. Qsually, he’s off gallivanting and raiding with Devon, but his leg has kept him home more than usual. I’ve a feeling that he’ll be try
ing tae go with them this time though, he won’t want tae miss out on a good row with the Camerons. He hasn’t mentioned it yet, but a woman knows when her man’s about to leave.”

  “Go with them where?” I questioned, suddenly concerned. My knitting lay still in my lap, my concentration lost.

  “Devon hasna told ye?” Leti also stopped her knitting, and her eyes met mine, searching.

  I shook my head nervously in silent response to her questions. I guess that not all women know when their man is about to leave.

  “They’re leaving tomorrow at first light. Rabbie McClain’s daughter was raped yesterday on McClain land by a Campbell hunting party. Doing harm to a McClain on our own land is a slap in the face, an outright provocation of war. We’ve had a long unsettled feud with the Campbells, and this was the final straw. The men spent today gathering supplies and readying the men and beasts. Oh Kate, I thought ye knew.”

  “No, he didn’t tell me,” my voice came as a whisper, and my blood was already beginning to boil. This is what Devon had been fighting with Collin about in the hall last night.

  “Kate, I’m sorry. I’d not intended to be the one to tell ye. Sometimes Devon’s like that, I mean, he gets so busy with his duties tae the clan that he just forgets. I’m sure that he was planning to tell ye.”

  “Tell me when?” Now my voice was angry. “Like it or not, I am his wife! I should have been the first person that he told!” My voice was heavy riddled with the hurt of being left out of such a clearly important event. “My husband is leaving to war and he wasn’t going to tell me?” I demanded.

  “Well, I’m certainly not defending him, Kate. Of course, he should have told ye, but I can’t read his mind nor his reasons for not speaking to ye about it.”

  “Excuse me, Leti, but I need to go find my husband,” I said, hastily tossing my knitting into the basket at the foot of the chair and standing to smooth my skirt. “I think that we are about to have our first real fight.”