Love Beyond Boundaries (A Scottish Time Travel Romance): Book 12 (Morna's Legacy Series)

by Bethany Claire

He laughed, and scooted in closer. “I couldna agree with ye more, lass. The only thing I’m hungry for is ye.”

  His lips found mine quickly, and it only took a second of us kissing for Tink to jump off my lap and give us one quick, annoyed bark of disapproval.

  “I don’t think she likes watching us kiss.”

  He bobbed his head toward his bedroom. “Then I suppose ’tis good I’ve a door that separates this room from my bedroom. Will ye join me?”

  I looked at him, examining his expression for any sign of the distress from earlier. Whether it was the enjoyable company at lunch or his desire to get me into his bed, I didn’t know, but whatever had been bothering him so much earlier was no longer visible in his eyes or furrowed brow. While I wanted to know what had happened, I also had no desire to remind him of whatever it was. Surely it could wait until morning.

  “Tink will be okay out here by herself?”

  He laughed and stood, offering me his hand. “Aye. I’ll let her into the room when we truly intend to sleep.” He winked at me and slowly led me toward the bedroom.

  Chapter 25

  Allanah’s passion matched his own. The moment he closed the door to his bedroom, gently backing her into it so he could press himself up against her as he kissed her, she moaned and wrapped her arms around him, her fingernails digging deliciously into the back of his head.

  “Can I undress ye, lass?”

  She pulled back long enough to give him a nod before she started to fumble with the buttons on his shirt.

  Ross laughed, allowing her to work her way down the front of his shirt before pushing her hands away.

  “I canna pull yer sweater off when ye’ve got hands on me. I wanna see ye, Allanah.”

  She nodded again, saying nothing as she lifted her arms high for him to pull the sweater up and off her body.

  She was as beautiful as he’d known she would be. He groaned at the sight of her black bra and leaned forward to kiss the mound of her breast before reaching behind to undo her bra.

  Just as he reached for the clasp, an awful knowing slammed into his gut.

  He couldn’t do this.

  Not now.

  He wanted it as badly as he’d wanted anything, but it wouldn’t be right for him to use her in this way now, not when he’d yet to tell her that he would have to leave.

  If he slept with her now—if he went ahead with what they both wanted—she would be angry with him come morning.

  He’d already done wrong by her before. She’d never forgive him if he did it again.

  “Lass…” He whispered against her breast before reluctantly pulling away from her and bending to reach for her sweater so he could hand it back to her. “I canna do this.”

  She frowned at him as she fumbled to cover herself with her sweater. The expression in her eyes was one of hurt and confusion, and he hurried to reassure her.

  “’Tis not that I doona want to, Allanah. I want it as much as I’ve ever wanted anything, but I fear ye would be angry with me if I did.”

  Her cheeks still rosy from desire, she breathlessly tried to argue with him.

  “No. I promise you. I’m not going to be mad. I…I want this, too, Ross.”

  He closed his eyes as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair in frustration.

  Could he not have just a few months of easy? Just a brief moment of time where everything didn’t seem quite so hard was all he wanted.

  “I have to leave the states as soon as possible, Allanah. I doona know when I’ll be back. It could be many months. Mayhap half a year.”

  “What?”

  She balked at him, the color draining from her face as she slowly walked to sit down on the edge of his bed.

  “You’re going to have to give me more of an explanation than that, Ross.”

  Sighing, he moved to sit next to her, his heart heavy as the thoughts of his mother came crashing back down on him.

  “Do ye remember what I told ye about my mother the night we tried to look at Christmas lights?”

  When she only answered him with a solemn nod, he continued. “Sydney, my friend and contact in Scotland, called me while I was at the diner with the girls. Mother hasna spoken of me in ages, but she is now. And she’s verra distressed by my absence. The healer who cares for her believes that she is nearing the end of her life. If she needs me now, I canna stay away.”

  Her expression softened, and Ross had to choke back tears as she reached for his hands.

  “Ross, I could never be angry with you for leaving to take care of your mother. Of course you have to go.”

  Hesitating, she swallowed hard, and he could see that her eyes were starting to grow wet with tears, as well.

  “But you’re probably right. It would only complicate things if we were to sleep together. And long-distance relationships never really work, do they?”

  He sighed and nodded. She had no idea just how “long-distance” their relationship would be if they didn’t end things now. In the seventeenth century, there would be no video calls or texting to maintain some sort of connection. Once he left, there would be no communication with her at all.

  “No, lass. Though it breaks my heart to say so, I doona think that it would.”

  She stood, still holding on to one of his hands, pulling him up until he was on both feet, also. Once he stood before her, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, burying her head into his chest.

  “So what does that mean for us?”

  He couldn’t stand the thought of being alone tonight—he wanted her with him until the very last minute when he was forced to say goodbye.

  “I doona know, but will ye please stay, Allanah? I willna try anything, I swear to ye. Let me hold ye while I sleep. We can speak of everything in the morning.”

  She pulled back to look up at him, and it broke his heart to see tears falling freely down her face.

  “Okay, Ross. I’m all for delaying this for one more night.”

  I woke much later than usual. I could tell by the angle of the sun streaming in through the large window in Ross’ bedroom. Sleep had come easily, despite the cloud of sadness that had hung over us through the night.

  As promised, Ross tried nothing. Instead, he held me close as I slept with my head against his chest, the two of us saying nothing more after my agreement that we could talk about everything later.

  I’d felt him shift me hours earlier, and I feigned a deep sleep as he slipped from the bed at dawn. We both needed some time alone to think things over.

  He worried that I’d be angry at him, but the opposite was true. His desire to be there for his mother only made me like him more.

  I didn’t want to say goodbye to him. Every part of me dreaded sitting down to eat the breakfast I could smell him making in the kitchen, but I couldn’t see any other way for this to go.

  Perhaps it would be different if this weren’t so new; if things were more established between us. If all of this had happened a year into our relationship, it would’ve been a no-brainer to hang on to things while he went to care for his ailing mother. But we weren’t there yet. The months of laying that sort of foundation hadn’t happened. A handful of dates and his declaration that he was my boyfriend didn’t immediately make this something more than it was. I still knew very little about him and vice versa.

  It wouldn’t take long for both of us to begin to resent the difficulty that would inevitably arise in conversation, and things would end quickly—most likely with both of us disliking the other. That was the last thing on earth that I wanted.

  I lay there for a long while after waking, staring up at Ross’ ceiling. I was still in the same clothes I’d had on last night, with Tink curled up at my feet as the sadness of all of it swirled over and over in my mind.

  The past year had been so hard on both of us. And if the little tidbits of information I’d managed to squeeze out of him were any indication, it wasn’t just Beth’s death that had been difficult for him in recent years.


  I already cared about him so much. I didn’t want to agree to something that would make me dislike him. That’s all a long-distance relationship would do.

  There was a soft knock on his bedroom door, and I quickly sat up in the bed. “Come in. I’m awake.”

  He looked so sexy. In a t-shirt and sweats with messy morning hair, it took all of my restraint to keep from launching myself at him.

  “Breakfast is ready, lass, and I made far more than the two of us can eat. How about we take some of this over to Caleb before we return here to talk? Mayhap it could be a congratulatory breakfast for completing his marathon? Mayhap it will allow me to get on his good side before I have to tell him that I’m leaving.”

  I smiled at him, knowing that he was only doing what he’d done the night before—delaying the inevitable conversation about what this would mean for us.

  I didn’t mind. I was as keen to delay all of this as he was.

  “Sure. Let me just run my fingers through my hair and clean the smudged mascara off my face. I’ll be right out.”

  He gave me a wink and closed the door between us. Giving Tink a quick pat, I stood and made my way to the bathroom.

  My hair looked awful. At least Caleb wasn’t anyone I was trying to impress. Hurrying so the food he’d prepared wouldn’t get cold, I freshened up with a few splashes of water and used my finger as a toothbrush before joining Ross in the living room.

  By the time I was ready, he was dressed and had the food all packed up.

  For the first bit of the walk to Caleb’s, we remained silent, but as we rounded the last corner to his townhome, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

  “When are you leaving?”

  He sighed and looked over at me, sadness in his eyes.

  “Tomorrow.”

  That answer was enough to silence me the rest of the way to Caleb’s house. Even though he’d said he was leaving, I’d just never imagined that it was going to be quite so soon.

  Hoping that Caleb wouldn’t want us to stay and visit, I rang the doorbell and waited for him to answer.

  After about thirty seconds, I tried it again. Still nothing.

  “He’s probably still sleeping. Should we just let ourselves in and leave the cinnamon rolls on the kitchen counter with a little note?”

  Ross eyed me nervously. “Do ye not think he will mind the intrusion?”

  I shook my head and reached into my pocket for my keys. “We’re bringing him food. He most definitely will not.”

  Laughing, Ross nodded and stepped into Caleb’s house first as I pushed open the door.

  The moment we stepped inside I could hear noises coming from the kitchen.

  Ross looked back over his shoulder at me as we walked together in the direction of the strange sounds.

  “Maybe he’s already cooking.”

  I laughed, never for a moment suspecting what awaited us around the corner.

  “It doesn’t sound like cooking. It sounds like two people…”

  I trailed off as we stepped into the entryway, and my mind seized up in its effort to process the sight that was on full display before us.

  Georgie sat butt naked on the kitchen island, her hands splayed back behind her to keep herself steady, her breasts thrust outward on display as Caleb—also naked—thrust himself into her.

  Chapter 26

  It took a long time—too long, really—for any of us to respond.

  Caleb and Georgie froze mid act, their faces flushed red in embarrassment, their eyes slowly glazing over in horror as they took in the sight of us standing in the room with them.

  I had to reach out to grip the doorway, and Ross fumbled the cinnamon rolls, nearly dropping them on the floor in shock before recovering.

  To his credit, he was the first to move, setting the baked goods down on the island next to them before slowly backtracking toward the doorway.

  “We uh…we dinna mean to interrupt. There’s some cinnamon rolls if ye are…if ye are hungry. We will just be on our way.”

  He attempted to reach for my hand, but I quickly evaded his reach as anger flared up in me.

  “Georgie.” I stared daggers at her, as I watched the color in her cheeks drain until she looked like she might faint. “What the hell is going on?”

  She didn’t answer me, just shifted enough to cover up her bare breasts as Caleb pulled out of her and hurried to cover himself as he spoke.

  “It’s not what you think, Sue. We’ve been wanting to tell you both about this for a while.”

  I shook my head and held out my hand to stop him. “A while? You two have been doing this for a while? Georgie.” I pointed at her. “Meet me at the apartment.”

  I turned to leave, but Ross blocked my path.

  “I think ye should pause a moment, lass. ’Tis not as if they were doing anything wrong. We were the ones who entered without warning.”

  My shock and sadness came together in a flurry of rage as I pushed him out of the way and screamed at him. “They weren’t doing anything wrong? Ross, look at them!” I threw my hand back behind me toward them. “What about Beth? She’s only been gone a few months. How could…”

  Ross surprised me by firmly gripping my arm and pulling me out into the hallway so quickly that I stopped talking mid-sentence. Frustration flaring in his expression, he pushed me against the wall and gently covered my mouth with his hand.

  “Ye are going to regret anything else that ye say, lass. This is not about Caleb and Georgie. Ye are upset about what I’ve told ye. I’m upset about it, too, Allanah, but doona take out what we’re going through on Caleb or yer sister. Ye are not being fair, and if ye stop to think on it for thirty seconds, ye shall realize it. We know nothing about this yet, lass. Regardless, ’tis Caleb’s prerogative to do whatever he wants.”

  He continued with his hand still against my mouth. “If ’twas just sex, that’s fine. Yer sister is grown enough to make her own decisions, and ye know Caleb must be in need of some comfort however he chooses to find it. And if ’tis more, lass, that is fine, as well. Ye know Beth would’ve wanted him to move on. Either way, I willna let ye attack him for betraying Beth when I’ve no doubt he’s tormented himself over it as much or more than ye intend to, and ’tis not true anyway. Why doona ye go back to yer apartment and talk to Georgie about all of this? I will stay and talk to Caleb.”

  He released his grip on my mouth and stepped away.

  “I dinna mean to be harsh with ye. I just urge ye to practice some calm here, lass.”

  I was quite certain the only person to ever put me in my place in such a way was Gramps. Part of me wanted to rage against him, but as I stood there against the wall listening to my sister crying in the kitchen, I knew he was right.

  “Fine. I’ll listen.”

  Georgie burst into the apartment still crying hysterically a few minutes after I made it back myself.

  Luckily for my sister, I’d taken Ross’ advice and used the few minutes of solitude on the walk back to calm myself down considerably. I reached for her hand as she blubbered and collapsed down onto the couch next to me.

  “I’m sorry, Sue. I should’ve told you. Please. Please don’t be angry with me. I know Beth was your friend. I don’t want you to think that I’m disrespecting her in some way.”

  I pulled my hand away and held it out to stop her. I needed to hear everything from the beginning.

  “Take a breath, Georgie. I’m not angry with you. I just need to understand what’s going on. How did this all start?”

  She let out a shaky breath, and I could see the relief spread over her face as she realized that I didn’t believe she’d committed some unforgivable offense.

  “We started out just talking, truly. He was there a lot when I cleaned, and I could tell he needed someone to talk to—someone who didn’t know her as well as everyone else, ya know? I think it helped that he could talk to me about Beth without me breaking down into tears right there with him. But over time, an attraction formed. He fought it
. I did too. But, Sue.” She paused and let out a small sob. “This isn’t some fling. We’re…we’re in love, Sue. This is real.”

  I’d been expecting an explanation that ended up somewhere in the realm of friends with benefits. I’d never expected her to tell me that they were in love.

  Tears filled my eyes as I thought of Beth. Part of me wanted to be angry for her, to find some fault in the fact that Caleb had found love again so soon after her death, but as I sat silently before my sister, I simply couldn’t. It was exactly what Beth would’ve wanted for him, and it was unquestionably what she would’ve wanted for her girls. I could feel it just as surely as if she were sitting next to me telling me so herself.

  Crying, I reached for Georgie’s hand. “You’re not ever going to find a better guy, sis.”

  She let out a loud sob once more and leaned in to hug me. “I know.”

  “Does Hannah know?”

  She leaned back and looked at me uncomfortably. “No. We’re both trying to be really cautious with the girls. We need to make sure this is something that’s going to last before we let them in on anything.”

  “I think that’s probably the best thing you guys could do. They don’t need to get attached and then lose anyone else.”

  Georgie nodded in agreement. “I think so too.” She paused, and then continued. “You promise you’re not mad?”

  I shook my head as I sighed and leaned back into the couch. “Of course not. I won’t pretend that it wasn’t one of the greatest shocks of my life to walk in on you two like that, but no, I’m not mad. I’m upset about something else, and I just unleashed it all on you two. I’m sorry.”

  She reached out and squeezed my hand sympathetically. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for. No one needed to see what was going on in that kitchen. I’m sure I would’ve had a similar reaction to seeing your tits flailing about.”

  I laughed, the sad knot in my chest relaxing for a moment.

  “I have much smaller tits to flail about than you, so it probably wouldn’t have been quite as traumatic.”