“To things and people better left in the past.”
“Cheers to that.”
We broke into the basket after that and pulled out several kinds of cheese and crackers, salami, fresh bread, fruit, fresh veggies. There was more food there than we thought we could eat but as we relaxed and chatted, munching on the food as we listened to each other’s stories, we were surprised at the end by just how much we’d eaten.
“I’m stuffed! Oh, if I was on a board right now I think it would sink!” I declared in mock agony and Ian laughed, nodding his head vigorously in agreement.
“I couldn’a eat another morsel!” He agreed, packing the last of the food and wine in the basket and closing the lid.
“If you see Alice before I do, please say thank you on my behalf. That was amazing.” I complimented and he nodded readily.
“Of course. I must say, she outdid herself. This date must have been something she was excited about.” He laughed and I blushed.
“Great. Something else to get ribbed about over breakfast.”
“Nah, she’ll keep it to herself. She’s good that way.” He pushed the basket off the blanket so we had more room and watched me stretch out on my back. His gaze ran over the length of me and he was reminded again of just how much he appreciated all of my curves and how grateful he was that I had been too much for Mark to handle.
“Leave it to a Highlander.” He thought to himself, then his gaze snagged on the small dressing just above the waistband of my jeans over my right hip.
“How are your stitches, lass? Everything doing okay with them?”
“No worries Doctor, you did an amazing job stitching me up. And I apparently heal quickly because the gouges are starting to lose some of the redness.”
“Remind me tomorrow some time to take a look at them just to make sure. We should be able to remove the stitches sometime next week.”
“Yes sir.” I teased gently, shooting him an amused look and he blushed and turned to stretch out beside me.
As we lay in the long grass staring up at the sky as the sun slowly set, I breathed in the salty sea air in a long breath and slowly let it out, inadvertently making the breath sound more like a melancholy sigh and the sound made Ian look over at me in concern.
“What’s weighing on you, lass?” he asked and I shook my head, locking my hands behind my head to cushion it against the rocky ground.
“Nothing really, just enjoying the quiet. This has always been my favorite time of day.”
“Aye, there’s something peaceful about the setting sun and all the colors it turns the sky.” He agreed easily, stretching one arm out in my direction, and without really thinking about it, I slipped my hand into his.
“Let me ask you something.” He began and I turned my head to the side to look at him, waiting to hear what his question would be. “If you could be anywhere doing anything right now, what would it be?”
I chuckled at the question but didn’t hesitate with my answer.
“Not that long ago I would have answered ‘flying’ but I can do that any time I want now.” At my words, he started to smile, but then his smile stalled when I continued. “If I could be anywhere, doing anything? I’d be at home surfing the evening swells with Rachel and our other friends.”
“I learned how to surf when I was doing a work term in Australia several years ago. They get some amazing waves there.” He commented a bit absently and I grinned.
“Going to Australia on a surfing expedition is on Rachel’s and mine’s list of things to do. Maybe next year.” I said a bit wistfully and was surprised when Ian pulled his hand free and half sat up, propping himself up on one elbow.
“Next year?” he asked in confusion and I looked at him expectantly.
“Why do you look so surprised?” I asked, but as the words left my mouth, I realized the answer and my good mood dissipated slightly. “You think I’ll still be here next year, don’t you?” I asked unnecessarily because the answer was written all over his face. My temper flared but I did my best to keep it in check as I sat up on the blanket and faced him.
“Aye, I guess I do.” He admitted slowly and I pulled my knees up to my chest and looped my arms around them while I regarded him thoughtfully for a long moment, ignoring the discomfort of having my stitches scrunched up against my jeans. His handsome face looked troubled at our turn in conversation and I sighed.
“Let me ask you a question now, Ian. Where do you see yourself in ten years?”
“Me? In ten years? Well, I’ll be forty-five and I guess I see myself married and with a few kids.” He said truthfully and I nodded slightly.
“Still living here on the estate?”
“Aye, more than likely.”
“In the next ten years I want to go surfing in Australia and skiing in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. I want to continue my training and become a cop, I want to see the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal. And if, along the way, I happen to find someone I want to spend the rest of my life with, great. But I can’t get through my list if I’m here. My home isn’t here.” I said earnestly and Ian sat up fully and looped one arm around a bent knee.
“It could be.” Even to his own ears that argument sounded pretty lame and I shook my head.
“When I look out my window at home I see palm trees and sunshine and glistening ocean waves. I go surfing every night after work, on weekends I hike or go mountain-biking. Here, I see a life of sitting in front of fires, drinking tea and playing checkers and watching the tide roll in and out. And if I want to go somewhere, I will always need to ask someone to take me off the property. I can’t live like that. I believe you have to grab what life offers you and make the most of it, because it doesn’t just hand you your dreams. I’d feel too much like a caged animal if I was stuck behind these walls for the rest of my life.”
“Edan or Hugh would be more than willing to take you where you’d want to go if you needed or wanted to get away for a little while.” As soon as the words were out, Ian regretted them and my mouth opened and closed silently once or twice before I sprang to my feet and glared down at him.
“I am not some kind of circus act, caged until I want to get out and stretch my legs and I can tell you that while I may not be able to set ‘foot’ off this property without a Cameron male accompanying me, I can leave any time I like. And I promise you, if I want to go home I won’t need a plane ticket.” I snapped angrily before turning on my heel and jogging back to my cottage. Ian watched me go and felt a huge emptiness fill him as the truthfulness of everything I had just said sunk in.
⧫⧫⧫
Late that night I was sitting on the couch in a pair of boxer shorts and an oversized t-shirt, enjoying the small fire I’d lit in the hearth, reading through one of Granddad’s journals when I heard a knock at my door.
“Who is that? It’s almost midnight.” I muttered, setting my book aside and padding barefoot to the door. I had barely opened the door and registered that Ian stood there before he was stepping towards me, cupping my face in both of his hands and kissing me almost forcefully. He walked us into my cottage without breaking the kiss and when we were inside he kicked the door closed behind himself.
“I swear to you lass, I will never let anyone cage you.” He whispered raggedly, his voice rough as he tipped my chin up and pressed kisses along my jawline. I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him back just as insistently when he gave me the opportunity. He swung us around so my back was up against the door and he held me there with his own frame, his kisses demanding and hungry and I answered every kiss or nip of his teeth with one of my own. “You painted a very bleak picture in my mind earlier tonight and it terrified me.”
“Why?” I asked, nipping at his collarbone and he groaned, wrapping my hair around his fists and pulling downward so my chin went up and stayed up.
“The idea of you leaving makes me feel cold inside but I know you need to be free. You’re too beautiful, too alive to ever be tied down. Promise me though,
that if you ever leave here, you’ll take me with you.” His hands released my hair and wrapped around my waist, hoisting me up in the air - not an easy thing to do since we were so close in height - and I wrapped my legs around his waist, sliding my fingers through his hair and clutching at him as I tipped his head up enough to kiss him.
“You want to come with me, do you?”
“Aye, you’re damn right I do. I have a bag packed behind my front door so I’m ready to go any time you are. Just say the word.” His breath caught in his throat as I bent down to nip the top of his ear with my teeth.
“What makes you think you could tolerate me once we’re away from here?” I whispered, feeling his hands grip my rear to help hold me up and he lifted his head up to kiss me again.
“Tolerate you? Are you crazy? You’re the most honest person I’ve ever met. You have a heart bigger than everyone else on this estate combined. You live life, not just exist in it. It takes my breath away. I’d be more afraid that you won’t be able tolerate me if we leave.”
“Not a problem my dear doctor. You’re just as alive as I am, I think you just need some help to wake up.”
“So wake me up.” He challenged, swinging us around away from the door and lowering me down onto the back of the couch. I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down with me, kissing him until we were both gasping for air, and I felt his hands run restlessly over my sides and up under my baggy shirt.
“There’s my highlander.” I whispered in his ear, arching my back into his capable hands and he growled deep in his chest as he felt my warm, smooth skin under his touch. I looped my legs up around his hips again and the move made me slide off the back and down onto the cushions, making him fall towards me and he shot his arms out to stop himself from crashing down on me and I grinned wickedly at him.
“You awake yet?”
“I think I’m getting there.” As one, we lifted my hips and slid the boxers down my legs and I quickly pulled the big shirt over my head and Ian pulled back long enough to enjoy the view. He had fantasized about my tanned skin and had tried to imagine where the tan lines would be but the only one he found was a string that stretched over my hips and a tiny triangle between them and he groaned in agony. “You’re breathtaking.” He whispered in awe and I blushed even as I hooked a toe around the waistband of the green scrub pants he wore.
“Give me a chance to return the compliment, Doctor. Otherwise, I’d have to say your bedside manner leaves something to be desired.” In one fluid motion, he loosened the drawstring on his pants and let them fall to his ankles as he pulled his shirt off and I practically purred, my reptilian eyes raking over his hard, lean frame almost hungrily.
“I think I’m the one that needs to be woken up now.” I raised my face to his again as he bent down to kiss me and we clutched at each other, our ragged breathing mixing together as we let the rest of the night go by.
Chapter 15
I rolled onto my side in the morning and felt Ian’s naked chest up against my back. His arm went around my waist and hugged me a bit closer and, still half-asleep, he nuzzled my ear.
“Good morning.” I smiled, curling my body into his and he chuckled.
“Mornin’.” His Scottish burr was pretty thick when he was groggy and I thought it was absolutely adorable.
“You interested in going for a run with me this morning before breakfast?”
“No.” His abrupt answer made me laugh and he released my waist and rolled onto his back, rubbing his eyes with one hand and I rolled over to face him, eyeing his naked torso with a certain level of interest.
“Well, I can’t really start my day if I don’t get some cardio in. You have any suggestions on how I can do that?” I trailed a hand down his chest and under the sheet that was tangled around his waist and he practically purred when he felt my hand slide down his hip.
“I can probably come up with one or two ideas.” He sat up to tower over me and seized my lips in a hungry kiss. Laughing lightly under his lips, I fell back on the pillows and wrapped my arms around his neck, playing with his hair as we kissed, his body shifting to cover mine and I readily adjusted my own legs to accommodate him.
What felt like thirty seconds later, we were interrupted by a banging on the door of his cottage next to mine.
“Doctor! Doctor! Are you awake? Ian!” Stephanie’s urgent voice was punctuated with each bang on his door and as he groaned and rolled off me I quickly got out of bed, grabbed my discarded t-shirt from the night before and pulled it on as I went to my door.
“Steph? What’s going on?” I asked as calmly as I could, praying she didn’t notice that I didn’t have any pants on and she turned to me with a look of panic on her face.
“It’s Ciara! She’s in labor!”
“Tell her I’ll be there in two minutes.” Ian’s voice spoke behind me and I nodded and turned back to the other young woman.
“He’ll be there in like two minutes.” To her credit, Stephanie didn’t let on if it surprised her that he would be in my cottage so early in the morning, she just nodded and turned and ran back to the main house. I closed my door and turned to see Ian standing in the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face and neck and I quickly shook out his scrubs that were laying across the back of the couch. It took him no time at all to get dressed and as he was about to walk out my door he paused, squeezed my shoulder tenderly and kissed my lips.
“I’ll see you later. Thanks for waking me up.” I smiled faintly at his words and then I watched him go out my door and through his. A moment later I saw him through the window, medical bag in hand, trotting towards the big house to tend to Ciara and her babies. As I watched him go, I noticed that he glanced up at the sky and right before he rounded the corner and was out of sight, his step faltered for a second and then he was gone and I scrunched my brow together in confusion. What had made him falter? Going to my door, I opened it and stepped outside, looking up at the eastern sky and my blood ran cold. Clouds like I’ve never seen before were accumulating over the water; deep purple, blue and green and the wind was picking up, blowing them towards us. Electricity seemed to fill the air around me and made the hairs on my arms stand on end and I watched in ill-concealed fascination as the clouds continued to approach.
“What do ye make of them clouds?” Jamie asked, the young man suddenly appearing beside me and I swallowed hard, no longer caring that I stood outside in a long, baggy t-shirt and nothing else.
“They’re coming.” I said simply, my gaze going to the house where Ciara, Edan and Ian were and I wondered if it was a coincidence that Ciara was going into labor at the exact time that the Fae were coming to try to take back their land. And very likely, me.
“What do we do?” he glanced at me and I shrugged helplessly.
“I wish I knew.”
The clouds stayed just off-shore for the entire day, keeping me in a heightened state of awareness. Ciara’s babies, a girl and a boy, were born before lunch and Alice and Will hosted a huge celebratory lunch for the entire estate. Everyone got to go in for a short visit with Ciara and Edan and their bundles of joy but our visits were staggered to allow everyone to rest, and while I waited for my turn, I paced the cliff restlessly, my gaze glued to the clouds that just wouldn’t move, and for once I wasn’t the only one out there. Madeline, Jamie, Stephanie and a few others from the garden and barn either sat in the grass and stared at the clouds quietly or watched me pace, chewing on my thumbnail until there was nothing left. Jamie held Stephanie’s hand while they sat together; I was not so distracted that I didn’t notice that and be happy for her, and she watched me in concern more than she watched the stationary clouds.
“The weatherman doesn’t know what to make of them clouds.” One barnhand muttered and another scoffed.
“They dunno what to make of the sun shining most days. Do ye think they’ll get any closer to us or stay out there?”
“What do you think it means?”
I paid no attention to
any of the questions. My little dragon pendant was hot on my skin, as though it was on edge too and when I finally stopped pacing and stood staring out across the waves, Madeline spoke.
“Miss Ciara mentioned wanting to make some wreaths for everyone’s doors. Miss Lani, do you think this might be a good time to make them? It’d give us something to do.” She suggested and while I was surprised by her words I guessed I shouldn’t have been. Madeline was about as discreet as Ciara was and it would make sense that she would eventually confide in the other young woman.
“That might not be a bad idea, Madeline. Or if not wreaths, maybe let’s try to dry some of the leaves and get them ready to burn as incense. That might be a bit faster.” I agreed, turning to look at her and she nodded and got to her feet.
“Aye miss, I’ll go see what I can put together.” When she left, Stephanie stood up and came to stand beside me, Jamie flanking her almost protectively.
“What do we do if these really are Fae coming to take back their land? How do we fight them?” she whispered and I reached a hand down to squeeze hers supportively. I wasn’t about to ask her how she knew about the Fae, word probably travelled fast within these walls, which I guess was a good thing. At least right now.
“We do everything we can. According to my great-grandfather’s journals, there are runes enbedded in the walls around the estate, put there eons ago by ancestors who were more superstitious than we are to ward off the Fae. They can’t get onto this property unless invited on and I can assure you, that won’t happen again. This battle will have to take place down there if anywhere so maybe that’ll give us an advantage.” I murmured, all of our gazes going down into the fishbowl-shaped bay as the afternoon tide washed ashore.
When it was finally my turn to go in and visit the new parents and their bundles of joy, it was Ian that came to get me and he squeezed my hand tightly as he pulled me away from the cliff towards the house.
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