“Smoky, I’m sorry to tell you this, but I’m an odd number in an even-numbered world. I don’t belong here, so it’s probably best for me to go back. The longer I wait, the more likely it is that my sisters will give up on me.”
Smoky whined, licking her arm.
“Don’t try to soften me up. Lachie will take care of you, and I’ll make Brann promise to help him.”
The sudden memory of that rotten bastard’s hands on her gave her a chill that traveled up her spine. He had no right, even in these times. Brann had told the chief she was spoken for.
“Don’t look at me like that, Smoky. I can’t stay here. I’d have nothing to do but take care of you and have hot sex with Brann.” At least she was needed back in present time. There was such a shortage of nurses she’d always be needed.
But she didn’t like her job. In her previous job, she’d pulled brutal twelve-hour shifts at a hospital. Every night she’d be so exhausted she’d just lie in bed, unable to sleep, thinking about all the things she hadn’t been able to get to during her shift. The nice things she would have liked to do for the patients.
So she’d left that job to take a position at a dermatology office. The working conditions were great, but it was hard to feel rewarded helping the doctor hand out medicines for acne and removing basal cell cancers.
She’d been in a quandary for the last three months. She wanted to matter, but she didn’t want to take years off her life helping others.
Smoky yipped as if to move her along.
“Fine, we’ll go in. I know you’re just hoping for some meat, but you’re too young.” Once inside, she made a beeline to the hearth and set the crate down. She arranged the blanket inside and set Smoky down on top of it. The wee pup circled three times, nuzzling the blanket with her nose, before she found the perfect position and lay down, closing her eyes with a deep sigh of contentment.
“I’ve tired you out with all my talking.” She petted the pup’s head and then stood up, looking for a place to wash her hands.
That wasn’t going to happen. Maybe she should start carrying her hand sanitizer. She found a small pitcher of water on a side table and poured a bit over her hands, rubbing them together before cascading another few drops over her fingers.
“They dinnae look dirty.” Brann strode up, a smile on his face.
“No, but they are. I wish you had soap around.”
“I have a sliver in my sporran. Would ye like it?”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
“Would ye share the meal with me?” he asked.
“I’d love to.” She followed him over to the dais, newly aware of all the men following their progress. He guided her onto a platform at the end of the hall. The long table and chairs on top faced the trestle tables full of guards, some wives, and local clan members.
“Thank you,” she said, sitting in the chair Brann offered.
She hadn’t been there long when a serving girl came over with an odd-looking bowl filled with a type of stew.
Brann ignored the girl’s stare and said, “Bridget, see that someone opens the cask of ale that Murray brought. I’ll have some of that.”
She brought over two goblets filled with the ale. Allie briefly touched her tongue to the liquid, turned her nose up, and then shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll have water, please.”
Brann laughed at her but took the ale, drinking half of it down. He then waved to his men, many of whom got up to get their own drink.
“So, lass. Other than yer sisters, what do ye miss most from yer land?” He took his dagger out of his pocket and stuck it into the bowl in front of him, cutting off a piece of it and dipping it into the stew.
“That’s bread?”
“Aye, ye’ve not seen it before?”
“Well, I’ve seen something similar…” She’d seen bread bowls before, but this bread was quite dark and much coarser than she was used to eating. “You don’t use many dishes, do you?” In truth, they wouldn’t be practical here, especially without a dishwasher or a sink. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter. You asked me a question, and I’d have to say the cleanliness is what I miss most.”
“Jinty keeps a clean hall. Dinnae let her hear ye say otherwise, or she’ll be blistering yer ear all night,” he said, a most serious expression on his face.
“I see…I understand…How can I…” She had to think carefully about what she was about to say. “Many years from now, scientists learned about microbes.”
He stared at her blankly.
“There are millions of little germs everywhere.” She couldn’t quite decide how to teach the man about the basics of microbiology. Germs and microbes were probably not the best way to start.
“What in blazes is a germ?”
She decided to change tactics. “You recall how I told you about the way we bathe? The spigot in the wall?”
“Aye, I like such a suggestion.”
“Well, we have running water everywhere. The pipes bring water to different places in a building. In the kitchens, you would have a big wide bowl with faucets or spigots at the top that release water. Cook would be able to cook with the water and use it for dishes.”
“It brings it right from the well?”
“Something like that.” She decided explaining about toilets would be too difficult. “And we have giant tubs with spigots for washing clothes.”
His eyes widened. “That could be verra useful. But when ye’re done, how do ye get the water back out? Ye have to carry it in tubs and dump it?”
“No, we have drains that bring the water to pipes that take it back out.”
“Impressive. So everything is cleaner. ‘Tis truly what you miss?”
“Yes. I could wash my hands whenever I wanted, or wash the table, or…”
“Wash the table? Why the devil would ye need to wash the table? Crumbs just brush off.”
Allie looked at the beautifully carved table in front of them, much nicer than the trestle tables below them. There were knife marks and scratches galore, but it was still quite lovely. But how often had it been washed?
Had it ever been washed?
A maid brought over a bowl with water in it.
“What do you use that for?” she asked, afraid to use it for what she wished.
He smirked. “We’re no’ so dirty. ‘Tis for washing yer fingers after ye eat from the trencher.”
She glanced around the room, but no one else had a bowl of water.
“She brought it for ye, lass. Females are a wee bit fussier than men.”
“How thoughtful of her.” She used it right away, wondering how they didn’t all die from food poisoning. “Where do you keep your food?”
“Some things in the kitchen, others in the pantry, the larder, or the buttery.”
“Oh, you must have lots of butter if you have a larder and a buttery.”
His brow furrowed the way it always did when she unintentionally said something dense. “Butter? The buttery holds the ale butts or barrels. ‘Tis what makes it a buttery, lass.”
“No iceboxes?” She knew they didn’t have refrigerators, but how did they keep everything fresh?
“Ice? ‘Tis summer. There’s no ice in the lochs this time of year. We have an icehouse in the winter, but where would we get the ice now?” He gave her a strange look, so she decided maybe it was best to change the subject.
If she thought any more about germs and cleanliness, she’d be up in her room crying.
Chapter Twelve
Brann had tortured himself long enough. She’d asked for a bath but had changed her mind upon being reminded she’d just come from the faerie pool. Still, she’d grabbed an ewer of fresh water before disappearing upstairs for some time alone. He’d thought she would come back down to the great hall to invite him to her chamber, but he hadn’t seen her yet.
His loins had waited long enough.
“What do ye wish me to do with them on the morrow?” Angus asked.
“What?” He tru
ly had no idea what the man was talking about.
“The morrow?”
He couldn’t stay away from her any longer.
“Ye’re a bit agitated, my lord,” Jinty said as she cleaned up the tables, keeping a wide berth between herself and Brann.
“So I am. Do as ye wish, Angus. I’m going to my bed.” He stomped across the hall and up the staircase, ignoring all the stares. He bet they’d have much to say as soon as he was gone.
Did they think he liked the pull the lass had on him? She’d be the death of him yet with those big blue eyes and pouty lips.
This time, she’d beg him for more. He couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the lass’s screams of pleasure. They could have been heard on Murray land. His chest puffed out a bit as he sauntered over to her door.
“Come in,” she said as soon as he knocked. Her voice was low and sultry.
He opened the door and peeked around the corner, surprised to see her sprawled across the bed on her side, the curve of her hip begging for his tongue. Her head was propped on her hand, her bent elbow leaning against the bed.
She was naked as the day of her birth, and more glorious than any woman he’d ever seen.
“Lass, ye leave me speechless.” He stood next to the bed, taking in the view of her, his erection lifting his plaid until he unhooked his brooch and tossed it off to the side. He kicked off his boots and his woolen socks, and lowered himself on the bed next to her, the covers already pulled back and waiting for him. “Ye are as beautiful as they come.”
His eyes traveled from her face down to her toes. “I guess ye couldnae have come down to fetch me looking like that.” As he stared down at her, admiring every inch, she lifted her free hand and shook a small packet back and forth. He waggled his eyebrows at her, his wide grin telling her how much he enjoyed her nudity. “What have ye there, Allison?” He grinned, lying flat on his back, his hands clasped behind his head.
“A condom.”
“A what?”
“Something a man puts on to keep a woman from getting preg—I mean, with child.”
As soon as her comment hit home, he yanked his hands out from behind his head and covered his private area, his erection leaving him as quickly as it had come. “And why would I wish to put something on myself? I like it the way it is.”
“A condom. Remember how I said I wanted you to wear this? I have three of them.”
He took the flimsy package and brought it up close so he could study it. “How does it work?”
“I’ll place it on your penis and roll the edges down carefully over it, and you won’t even know it’s there.”
“A dick cover? Ye wish for me to cover my dick so I cannot have my release? ‘Tis no’ sounding appealing to me.”
She burst out laughing. “A dick cover? I like that. I guess you could call it that, but it won’t affect your release. It’s quite thin.”
He stared at the package again and said, “It willnae fit. ‘Tis too small.” He handed it back to her with this pronouncement, dismissing the issue.
“Says every man on the planet and you’re all wrong. It will fit fine. See.” She held it up for him to see. “Extra large. I guessed Scottish men would be bigger than American men.” She tore the package open for his inspection.
“Look at the size of the ring. It’ll never fit. I’ll no’ allow ye to put it on me.”
“No?” she asked with a saucy grin. “We’ll see.”
Her lips captured his, and she swept her tongue inside his mouth before he could even react. He took over and plundered her mouth, dueling tongues with her, while his hands found her breasts and teased her nipples to taut peaks that he wished to taste.
He ended the kiss and rolled her underneath him, trailing his tongue between the valley of her breasts and up to her nipples, suckling each one until she cried out. She bucked her hips against him, but he didn’t let her take over, instead taking his tongue down the middle of her belly to the juncture between her thighs. He licked and suckled until she cried out, going over the edge so quickly he couldn’t help but smile with pride.
When she could finally speak again, she whispered, “Not fair,” gasping between each word.
He chuckled as she maneuvered him onto his back, but the laughter didn’t last long when she proceeded to do the same thing to him, trailing kisses down his chest and running the edge of her teeth over each nipple. He gripped her hips and tried to move her above him, but she managed to squeeze out, “Not yet…”
He groaned as her hands roamed over his body, finally gripping his manhood and milking him with a slow, rhythmic movement that was sheer torture. Then her tongue moved to the head of his penis, and he nearly shouted, but he stopped as he watched her perform the most erotic dance he’d ever seen. She teased him by dragging her tongue up the entire length of him before taking his full length in her mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment to savor the feelings she evoked, and when he opened them again, she was slipping something down the length of him.
He tried to bolt off the bed, but she grabbed his hips. “Brann, does it hurt? Be honest.”
She gripped him with her hand again and he groaned, unable to answer her with words, so he simply shook his head. She hovered over him and sheathed herself with one movement, bringing herself up and down, up and down, her slick juices torturing him until he nearly climaxed, but he held on.
“Ye first, my sweet,” he said through a clenched jaw.
She rode him hard, taking him deeper with each thrust until he finally reached between them and teased her in just the right spot, forcing her over the edge with a moan. He bucked against her as his own orgasm coursed through him, and he buried himself deeper, giving a hoarse shout as he took his pleasure.
When she was finally able to move, he helped her off of him, and she reached between them and pulled the condom off, holding it away from her. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Hellfire, the dick cover worked.”
Chapter Thirteen
When Allie woke up, she couldn’t stop a moan of pleasure from leaving her mouth, memories of Brann’s lovemaking last night possessing her.
The man had a tongue to die for, and she’d learned something new about herself.
She was indeed multi-orgasmic, since she’d had the rare pleasure of three orgasms within an hour. The man was also an insatiable beast.
She reached for him, surprised when her hand didn’t find him. They’d gone to sleep spooning, but they’d both floundered in the huge bed until he’d wrapped an arm and leg around her, almost as if he were afraid she’d leave him.
Which was exactly what she’d told him she planned on doing. She’d shared her revised plan to leave today, and he’d reminded her of her promise to stay longer. She’d insisted.
And yet…he wasn’t in the chamber, and she missed him already. How would she feel when she returned to her own time?
She climbed out of bed, doing her best to straighten her wild waves with her fingers.
When was the last time she’d used a comb? Jinty hadn’t given her one, so she assumed there weren’t any. There was still some water in the pitcher at her bedside, so she poured some into a bowl and washed her face. She then swished her mouth with water, using a linen square to rub her teeth. When she finished, she ate the few random limp mint leaves Jinty had left on the chest, hoping to improve her breath. How she wished for some mouthwash.
She snorted.
Or a toilet or a shower or a sink or a toothbrush…the list was endless. Not wanting to search through the chest to find appropriate clothing, she put her bra on and wrapped Brann’s plaid around her waist, throwing the end over her shoulder. She stepped into the passageway and heard a gasp. Jinty. The maid was running toward the stairs, a pile of linens in her hands.
“Cover up, lass,” she said over her shoulder.
“Where’s Brann?” she shouted at Jinty, hoping she’d answer.
“Outside heaving with everyone else,” she yell
ed back.
Oh, that couldn’t be good. Just the thought of someone heaving made her hurry back into her room. She used a big squirt of hand sanitizer and found a bland blouse in the chest to wear with the tartan. Once she felt properly attired, she grabbed Smoky and headed down the stairs.
“Come along, wee one, though it’s not all about you this morning. I’ll have to check on Brann and the others. You recall my nursing career, don’t you?” Smoky stared up at her and gave a soft bark as if to agree with her.
Why was everyone heaving?
She hurried down the staircase, Smoky tucked in the crook of her arm. The hall was nearly empty, which felt like a bad sign, and two lasses were scrubbing the floor in a few spots. She headed straight out the back door, almost banging into Elspeth.
“Oh, Elspeth. Do you know where Brann is?”
“He’s out back heaving, and ‘tis about to rain. I hope it pours buckets to wash all of the sick away.”
“Have you been sick at all? Or any of the other maids?”
Elspeth stopped, folding her hands in front of her. “Nay, I have no’ been taken with it. One of the lasses is ill, but no’ as bad as the lads. They are all heaving, some in the front, others in the back.”
The back of the keep was a mess of grasses, weeds, and bushes, with various paths leading through it, but she managed to find him in the far corner by the curtain wall. She passed a few others lying on the ground asleep. She hated to ask what had been going on while she slept part of the day away. Brann lay flat on his back, his arm covering his eyes against the light of day. “Brann?”
She sat down cross-legged, settling Smoky between her legs.
“Brann?” she whispered, reaching over to place her hand on his forehead. His skin was damp but not overly warm. “Are you all right?”
His arm moved and he peeked out of one eye, groaning slightly. “Ye arenae sick?”
She gave it a passing thought and said, “Well, I’d have to say my belly is a bit queasy, but I’m not sick.”
A sudden noise alerted her to another person vomiting not far from them, the sound forcing Brann to roll onto his belly. “Nay, no’ agin.”
Falling for the Chieftain: A Time Travel Romance (Enchanted Falls Trilogy, Book 3) Page 8
