For Auld Lang Syne [Cairngorm Dragons 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Clair de Lune

  He kissed her cheek, her hair, her eyes as tenderly he whispered, “My love, my sweetheart, my mate.” They lay together in silence then. She felt his warmth and inhaled his scent. She closed her eyes just for a moment.

  When she awoke she took a while to reorient herself. She was with Hamish. Hamish! They were together and they’d made love. The years rolled away, and she felt like a girl again. She slid out of his embrace and went to wash. What will he think of my older body? It’s not so firm and lithe as it once was.

  “He will think he’s the luckiest man alive.” Mairi gave a start. “I see you’d got used to no one reading your thoughts, my love. Come back to bed. I want to see what’s mine. I love your delicious little bottom.”

  “Not so little now, Hamish.”

  “Woman, come to me and show yourself.” Slowly Mairi returned to the bedchamber. Hamish lay on his back, his arms crossed under his head.

  “You are wearing too many clothes. Off with them,” he said. Slowly Mairi slipped off her clothes and stood naked before him. She gazed at the floor. She knew the years had taken their toll. Then she gathered her courage and looked at him. Then she giggled. The front of his plaid was supporting a tent pole. He held out his arms, and she flung herself into his embrace.

  “Silly wee peahen. To me you are young and beautiful and gorgeous and delectable…” She stopped his mouth with her own and kissed him long and deeply. She felt her own passions ignite. His hands cupped her breasts, and then his mouth left hers to fasten on one nipple and he licked, nipped, and then he suckled hard. She called out in her delight, and he repeated the exercise with the other nipple. He lifted her and lowered her onto his throbbing dick, and she moaned as he gained entrance. Then she rode him. He lifted her by the hips and pulled her down hard. She rocked back and forward and soon established her own rhythm.

  He raised his hips to meet her downward thrust, and she moaned as his dick massaged her sweet spot. His hands kneaded and caressed her breasts. The nipples were hard and achy. She pressed them into his hands, and he rolled and pulled on them to her delight. She threw back her head and arched her back as the familiar tingles began. He must have been waiting for the signs because he reached between them and rubbed her clit hard, pushing her over the edge. She felt the waves of pleasure engulf her. Her pussy muscles contracted around his cock, and the milking, squeezing motion brought on his climax. Spurts of hot sticky fluid shot out of him to fill her. He pulled her forward and held her, still joined as they were.

  “I love you, Mairi. I will never leave you. I don’t want to let you out of my sight ever again,” Hamish said urgently.

  Mairi snuggled into his embrace and pondered those earnest words. She shielded her thoughts from him. Will those words and sentiments cause me trouble? I’m used to being independent. How is it going to affect my life now I have to consider another? Well, I want him in my life, so we are just going to have to learn to live together. It’s going to be difficult for him, too.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning, after they had broken their fast, Hamish heard the sounds of an arrival in the courtyard. More people? Are there not sufficient in this house? So much noise and bustle and never a moment’s peace or a quiet place to sit and think. My Mairi is looking excited and expectant. I wonder who these people are.

  Mairi stood up and held out her hand.

  “Come with me, my love,” she said, and Hamish heard her voice tremble with apprehension. Who is this that makes her worry so? Nevertheless, he took her hand and they went down to the main hall, where a small crowd had gathered. Hamish sighed. Will I ever get accustomed to this? Mairi turned to him with stars in her eyes. What’s this? He looked beyond her and saw a man and a woman. They both smiled and they stood each with a hand on the shoulder of a young child.

  That face, it’s like looking at me as a young man, but it can’t be. Is it? He turned to Mairi, who stood watching him with tears in her eyes.

  “My lord, here’s your son, Seamus, and his wife and their son, Hamish,” Mairi said. Hamish’s senses reeled. I left her with child? She managed to raise that child and not be cast out of the settlement. How could that be?

  “Later, my love. I will explain all of it later. Now is the time to get to know your son and his family.”

  Mairi was right. However. she’d managed it didn’t matter. She had, and the result was this fine-looking man and his family. What a day! I’m a father and a grandfather. I don’t know if I can cope with all this happiness. A very few days ago I was a sad, old man with no future. Today I feel rejuvenated. I have the love of my life and a family. Whatever did I do to deserve such happiness?

  “Don’t think about it, my love. Accept it and enjoy it. Now, stop thinking and greet your son.”

  Hamish stepped forward and held out his arms. Seamus embraced his father.

  “My son. My son. I had no idea you existed. I thought I’d lost your mother. Now I have her and you and your wife and son. Behold me the happiest of men!”

  “Father, my mother has told me so much about you. She has loved you all her life, and I’m so very glad that you are still alive and the two of you will have a life together. She has had a hard life, because she was lonely, but now she will be as happy as she deserves to be. Now let me present my wife, Allana, and my son, Hamish,” Seamus said proudly, withdrawing from his father’s embrace. Hamish kissed Allana on both cheeks, and then he held out his arms and the young Hamish came forward very shyly to be swept up and soundly kissed. He blushed and wriggled, so Hamish set him back on his feet.

  “Let’s all go into the solar and be comfortable,” Ness suggested. “Hamish, you have a lot of missing years to catch up on. Wine and cakes have been set out with milk for young Hamish. The room is yours for the rest of the day. Meals will be in the Great Hall as usual.

  The rest of the day was spent in talk. Hamish wanted to know all about Mairi’s experiences. He listened as she recounted all that had happened from the accident to the present day, and then he told her his side of the story.

  “What a pair of young fools we were. If only I’d waited and not gone flying off in panic,” Hamish said.

  “Well, you were young and knew no better, my love. It’s useless to repine now. We have to enjoy our second chance. You have a family and I have you back. Seamus has his father and Hamish his grandfather. That’s truly a reason for a celebration. Speaking of which, the midday meal will be served shortly. We must go to the Great Hall and not keep my lord of Ness waiting,” Mairi said.

  When they got to the Great Hall, it was to find they were to sit at the top table with Ness and his family. All eyes were upon them, and the noise of so many conversations made Hamish’s head spin.

  “You will get used to it, my love. It’s bound to be difficult as you’ve spent so much time alone.”

  “Yes, I know, but they all stare so. What is there to stare at in an old man and his family?”

  “They know our story, and they want to know more. They’re curious, but it won’t last long. Some other wonder will replace it, and before long I expect.”

  “Yes, but meanwhile we are the focus of everyone’s attention. I’m sorry to be so grumpy, my love.”

  “Don’t worry. It will all be fine.”

  Hamish wished he could be so sanguine. His head ached. He longed for peace and quiet. He supposed that when the meal was over he’d be able to retire to his room and enjoy Mairi’s company again. It was not to be. No sooner did Ness stand up, signalling that the meal was ended, than a crowd of well-wishers and curious persons gathered about him and Mairi and began to ask all manner of questions. Mairi shielded him from the worst by replying for him, but in the end it was Ness himself who came to his rescue.

  “Enough! Hamish and Mairi have need of rest and quiet time. All of you have duties now go!” The chatter ceased, and the room cleared.

  “Thank you, my lord of Ness,” Hamish said.

  “Well, my people are curious. Nothing like this has
happened before, and they get so little excitement in their lives, but your head must be bursting now. Go up and rest. This will be a seven-day-wonder, and it will soon be over. If it gets too much for you, there are remote cottages on the estate and you can go there for a while until the interest dies down.”

  “My lord Ness, you are too kind,” Hamish said. “If it becomes more than I can bear, I will certainly accept your kind offer.”

  * * * *

  After her nap, Mairi awoke to find the bed empty. Panic set in.

  “Hamish!” Her mind call was agonised, but a soothing reply had her flop back onto her pillows in relief.

  “You’re safe. Where are you?”

  “I needed air and solitude. I’m on top of Ben Macdui. Don’t worry.

  “How can I not worry? I awoke alone again and you were gone. Why didn’t you wake me?

  “You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t like to disturb you.” Hamish’s mind tone was soothing and eminently matter-of-fact, but Mairi felt aggrieved. She put it behind her. “Come back to me now, please, my love.” This was going to be more difficult than she’d imagined, but they could do it.

  Soon Hamish was back, and they sat and talked about old times, but there came a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” Mairi called.

  “Begging your pardon, but we need the spices for the evening meal,” the little maid said. Mairi went with her. Hamish rose and would have gone with her.

  “There is no need, love. I will go and get the spices and I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Mairi said.

  An hour later she still hadn’t returned. One after another had things to ask her. From the correct herb to apply as a poultice to a burn, to a potion for a baby who couldn’t sleep on account of the pain of teething. She was talking to the dairymaid when Hamish arrived. He stood in the door to the kitchen, tall, angry, and out of place. Mairi quickly ended her conversation and turned to face him.

  “Let’s go out for a walk, Hamish, my love,” she suggested. They went out and walked about in the grounds of Ness’s beautiful house. No one was near, so they could talk in peace.

  “Why did you take so long? It’s been an hour.”

  “I’m the only healer on the estate. If people need help with humans or animals, they come to me. I can’t turn them away.”

  “Not even for your newly discovered mate?”

  “That’s not fair, and you know it’s not. They depend on me and they need my help and attention.”

  “Mairi, I need your attention. I’ve just found you again after all this time, and I don’t want to share you.”

  “Hamish, my love, you have to be reasonable. I love you. I always have and I always will, but I have a life of my own. I can’t give it all up. This life has made me the woman that I am. These people need me. They have my attention for a little while, but you have my love forever.”

  “You have a mate now. Why do you need to be a healer, too?”

  “Hamish, I’ve made these people depend on me for their cures. I can’t just abandon them now. That wouldn’t be fair. You wouldn’t want me to do that, to go back on my word.”

  “Wouldn’t I, Mairi? Women who have found their mates don’t need other occupations. I should be enough for you.”

  “Hamish, the world has moved on. Many women who are mated have other interests. It makes no sense for a woman to acquire knowledge, use it for a short while for the benefit of all, and then, when she is mated, abandon it all.”

  “She can use it for the benefit of her mate and family, Mairi.”

  “That’s a very narrow-minded opinion. I had hoped you’d take a wider view. I’m needed here. The skills that I have cannot easily be replaced.”

  “I can see that we have a lot to think about and to discuss. I thought I’d lost you. Then a miracle happened and I found you again. Now I’m afraid to lose you again. We have so much catching up to do. I really can’t share you with others. They’ve had you for all these years. Now I want you to myself.”

  “My love, I can understand that. I don’t want to be apart from you either. However, I can’t see these people in trouble or in pain and do nothing.”

  “Yes, I understand that, my Mairi. You are a wonderful person and very gifted with the healing. Can’t we come to some sort of arrangement?”

  Mairi looked at him. He looked forlorn and lost. She saw that he needed her help as much as anyone. He hated the noise and the bustle, but he was suffering that for her sake. She knew they had to find a way forward. They didn’t have many years left, and she, as much as Hamish, wanted to live them out in peace. Suddenly an idea occurred to her.

  “Hamish, we can go and live in the house that lord Ness offered to you. I will visit the house here for an hour every day to oversee the maids and to offer advice to anyone who needs it. They will soon get used to coming at the hour they know I will be here. As well as that I can teach one of the young girls all I know. Young Ishbel is very keen to learn, and she has a way with plants. I will ask her parents.”

  “My love, that sounds an excellent plan. I know it will take time until you are totally free, but at least we are heading where we want to go. You do want it, too, don’t you?” Hamish asked anxiously.

  “Yes, Hamish. I’ve been independent for far too long. It will be good to share woes and worries with you. No doubt we shall disagree, but life won’t be dull, now will it?”

  “Never dull with you, my darling. Now there is one more thing that I want,” Hamish said. Mairi looked at him and saw the twinkle in his eye, and she wondered what next he would come up with.

  “What is it, Hamish?”

  “I want a full dragon-mating without all the pomp and ceremony, just our friends. We missed that before, but we are never too old to do it.”

  “No, never too old to do it, as you proved last night, my sweetheart,” Mairi said, and they both chuckled. The tension between them had gone. She knew it wouldn’t all be plain sailing, but if they put each other first and talked about their differences, all would be well.

  * * * *

  A couple of weeks later it took place. Mairi knew that Hamish would have preferred a quiet mating with few witnesses, but such was the fame of their story that everyone wanted to be there. Ness and Braemuir also wanted to give them a day to remember, and that had taken a while to organise. Now, at last, the day had dawned. Mairi was being dressed in her fine new robe of dove gray and old rose. Following tradition, the robe had to be in her dragon colours. Many people had gathered, and when she was led out but Muireall of Ness and Eilidh of Braemuir, all talk ceased. The ranks of the assembled people opened to allow them to pass. No living person had seen Mairi in dragon-form, so the whispers began as soon as she’d passed. Silence fell however as Ness stood.

  “This union of Hamish and Mairi is doubly blessed. They thought they’d lost each other and lived their separate lives true and faithful to their love, and today they are given a second chance. They were separated before they could be dragon-mated. For auld lang syne, for the days of long ago. We are privileged to be present on this happy occasion. Mairi, Calman, prepare to be claimed by Hamish, as Grianan.”

  Mairi assumed her dragon-form, and she heard the gasp of astonishment but she stood tall and proud and bugled her love for her Hamish. He, too, assumed his dragon-form. The jade scales were no longer dull. They shimmered and shone in the sunlight. The scales were deep jade close to his body, but the tip of each scale and his outspread wings glowed a pale turquoise. There was nothing in his demeanour to make anyone think he was old and past it. He stood on his hind-legs and roared the traditional challenge, but no dragon appeared to answer him. Mairi was led forward by Muireall, as Madainn, and Eilidh, as Ceanag, in their dragon-forms. They held her wing tips as she dropped to her knees. She spread out her wings in submission as Hamish, now Grianan, prepared to mount her.

  Grianan lowered his huge head, and he twined his neck with hers. Then he raised his head and emitted another bellow of pride and challen
ge. As expected, there was still no answering challenge. No dragon disputed his right to his mate. He mounted her from behind. Calman knew what to expect. She’d been present at many dragon-matings. Grianan soothed her with his mind. To begin with she was well able to remain submissive. She bowed her head, as, with great care, he took the back of her neck in his huge jaws to hold her still. Then she felt him penetrate her, and she bellowed with pleasure as his huge, erect organ entered her. He thrust deep inside her. The sensation of all the ridges of his hot, swollen cock as it penetrated her and stimulated every nerve ending was incredible.

  “So this is what it feels like. I never imagined anything half so incredible.”

  “I know. I’ve thought about it and what we missed, but nothing that I imagined comes close to the reality, my Calman.”

  The physical pleasure combined with the mental stimulation was so intense that she found it difficult to remain still. She tried not to move. She tried not to rise to meet his thrusts. She now knew why her wings had to be held down. She fought the impulse, but she was losing the battle until her mate came to her aid.

  “No, you must remain still,” Grianan said. With his help she managed to give up all attempts to move. This was the struggle of the strong woman offering her submission to her mate, and she wouldn’t disgrace him. She held herself still and let him fuck her.

  Grianan may have been getting on in years, but he was still powerful. Calman felt the huge hindquarters flexing as her mate pumped his erection in and out of her.