Highland Games

by Laura Hunsaker

  That was it? A cryptic little “I know?!” Hell with that. Piper tossed her shoulder-length blonde hair and glared at Colm. “You know? That’s it? Explain yourself buddy.”

  “I tried, but you ran off,” he reminded her. Piper pursed her lips and stared. Colm continued as if she weren’t glaring daggers at him. “I need you to come with me, to my time, to my clan. You are important to the survival of my clan.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  “If you doona come back with me, my clan will fall. The MacRobert will no longer rule as chief, and I canna allow that.”

  “But I don’t get why you need me.”

  “‘Tis all I ken.”

  “That’s all? I need more than that if I’m going to go anywhere with you.” Piper peered into his eyes, looking for something, for anything that would prove him sane, so she could see where this led, because his brand of crazy wasn’t what she was looking for in life. From another time? Puh-leez!

  “Trust me.” He made it sound so simple, didn’t he? But it wasn’t simple. She could go with this man and see where he led her, but the problem was that more than likely he would lead her into the woods and kill her with that big sword of his. She didn’t think he would, but with her luck, she never knew.

  Squaring her shoulders, Piper told him, “I can’t.” Her answer was as simple as his, and yet, nothing felt simple. His arms dropped from around her, leaving her cold on an otherwise lovely spring day. His eyes shuttered, and he stepped back from her. Piper instantly missed his strength, his embrace, which made no sense. After all, she’d just met the man.

  Forcing herself to do so, Piper turned and walked away. And he let her go. She wasn’t deluded enough to think that she’d escaped him. She knew if he’d wanted her badly enough he’d have taken her. But she also knew that as gorgeous as he was, and no matter that she felt she knew him, no one could time travel. That was just crazy. She wandered towards the drink tent. Grabbing herself a soda, she aimlessly walked. The Highland Games no longer held any interest. Instead a pair of warm brown eyes seemed to occupy her thoughts.

  Chapter Four

  Colm narrowed his eyes as he watched Piper walk away from him. He didn’t like it. Not one bit. But he was learning that she was different than the women from his time. He would bide his time, watch over her tonight, and he would find a way to convince her to go with him.

  But first, he would have to find new clothing. He didn’t stand out too much, but the men here wore tailored kilts, not great plaids like his breacan feile . Keeping Piper ever in his sight, Colm stepped close to a stall that sold kilts of all colors. He couldn’t find one in his tartan, but he did find one that looked close. It also had chains from one side to the other, and he couldn’t figure out the purpose of the chains. They seemed as if they were there merely for decoration, for surely they would get in the way during battle? Such a strange, new time. He slipped the kilt into the folds of his plaid, and walked over to the stall’s proprietor, dropping two silver coins for the kilt. He wasn’t sure if they would accept his coin, but in his time, those coins were more than enough. He left it anyway, and slipped back out of the stall. Changing out his clothing behind the tent, Colm folded his items into his plaid. Satisfied with his bundle, he tackled his new garments. His shirt gave him little trouble, but his new kilt, on the other hand, had an intriguing fastener that made a quiet zipping noise with every pull on the tab. Colm happily fiddled with the new device for several moments. Once clothed, went in search of Piper.

  Piper was chatting with a group of women dressed in the same type of blue breeches that she wore, showcasing every curve on their bodies, but Colm had eyes only for Piper. He watched the way she tossed her head, blonde hair catching on the wind, floating and settling about her shoulders. He watched the way she furrowed her brow, listening to her friend. He watched her rub the back of her neck, and look around, knowing she was being watched. Boldly, Colm waited for her to find him. When her eyes met his, they widened slightly, and then narrowed in suspicion. Deliberately she turned away from him and concentrated on her friend. Colm smiled. It was a slow smile, the smile of a man who loved to hunt, one who had just found his prey.

  He would follow her, and she would know he was there. He wanted her to know he was there. He would change into his newly acquired kilt, and he would see how she reacted to the more modern garb. He would do everything in his power to convince her to come with him, and he would be patient. At least, he would be as patient as he could afford to be with only a day to make the woman trust him.

  He had traveled to this new time looking for one thing, one person. Piper. Now that he’d found her, he refused to accept failure.

  The one thing he needed, he could not have? Again, nay. Colm didn’t always play by the rules, and sometimes, if he wanted something bad enough, he took it. Just as he would take her. Colm stood by the outer wall of Castle Blair. It wasn’t the only thing that had changed-he wore a modern “t-shirt” and “kilt.” He missed his plaid and leine, but he didn’t miss the appreciative glances thrown his way by many a woman. All but the one he needed. His gaze bored into her, but she stood apart from the Games without turning his direction. Fate had granted him this one woman, this one chance, and she didn’t want him? How could he return to his clan without her? As a failure? He straightened up. Nay. He’d take her back with him, if he had to abduct her as his kinsman of old had done, he would. Colm strode towards her.

  Piper sneaked looks at Colm from beneath her lashes. He stood, hands loose, ready for anything. She’d never met a man who looked like him. Those beautiful brown eyes were covered with shades, and he wore a super hot kilt with chains, and he rocked it like a star. It should be a crime to look like he did in a kilt. He stared down at the Games as if he owned the place. Piper could almost believe he really was a warrior from a cursed clan, but then he’d gone on to tell her that he was from the 1700s. Yeah right.

  She peeked at Malcolm again only to see he’d started walking towards her. Well, walking was too tame a word for him. He stalked her, like a predator. She gulped because she knew she was his prey. Eyes wide, Piper backed away, but he caught her, gripping the back of her neck. She had a feeling that if he truly wanted her, there would be no escape.

  “You are mine, Piper. ‘Tis fated, and I’ll no’ leave without you.”

  Colm crushed his mouth to hers, his tongue slipping between her lips to thrust inside. This kiss was not gentle. This kiss was not sweet. This kiss was a claiming. He plundered her mouth, no, he ravaged her mouth, no, he Goddamned fucked her mouth. He laid siege to her senses with his tongue as the weapon.

  Piper felt her knees wobble. First line of defense down. Her arms crept up to his biceps, gripping hard. Second line of defense down. Her lips softened, and she melted into him. He had breached her walls. She couldn’t even kiss him back, he wouldn’t allow her to. She had to stand there and take it. How frustratingly erotic.

  Colm finished the assault of her senses and gentled his touch, stroking her tongue with his, pressing his lips to hers, and allowing her to join in the kiss. Piper wanted to be angry. She wanted to pull back and bite his lip hard in the process. Really, she did, but that man’s tongue should be branded a lethal weapon and Piper was unable to work up her earlier mad. Her lips were tingly, her breath mingled with his, and she just couldn’t find any emotion inside but desire.

  If Colm hadn’t pulled away, with a gentle sweep of his tongue to the inside of her upper lip, she wouldn’t have minded mounting him right there. Jeez what was wrong with her? She never reacted like this to men. Especially not men who were crazy and thought they could time travel. Get it together girl Piper scolded herself. Her thoughts were hazy as she blinked up at him, and the look on his face was even more disorienting. His gorgeous brown eyes had sparks of desire in them. Whoa, no one had ever looked at her with so much lust. It was a heady feeling, that this gorgeous hunk of man wanted her so badly. But then she remembered that he was a total nutjob, and Piper lan
ded back into reality with a thud which jarred her so harshly it made her cranky.

  Piper snapped at Colm, “Hey, hands to yourself.”

  Colm didn’t look fazed at all. In fact, the jerk smiled at her, his fingers roaming freely across her back, and farther down until each of his hands cupped a cheek. He slowly lifted her to her toes and ground his not unimpressive erection against her core, looking as if he relished her gasp. A gasp of outrage, really, it was outrage. It definitely wasn’t molten hot desire she was feeling at all.

  Gritting her teeth, Piper tried once more to force her body to separate from his. But Colm held fast, his fingers digging into her jeans, molding her to his form. “I’m no’ finished with you yet, lassie.” His mouth descended once more, his tongue pressed into her mouth, meeting with no resistance since her jaw had dropped at his statement. He took her lips and branded it his. Amazed that he could own her so quickly, she kissed him back. Already on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her tongue with his. The catcalls and hollering registered a second after Colm’s assault on her senses ended, and she blushed, looking at the crowd they’d drawn. This time when Piper pulled away, Colm let her go, but his eyes never left her face. “You’re mine. Ye ken it as well as I.”

  Piper refused to admit what her body was telling her. She shook her head. “No.” Was that her voice sounding so breathless? “I belong to no man.”

  Colm gazed at her for a long while, his eyes boring into hers. Finally he said, very softly, “Then mayhap I belong to you.”

  And he walked away.

  * * * *

  Turning his back to Piper was harder than he’d thought it would be. Colm had watched her all afternoon, and he couldn’t help himself anymore. She called to him in a way he’d never felt before. It was a primal need that he felt down to his bones. For a man who hadn’t wanted to go on this mission, he was finding it was fast becoming much more personal than he’d ever expected. This went far beyond pleasing his laird, or gaining a wife, or even following Grissall’s cryptic instructions. He was in over his head with this twenty-first century lass, yet he was loving every minute spent wooing her. She presented a challenge, his Piper did. He hadn’t felt this alive in years, and she kept him on his toes, never quite doing what he expected. It intrigued him, and he relished the thought of what his next step would be. He wanted to watch over her, letting her out of his sight wasn’t an option. However, he knew she would have to want him as much as he wanted her, if he were to succeed in wooing her. And he would succeed.

  He walked to the edge of the Games, to where he’d stashed his plaid and leine, and turned back. Colm could see Piper, and she was watching him. That was good. He would stay here until it was time to take her, for Piper would go with him, whether she wanted to or not, but he hoped she would want to. He very much hoped she would want to go with him.

  Now Colm had to figure out how best to steal her away. He wanted to grab her at night, when there would be less eyes upon them. But he was unsure how to physically take her. Certainly, he could render her unconscious, but he didn’t think she’d take too kindly to that. Mayhap he could still convince her to come back with him? As he thought of several plans, discarding them almost instantly as most involved taking her against her will, the pendant that lay against his chest began to warm. He yanked it out from his shirt, holding it away from his skin. Grissall’s voice echoed in his head. She must be using the pendant to communicate with him. If he didn’t need the blasted thing to return home, he’d have tossed it into the loch.

  “Ye must bring her back. Your clan willnae survive beyond this generation if ye doona.”

  “Aye, so you’ve said. But why is she so important? What can you gain from her?” That was what bothered him the most about this whole mission; he felt Grissall might hurt Piper, although she’d implied she wouldn’t. “I willna allow you to harm her, ye ken?”

  Grissall didn’t answer him. Snorting at his own foolishness, Malcolm continued to devise a plan. He was surprised when Grissall’s voice sounded once more inside his head. “She needs to be returned. Her life is here, with ye, Malcolm MacRobert. She’ll nay be harmed by me. My use for her is merely to bring her back.”

  “Back? You mean she’s been to our time before?”

  That was interesting. Colm had wondered at the connection between Piper and his time, it seemed now Grissall may actually explain it.

  “Aye. She was born the same year as ye were.”

  Now that, he had not expected. “But how is that possible?”

  “How is it possible you’re in the future, lad? Magick. Her parents were Laird and Lady Grant, and they struck a bargain with me to send their only daughter to safety.”

  “And you sent her here? Centuries away from them?” His incredulity was shadowed with caution. Believing Grissall could be dangerous.

  “I saved her life!” Grissall snapped.

  “Och aye, you did. You saved her life only to send her to a strange land? Very fair of you.” Colm reined in his frustration, and exhaled roughly through his mouth. Feeling he could hold his sarcasm to himself, he asked her, “And now you want me to bring her back? Why?”

  “Because our future willnae happen if she’s not back where she belongs.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Colm was losing his patience with the witch.

  “What the hell does what mean?” Colm whirled, drawing his sword at the same time, to find Piper standing behind him, with a strange look on her face. How had she snuck up on him?

  “Och, in the name of the wee man, doona go sneaking up on people!”

  “O-kay,” Piper drew the strange word out. “Who were you talking to?”

  “I’m no’ daft.” Colm didn’t mean to sound so defensive, but he couldn’t help it.

  “Never said you were.”

  Arguing would make him look worse, so Colm took a deep breath and tried a different tactic. “I thought you didna want to be with me.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Aye, you didna have to say it, Piper.”

  “Look, I like you, okay? I’m just not sure what it is you want from me. At least, aside from what every man wants from a woman.”

  “Piper you mean more to me than a quick tup.”

  “If that word means what I think it means, then, good, I’m glad, but my question is why? I mean, why am I so special? It makes no sense that I’ve met you just today, and yet I feel inexplicably drawn to you. More so than I’ve ever felt drawn to a man. Why is that Colm, tell me?”

  “We have a saying, ‘Though heads differ, hearts may agree.’ And it means that while your mind may not want to want me, your heart kens the truth.”

  “What truth?”

  “We are destined.”

  “Destined for what? You sound like a bad fortune cookie!”

  Colm ignored the last part of her comment, not understanding it, but told her the truth, “Destined to save my people, Piper.”

  When she gaped at him, he continued on, in a more gentle tone. “Piper, I’m no’ daft, nor am I a ‘fortune cookie,’ but I do need you. You come from my time as well. How much do you ken about your parents?”

  The smile she’d had at his fortune cookie comment froze and she flushed red. Then she hissed “Don’t you dare try to drag me into your crazy delusion. Leave my parents out of this.” As she turned to storm off, Colm grabbed her by her upper arm. If she wouldn’t come willingly, he’d have to toss her over his shoulder and do it the hard way.

  “You doona ken them, do you? That’s because they are from my time. You were sent here to be kept out of harm’s way, but now ‘tis all right. Your place is at home, and I’ll keep you safe.”

  “You don’t know anything. You’re crazy! Get your hands off me.”

  “You still doona believe me, do you, lass.” It wasn’t a question. He sighed. “You will.”

  Colm gripped the pendant in his fist, and chanted the words Grissall had told him he would need. Wi
th a blinding flash of light, they stood in the courtyard of his laird’s manor, many miles from Blair Castle, and Piper’s eyes widened. She screamed at the top of her lungs and Colm had to lunge forward to keep her from hitting the ground in a dead faint.

  Chapter Five

  Piper pulled the covers over her head and rolled over. Why were there voices in her room? It was still dark, so why on earth were people talking? What time was it anyway? She poked her head out, and squinted at the nightstand, but she couldn’t see the red glow of the clock. Pressing up to her elbow, Piper looked around the room.

  “What the…” Piper shook her head to clear the sleep away, and looked again. This was not her bedroom. This was not even her hotel room. Holy shit, where the hell was she? The voices were coming from the darkened doorway and Piper began to panic. Dark, unknown room, scary voices…oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!

  “Hello? Who’s there?” Oh stupid, stupid girl! Why did you say anything? Did you really want their attention on you? She was as dumb as the idiot who yells out to the axe murderer in a scary movie. She was so going to die. The voices stopped and one of the shadows broke away from the other to move towards her. Piper scooted back until she was practically climbing the headboard.

  “Stay back! I’m warning you…” What was she warning them? It wasn’t like she was a black belt in karate with Chuck Norris skills.

  “Piper, be at ease. I’ll no’ hurt you. You’re safe.”

  She knew that voice. “Malcolm?” She squinted into the dark room, and felt her heart slow its frantic pounding.

  “Aye, lassie.” As he spoke the other person in the room walked forward with a candle, and set it on the table next to the bed.

  “Well met, Piper Grant. I am Caelen MacRobert. Welcome to our clan.” Caelen clapped Colm on the back, and left the room.

  “What was that all about?” she wondered out loud.

  “That was the laird’s son, Caelen, and he has given us the day to allow you to adjust to our time.”