A Highlander's Destiny (Digital Boxed Edition)

by Willa Blair

  Suddenly, she twisted in his arms to look him in the eye, a perplexed look on her face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What made you pick this very spot?”

  “I dreamed of this place, of being here with you. I remembered that dream when I woke up this morning and I remembered how it felt to be with you in that field of heather.”

  “Ian, I had the same dream!” She looked down at herself, and then over at him. “We’re even dressed the same way as we were in my dream. I didn’t even realize it when Alannah gave me this dress. I had the dream that first night I spent in Alannah’s cottage, my first night away from you.”

  Oddly enough, he wasn’t surprised. “Aye, that’s when my dream was as well. I went out to the star-watching rock to think, and I fell asleep for awhile out there. It was a damned good dream, by the way.” He grinned. “But I suspect we could do a better job with it in real life. What do you think?”

  “I work well under pressure.” Abby gazed up at him, love and desire shining in her blue-gray eyes.

  His heart once again in overdrive, Ian moved behind her. He combed his fingers through her silken curtain of hair, lovingly gathering it together and pressing his lips to the shining mass, inhaling the intoxicating scent of lavender that lingered from the previous afternoon. He gently draped her hair over her shoulder.

  He lightly traced his tongue along the back of her neck and then blew gently on the damp skin, smiling as she shivered under his touch. He pulled her against his chest, caressing her breasts through the soft fabric of her dress.

  She twisted in his arms, reaching up her left hand to pull his head down so she could taste him. Their kisses grew more urgent as their desire rose, and he began to fumble with the laces at the back of her dress.

  His fingers were thick and clumsy on the laces, and he tore his mouth from hers to curse in frustration when he couldn’t get the knot undone. “Bloody Hell! Who tied these damn things, anyway?”

  Abby giggled as he switched languages, expelling a spate of Gaelic curses as he tried to untie the laces without damaging the delicate fabric. She reached back with one hand, her groping fingers trailing down his side to tickle him.

  “Stop that, woman!” Ian gasped between bursts of reluctant laughter as he tried to sidestep her twitchy fingers while still fighting with her laces. “Don’t think I won’t pin you to the ground and sit on you!”

  Abby twisted her head around again and stared him dead in the eye. “Promises, promises.” Her voice was low and husky, and the heated look in her stormy eyes nearly undid him.

  He turned his attention back to the damned laces, desperation finally making his fingers work properly. It took him but a minute to untie the suddenly cooperative strings and loosen the back of the dress.

  Abby turned to face him, taking a few steps back. She reached up with both hands to slide the soft fabric down her shoulders, her eyes fixed upon his.

  Ian kept his eyes on Abby’s as she removed her dress, though it required all of his willpower not to look down as her body was slowly revealed to him. After what seemed like an eternity, the gown pooled at her feet and she stepped out of it, finally breaking eye contact.

  Ian stepped back, his eyes wandering down the length of her body and then back up again, taking in every detail.

  “You are so exquisite, Abby. I wish you could see yourself now, with the sunlight casting a golden aura around you. Your hair is a curtain of copper, bronze, and gold, swirling around you in the wind. I could stand here all day, simply looking at you.”

  She blinked, clearly stunned by his poetic words, but quickly recovered, placing her hands on her hips and arching an eyebrow at him. “So you just want to look at me, then? What about that dream we were trying to improve upon?”

  She had no idea how she looked at that very moment. With her hands on her hips and her shoulders back, her breasts were thrust forward, as though they were being offered to him. His mouth went dry.

  In two strides, he had her in his arms and was kissing her fiercely, proving to her he wanted to do more than look.

  She dragged her mouth away from his. “Ian, my love, you’re wearing far too much clothing.”

  “Am I? Och, you handled that well enough the other day by the tree.” He leered at her, and she burst out laughing.

  “Aye, well, I’d like to be seein’ you in the sunlight, my lad,” she drawled in a fair imitation of an exaggerated Scottish burr. “Now, take off your clothes, or you’ll be getting nothing else from me today.”

  He took a few steps back and undid his brooch, dropping the ends of his plaid to dangle from his belt. He reached back and yanked his shirt over his head, tossing it on the ground with her dress.

  Feeling a bit saucy himself, Ian ever so slowly ran his hands down his chest and taut abdomen to his belt, smiling seductively at the look on her face.

  Her eyes followed his hands to where they lingered at his belt buckle. When she dragged her eyes up to meet his, her face flushed slightly at the knowing smile on his face.

  Without taking his eyes from hers, Ian unbuckled his belt. One hand held the plaid in place at his hips, while the other tossed the belt onto the pile of clothes on the ground.

  He stood there as if he had all the time in the world, as if the woman he loved wasn’t standing naked and impatient before him. It was great acting on his part. In reality, he was so turned on by his own performance that he was throbbing madly for her, the very touch of wool against his sensitive skin driving him crazy.

  He unclenched his hands, letting the plaid drop to his feet in a pool of fabric. He bent to spread it out on the grass, and then he straightened, striking a casual pose, his feet apart, his hands relaxed against his sides.

  Abby gave him a slow once-over with her eyes, starting at the top of his head and continuing south over his shoulders, down his chest and abdomen, down to his hips.

  And lower.

  Abby unconsciously licked her lips as her heated gaze fixated on him. His body jerked, a violent shudder ripping through him. Enough. He lunged for her, sweeping her into his arms. He covered her face in feather-light kisses as he knelt, laying her on her back.

  He followed her down and worked his way down her beautiful body, worshiping her thoroughly with hands and lips; first at her breasts, and then at her molten core. The ends of his hair trailed over her flesh, and before long, he had her writhing in pleasure, her body pulsing around him.

  Her body was still quivering when she opened her eyes. He propped himself up on his elbow beside her, one finger lazily tracing circles around her breasts and belly button. He could do this all day.

  Abby took his hand and brought it to her lips. She kissed each of his fingers in turn, and then sat up, twisting towards him and pushing him onto his back. She smiled down at him, and Ian’s heart began to pound at the look in her stormy blue eyes.

  She performed a detailed exploration of his body. He almost lost it when her tongue dipped into his belly button and then trailed lower, but he somehow managed to hold out a little while longer.

  Finally, he could endure no more. He dragged her over him, joining their bodies so quickly that Abby gasped.

  Ian held her hips as they moved together. Her head fell back, her hair trailing over his legs, the teasing touch enhancing his desire. She leaned forward again, her hair falling around them in a satiny curtain as their eyes met. His gaze never leaving hers, he brought one hand between their straining bodies and touched her intimately, watching her bite her lip in pleasure. He continued to stroke her as he felt himself nearing the end.

  When Abby finally cried out, her body convulsing around him, he rolled her under him, bracing his weight on his hands as his thrusts quickened. As she continued to quiver beneath him, he threw his head back, let go of his tenuous control and poured himself into her with a harsh cry of his own.

  When Ian was once again capable of coherent thought, he tried to shift so that his weight wasn’t crushing Abby. She made
a small noise of protest, her legs still locked around his waist, her fingers tangled in his hair. He gave up the fight, dropping his weary head to her breast, his arms coming up around her, and they lay quietly, floating together in half-slumber.

  ****

  Some time later, Abby finally found the strength to speak. “I’m going to miss this when we leave here.”

  “Miss what?” Ian’s deep voice rumbled deliciously against her chest.

  “This. Lying with you, in the heather, naked in broad daylight.”

  Ian chuckled and lifted his head to look into her eyes. “Och, lassie, never underestimate a Highlander. We’re a wily, resourceful bunch. If there’s a secluded patch of heather within a twenty-mile radius, you can be damned sure I’ll find it.” He looked up at the sun and sighed. “I guess we should be gettin’ back to the village. We need to start making plans to leave.”

  He looked around them at the open space, the heather, the loch, Jack grazing contentedly a short distance away. His gaze fixed upon her once more. “You know, if it wasn’t for our families not being here with us, I could probably be convinced to stay here. It’s not so bad, once you get used to it.”

  “I thought about that. There’s a lot to be said for the simplicity of things here, for the peace and quiet and the lack of technology. But then I think about having children, or getting sick, and suddenly all that lack of technology becomes a nightmare. Though it will tear my heart out to leave Alannah, the closest female friend I have ever had, we must go back.”

  Ian pried himself away from her and got to his feet. He held out his hand to her and pulled her up beside him. He handed her dress to her, and then pulled his shirt over his head.

  For the first time since they’d been reunited in the past, Abby had the opportunity to watch Ian do a proper job pleating his plaid. Abby quickly pulled on her dress and watched as Ian, clad in just his long shirt, laid his belt on the ground. Then he spread his plaid the long way on top of the belt, so that the belt fell roughly at the center, smoothing out the fabric so that it lay flat. The length of wool was over twenty feet long and close to five feet wide. He knelt at one end, and starting a few feet in, he made neat pleats in the material until the same amount of fabric was left smooth at either end. When he finished, the belt lay under the pleated area, perpendicular to the pleats.

  He lay on his back on the pleats, folding first the lower right of the unpleated part over the front of his body, and then the lower left. He buckled the belt around his waist and stood up. The extra material was doubled over the belt in the back, and Ian pulled one end of the loose wool over his left shoulder, the other end under his right arm, and fastened it with his brooch in the middle of his chest.

  Abby admired the ease with which he handled the unwieldy length of wool. When he finished, he looked over at her.

  “You look magnificent.” She wanted him so badly, and it must have shown on her face.

  “God, Abby, I can’t get enough of you!”

  There was a desperate heat in his eyes as he took two steps towards her. He took her hand, and in one smooth motion, pulled her down with him. She straddled him, unpinning his brooch and spreading the excess wool of his plaid on the ground for him to lie on. She placed her hands against his shoulders and pushed him down.

  Their eyes met, and the world around them seemed to vanish. As Ian shoved her skirts up, Abby pushed his plaid out of the way and sank down upon him, her throbbing body more than ready for him. Their coupling was hard and fast, their eyes never leaving each other even as they tumbled together into the abyss.

  ****

  Abby floated back to reality to find herself lying atop Ian, his strong arms holding her. When he felt her stir against him, he raised her up slightly so that he could kiss her gently on the lips.

  She savored his kiss for a moment and then smiled down at him. “I seem to have become some sort of hussy since I met you.”

  He grinned. “Nay, lass, not a hussy. What you’ve become is a seductress, able to bring me to my knees—literally—with merely a glance. I have to say, this is a fascinating side of you.”

  “I’m glad you like it. I’m still not entirely sure what just happened.”

  “We had our way with each other. And it was amazing.”

  He lifted her from him and stood, pulling her up beside him. He adjusted the front of his plaid as she straightened her skirts. Then Abby pulled the ends of his plaid back over his shoulder and fastened them in place with his brooch.

  “Can you do up my laces?”

  “Aye, of course.” He moved behind her to tie her laces, and then turned her in his arms for one more kiss. Tearing his mouth from hers, he gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I wish we could stay here all day, but we have to go.”

  “I know. Thank you for bringing me out here. The reality was far better than the dream.”

  “Aye, we did a good job with that.” They grinned at each other, and then Ian whistled for Jack.

  The horse trotted over, thrilled to be acknowledged after being abandoned to his grazing. Ian swung onto the stallion’s broad back, and reached his hand down to Abby, pulling her up in front of him. He tucked her into his arms and picked up the reins, urging Jack into a canter as they headed back to the village.

  CHAPTER 31

  Ian and Abby returned to the cottage, where they gathered up their things. They fetched Bonny from the barn, and rode through the village to Alannah’s house. Abby went ahead to greet her friend while Ian turned the horses into the small pasture. She opened the door to the cottage, but although there were freshly-made oatcakes on the table with a pot of honey, Alannah was not inside. Neither was Conall. Abby took a moment to change out of the blue gown and into the everyday clothes she had borrowed from Alannah that first day. She carefully laid the dress on the bed, giving the fabric a loving caress.

  Abby went around the back of the cottage to the stream. Conall trotted up to her, licking her hand in greeting. She knelt down and scratched the wolf behind his ears, grinning as he closed his eyes in bliss.

  “Where’s Alannah, Conall?” The wolf turned, padding down towards the water. He looked behind him and barked once, as if indicating Abby should follow him. She did so, and within moments, came upon Alannah sitting on a log, staring blankly at the stream as it rambled gently past.

  Abby sat down next to her as Conall laid his big head on his mistress’s lap.

  “Good mornin’, Abby. I didn’t expect to see you this early. How was your night?”

  Abby felt the heat rise in her face as the memories of the previous night—and that morning—washed over her. She grinned at her friend. “It was…indescribable.”

  Alannah blushed, a wistful look in her eyes. “I’m so happy for you, Abby. You are very lucky.”

  Abby remembered something she wanted to ask Alannah. “So, did everything go all right with Ewan walking you home?”

  Alannah looked sharply at her. “Aye, of course. Why do you ask?”

  “I don’t know, Alannah. I just get a feeling when he looks at you. That there’s something there, but I don’t know what.”

  “There’s nothing there, Abby,” she said sharply. “Nothing but many years of ill feelings.” Abby knew there was more to the story, but Alannah changed the subject. “I suppose we should go inside. Ian will be waiting, and I know you have to leave soon.”

  Abby’s heart sank at the thought of leaving her friend behind. They walked back to the cottage, an aura of melancholy surrounding them, for each knew that their time together was being counted down in minutes.

  Ian was waiting inside for them, and stood as the women entered.

  “Madainn mhath, Alannah,” said Ian. She replied in kind, and he kissed her on the cheek, enfolding her in a brief hug. She tentatively brought her arms around him and awkwardly patted him on the back.

  They ate their meal in relative silence, each saddened with the knowledge that they’d soon be parting, though Alannah alone believed
it to be temporary. She was sad that they were leaving, but Abby knew that she assumed they’d be back once they had seen their families. But she had no way of knowing that Duncan was much farther away than she could ever have imagined.

  ****

  After they’d cleaned up from their meal, Ian turned to Abby. “Is there anything you wanted to take with you?”

  “Is it all right if I keep these clothes, Alannah? Ian, do you have any money? We can pay Alannah for them.”

  “Don’t be daft, Abby,” Alannah scoffed. “Of course you can keep the clothes. And you…” She glared at Ian, who was reaching into his sporran for the few coins his father had given him. “Don’t even think about tryin’ to pay me for them. Do you need anything else?”

  “May we take the leftover oatcakes? We have some other food we nicked from last night’s leftovers, but we could always use more.”

  “Aye, of course.” Alannah quickly wrapped the oatcakes in a piece of cloth and tucked them into Ian’s saddlebag. “Wait. There’s one more thing for you to take.”

  Alannah picked up the blue dress from where Abby had laid it on the bed. She folded it carefully and wrapped it once more in its protective cloth. She handed it to Abby, who looked at her in shock.

  “What is this?”

  “I want you to keep this, Abby.”

  “No, I can’t. Alannah, this was your mother’s. It’s yours to wear someday. I can’t take it from you.”

  “But I want you to have it. You looked so bonny in it, and it belongs with you. It will just sit here and rot if you don’t take it. Please.”

  Tears welled in Alannah’s eyes, and Abby felt her own eyes fill up in response. She knew Alannah thought she would never have an occasion to wear the dress, and though it saddened her to see her friend giving up on her own happiness, she couldn’t insult Alannah by refusing the gift.