“Must you always manhandle me?” she huffed.
Brushing an errant strand of hair out of her eyes, he met her gaze for a moment. “Love, I would never ‘manhandle’ ye,” he replied in all seriousness. Then added wickedly, “Unless ye wanted me to.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She grunted and tried to roll over but succeeded only in shifting to her side, which gave him full access to glue himself fully to her backside. He sighed as he felt himself hardening. This woman would be the death of him, he knew it.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and turned the conversation. “I know what ‘tis like to need to be alone. It seems I am ever surrounded by someone, needing something, but never given a moment to just…breathe.” He loosened his grip on her wrists. “I am always by myself, but never alone.”
Slightly turning, Raine searched his gaze as she stared at him from over her shoulder. His chiseled features looked harsh as he stared across the barn, staring at nothing. She could not begin to imagine the weight he carried, being the leader and sole provider for all of these people. She could barely handle paying her bills on time.
Sighing, she said softly, “I’m sorry. You’re right. I barged in on you, in your barn, on your land. My apologies.” After a moment of silence, she asked, “Can I get up now?”
His breath was soft on her shoulder and she knew she should turn away, but then he looked at her with those God awful blue eyes and she was lost. She didn’t even try to break their gaze, until he did when he lowered his eyes to her lips. Involuntarily, she licked their dryness, swallowing a bit self consciously.
Running his thumb across the outline of her bottom lip proved to be his undoing. Without giving her a chance to refuse him, he lowered his mouth to hers and probed deeply with his tongue, tasting the sweetness that he knew would be there. Her senses took flight. To both of their surprise, she offered no resistance, but raised her head and increased the pressure of the kiss. He smiled to himself and raised his weight off of her slightly. She turned of her own accord, rolling onto her back, and wrapping her arms around his neck. Her hands wrapped themselves in his long hair and pulled him down to her even more. He obliged her.
Since his hands were no longer holding her wrists, they roamed as they pleased. The left one cupped her creamy white throat and reveled in the vibrations of the little sounds she was making, while the other hand had made a slow procession over her silky shoulder, around the tantalizing curve of her breast, lightly skimming her ribcage, and ultimately lifting her skirt that was already almost waist high and grazing her beautiful thigh.
On cue, her leg lifted itself to give him better access while the other wrapped itself around his waist. His mouth had left hers, however reluctantly, to nip at the laces of her blouse and expose one lovely rose tipped mound of flesh.
Raine’s breathing was coming in small gasps but she could not seem to gain control of her senses. She envisioned his tempting, wonderful lips wrapped around her areola, and before she closed her eyes in passion, the vision came true. Her back arched and her fingers dug in his hair to ensure he did not abandon his conquest.
He licked, nipped, bit, and teased his new found treasure until he thought his trousers would burst. He lifted his head to see Raine’s cheeks were flushed, her lips slightly opened, and her head thrown back. He was quite pleased with himself. And with his soon to be bride. He was glad she had passion. That was the basis for a good marriage bed and making sons.
His hand left her thigh and gently cupped her woman’s mound. He was pleased again to find that it was closely shaved, giving him complete access to the tight little bud hiding from him. She opened her eyes long enough to figure out what his plans were and her senses slammed into her like a gush of cold wind. Her legs slammed shut on him, imprisoning his hand as it lay with his finger right where she did not want it to be but right where he had intended it to stay.
She tried to push his hand away but he shifted his weight, and she was helpless to move. She had dated various men in her life, but none had ever been given the right to access this part of her. Her friends often made fun of her that she was the only virgin alive, but she had not been ready to give what she considered her most prized possession to just anyone. She was not about to give it away now.
“No,” she half moaned, and clumsily swatted his hand away.
Leith kissed her lips, and while still biting her bottom lip, said softly, “Do not worry, lass. I will not take yer virginity, but I will give ye a taste of what is to come when I do.”
His finger, that one blessed muscled finger worked magic like she had never known existed. He started in a slow agonizing circle, then slightly up and down, then circles again. It slipped down farther to her entrance, and took its ready moisture back up to push harder circles as she arched her back in pleasure. His trousers were so tight now that it was becoming painful, but he would not stop until he saw her reach her full pleasure. He wanted to watch her come into her full pleasure.
He slowed the movements slightly, and she yipped in despair. However resistant she had been before, she was that much more agreeable now. Her hand grabbed his and pushed it down harder. He smiled, laughing slightly. She was close to the brink of ultimate abandon, and he knew it. He pushed harder, and she moaned louder. He pressed the palm of his hand over her mound and thrust his finger over her sweet spot with reckless possession. He slammed his lips over hers and took her moans into his mouth, plunging his tongue to the back of her throat. Her tongue met his thrust for thrust, and her hips met his hand just as wildly.
Her back arched and her knees slammed together while her nails dug into his hand, but he did not stop the torture. Stars were bursting behind her lids and she raised her mouth to his, nearly toppling them both. His finger slid down until he entered her, and she bucked against his hand. Showing no mercy, he slid in and out of the wet cave until she was arching again, her thighs spread and her hips in the air.
When she finally opened her eyes and the waves stopped crashing in her ears, she looked at him through half lids. Her eyes were startling bright, glazed with desire as she stared at him. His own blue eyes kept her gaze as he lightly kissed her swollen lips. He gently pulled her skirt back into place and rested his hand on her belly. His smile was warm, and… victorious.
Reality crashed against her like a cold wave against the surf.
Shoving him, she drew her legs up and kept her back to him. When he put his hands on her shoulder, she shrugged him away, saying coldly, “Don’t touch me.”
The heat in his gaze turned to ice as he retorted, “That is not what ye were saying a mere moment ago.”
He had thought to pleasure her, show her that he was not the brute she accused him of being. For a reason that escaped him, he had obviously failed.
He brushed past her and grabbed the reins of his stallion and started towards the barn door. She was not exactly sure what she may, or may not, have said a moment ago, but she surely would not admit it. The rain had stopped and the sun was peeking through the edges of the clouds, creating a silver outline, promising warmth and brightness for the rest of the day. Raine doubted it.
Pulling the reins of her little horse, she guided it out and around Leith. After mounting it, she dared to say in a voice much steadier than she would have thought possible, “That,” she nodded towards the barn, “was an accident. Be assured, my lord, that it will not happen again.”
His eyes narrowed, contrasting with the wicked grin tugging at the corners of his full, wonderful lips. She had to make an obvious effort to pull her gaze away from them and meet his eyes. “We shall see about that, now won’t we, wife.”
“Not if I can help it!” she yelled after him, but she doubted he heard her over the thundering of the hooves that was taking him away from her.
She placed her palms over her cheeks to ease the heat creeping up from her neck. Tucking stray hairs back into her braid and pulling out pieces of hay, she groaned. How could that have happened? How could she have let hi
m do those things? Never had she gone that far with a man before, and yet here she was, centuries from home in a time where propriety and virginity was everything, and she was on her back for him with barely a moment’s notice.
She groaned. Then groaned again followed by a sigh. How would she ever face him when she knew what he knew she was thinking? And she knew deep in her heart that she would not quickly forget his masterful, and oh so wonderful, administrations to her body. She failed to stop the smile as she remembered the bursting heat that had started deep within her abdomen and then burst forth, the feel of his lips as he crushed them against hers. Her hand moved lower to her woman’s place. Her breath caught, and she shook herself. Enough now. It’s not like she was the first woman to do these things with a man. A handsome man, with strong fingers, and strong shoulders, and wonderful lips, and eyes the color of the sky she had seen this afternoon.
The trip back to the castle was long and lonely. Funny, she thought, that it had seemed much shorter the first time. Activity was not so rampant when she entered the gates as the sun was midway in the sky. A few more hours of daylight and then the night would come and bring these people, and her, one day closer to the impending wedding. A wedding she was not sure how to stop. Or if she even wanted to stop it. Did she want to stop it? One advantage would be to share his bed without guilt or consequence. She smiled. Perhaps he would appreciate the fact that she was a virgin and be as gentle with her as he was today. But then again, the downfall would be that she would be deceiving him when she would be forced to say the words, “Until death do us part” since she would be leaving as soon as she could map her way to the stones and return to her own time.
Chapter 10
The next few days passed in a blur of activity with chaos seeming to abound in every crevice of the castle. Raine stepped back and tried to stay out from being underfoot but still, she seemed to be in the way. She decided to watch from the sidelines and ponder her situation of being from the future and trying to find her way back. She repeated the lyrics to the spell that the Professor had said that night in the pouring rain so as to instill it in her memory, almost chanting it to herself. She wandered in and out of the castle, learning her way around and observing the comings and goings of the people, watching the hustle and bustle transform the already beautiful stone castle into a castle fit for a princess.
Leith watched from the inside shadows of the stairwell as Raine stepped out of the way when the overloaded servants were scurrying on their way. He noticed the heightened rosiness in her cheeks and the way she seemed unsure of her whereabouts in the castle. How lovely she looked as she chewed her bottom lip and tentatively made her way outside toward the stables. His valet, who had been given the task of keeping track of his betrothed, had told him that she often went there and stayed for hours. He had decided that day at the barn that he would abstain from seeing her again, and although the regret was biting him, he stood firm. He would give her time to think, to adjust to the idea of being his wife, to come to the understanding that she would belong to him by the end of the week.
“Brother.” Robbie leaned against the rough wall next to Leith.
Leith spared him a glance and replied, “How are the preparations coming along?”
Scratching his chin, he said speculatively, “Well, they’re coming.”
At Leith’s scowl, Robbie gave a short laugh, slapped him on the back, and answered, “Donna worry, lad. Things are progressin’ pleasingly. Are ye thinking about changing ye’re mind?”
Leith couldn’t help but deepen his scowl at the slight note of hope he detected in Robbie’s tone. With a growl, he returned, “No, I’m not changing my mind. I’ve already broken one betrothal to take up another. I’ll not be breaking this one.”
He turned and as he walked, concentrated on his steps, scuffing the dirt with the toe of his boot. “Do ye think that this is the right thing? I mean, do ye think, with all her crazy talk of the time travellin’ that we should carry on with the weddin’? Some would say to turn her out and good riddance.”
Robbie had wondered if Leith had revealed any of the wild tales that the lass had tried to tell. If the townsfolk got wind of the lass’s frame of mind, there would be no stopping the fear that would grip them. He did not want her accused of being a witch.
“Do ye think ye could get a son on her? If not, then I say cancel this shenanigan, and bugger what the Queen says.”
After a moment of silence, Robbie shrugged and said nonchalantly, “But, I’ve noticed that the wench has a nice set of hips, she does. Firm, strong. Sways to and fro when she walks, making her skirt swish this way and that. Quite tempting if ye ask me. And,” he shook his head, feigning resignation, “with that temper of hers she might have a head of hair as red as me own instead of silky blonde like she does. Aye, I’d send her straight back to the stones if ye ask me, brother. Straight back.”
Leith glared at him, thinking of the way that the silky blonde hair wrapped quite nicely around his fist as he pulled the wench closer to him so he could better feel the heat emanating from her lush female form. Robbie, seemingly oblivious to his brother’s boiling thoughts, continued his lecture.
“Or perhaps ye could bed the wench, and then get rid of her. Och, aye, ‘tis what I would do.” He looked at his hands and made two fists. “I’d grab that wench by the – Ugh!”
Leith’s fist made contact with Robbie’s chin before he could finish his thoughts. Thoughts that were too close to Leith’s own, except for sending the lass packing after the wedding night. His thoughts were more along the lines of wedding, bedding, and keeping her.
Robbie retaliated with an uppercut of his own, only to have a meaty fist make contact with his ribs, knocking the wind out of him. Soon the two men, almost matched in size and strength, were rolling around, scuffling much the same as when they were boys. That was how Lady MacGregor found them, and had to shake her head. Boys. They never changed.
She smiled and turned to return to the castle and continue overseeing the wedding preparations when she caught site of someone else watching the two tumbling men. The bride to be seemed quite concerned about the brawl as she stood there biting her knuckle and shuffling her feet.
Lady MacGregor touched her elbow and said in a reassuring voice, “My dear, ‘tis only play. They are brothers, you see. Matched as equal warriors, they’ve been like this since they were old enough to walk.”
When she noticed that Raine was barely listening, she took her by the hand. “Come now. Let the boys play. We have women’s work to tend to.”
Raine found her voice and asked incredulously, “Play? That is playing?”
She flinched as Robbie spit a mouth full of blood into the nearby dirt, and smiled. Leith examined the cut on his stomach from being dragged over a stone and absently brushed away the red stain that was forming, and smiled back. Then they both lunged at each other to continue their play.
Lady MacGregor sighed, and shook her head as she gazed fondly at the site. “Yes, ‘tis just play.”
Raine knew the days were passing and that her wedding day was approaching more rapidly than she would have liked. She had done all she could to try to persuade Lady MacGregor, Robbie, and any servant who would listen to her to take her to the stones. The servants had been given strict orders by their Laird to steer clear of their new mistress, since she was from a strange and different land, her requests might seem a bit odd to the people here. They politely smiled and kept on their way, much to the frustration of Raine.
The eve of the wedding day, Raine set out on a mission to find Leith and once more try to make him forget this silliness of a wedding and take her to the stones so she could return to her world and time.
It was as if he had disappeared. Raine politely inquired with a number of the people coming and going from the castle if they had seen him but amazingly, no one knew anything. She asked Lady MacGregor, but she was preoccupied with the final preparations for the celebration and just patted her cheek, and to
lerantly telling her to look around outside.
Outside proved as fruitless as inside the castle did. Just when she had given up, she spotted him returning from the fields in a cloud of dust with several of his men. She scowled when she saw him, exasperated that even dirty and shining with sweat, he still managed to create a furnace in the depth of her stomach.
“Leith, there be yer lady,” Robbie mentioned, nodding in Raine’s direction. Noticing her deep frown, he pointed out and winked, “And happy to see ye she is not. Perhaps a few well placed kisses will cheer her up.”
“Perhaps ye should be concentrating on where you should be placing your own kisses,” Leith drawled.
Robbie followed his gaze to the buxom redhead carrying a basket of vegetables while holding the hand of her son. She saw Robbie and smiled shyly, who awkwardly smiled back, hoping none of the men saw the exchange.
Immediately, several guffaws and coughs which sounded amazingly similar to laughter followed. Robbie scowled at the men who turned their backs to him while leading the horses to the stables.
“My lord.” Raine stood at the outskirts of the group of men, “A moment of your time?” Leith met the teasing glances of his men with his own scowl and walked towards her.
They fell in step with each other in an uncomfortable silence. Rounding the corner of the stone wall of keep, Leith glanced at the sky and moved into the shade provided by the overhanging wall. He leaned against the ragged stone and folded his arms, meeting her gaze. He thought perhaps of mentioning that her eyes were the color of the sea at daybreak, and then resisted it, thinking that it would sound like something from a lovesick boy. Instead he cleared his throat and gave her a cocky smile. She wanted something, probably to bombard him with more reason on why he should cancel the wedding. He had one answer for why he should not…because he said so.
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