A Love Through Time

by TERRI BRISBIN

  "Wait, Maggie. Let's get ye cleaned up a bit, then we can talk." At her stiff nod, he led her carefully down to the water's edge and sat down next to her on the ground. He wet his hands and stroked them down her face, wiping off the tears. He gentled his touch when she winced. With the lightest dab possible, he cleaned her face and then dried it with the scarf she had twisted around her hand. She stopped sobbing and now sat motionless as he tended to her. He smoothed back her unruly hair. Then, he moved behind her and began to braid it.

  "Alex, what are you doing?" She tried to turn around.

  "I canna finish this if ye keep twisting about." He grasped her shoulders and straightened her body. They sat facing the loch as he braided her hair. "I watch ye do this every night afore ye sleep. I do not think it can be too difficult even for a mon to do."

  "You... watch... me?"

  "There isna television here, if ye do not notice. Without lights in the room, there isna much to watch by the light of the fire." The tremulous smile she gave him over her shoulder made his stomach tighten. He weaved the portions of her hair over and under until a long, uneven braid appeared. He pulled it side to side, trying to center it on her back, and then gave up. He tied the strip of leather around the end again and let it drop, satisfied at his result.

  "'Tis no' perfect, but it will hold the hair out of yer face." Before he knew it, Maggie had leaned against him, her back against his chest. "Now, tell me what's no' as it should be."

  Maggie took a deep breath, filling her lungs and releasing it slowly. Alex wrapped his arms around her from behind, lifting her arms and resting on her waist.

  "Oh, Alex, I always thought that the Middle Ages were so romantic. I've read a lot of books set in medieval times, and I always dreamed of being the lady of a castle and wearing beautiful clothes. The brave, handsome knights would vie for my hand, and I would choose the lucky winner."

  "And would ye live happily ever after in this dream of yers?" The corners of his mouth turned up as he asked.

  "Well, of course, this is a romantic fantasy I'm telling you about. It has to end happily."

  "And?"

  "And what?"

  "And, what part of yer fantasy hasna come true for ye?"

  Maggie's spine stiffened, pulling her out of his embrace. He knew he should not tease her, but he just couldn't resist the urge.

  "Would ye believe none of it?" she asked, imitating his accent. He still couldn't hear it when he spoke.

  "Aye, Maggie, I believe ye."

  He experienced some disappointment when, instead of leaning back against him, she removed her shoes and stood and walked to the lake's edge. Once there, she stepped into the shallow water and splashed around in the few inches at the edge. He pulled his sweaty boots free and flexed his toes. The icy water would feel good on his overheated feet. He followed Maggie to the edge and took her by the hand. He intertwined their fingers and pulled her into a walking gait.

  "But, are no' fantasies just that? Ye are an educated woman. Ye canna believe that only good existed at that time, or should I say, this time?"

  With her free hand, Maggie pointed at her head. "I knew it here." She moved her hand to her chest. "But not here. In my heart, I kept the romantic dreams alive."

  "Aahh, Maggie," he squeezed the hand he was holding. "Keep yer dreams; never let go of them. But we canna ignore the reality and the dangers of this time." He gently outlined her lips, hoping that she would finally confide in him about the cause of her unhappiness. "Come sit with me over in the shade."

  They walked away from the edge of the water and sat down on the grass. The thick shading of the tree above them and the cool breeze off the loch made it very comfortable for an August afternoon. Alex drew Maggie down to sit between his legs, and he leaned against the tree. Lucky for him, this tree had smooth bark. He didn't want to break the quiet of the moment by leaving to retrieve his tunic, and the thought of Maggie's body against his bare skin was something he looked forward to.

  They sat for a few minutes, without speaking, enjoying the pleasant quiet. When Maggie rested her head back on his shoulder, he took advantage of the nearness of her ear.

  "Now's as good a time as any to tell me what happened." After just a slight hesitation, Maggie started.

  "I think we have underestimated Anice."

  "How so?"

  "She is not a fifteen-year-old girl. She's really a five-star general in disguise."

  Alex let out a bark of laughter at her comment. Maggie turned sideways in his arms to face him. Her face was devoid of humor as she continued.

  "It's easy for you to find humor in this. Every time you see her, she's Miss Sweetness to you. And you've been spending a lot of time with her, Alex."

  "That is what this is about—the time I spend wi' Anice?"

  "Well, her campaign to win your affections and keep you in her company was to be expected; she is your fiancée, after all. But her latest moves show a determination and strategic planning that the army would love."

  He could not help himself; he laughed loudly again. It irritated her, and Maggie tried to escape his embrace. He grabbed her hand and wrapped their fingers together to prevent her leaving. Jealous? Could Maggie be jealous of Anice?

  "Nay, Maggie, do not move away. I do not mean to laugh at yer ideas. It was just the verra serious look on yer face and yer speaking of Anice this way that seemed funny to me. Just tell me what happened."

  Maggie leaned against the leg he had drawn up behind her. "Well, Alex, you know I've been trying to avoid her since the scene in the village?" Alex nodded in answer. "And, for the last two weeks, I've done a pretty good job of staying out of her sight." Alex nodded again.

  "Well, I think the uneasy truce is over."

  "What makes ye say that?"

  "Last night and this morning."

  "Last night?"

  "Whatever happened between you and Anice has stirred up a lot of anger. And this morning, she summoned me to her solar and threatened me with all kinds of terrible things once you two are wed. And, in spite of anything you or Struan could do to protect me."

  Alex pulled his leg from behind her and scrambled to his feet. He paced around the small clearing while he thought of Anice's latest machinations. Maggie's laughter got his attention.

  "What do ye think is so funny?"

  "Alex, you always pace when you are thinking or worried. I was just thinking about what a habit it is for you." He frowned at her and she smiled in retaliation. "So, what did you and Anice do before I got to the room?"

  "Ye know that I am no' interested in her for other than the roles we play? And that she's really just a bairn to me?"

  "Really?" Maggie's eyebrows raised at the word.

  "Of course! What kind of self-respecting man do you think I am? She's only fifteen for God's sake. Fifteen! 'Tis bad enough that I hae to pay court to her every day and spend more and more time wi' her. And I only spend the time wi' her that I need to so that Struan and the others will no' become suspicious."

  Alex bellowed out the last word. His anger at the way his body had not bothered to consider her age last night grew. He was ashamed that his growing desire for Maggie had wrecked his control, and, for a split second in that bed, all his body wanted to do was to drive into Anice.

  "Fifteen would be jailbait in our time, Alex, but not here. She should have been married almost three years ago and had a baby or two by now. She's ready, in all important ways, to be married." Maggie paused. "But you didn't make love to her last night, did you?"

  Alex was stopped dead by her question. For a brief few seconds last night, he admitted that his body had almost gotten the better of him. But the woman in front of him now was the one he really wanted. He shook his head, answering her in the gesture.

  He'd wanted to make love to Maggie so badly that he took to sleeping on the floor to avoid wrapping himself around her while she slept. He wanted to peel off her clothes and make love to her right now, right here. He felt his body respond to
his thoughts quickly, hardening and enlarging, ready to make her his own, for real. He couldn't help it if the wanting was showing on his face. Maggie reacted with a quick inhaled breath when she noticed his erection, apparent in the tight breeches he was wearing.

  "Alex, this isn't about Anice, is it?"

  He reached down, took her hands, and pulled her up to stand in front of him.

  "Nay, Maggie, no' about her at all. This is about ye and me, and I'm thinking about what I'd like to do to ye."

  He took her face in his hands and slowly lowered his head. Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips brushed her cheek, tracing an erotic pattern all over her face. He smiled at the shiver she gifted him with in return.

  "I havna wanted her the way I want ye, Maggie." He kissed her chin and trailed the tip of his tongue over to her ear. "I havna touched her other than an expected kiss or an embrace.

  "I've wanted ye for a long time now." He bit her ear with enough force to gain another full-body shudder. "And," he whispered into her ear while he moved one hand down her back to rest on the incredibly arousing curves of her bottom and press her into his engorged arousal, "I want ye now."

  Chapter 28

  He could no longer fight against the attraction that burned between them. He outlined her trembling mouth with his tongue. Reaching around, he loosened the tie on her braid that he had so recently placed there. As he worked his fingers into her hair, savoring the feel of the silky curls, he felt her arms come up on his bare back and pull him even closer.

  "I have wanted to do that ever since I watched you braid it the first night we were here."

  "You like my hair?" Her voice was a throaty whisper.

  "I've thought of rubbing it over my body and yer's when I make love to ye."

  Maggie arched against him, pressing her curves against his hard body and her eager response destroyed the last of his control. He slid down to his knees and pulled her with him. Her breasts were tight points against his bare skin, the thin layers of material hardly even noticeable. A moment later, he was guiding her down to lie on the grass with him.

  Using his arm to pillow her head, Alex pulled Maggie close and wrapped one of his legs over hers. As the pounding in his groin grew stronger, he knew he had to be inside of her. He rubbed his hardened flesh against her, relishing her passionate response. Her tongue darted inside his mouth to explore it hungrily, and the feel of it drove him wild with a desire that was beyond anything he'd ever experienced before.

  Alex pulled his mouth away and looked into her passion-glazed eyes. Keeping their lower bodies melded together, he eased back from her chest. He slid his hand around and teased the hardened nipples that had teased him for too long. Maggie whimpered as he rubbed his palm over one and then the other. She arched into his grasp and moaned from deep in her throat as he pressed harder against her heated flesh.

  His mouth was watering in anticipation of tasting them, so he tugged at the laces on her bodice, loosening them. Now, the only thing that stood between his tongue and the enticing points was the thin layer of chemise that Maggie wore. Rather than delay, Alex opened his mouth over one tip and drew it in. He chuckled as Maggie gasped in surprise. He looked up and saw that her eyes were tightly closed and she was breathing in short, hitching gasps as he continued his vigorous attention to her breasts. His pride and his arousal both swelled at the compliment given by her responsive body.

  Maggie was rocking her pelvis against his groin as he suckled one breast, then the other, still not bothering to move the material aside. He was thrilled when she reached up to her neckline and untied the smock's ribbon. She loosened it and pulled it down to expose her breasts to him, but before he could respond, she lifted one breast to him in invitation. He didn't hesitate a moment to take what she offered.

  The taste of it was incredibly sweet, and he laved and swirled his tongue around the first nipple before biting it gently. He applied the same attention to the second before rolling Maggie onto her back and covering her with his heated body. Now nothing separated their bare chests, and they both moaned at the pleasure of it.

  Maggie luxuriated in the feeling of Alex's weight on top of her. She arched her hips and felt the evidence of his passion thrusting against her mons. She wrapped her legs around his to keep the contact as tight as possible. When Alex spread his legs and knelt over her, she cried out for his heat. She grabbed his hips to pull him down, but he resisted and instead tugged the chemise free from her skirt and pulled it over her head. She was left naked from the waist up. She didn't resist when he slid his hands up under her skirt to pull off the silk panties she still wore underneath the coarsely woven material. And, when he skimmed his fingers up the skin of her inner thigh to touch the center of her building heat, her body tightened, coiling and writhing at his touch. His fingers, callused from working with sword and staff, created a wonderful friction on the moist flesh between her nether lips. Maggie couldn't keep her thighs together as Alex insinuated first one finger then two into the place that led to her woman's core. He plunged them in and out at a furious pace, drawing the moisture he found out and spreading it on the outer lips.

  "Alex," she cried out, not sure what she was asking for. Her brain had stopped working and she could only feel—feel every response her body offered to his touches, his caresses.

  "Alex," she moaned again as he found the little pearl between the outer layers of flesh. She grabbed him by the hair and pulled him down closer to her body. He slid down next to her, continuing to wreak havoc on her senses. Her skin was on fire; every crevice of her body ached to be filled. She could feel the pulling inside her core tightening, building to an impossible height.

  Every part of her, from head to toe and especially the places that Alex was touching, screamed for release. He leaned over and kissed her deeply, the plunging of his tongue imitating his fingers until she couldn't breathe. And, with one final stroke of his thumb against the center of her arousal, she shuddered into climax, not able or wanting to control the loud groan that escaped from her lips. Wave after wave of intense pleasure swept through her body leaving her satisfied... for the moment.

  When she could finally breathe again, she looked up to find him staring at her. He was smiling, his eyes sparkling and his breathing a bit labored, too. She felt very pleased by that for some reason. Then, she frowned at him.

  "It's not fair!"

  "Maggie, what do ye not find fair now?" He pushed his hair back from his face and scratched his beard.

  "I've been watching you, too. I've watched you training with the men in just those tight breeches or in the plaid. I've wanted to feel the strength of your thighs." She slipped her hand down onto his muscled thigh. "And I wanted to feel your chest." She rubbed her hand over the now-sweaty skin of his chest. "Hhhmmm..." she teased, "I think your chest and thighs are bigger now than when we arrived here. Has anything else grown bigger?"

  His response to her teasing was a groan of his own. Maggie allowed him to take her hand and put it on his erection. She squeezed it firmly, massaging the ridge of hardened flesh until his breathing became irregular.

  "Now, this is a bit more fair. But, we've still a ways to go." Maggie knelt up and leaned over Alex's body, kissing and licking her way down his chest and stomach to the waistband of the pants he wore. She returned to his flat, male nipples and played with them as he had hers, licking, sucking, and nipping with her lips, tongue, and teeth. The salty taste of his skin and musky odor aroused her senses and encouraged her teasing. By the time she slid her tongue back down to his waist, Alex was gasping. Leaning down and arching her back, she rested her naked breasts with their very sensitive pebbled tips on his chest and used her hair to tickle his skin.

  "I want to see you naked, Alex."

  Maggie moved between his legs and yanked on his pants. He untied the belting at his waist and helped her to ease them down by lifting his hips. The second tug exposed his hipbones; she paused to bend over and kiss them, rubbing her cheek in the springy hair below h
is waist. The third tug freed his penis; she encircled it with her hands and stroked the velvety length of it and watched Alex's face tighten in pleasure. The fourth tug revealed the sac under his erection; as she gently rolled and squeezed it, Maggie saw and heard his breaths become labored. Maggie crawled backward and pulled the trews the rest of the way down and off his legs.

  "Take off your skirt," Alex ordered gruffly.

  She nodded, thrilled that his reaction was so strong. She stood and allowed the skirt to drop down her hips and legs. Stepping out of it, she moved closer and stood over him, her legs spread to stand outside his thighs. His gaze moved over her and made the heat rise within her again. The aching and wanting began anew and the deep growl was the only warning she got that his patience was at an end.

  She looked like a Greek goddess to him. He'd seen a statue in a museum that looked as she did now: her breasts thrust out, firm and high, and her hair flowing and curling down her back. Her other curls made his hands itch to touch them again as they guarded the entrance to her womanhood. Her buttocks were firm and he was dying— absolutely dying—to touch them. His prick felt ready to burst, so he grabbed her legs and pulled her down to straddle his hips. Her inner lips were hot and wet as he placed her over his raging flesh. He rubbed his hardness along her cleft and looked to her for a signal to stop. When all she did was arch her back and let out a long, breathy moan, he eased into her and watched her slide down his erection. He was plunged to the hilt when she opened her eyes and gave him a dreamy smile.

  "This is fair, Alex, very fair now," she said on another moan.

  He held her by her hips and began a rhythm for her to match. She leaned forward, dipping her breasts close to his mouth. He obliged her request and took one turgid tip and then the other into his hungry mouth and suckled them. Caught up in the excitement, Maggie began to match the rotating and surging motions of his hips with her own.