Love Beyond Compare (Book 5 of Morna’s Legacy Series)

by Claire, Bethany

  Cooper held his small suitcase in his lap. As he struggled with the zipper, Adwen came to sit down beside him, taking the case off his lap and swiftly zipping it shut.

  “Adwen, can I ask you something?”

  I smiled and held my place just around the doorway hoping I could continue to watch their conversation unseen. I very much wanted to hear whatever he meant to ask. It was bound to be entertaining.

  “Aye, ye can.”

  “Do you like Aunt Jane?”

  “Aye, I do. I like ye as well, Cooper. Ye two and the rest of the McMillan clan are fine people.”

  “Hmm…” Cooper crossed his arms and looked up at Adwen knowingly. “Well, that’s not really what I meant.”

  Adwen smiled and clasped Cooper on the shoulder. “What did ye mean, lad? Ye can ask me anything, and I shall answer ye as the wee man that ye are.”

  “I mean, do you like her? Like Orick likes that red-haired lady he kept thinking was a ghost.”

  Adwen laughed and then answered. “Aye, I do.”

  “Oh, good.” Cooper smiled and stood, turning so that he faced Adwen while he spoke. “Then it doesn’t really matter why I asked.”

  “Would ye tell me anyway?”

  “Sure. I was just going to say that if you didn’t like her that you should try to ’cause she needs somebody, I think. Everybody does, really. And…” he trailed off, bending to lift his suitcase.

  “And what, lad? Ye canna leave me in suspense.” Adwen stuck a foot out to keep Cooper’s suitcase on the ground.

  “Okay, so, please don’t tell Aunt Jane because I know what she will say. She will say I’m too young to talk about it, and I am, and I don’t really want to know any more than what I do. It’s only that I’m smarter than most kids. I know that, and when one thing happens and then another thing happens after that, and it happens more than once, I know that the one thing makes the other thing. Plus, my Grandmother really likes these things called Soaps so I’ve probably seen more things than I should have.”

  I snickered under my breath, feeling rather sorry for Adwen as I watched him. Cooper was rambling, as he always did when he was nervous, and I could tell by the crease in Adwen’s brows, he hadn’t the slightest idea what Cooper meant to say. Truthfully, I didn’t either.

  “Ach, lad, I dinna understand a word ye just said. I willna tell yer Aunt Jane a word ye say nor anyone else. So ye needn’t worry about that. Just say what ’tis ye mean to, or I believe ye will make us late.”

  “Okay.” Cooper straightened his back and exhaled as if pushing away his nerves.

  “I don’t want you to make any more noises like you did with Aunt Jane the other day unless you really, really like her.”

  I swallowed, shutting my eyes in mortification.

  “Ach, ye werena meant to hear that. Ye dinna see anything, did ye?”

  “No, but while Orick and I were playing hide-and-seek, I heard some things that sounded a lot like the things I heard coming from my Mom and E-o’s room once. After that is when her belly started to grow with the baby. Maybe makes me think that storks don’t really have anything to do with babies.”

  “A stork, lad?”

  “You know, people always say that storks bring babies.”

  “No, I havena ever heard that.”

  Cooper waved a dismissive hand. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is this…”

  My eyes widened as Cooper stepped up to Adwen and placed two of his fingers right in the center of his chest.

  “If you spend more time like that with my Aunt Jane and you don’t like her, I don’t really think that’s okay. It’s like those kids at school who would pretend to be your friend just so they could blame something on you. It’s not nice, and it will make her sad. If you make Aunt Jane sad, I might just have to hurt you.”

  “I willna make her sad, lad. I care for her verra much.”

  “Good. Then let’s go to New York.”

  Cooper spun, yanking his suitcase out from under Adwen’s feet and marched over to the doorway so quickly I didn’t have time to move. He opened the door and stared up at me, completely unbothered.

  “Oh hey, Aunt Jane. I think everybody is ready to go now. Are you?”

  “Uh, yes.” I stood blinking, still trying to regain my composure. “When we get back will you remind me to tell your mother something?”

  He rolled his bag out into the hallway. “Yeah, sure. What?”

  “Remind me to tell her that we need to move your bedroom somewhere else.”

  One corner of Cooper’s mouth pulled up in agreement as he nodded. “Yes, please. I would like that very much.”

  CHAPTER 32

  It surprised Adwen to see Jane so bothered by Cooper’s words. Of all the things that came out of the lad’s mouth, his observation and warning seemed no less out of place than the rest of the bold things he said. To Adwen, it made him admire the ornery boy even more.

  “Jane, I remember my own parents tupping no farther than the toss of a stone from me and my brothers. We were all aware of what men and women do together well before Cooper’s age.”

  “What?”

  She stirred from gazing out the window, exhaling in a way that caused her lower lip to tremble as the air blew over it. Adwen wanted to pull it deep into his mouth.

  He leaned across the armrest to grab onto her hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth across the smooth skin. He’d never touched a lass whose flesh was so soft, pale, and unmarked by neither the sun nor hard labor. She’d led a life of privilege much like he had, yet somehow she’d turned out so much better, so much kinder, so much more deserving than he; he only hoped he could be the man she deserved. “Even before my mother died, we took many a journey together. We often camped in close quarters or shared a room at an inn. Ye are worried about Cooper, I can tell it. There’s no need, lass.”

  She twisted at his words, looking back to make sure Cooper wasn’t listening. He laughed as he pulled her close, whispering in her ear.

  “They’re asleep, lass.”

  “Good. I’m not worried. Just rather shocked and embarrassed.”

  “I doona think Cooper is bothered by it, Jane.” He kissed her ear as he spoke, smiling against her as she sighed and leaned into him.

  “You’re right. If he is damaged, I suppose it’s Grace’s job to deal with him. Not mine. Although, I feel like he’s part mine—a lot of people feel that way, I think. Why aren’t you sleeping? You have to be just as tired as they are.”

  “No, I canna sleep.” Sleep was the last thing on his mind. All he could think of was how badly he wanted to see her blush. “I dinna stay up half the night seeing that the rest of us were ready for today’s journey, and I dinna have to do all that ye did this morning. ’Tis ye that should be sleeping.”

  She shrugged and nodded in the direction of the cup that sat on the tray in front of her.

  “I’ve shoved five cups of coffee into a body that has grown accustomed to running on none. I probably won’t sleep for a week.”

  He liked that idea very much, though he didn’t understand how the lass could drink five cups of the muddy poison. He’d had but a sip and had nearly choked to death on the filth.

  “I’d rather drink my own blood, lass, than have another glass of that. I’ve seen a great many strange things here, none as strange as that. And so many drink it like ’tis ale or water. ’Tis astonishing.”

  She laughed and, as she did so, her hair bounced toward him, sending a scent to his nose so delicious, his lower abdomen surged with need of her.

  “What did ye do to yer hair, lass? The smell of it…” He closed his eyes, leaning to take in another breath.

  “That’s shampoo. One of those lovely things you get to use in a shower. It’s nice, yes?”

  It was more than nice; he found it intoxicating, just as he did everything else about her.

  “I misspoke before, lass. There is one thing I find more astonishing than yer coffee.”

  “Hmm…what�
��s that?” She leaned into him, her hair landing on his nose and sending him wild. She did it to tease him, he knew.

  “With yer blunt tongue and the way ye came to me in the sitting room, I’d no have thought ye a lass who is easily embarrassed. But ye are.”

  “What makes you say that? I’m really not.”

  Adwen laughed, nodding toward the seat behind him. “Lass, ye have spent every moment of the flight worrying because the lad heard us. He dinna even see anything, Jane. And I’d wager that most in the castle heard us.”

  “Cooper’s different. I don’t want to be the one responsible for exposing him to the birds and the bees. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have cared at all.”

  “Is that so, lass? I doona believe ye.”

  Jane sat with a blanket draped over her with its end tucked around her shoulders. It would be effortless, simple, to slip his arm beneath the blanket and reach for her in the quiet darkness of the plane. Would her words hold up then, when he had her writhing in silence beneath his hand while so many sat around them unaware of what was happening between them?

  “Truly, Adwen. I’ll say anything—do anything. Surely you’ve seen that by now. Did I hold back from saying a thing to you when we first met? Cooper’s just…I’ve more concern for his wellbeing than most.”

  “Aye, ye say whatever ye wish, but ’tis no the same. Look around, Jane, I doona see anyone awake save us, do ye?”

  She shook her head, and he leaned over in the dim light, kissing her neck as he slipped his hand beneath the covers, reaching for her hand.

  “If all are asleep,” he whispered, pulling away from her hand to trail his fingers down her thigh, “there is no reason to be embarrassed, aye? As long as ye can keep from making any sound. Can ye do that, lass? Or will it embarrass ye overmuch?”

  He pulled away from her neck, swallowing his own groan of need as he watched her lip tremble in response to him. Her legs parted and he slipped his hand beneath the moveable waist of her pants, biting on his lip to keep quiet as he cupped her warmth.

  “Jane,” he leaned in, his breathing shallow and shaky as he whispered in her ear. “I wish to have ye tremble in response to me. Right here, while no one is watching. But to do so will make me verra uncomfortable—swear to me that ye will share my bed this night.”

  She said nothing, only turned to him and pressed her lips hard against his. He kissed her in response, pulling away as their lips sped up and their need for one another grew. It wouldn’t do to draw attention. Jane nodded in understanding, leaning back in her chair as he stroked her.

  It didn’t take long for her to quiver beneath his hand. As she did so, she crossed her legs to push him away, leaning in to speak as she did so.

  “I can’t take any more. Not unless you want me to cry out and cause a scene. You’ll get your turn when we land. Perhaps you should have waited until we started our descent; we’re not even halfway through the flight.”

  Adwen ground his teeth as he sat back in his seat. He’d been a heady fool—he would be in agony until they landed.

  CHAPTER 33

  New York City – Present Day

  Everything was louder than I remembered, more crowded, even smellier. My first thoughts as I climbed out of the fancy SUV that picked us up were not at all what I expected. Rather than love and longing, I just felt rather confused. Confused that I couldn’t remember the specific things I missed so much about my beloved city.

  Pushing the thoughts away, I put it off to jet lag and the copious amount of coffee that had me feeling jittery and kind of mad. Tomorrow, I was sure, I would see everything in an entirely different light.

  Beyond our plane tickets, I wasn’t sure how everything would work once we arrived. I halfway expected Morna to be waiting in baggage claim. Instead, we were greeted by a man named Nick who was tasked with the job of seeing us to, of all places, The Carlyle—one of New York’s most legendary hotels. Upon arriving, we were quickly ushered inside, and I found myself utterly mortified to be standing in such an establishment in yoga pants and tennis shoes. No matter how much I loved slipping them on, it wasn’t worth this.

  Thankfully, the man who greeted us didn’t seem to mind my grungy garb, no doubt bribed to ignore my apparel by the hefty bill and tip lauded to the hotel by Morna’s undoubtedly shady credit card. We followed the man to our rooms all a little slack-jawed—Cooper reaching out to touch things on the walls he had no business touching, Adwen and Orick doing their best to keep quiet and not say anything that would garner a crazed look from our host.

  We had two rooms—the hotel’s largest suites. It was all completely ridiculous. As the man handed us our keys, I asked him about Morna.

  “Is the woman that arranged all of this staying here?”

  “No ma’am. She’ll be along in the morning to join you for breakfast. In the meantime, enjoy your evening and let us know if you need anything at all.”

  Once he was gone, it took Adwen all of five seconds to step up and direct us each to our respective rooms.

  “Cooper, do ye mind staying with Orick tonight, lad? I canna bear to be next to him, his snoring kept me up all night at Morna’s.”

  Cooper shrugged. “Sure, but Orick doesn’t snore.”

  I handed the key to Cooper as he reached for it, refraining from snickering at Adwen’s attempt to cover up the reason for such a sleeping arrangement. It was a bad excuse. Cooper woke before everyone. He would know well enough if Orick snored, but I didn’t say anything, instead trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.

  “Coop, will you show Orick how to use the shower? I’m sure both he and Adwen are ready to get cleaned up in a way that doesn’t involve a sink full of water and a rag.”

  “Sure, but then I am going to bed, Aunt Jane. I am wiped.”

  I yawned in agreement even though my heart was going a million miles a minute, and my head was starting to ache rather badly. I hoped I hadn’t overdosed on caffeine. “Me too, Coop. I’m so very tired. Okay, then. See you guys in the morning.”

  * * *

  Adwen spun me toward him, crushing my back into the doorknob the moment I latched it. I cried out in pain as I reached behind to touch at my most-assuredly bruised ribs. He apologized half-heartedly before scooting me over so that my back pressed flat against the door and pulled my sweater frantically over my head.

  “Hey, slow down, mister. Don’t you want to look around the room first? Maybe get a drink of water or something?”

  “Jane, do ye see what ye’ve done to me? I havena been in this much pain in all of my life. If I doona have ye now, I fear I shall die.”

  I almost laughed at the desperation in his voice, but as I looked at his face, I sort of believed him. My gaze moved downward, and I gasped at the bulge in his jeans.

  “Please tell me that hasn’t been that way since the plane.”

  “Aye, it has. And ye teased me about it, lass. ’Twas more cruel than ye know.”

  “God, Adwen, I never thought…I mean, I didn’t think…there’s no way it should have stayed up that long!”

  I reached for him and undid his jeans as quickly as I could. Every movement I made against him caused him to groan in agonizing pain. When I finally managed to pull his jeans downward, he gasped in relief.

  “’Tis better but no good enough, lass.”

  I nodded, stripping quickly as he did the same. Once naked, he lifted me off the ground as my arms went around him, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me to the nearest resting place—a console table around the corner of the entryway. It sat empty, no more than a decorative space-filler against the wall. He sat me down on it as he plunged deep inside me, groaning as he leaned forward so far that his forehead lay against the wall.

  “Are you okay, Adwen?” His hips had stilled but his shoulders trembled from the effort of it. I couldn’t see why he resisted so—not when he needed to release himself so badly.

  “No, lass, for this will be twice that I’ve no wors
hipped ye as I wish to.”

  I reached around and grabbed onto his cheeks, pushing him into me to spur him on. “Adwen, I don’t care. Not right now.”

  He moved roughly, each thrust making my heart beat faster. I clawed his back as I clenched around him, my body responding in ecstasy the same moment he found release. He kissed the sweat on my brow, lifting me gently, carrying me over to the bed as he pulled out of me.

  “Thank ye, Jane. I’m so sorry.”

  I laughed, my chest rising and falling in such quick succession I felt like I’d just run a great distance. “For what? Are you crazy? That was great. Are you?” I glanced down and exhaled in relief. “You’re feeling better now, yes?”

  He grinned in a way that just one corner of his mouth pulled up. He’d never looked more attractive to me.

  “Aye, verra.”

  “That’s good.” I lifted myself and leaned over to kiss him. “I thought I was going to have to take you to the hospital or something. It could have just broken, you know. That’s actually possible.”

  “Ach.” He looked horrified at the suggestion. “Thank the saints, it dinna.”

  Every inch of me felt filthy, and I knew Adwen had to be feeling much the same way. I stood and took a step toward the bathroom, extending a hand out to him.

  “If you’re too sleepy, that’s fine, but I’ve got to take a shower. Are you ready to experience that miracle?”

  * * *

  Watching Adwen in the shower reminded me of watching a puppy bounce happily around in the rain for the first time—they shared that same sheer joy. We stayed beneath the warm spray, cleansing, exploring, holding one another until we were both so pruned and exhausted from the heat we could hardly stand.