“What? Oh!” Izzy jumped to her feet, and swayed. She searched the immediate area, as if assuming a crowd of warriors watched them sleep.
He wasn’t worried. They were still alone. Still naked.
“Care for a swim before we get back to camp?” He didn’t wait for an answer, and walked from the quiet glade and into the shallows. He was sticky, sweaty, and smelled of her…flowers and fresh grass. The stickiness is what prompted his angst about staying. What if she was pregnant? His split-second choice to climax within her silken body haunted him. He had attempted to pull out, but she had wrapped her strong legs around his thighs and held him captive. Could he wash away the guilt he’d feel when he returned home without her?
“Aye, a swim would soothe my aches.”
“I did hurt you.”
She shook her head as she stepped into the stream, her arms out-stretched for balance. When a very naked Izzy walked into deeper water, his gaze settled on the curve where her spine flowed into her rounded butt cheeks.
She submerged all but her head beneath the surface, then turned to face him. Buffeted by the gentle currents, her long hair swirled around her shoulders.
“Don’t go any deeper. Looks like the water gets rougher.”
He padded closer. His feet slid on loose rocks, and he almost lost his balance.
Izzy giggled, so he splashed water in her face. When he reached her, she smiled up at him. He sank to his knees, until the water lapped against his neck. When he drew her into his arms, she sighed. The gentle breath warmed his left ear, and his groin tightened.
“Minx.”
“I be fine. Yer manly parts are quite impressive, and ‘tis a long time since I welcomed a man into my body.”
“Gavin?”
She looked away, confirming his suspicions.
“Was it consensual?” he whispered. He feared the warrior had forced her to do something she wasn’t ready for. What little he could figure, Izzy left her home, and Gavin, about five years ago. She had to have been very young.
“Aye.”
“He obviously wants you back.”
“I will no’ marry him, though he is intent on forcing my hand.”
“Nobody can force you to marry.” When she wiggled closer, Bull sucked in a breath.
She laughed.
“Am I missing something?”
“We are back in my time, warrior. Women have few choices. Men have all the power. ‘Tis the reason I fled.”
Her words sunk in, and he didn’t like it. The notion that a man could take what he wanted, with no thought for the woman’s feelings was archaic. Gavin wanted her, but she didn’t want Gavin. In Bull’s world, he’d get a restraining order slapped on Gavin, and the creep would probably give up and disappear.
“I have your back. He won’t get away with it, if you don’t want to marry him.”
“My thanks,” she said, placing her small hands on his shoulders. Her touch warmed his skin. When she bobbed closer, and brushed her nipples against his chest, he bit his tongue.
“I am not aware how ye can help me, unless ye can get me back to the New England Highland Games. I want nothing to do with him, his father, or their clan.”
“What about his brother Niall?” He’d noticed her approval of the blond warrior they’d met in the meadow.
“Hmm…Niall is a tasty morsel.” Izzy licked her lips.
His erection throbbed beneath the surface, and Izzy’s gaze lowered. She stared at it through the clear water, and it twitched. As bad as he wanted to continue their lovemaking, he couldn’t chance getting her pregnant. He was already furious for not pulling out before he had climaxed. He had spilled inside her. Twice. Regret was a hard pill to swallow. A hope-filled thought bubbled up.
“Are you on the pill?”
“I know what ye mean, because Jenny and I discussed it at length over coffee, but the answer is no. I have no plan to marry, and no man has tempted me since Gavin.”
His eyebrow twitched. Did she realize what she’d said? When her hands reached for him, he turned and dove beneath the waterfall.
She followed, breaking through the spray like a water nymph.
Or, a siren.
“Why did ye run away?”
“Who said I ran away? I wanted to see what’s behind the falls. There’s a waterfall behind Jake’s house.”
“Aye, Faerie Falls. I have seen it. ‘Tis lovely, but we doona’ name such things, in this time, unless a great battle occurs beneath its depths, or bloodies its banks. ”
He forgot she lived in Jake’s apartment complex, near Faerie Falls, but her explanation made him yearn to return home even more.
“I would like to see that waterfall again.”
“Aye, ye wish to return to yer time. I do, as well.”
“But, this is your real home.” He pulled her clasped hands into his chest, before they wandered lower. Sex was off the table, for now. Until they returned to New England, where he’d stashed his condoms, she was off-limits. But, what if she chose not to return with him to New England?
Time was on their side for now, so he lifted her to a flat rock and out of the way of the falling water. A tangle of blonde curls flattened against her breasts. She sat up straight, and gathered them to hide her pretty nipples.
“No. Let me see?”
She smiled, lowering her arms. He brushed her hair to each side. Two berry-red nipples stood erect, as if reaching for him. Chilled and damp from their brief swim, the tiny points proved alluring to his hungry mouth.
Standing on a rocky ledge beneath the surface, with the falls brushing his back, he put his mouth on the same level as her breasts. He walked into the cleft between her thighs, and leaned forward. He couldn’t stop himself, and suckled her breast, as if she was the last meal on Earth. His groin hardened, and he forced himself to move back a step. He gazed through the shadows, and focused on her face.
“We shouldn’t…again.”
I will no’ chance a pregnancy.
As if reading his thoughts, she nodded, then grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back between her legs.
“I understand. I doona’ feel a child is in my best interests either. Can ye think of no other way we can pleasure each other?”
Her eyebrows rose and fell so rapidly, Bull was startled. Had she read his mind?
He lowered himself to his knees on the ledge, and the power of the falls buffeted his back. He held onto her thighs to steady himself, while her muscles tensed.
Had she anticipated his move, and expected him to give her pleasure? Bull slid his hand along her inner thighs, and he pushed her legs wide.
“Ah, there’s my prize.”
“Ye think I am one of yer precious athletic medals? ‘Tis no’ a competition, Bull. Ye have me. Touch me, I beg ye.”
The lack of light in their secret hideaway made the shadows bob and twist, but they were very much alone. His tongue slid out and he licked his lips. Her feminine fragrance filled his nostrils, and her ragged breath urged him forward.
Licking his way up the inside of her right thigh, he waited for another response. Her moan echoed in their private little cave created by worn rocks and a curtain of water, and her reaction drew his body closer. He kissed the curly thatch of hair, as his fingers searched for the center of her. Using touch alone, guided by her moaned responses, he discovered the tiny pearl. When he lapped it, teased it, then suckled, she lifted off the rock. Pausing to look at her face, he drew away. When she moaned, he settled his mouth on her intimate core. She was open and throbbing, and his erection swelled.
Time was irrelevant. She would explode beneath his ministrations, and they would return to their discarded clothes soon enough. This was for her.
“Aye, ‘tis perfect. Och!”
Bull smiled against her warm, damp flesh. Her thighs quivered, as an orgasm rolled through her, and her cries echoed off the rock walls. When she relaxed, he swept her off the ledge and into his arms. He dove beneath the waterfall, surfacing in
the open river. The current nearly snatched her from his arms, but he held on tight.
Izzy sputtered and wiggled.
“Warn a lass, ye big oaf!” She wiped her soaking-wet hair from her face, then smacked his chest.
“Sorry, but we should get back to camp.”
“But, I have no’ pleasured ye, as ye did me.”
Was she serious?
With a sudden need to raise a barrier between their naked bodies, Bull set her on her feet in the shallows. He waded to shore, then made his way toward the glade, where they had left their clothing.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but things are complicated. Let’s get dressed and find the others, then we’ll talk.” He stretched. Pain radiated across his back. For the afternoon, he’d forgotten about his scars.
“Aye, we must talk. I want to hear about your wounds.”
He turned so abruptly in an attempt to hide the scars he’d nearly forgotten were visible to her, he slipped.
“Take care, dear Highlander. We are far from a healer’s care.”
“I’m fine,” he said, as he regained his balance. “Can we change the subject?”
She smiled. “Pleasuring each other for another hour or so is no’ proper?” She wiggled her brows.
He padded to the river’s edge, and offered her his hand, to ensure she didn’t slip as he had. When they touched, an electrical charge swept over them. The shock was intense.
Her eyebrows rose. “What happened?”
He gathered her in his arms, and strode toward the grassy glade where they had joined their bodies. He set her on her feet, while he fought the urge to throw her down, and have his way with her. He slipped on his kilt and belt, as she watched. When he pulled on a pair of boots, she giggled.
“Where did ye find those? Last I saw ye, in my bedroom, ye had on those white leather shoes.”
“I borrowed these from one of Niall’s men. The ale master, actually.’
“A wise choice.” She leaned into him, pushed up onto her toes, and kissed him.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?”
Izzy shrieked.
Bull shoved her to safety behind his back. Balfour reared. Loosened from his hobbled hooves, he galloped northward.
When Bull glanced back to the person who had invaded their private glade, the tip of a sword pointed at his chest, then lowered to hover over his favorite bits.
CHAPTER 11
“Niall, what do ye want?” Izzy said. Even to her, she sounded defensive. She had not planned for the laird’s oldest son to find her naked, in the arms of a man. The situation was damning, if she was concerned for her reputation. If the news made it back to Gavin, their betrothal might end.
That ‘tis a great idea!
“My brother mentioned ye had strolled off with this man, and we divided up to search for ye. Lucky for ye both ‘tis I who has found ye, and no’ a hothead like Gavin.” Niall leaned forward, as his garron stomping the grass.
Bull leaned over and grabbed her shirt and skirt, pressing it into her hands. Clutching the clothing to her chest, she ran behind a tree. Bull could take care of himself, but she listened and prayed as she dressed.
“Gavin has no claim on the lady,” Bull said.
Niall sheathed his sword. “My brother says otherwise, and he has searched for her for too many years. He must love her.”
“Nay!” Izzy marched from her hiding spot, tugging her blouse down over her stomach. She gazed at Niall’s smirking face.
Bull grabbed her wrist. “Izzy, I’ll handle this.”
“Nay, Gavin is my problem. A thorn in my side,” she said, forcing her gaze from his warm fingers clasped on her arm. He released her. She strode toward Niall.
“Yer brother wants the land our betrothal would bring. When I learned of this, I told him we were finished. I fled because he was…persistent.”
“Me thinks he would change his mind and leave ye be, should he find out yer no longer a maiden.” He laughed, and Bull grinned.
They think this be funny?
Unable to answer, not even to reveal that Gavin had taken her from maiden to woman, she covered her mouth with her hand, as if shocked by the threat. Niall turned his steed, and headed back to camp.
“I’m sorry he said that. Obviously, his brother never told him he took your virginity.”
“I was a naïve child.” Staring at the ground gave her a chance to gather her thoughts. Embarrassed that she had fallen under Gavin’s spell, she would not suffer Niall’s accusations now.
“I am fine. I am older and wiser…” She glanced at Bull, then at the crushed grass where they had made love.
“What if you’re pregnant?” he whispered.
The truth in his words sunk in, but fate would win in the end. If she were to have a child, Bryce Buchanan would make a wonderful father.
Until he left.
“We shall worry about things that canna’ be changed, another day. Or, at another time. Let us return to camp, and I shall keep my chin up in Niall’s presence. Should he speak of this to his brother, Gavin might disclose that he was there…first.”
“Awkward.”
“True, but I am stronger than that. Mere words shall no’ bring me sorrow, especially after ye have awakened me to pleasure, and so thoroughly.” She laughed, walking along the bank.
“You are the strongest woman I know.”
His voice dripped with affection, but she could not meet his eyes. Instead, she stooped and picked a bouquet of chamomile blossoms. Sleepless nights threatened to intrude on their travels. She would need restful sleep, if they were to figure out how to return to Bull’s time. She wanted to stay and farm her land, but Gavin was still a threat. Whether she stayed or went back, she owed it to Jenny and Bull to help them get home.
“You like those flowers?”
“They be verra’ pretty, but I will add them to boiling water to create a sleeping potion.”
“You need help sleeping?”
She shook her head, again not meeting his gaze. “No’ me, but if Gavin turns ugly when he hears of our entanglement, I can calm him long enough to make our escape.”
“Escape could be imminent, if Niall shares what he saw. Where would we go? This might be your homeland, but I am only familiar with Castle Ruadh, and I have no idea where that is.”
“ ‘Tis over on the coast, north and east of here. We shall find a witch, make a potion, and return ye to your time. I promise ye, love.”
His eyes widened at her statement, or was it the word love that caught his attention? Could she love him?
Was the question too soon, or too late?
“Maybe I don’t want to leave without you, darlin’,” he said. He spun her until she faced him, then cupped her cheek in his damp palm. The sun had lowered, and clouds rolled over them. Bull was half-naked, and concern for his well-being made her step closer. Her breasts, warm inside her blouse, pressed into his chest.
“You are a warm handful. Thanks.”
Izzy smiled, then tried to turn her head away, but held tight. She would never force him to stay. She was about to inform him thusly, but his warm breath soothed the bruised skin beneath her eyes. Her nose no longer ached. Yearning for his kiss caught her unaware.
After their swim and thrilling lovemaking, Bull’s caresses made her forget the injury she had sustained in the accident. Would he kiss her until dawn?
She licked her lips, and his eyes widened. When his head lowered and his mouth hovered over hers, she rose on the tips of her slippers. Their lips touched. Sparks erupted, heating every bit of her suddenly hungry body.
I am only hungry for him. Why no’ Gavin?
“What ‘tis this? Me thinks my brother has lost the advantage.”
They broke apart, and Izzy’s cheeks warmed beneath a flush that heated her cheeks. Guilt, earned or not, swept over her.
“Niall, I thought you left.” Bull wrapped an arm around her waist.
Niall’s mount skittered sideways. �
��I waited for ye to return to camp, but assumed something was amiss.”
“You scared away my horse, you bastard.”
Izzy gazed up at Niall, worried he would strike at Bull for what he might perceive as a slight on his family.
“Niall, doona’ believe all yer brother tells ye. I will no’ marry that fool. Besides, we were heading back.” She melted into Bull’s side. The weather had chilled.
Niall rubbed a hand across his chin. The dark shadow of whiskers made him look older and more dangerous than Gavin, but she would never yield.
“Nay, he dinna’ share such a confidence, and I understand yer reasons.”
“Ye do?” Izzy was surprised. Gavin rarely talked about his older brother. Gavin shared no animosity toward his family during the time he had courted her.
“Yers was no’ a love match, aye?”
“True. At first, he wooed me with words of love, but he never meant a word of it. Why do ye believe it now, if he has no’ shared his feelings with ye?”
“Gavin has lost his heart to another.”
Her heart clenched at the surprising news. Recalling how her neighbor had recently reacted to Gavin, and how he had protected her from Niall and his men, had Jenny fallen in love with the younger Sinclair?
“Your brother is an ass.” As Bull addressed the Sinclair heir, he pulled her closer to his heat.
Biting her bottom lip, her thoughts tangled with her hurt feelings. Was what she had with Gavin love, or loneliness? This was what she craved, after all. A way to remove herself from Gavin’s interest.
Gazing up at Bull, she realized love was an emotion she had never experienced with Gavin. Bull was a giver, a wonderful kisser, and had saved her burning tent. Gavin was a young man who had taken advantage of an even younger woman in pain.
“Whoa. The guy chased us, and pulled a knife on me.” Bull’s words fell on deaf ears. Niall had galloped away through the break in the forest.
“Let us return to camp,” she said.
In silence, they hurried through the trees until they spilled into the glade. Warriors worked at various stages of battle preparation. Bull brushed past her and strode to where Niall had dismounted.
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