Highland Lover: A Historical Highlander Steamy Romance Collection (Highland Lover Series Book 6)

by Fiona Knightley

  Standing across the room from him, face-to-face, she is dazed.

  Seeing Oliver like this tonight, in this room, among this crowd, is the last thing Amelia expected. There he is, standing so charmingly, attractively dressed in trews, a short slashed waistcoat, a quality bluebonnet and plaid which he wears as a cloak. The way he dresses has not changed much over the years, she notes.

  Quietly, Oliver walks towards Amelia with his gaze fixed on her face, as if blinking an eye will make her disappear. Amelia's heart pounds and races faster as she watches him come closer--- the effect his presence always has on her.

  “Ma eyes are no gowk…Amelia, it’s really ye,”

  Oliver says, out of breath from excitement, atiny smile at the corner of his lips.

  ‘And it’s really ye,too!’ Amelia whispers under her breath, not sure if he can hear it. She wants to let out her excitation, run to him, and embrace him to show him how happy she is to see him. To have him this close again after these past three years. Looking at him through the faint light in the hallway, she can clearly see his face, making her heart race even faster.

  Maybe it is the years they have been apart, but his jaw looks sharper than what it used to be. Has he lost weight? She quickly runs her eyes over him and notices that it’s not just his jaw, but his appearance looks slimmer. What has been going on with him?

  “Ya look boora braw,” Oliver says with a cheeky smile as he looks her over from head to toe.

  God! His smile is as sexy as it has always been.

  Don’t do that, Amelia! she reminds herself. She shouldn’t be checking him out or admiring his smile. This is the man she has fallen out of love with. Even after knowing the differences Amelia and Sophie had had, he had betrayed her and gone for Sophie. Therefore it’s wrong to harbor such thoughts or admire his smile.

  “Oliver,” Amelia finally says with an unexcited tone that sounds more like a greeting than a return of all the compliments he has been giving her.

  Amelia tries to compose herself to avoid letting down her guard or the little butterflies fluttering in her stomach. The same feeling she had always had in the past years when they were together.

  Oliver moves more close to her, closing the gap between them while his gaze locks with hers. Amelia breathes nervously and unexpectedly takes in his scent. Oh! His aroma, that masculine smell has always turned her on.

  Oliver cups her face with his hand, only an inch between their bodies, and lifts her face towards hisso they are looking into each other’s eyes.

  “I have missed ye… I have been looking everywhere for ye,” Oliver says in a low voice. He traces his finger along her jaw and her lips.

  Amelia quivers. I have missed ye, too! You have been so far away! Why did ye leave me?!Amelia wants to scream out loud. But she immediately knocks herself back to reality.

  What is she doing? What has gotten to her head? She shouldn’t be in this position with this man. She should be avoiding him for all the wrong he has done to her; she reminds herself again. She pulls away from his touch and steps back.

  Amelia sees little surprise in Oliver's face as she pulls away. A little space is best between them. And naw she winna fall for any of his kind words or gestures.

  “It’s well braw to see you here too,” Amelia says, trying hard to be formal. She needs to start making the type of relationship they have now clear to him. “What are ye doing in Dunfermline, or do ye bide here now?” she asks him with a straight face.

  “Naw,” Oliver answers with a puzzling look that shows he is questioning the coldness of Amelia towards him. “I still bide in Montrose. I sometimes come to Dunfermline for ma artwork,” he adds.

  Oh, why hadn’t she thought of that! Oliver has always had a connection with his artwork to Dunfermline. The early days of his drawing and its exposition started from this very village. Therefore, it’s typical for him to maintain the business and the status he has grown here.

  He told her about this. When they were together, they had promised each other they would voyage on this together; that they would escape to Dunfermline when the days of Montrose became difficult or tedious. Now this was what their lives have become.

  “Ya deh seems happy to see me,” Oliver says, and Amelia speculates if his words were just a speech about his observation or a question. “Do ye bide in Dunfermline?” He adds.

  “Aye,” Amelia replies quickly. She is glad that the question comes after his first words. The words she isn’t ready to give him responses to. “I moved from Arbroath…”

  “Isnae pimps to pass by without seeing someone who wants to haw” Thomas walks towards her with two cups of drinks. “Sorry, the drink took too long.” He whispers to her, gives her the glass, and kisses her on the cheek. Then he moves his eyes to Oliver, who has been standing there. “Laird Adair,” Thomas greets.

  “Laird Thomas,” Oliver replies.

  “Lovely evening to you. Excellent works you have here.” Thomas waves his hand over the room to the paintings that are hung on the wall.

  So all these paintings are Oliver’s! Amelia sweeps her eyes over the images on the wall, and the paintings seem more familiar to her now. Since she walked into this room with Thomas this evening, she looked at the artworks, but hadn’t paid much attention. Why havnae she realized this before now!

  “I see you have met ma love, Amelia?” Thomas smiles and holds Amelia by the waist and places a quick kiss on her cheek. A flush of warm blood rushes within Amelia's face; she doesn’t know why, but through a glance, she catches the surprised expression on Oliver’s face.

  “Love?” Oliver voices out.

  “Aye, she’s a bonnie, huh?” Thomas asks with a wide-ranging smile that tells his genuine feeling.

  “She has always been,” Oliver says quietly, and Thomas glances curiously from Amelia to Oliver.

  Amelia lowers her eyes to the floor. She isn’t brave enough to look either of the two men in the face. She never imagined that she would be in this awkward situation, not this evening or before it. With the three of them standing there, it feels like time lapses slowly. What should she do now?

  She feels Thomas tighten his hold on her waist like he is protecting or claiming his possessions.

  “Well, we will see ye around, we havnae taken enough daunner around the room,” Amelia hears Thomas say, and she is glad he broke the silence; someone had to do it. Else, the sullenness between them would grow deeper. With a nod, Thomas drags Amelia away with him.

  The rest of the evening in the art room feels more obdurate, and Amelia feels like she is being put in a tighter situation. If she had known that this art show was Oliver’s, she would never have graced it. And to make matters stranger, Oliver and Thomas knew each other. It would have been different if the two men were just like every other guest in the room.

  Now she is being placed in a situation between these two men distant from each other across the room. Yet, it seems they notice the other’s every action, their every glance.

  Frequently, she notices how Oliver steals a look at her even when he is in discussion with other guests in the room. And it always seems as if Thomas is catching every glimpse, as he will bring her closer to his side or kiss her quickly on the cheek or the lips.

  How she wishes she could excuse herself from this gathering and be gone from this room. She needs an abode where she can have proper thoughts of what just transpired this evening. She craves to be in a place where she won’t have to be surrounded by this awkward situation between her and these men…

  “Want to bolt with me from here?” Thomas whispers into her ear. Finally!

  Chapter 34

  “It feels so free and calming to be entirely out of that gallery room," Amelia heaves as she sits on a couch in Thomas's drawing-room. She had thought a good night bath would ease away the tension of this evening. But even after having a warm night bath, her mind keeps racing back, playing back out the events that occurred in the gallery room.

  When Thomas suggested t
hat they leave the art room, it was as if he had read her mind and knew the tension she had been withholding.

  Oliver had always been a man she has felt so comfortable with, both being around him and speaking to him, no matter their status differences. However, seeing him this evening, such discomfort has never enveloped her before. Maybe it is because of Thomas. Perhaps it is because of how he has been holding her throughout the night, knowing that Oliver was watching them.

  Ever since she became close to Thomas, she noticed that he is the type of man who does not hesitate to show how he feels when he is in love. Displaying his love or feelings externally has never been a problem for him. This has become one of the things Amelia fancies about him. Although Oliver does act the same way, he's not too bold like Thomas.

  Despite this, something keeps telling Amelia that Thomas was more possessive of her throughout the evening because Oliver watched her. Does this mean that Thomas knew that she and Oliver had been previous lovers?

  When Thomas introduced her to Oliver as his ‘love,’ Oliver questioned him about it in the art room. Still, she wasn’t so sure Thomas would have read full meaning into it. He probably could have, after all, being an intelligent man.

  Should she talk to Thomas about Oliver? Should she tell him everything that they had together? She questions herself as she looks out through the window in the living room, looking at nothing in particular but the darkness of the night.

  Even though she and Thomas are gradually progressing to their relationship, she has never mentioned Oliver to him. He sometimes throws in light questions concerning Owen’s father, but Amelia has cautiously avoided answering the question. Now, to think that he has to find out about Oliver in such a place and manner makes her feel guilty.

  Even when they have left the art room for Thomas's house, they have not discussed anything related to Oliver. Thomas has been quiet, more or less entirely. He only made a few small comments about some people he saw at the place and those he was surprised to see, yet no mention of Oliver.

  Is he expecting her to initiate the conversation about Oliver first? Should she do it? Won’t that make her seem like she has something to hide if she suddenly opens up about Oliver?

  Contemplating the right step to follow now, she doesn’t know how she will discuss this with him. He might have been calm as if the events of this evening didn’t bother him, but what if he reacts badly when she mentions it?

  Whatever its reaction brings, she must open up to him. He opened up to her and told her everything she needed to know about him. Now, it seems she is the one holding back between them.

  Recalling the night, she remembers how Thomas casually greeted Oliver like they had met each other before. Oliver, on the other hand, replied like an old friend. If they hailed each other that way, what is there to hide?

  “Whit are ye doing here?” Thomas's calm voice breaks out her thoughts.

  She turns behind her to face Thomas. He is dressed in a grey tunic, which he usually wears for sleep. When she had taken a bath, he had stepped into the bath after her. Thus, he probably expected her to be sleeping by now in the bedroom. Thomas moves closer to her and sits beside her.

  “I thought you were away on the bed. Whit happen, Naw kip?” he asks gently.

  “Isnae coming,” Amelia says quietly. “Go on. I will join ye soon.”

  Shouldn’t she be opening up to him now? Should she tell him that her mind is troubled and sleep won’t be easily forthcoming because of tonight’s meeting with Oliver?

  “I cannae go to bed when ye are awake here.” He holds her hand.

  “Whit is hurting your heart? Laird Adair?”

  Amelia is dazed. So, he knows. He was confronting her more quickly than she expected. Here she was, thinking of how to open up to him, and there he was, wholly figuring out everything on his own. She lowers her eyes. She can’t look up at him nor meet his gaze.

  “Is he Owen’s da?” he asks.

  Amelia nods, slowly.

  Her voice is completely dried out from speaking words. Yet, she also couldn’t look up to see Thomas's face and his reaction as she administers the truth.

  “Do ye still love him?”

  Heavens! This question is too sudden and straight forward. How does he expect her to answer? What answer is he hoping to have? Does she even know the answer to this question? Does she still love Oliver?

  Amelia looks up at Thomas, and his eyes hold so many questions.

  “How can I still love him when he is with another quinie?” Amelia says. She is not sure if this answer will satisfy his curiosity.

  “He left ye fur another quinie? Even after ye birth him such a braw lad?” Thomas asks with surprise.

  Amelia shakes her head. “He didnae ken aboot Owen. He already has a family. I deh think he needs ma boy and me.”

  There is a silence between them, and Amelia wonders what is going on in Thomas’s mind. His hands on her hands are still as warm as before. Slowly, Thomas moves his hand from her arm to her shoulder.

  “I'm sorry aboot that. Now, I ken why ye deh like talking aboot him. Ah, 'm here fur ye now.” Thomas says in a calm voice. “Please, let me love ye, will ye?”

  She isn’t sure if her response should be ‘Aye or Nae,’ but his words are calm, as they have always been since he met him. It's so delicate and reassuring, and at this moment, she needs it.

  She moves closer to him and places a simple kiss on his lips, then releases his lips. He looks at her closely with eyes that are yearning for her. Then he takes her lips back to his, passionately tasting them. Amelia moans softly.

  She raises her hand and touches his shoulder, and he moves in more closely to her. Thomas innately reacts to this; kissing her with increasing intensity, moaning quietly under his breath.

  “Your nips drive crazy,” he says with a groan.

  Bit by bit, he removes her clothing and pulls her closer to his chest. Amelia moves her hand and runs it over his head. Thomas carries her and places her on his lap, then turns her on the couch to face him. She is bare-skinned now, and the lower part of his clothes are also gone.

  Gently, he puts his manhood inside her, and she whines slowly. At a gentle pace yet controlled by whims, Thomas moves in and out of her. When the heat of the moment becomes too much, he moans loudly. He confesses so much love to her as he spanks her gently and places kisses all over her face and neck.

  ‘Oliver…’

  Amelia almost hears herself whisper. While she is enjoying the moment with Thomas, she can’t control her mind as it wanders off to Oliver. Forcing Oliver out of her mind and focusing back on the handsome, caring man on top of her, she holds him tighter, as if holding on to him will stop any thought of Oliver entering her mind again.

  With a few strokes inside her, Thomas let out a sudden groan of pleasure. He kisses her more on the lip and forehead, then they both cuddle side by side on the couch. After a few minutes, Amelia can hear the soft breath of Thomas behind her. He has fallen asleep behind her as he holds her.

  Lying naked on the cozy seat with Thomas, Amelia looks out through the window in the faint night. It’s good that Thomas's domestic staff does not live with him; it would have been embarrassing for them to have walked in on them in the night or the morning.

  This is what makes Thomas' home different from Oliver’s. The privacy and less need for domestic staff around the house make it liveable, unlike Oliver’s. Speaking of Oliver, where is he tonight? Of course, he won’t have gone back to Montrose last night; he will be spending the night here in Dunfermline.

  Is he alone tonight? Did Sophie come with him to Dunfermline? Are they spending the night together at this very moment….? ‘Haud!’ Amelia restraints herself immediately. What she is doing now isn’t right. It is very wrong for her to be in bed with one man while thinking of another man. This isnae right, she reminds herself. Thomas deserves better treatment from her.

  She reaches for Thomas's arm behind her and pulls it tighter across her waist. Hopeful
ly, having his hands around her will help her ease away the thoughts of Oliver. She closes her eyes and forces herself into a troubled sleep.

  Chapter 35

  Oliver sits upright on his bed. What a long night. He hasn’t slept much. Instead, he has been tossing around on his bed, waking up unexpectedly, and then falling back into restlessness. He looks around his room and reminds himself that he is still Dunfermline. A village that has always brought him peace whenever he wanted to avoid Sophie's spectacle in Montrose. A town where he would have loved to dwell if not for the change that came with his father's death.

  Coming here has always brought him peace, except this time, it doesn’t. His encounter last night at his art exhibit has put him in this state, a situation where he has to ask himself thousands of questions. And he’s curious about answers to these questions.

  “Amelia,” he whispers softly to himself.

  The one person he didn’t expect to see in Dunfermline. When he saw her at the show last night, he couldn’t explain the tingling sensation that ran within him. It was as if she came to his present life, drawn by his thoughts and longing for her. Yet she wasn’t happy to see him. He remembers the lack of warmth on her face when he had called out her name and come closer to her.

  Has she fallen out of love with him? Or is it because of Laird Thomas?

  Yesterday evening, he thought he was mistaken when he saw someone that looked like her. In the past three years, his constant thoughts of her had made him see visions of her several times. Then last night, he saw her smiling and walking around the room. He had attempted to ignore it at first until it seemed too real to be a mirage.

  When he called out her name and she turned to acknowledge it, he knew it was reality. This wasn’t yet another vision like the many he’d experienced so many times over the years. She had even admitted to relocating from Arbroath to Dunfermline. He had found her. There is no need to wonder any longer. However, what seems to be off is the way she reacted to seeing him again.