by Tamara Gill
“Hmm. Sounds perfect.” Kenzie wrapped her legs about his hips, her mons pressing against his cock. He slid against her, teasing them more. He was near to losing himself like a lad who’d just found out what his cock could do.
“I’m sorry, lass,” he said and sheathed himself fully within her. She swore, and he fought not to smile at the expletive she uttered. How different she was from anyone he’d ever known before—not afraid to bare her soul to him and enjoy what he offered.
Ben cautioned himself to take care. He didn’t need to feel any more than he already did for the lass. Anything further would only leave him bereft when she left.
He slowed his strokes, giving her time to adjust to his size, which unfortunately for Kenzie, was quite a large cock to take for any woman. She slowly relaxed in his hold, grinned when her feet slid up to sit atop his ass.
She sighed; her gaze, full of wonder, met his. “We seem to fit well.” She grinned, biting her bottom lip.
At her subdued chuckle, Ben pushed into her further, wanting Kenzie to come around him, shatter and break against his cock. An overwhelming sensation that the woman beneath him threatened his life, but in a good way, consumed him. He didn’t want to prepare her for anyone else, have her measure all her lovers after him against his ability.
Damn it, Ben didn’t even want to imagine her leaving and getting on with her life with someone else. Allowing other men to make love to her, touch and kiss her as he wished to do. Over and over again if she’d allow it.
Which, if the scraping of her nails on his shoulders were any indication, she did.
Forever…echoed in his mind, and he sliced it away. Whatever this was between him and Kenzie, whatever it was that drew them like a moth to flame was only fleeting. A flash in time for them to enjoy each other’s company. Forever was not a word he would associate with the lass and their future.
He took her more forcefully, and she moaned, her hands splaying against his back. Sweat trickled down his brow, as he pushed in further. His balls tightened, his body desperate for the pleasure he would take from her when they came.
She called out his name, and he was desperate to make her say it again; their joining became almost frantic. Not a whisper of space separated them, and he clasped her, fucked her hard and fast, knowing that with each stroke, the closer they both climbed to that peak that would topple them over into an abyss of satisfaction.
“Oh, Ben,” she gasped, the breath of her words making the hairs on his neck spike. “Don’t you dare stop. It feels so good.”
“I’m not going to stop, lass. Not until ye shatter into a million pieces.”
Their gazes locked, and her mouth opened as if to say something else, before she threw her head back, his name the only word she released into the room. He rode her until all her pleasure was spent and he’d drawn out as much of her orgasm as he could.
Ben pushed, once, twice but didn’t dare take his pleasure any further, and he pulled out to stroke his cock and spill his seed over her heaving stomach. There was something innately dirty, but exciting, at marking a woman in such a way. He took a nearby rag and wiped her stomach clean before Kenzie rolled over to lay in his arms when he flopped beside her.
“That was the best,” she said, flinging her arm over his waist and closing her eyes. “I enjoyed that immensely.”
Ben frowned, not wanting to imagine her in the throes of pleasure with anyone but himself. He ran a hand over her back, pulling her close. “Not all men give their women such enjoyment. Why, the next imbecile ye sleep with may be a dud, and not even know which hole to put his cock into.”
She chuckled against his chest and placed a light kiss over his heart. “With such a good teacher as I’ve had tonight, I’m sure I can bestow my learning onto them, enough to make even you proud.”
Ben grunted a noncommittal reply. He wanted to murder the bastard who would even think to touch his Kenzie. Was she trying to drive him mad with such thoughts of others in her bed? Something told him she was. “Do not test me, lass. Ye may not like what happens when ye do.” Or she’d like it too much and want more of the same. Which was quite fine with him.
“Really?” she said, looking up and meeting his gaze. “And what would your punishment be?”
Wild thoughts about taking her again, not just in this bed, but wherever they found themselves alone, bombarded his mind. Kenzie had been affectionate and active in his bed; to the core of his very soul, he believed that she would enjoy whatever he proposed. “Would ye like to find out?”
The glide of her hand drifted down his abdomen and settled against his already hardening cock. She slid a finger down its length, and he clenched his jaw, wanting her to wrap her fingers about his girth and stroke.
“I would,” she said, doing what he wanted. Could this lass read his mind?
Ben rolled her onto her back, kissing her deeply, before showing her exactly what happened to twenty-first-century-women-who-teased-Highland-lords.
…
Kenzie woke up with a start, the sun’s bright rays slicing into the room through the windows that housed multiple panes of square glass. She sat up, feeling Ben’s gaze on her without even looking at him. Not that she wasn’t aware of his lovely, pleasing, sprawled body beside her, because she was. Terribly aware.
“What are ye doing, lass? I hope ye don’t regret ye decision of last eve.” He rolled on to his back and stretched, reminding her of a well-satisfied cat. She lost herself in the sight of him, the memory of what he’d done to her, more than once the night before, making her blush.
“I had a nightmare.” One that she couldn’t tell Ben about for it was about him and the fate that beheld him. Of faceless men who seized the castle, killing everyone with no regard and chasing down Ben, slicing him from behind, where he fell face down, his eyes sightless toward where she stood watching it all. She shivered and threw back the blankets to get out of bed.
Ben reached over, pulling her back toward him. His arm may as well have been a steel vice for her effort to remove it. He kissed her shoulder, and the delectable nerves that only he brought forth fluttered in her belly. “You’re safe, Kenzie. I’m not sure what ye dream was about, but I’ll protect ye with my own life if it comes to that. Ye have nothing to fear here when you’re with me.”
“I know I am. It was just a dream, I’ll forget it soon enough.” Liar… She snuggled up against his chest. If only she could stay situated such, life would be perfect. With the animal skins surrounding them and the hard planes of muscle that held her close, Kenzie fought not to feel more than she ought toward the Highlander. She was here to find out and possibly stop who threatened his life. To learn all she could about Castle Ross’s layout for the restoration that awaited her in her time. And to perhaps have a lot of hot sex in-between. Nothing more.
Yeah right. I am delusional if I think that is all I am here for.
Sleeping together was a mistake, there was no doubt about that, but emotions and feelings couldn’t be allowed to grow. No deep, gut-wrenching ones that broke your heart when something bad happened. They could be friends only. Friends with benefits.
“Why did ye travel here? Really?” His tone was serious, and she wondered if he suspected her of anything.
Kenzie had two choices, tell him the truth or half-truth. She opted for the latter. “To be with you before I return home. I want to get to know more about you, your son, and your home. Your life here at Castle Ross. If you’ll allow me to stay that is.”
He mulled over her words before he met her gaze. “I’m glad ye came, and I’m only too willing to let ye warm my bed for the weeks that you’ll be here.”
“You don’t mind me coming uninvited? Halfway here, I wasn’t sure if it was the best plan. And with your child still being a baby, I didn’t want to be a burden.”
“You’ve already improved my sleeping arrangements.” He kissed her quickly before rolling off the bed and walking over to the fire, standing before it as naked as the day he was born. Man, his butt i
s nice. “And I want ye to meet Alasdair. I’ve not been home long myself, and I’m amazed at how grown he is.”
Kenzie followed him to the fire and wrapped her arms about his waist from behind. “You sounded sad when you said that. Are ye worried about having spent so much time away from Alasdair when he was only a few weeks old?” It was a reasonable assumption. Not that Kenzie would ever have done such a thing, but she wasn’t Ben. He’d just lost his wife during what should’ve been one of the happiest times of his life. It was no wonder he ran away and sought to forget all his problems. People handled situations differently, and she needed to remember that.”
“He has forgotten me, but I intend to remedy that. I’ll soon have him knowing exactly who his father is and who loves him most in the world.”
Kenzie squeezed him a little harder. “I know you will and he’s a baby. He’ll soon know you again.” She looked up at him. “Will you let me meet him?”
Ben turned and wrapped his arms about her, his dark, unruly hair making him seem more rugged and untamed than ever before. But it didn’t matter how dangerous he looked, under his armor the man had a heart of gold. One that worried his boy had forgotten him and no longer needed his father, just the servants who’d taken care of him.
“Of course, ye can, lass. I’ll introduce ye after we break our fast.”
Chapter Nine
After they had broken their fast in the great hall, Kenzie followed Ben up to the third story of the castle where Aline had set up a nursery for Alasdair. The room was as large as Kenzie’s and just as cozy. Thick animal skins covered the floor and a large fire burned in the grate. This room had narrower windows, which looked out toward the woodland. Tapestries hung from three of the walls, cocooning the room even more. Aline had done a beautiful job with the stone-cold space that most castles were renowned for, and a twinge of sadness pricked Kenzie that she’d not lived to enjoy her child.
A wet-nurse sat with Alasdair in her lap, feeding the six-month-old when they entered. The little boy, with a light fluttering of dark curls atop his head, seemed to have fallen asleep while eating and took turns suckling before sleeping again. It was the cutest thing Kenzie had ever seen.
The nurse stood and placed the boy into the cot before righting her cloths. She bobbed a curtsy to Ben. “My liege, may I be of some assistance to ye?”
Ben looked into the cot, reaching out to push the locks of hair off the boy’s forehead. “I want to introduce ye to Kenzie, a relative to Sir Braxton and Gwendolyn Macleod. She’s staying with us for a few months and may attend on Alasdair whenever she wishes.”
The older woman’s eyes grew wide at the mention of her impending stay, and Kenzie lifted her chin, not willing to allow anyone to look down on her for doing something that was right and what she wanted more than anything. Being here with Ben was the second-best choice she’d made since traveling back to medieval Scotland, other than meeting Gwen and Braxton. They may think her fast, a woman of loose morals, but she didn’t care. Let them talk. It was nothing to her.
The woman nodded. “Very good, my lord. Did ye wish to visit with the wee Alasdair now? I can come back after I take the bairn’s clothes down for washing.”
“That would be welcome. Thank you, Ginny.”
Once the woman was gone, perhaps even now racing downstairs to tell everyone that the laird was showing the baby to a woman who wasn’t his wife, Kenzie walked up to the cot.
The small boy lay sound asleep, his hair similar to Ben’s in color and impending curls. He also had similar-shaped eyes, and the nose was exactly the same. As for the boy’s mouth, it was plumper than Ben’s, and no doubt came from his mama. The thought that Ben made beautiful babies flittered through Kenzie’s mind.
She shook off thoughts of children with the Highlander. They were not useful or helpful at all. “He’s beautiful, Ben. I can see why you were in a rush to come home. And if you don’t mind, I’d love to help you take care of him, help you to get to know him before I leave.”
He smiled, with a look of pure adoration and love toward the boy. “I didn’t know how much I had missed the lad until I saw him again. He was barely weeks old when I left. An action I will regret always, but he’s not gone backward since my departure. If anything, he has only grown stronger. He’ll be a great warrior one day.”
The little baby flinched at something in his dreams, and Kenzie smiled, unable to stop herself from reaching out and touching his soft-as-silk baby cheek. “He’s been cared for well. Your staff are a credit to you.”
“Aye, they are. But I’m filled with shame that it was not only this babe that brought me home but another threat. One that I’ve not told ye of.”
Kenzie already knew of the threat, but she let him tell her himself. If Ben was willing to discuss his life with her, allow her to help him, discuss things that could possibly be troubling him, then she would welcome being his support.
“What was the reason?” she asked.
“Aline’s father, the Laird of Clan Grant visited here while I was away. Her father and Evan, Aline’s brother, made their displeasure at our marriage known from the time of our elopement. In fact, they came here after our marriage and demanded she return with them and forget the error of her ways.” A grin tweaked his lips, and he met Kenzie’s gaze. “She did not. In fact, she gave them a well-deserved set-down and eventually, they came around. Although they’ve never liked me, and vice versa, I will admit, but we respected each other while around Aline.”
Kenzie could just imagine how Highland Scots of this time took the news when their daughters and sons married without consent. Marriages of this time were made usually to form alliances, strengthen clans, and ensure more power in different locales about the land.
“From what I’ve heard, they really wanted Aline to marry Laird Macleod. Did you ever think there was much love between Aline and Aedan? From what Gwen has told me, if he’d married her, it would’ve been out of duty and the keep’s need. Not because he wished to.”
“Aye, the marriage would’ve been a disaster had it gone ahead, and thanks to me and my seductive charms, Aedan was able to marry the woman he loved.”
“Abby is lovely.”
“She is that, and Aedan is a besotted fool when it comes to his twenty-first-century wife. She is kind and honest and mayhap just as smart as you.”
Kenzie chuckled. “How hard was it for you to admit such a thing? Something tells me getting a compliment out of you isn’t the easiest thing.”
“’Tis not,” he said, pulling the blanket up on his son’s chest when it slipped. “But I’ll make an exception with you, for it’s true.” His carefree visage twisted to concern.
“Clan Grant are up to something, and I have to find out what. They stayed here for some time. It doesn’t bode well, and I can’t help but feel they’re warning me to be on guard.”
“You think the Laird Grant will cause problems for you, even though you’re the father of their grandson? You may have married Aline under false pretenses, but it certainly didn’t continue along that same vein. Why do you think he’s still angry at you?” The more Kenzie heard of Clan Grant the more she was positive it was them who rid Scotland of the famous Laird of Ross. It certainly seemed to point toward them, but one really couldn’t be sure in medieval Scotland. Anything was possible, she supposed.
“While I will admit to never being close with the Grants, we were certainly never at odds over anything. I can only assume his residual anger toward me is solely due to Aline’s death. They blame me.”
“Well, they shouldn’t blame you. Anyone can die in childbirth. Hell, women in my time are still passing away, unfortunately. Terrible things happen, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Life is what it is.” Ben didn’t reply, just stared down at his boy.
“Should we let him sleep? I can come back later and have a hold. Maybe we could bring Alasdair downstairs to spend some time with us in the great hall. I’m sure some of your clansmen would enjoy seeing him, to
o.”
The door to the chamber opened and in walked the wet-nurse, holding a bundle of what looked like freshly laundered clothing. “Did ye wish me to come back, my Laird?”
Ben tucked his son in some more and took Kenzie’s hand, holding it in his own. Kenzie noted the nurse’s gaze latch onto the embrace, but the woman masked whatever thoughts she had over the contact.
“Nay, we’ll let Alasdair sleep, but when he wakes and is fed, please have him brought down to the hall. I will spend some time with him there.”
“Very good, m’lord.” The woman bobbed another quick curtsy before going about her duties.
With one last look at his boy, Ben pulled Kenzie from the room, making their way downstairs. “Did ye wish for a tour about the castle and grounds, lass? Alasdair will be asleep for a while, so we have time.”
“I’d love a tour. I didn’t get to see much of it when I first arrived.” Other than Ben’s bedroom, and by the knowing smile on his face he understood the meaning behind her words.
“Well, this is the third floor, houses the nursery, Alasdair’s wet-nurse, my head housekeeper, and manservant. In the attic space live the other maids, if they don’t still live with their family or husbands in the village—a short walk from here.”
“We didn’t pass a village. I didn’t know one was so close.” Kenzie wondered what town it was, and then it came to her. “You mean Dornie. I would love to see what it looks like in this time. Not that it’s a bustling city in mine, but I would like to see what its origins were like.”
“We shall go there. I promise ye.” They went down one level and onto the floor that housed Ben’s and her bedchamber. “This level is for guests, and myself, of course. There are twelve rooms in total—most with the same layout. Although mine has a secret entrance that I’ll show ye one day. Just in case.”
Kenzie didn’t like the sound of that but could understand his need to show her. “Let’s hope that I’ll never have to use it.”
They walked along the corridor toward their rooms. He stopped before a narrow cupboard that sat against the wall. Opening its front door, he squatted and pushed at the back of the cupboard where a small twang was heard before the back swung open and showed the entrance into a stone room beyond.
