Highlander's Love: A Scottish Historical Time Travel Romance (Called by a Highlander Book 4)

by Mariah Stone

  Amber was naked from the waist up. She leaned over a basin, frozen with an ewer in one hand, water still pouring over her arm. Her skin glowed in the light of the fireplace, golden-brown against the white cloth.

  So smooth, so inviting, so beautiful.

  He was hard in an instant, pulled towards her as if she’d put a charm on him. Their eyes locked. Her sweet, full lips parted. Fire played in her dark eyes.

  She loved him. He was going to battle. He needed to explain to her why he couldn’t be with her.

  Only he couldn’t think of a single reason.

  Lightning flashed outside and brought him out of his stupor. He crossed the space between them and stood in front of her in a moment. She dropped the ewer and it splashed water on them both.

  He didn’t care. He took in every detail of her pretty face. Her long eyelashes, the thin scar above her eyebrow, lips so full and so desirable, he didn’t think he’d seen anything more beautiful.

  “God, help me,” he whispered.

  Forgetting everything, he plunged his hands into her hair and kissed her. The moment their lips touched, thunder cracked the sky above them in a deafening roll. Owen’s blood turned to fire. She gave out a small, feminine whimper, a mixture of surprise and pleasure, and wrapped her arms around his back, pressing herself to him.

  He kissed her with more vigor, only now realizing how starved he was for her. How much his soul, his body, and his heart had been deprived of her this whole time.

  She melted against him, arching her back into him, one hand burying into his hair at the back of his head, pulling him closer to her.

  He wanted her so badly, he was ready to go fight the whole world to have her. Her mouth was delicious and wanton, responding to his kisses with the same passion as his. His hands shook, and he could barely breathe.

  He wanted to take her like an animal. Make her his. He picked her up and carried her to his bed. He laid her down and stretched beside her.

  Eyeing him from under her eyelashes, she asked, “What about you not being the man for me? That you can never be—”

  “All lies. All I can think of is ye. I burn for ye. I live for ye. I havena really lived before ye. I’m only starting to live now.”

  He moved his mouth to her neck and started kissing her there, inhaling the clean, feminine scent of her skin. He gently nibbled his way down her neck, and she rewarded him with a throaty moan that made him all but burst into flames.

  Down he went, brushing his lips over her silky, perfect skin. When he reached her breasts, he had to stop himself to admire the dark nipples, the round, full, beautiful hemispheres. He reached down and bit her nipple.

  “Ohhhh…” she cried.

  “Sorry, lass, was that too much?”

  “No. Oh, no. Do it again.”

  He obliged, taking the whole nipple into his mouth and sucking. She arched her back into him, her eyes rolling into her head. He covered her other breast with the palm of his hand and began gently twisting the nub between his fingers.

  “Owen…” she whimpered breathlessly.

  “Aye, my sweet lass.”

  “Ah…”

  The sound that was born out of her throat sent a jolt of pleasure right into his groin. He’d never heard anything so beautiful and alluring. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her. Touch her everywhere. Dissolve with her.

  Lose himself in her.

  Amber was in heaven. Something like bliss was building inside her. She felt like a wild creature, with no thoughts of yesterday, and no worry about tomorrow. Her body was free, living to follow its instinct.

  Because she trusted him.

  There was no fear he’d hurt her. No worry that if she moved the wrong way, he’d get too excited and hurt her.

  She wanted him. Everywhere. His mouth on her breasts, his skin on her skin, him buried deep inside her. She rolled from the bed and stood before him. Owen’s eyes filled with awe, and her chest tightened with a sweet ache. She pushed the night shift down her hips.

  “God almighty, there’s nae a woman more beautiful than ye,” he whispered, his eyes dark and intense and burning.

  The words were like a caress over her skin.

  “You’re not so bad yourself.” She let his gaze run up and down her body, for the first time in her life, she wanted to be this open. Wanted him to see her.

  She came back to bed, climbing over him and straddling him. He sat up and took her into his arms. She winced as his hand touched her tender scars.

  “Forgive me, lass,” he murmured, kissing her chest above her breasts.

  “It’s nothing.” She cupped his face. “Your touch is healing.”

  His eyes gained the dark intensity of malachite. “No one has ever said that to me before. I’ve been nothing but trouble.”

  “To me, you’ve been nothing but a blessing.”

  He kissed her tenderly, taking his time, as though kissing her was his only purpose in the world. When she was breathless, he pulled away and went back to her breasts. He suckled on the hard bud of her nipple, sending an electrical jolt of pleasure through her. Hungrily, he sucked harder and took more of her breast into his mouth, his tongue working wonders around the nipple.

  He moved to the other nipple and bit it ever so slightly, and a throaty moan escaped Amber. He slid his hand between her legs and brushed his fingers up and down her cleft. A tremor of pleasure ran through Amber.

  “Does that please ye, lass?” he murmured.

  “Yes…”

  He released a masculine sound of satisfaction and slipped his fingers between her folds. He found her swollen, sensitive knot and began rubbing it gently up and down and in circles. Amber gasped as a small convulsion went through her.

  He laid her gently on her back, then settled himself between her thighs and put his mouth on her. Sweat misted Amber’s skin. A trembling moan escaped her throat. Her breath gusted as he spread her folds and licked between them. The flutters of his tongue teased her, driving her crazy. She dug her fingers into his hair, her pelvis bucking with the rhythm of his mouth.

  He drove her to a delirious peak of blinding pleasure, making noises as though he was about to fall apart, not her. He inserted a finger inside her and began circling it, bringing her to the next level.

  An intense, magnificent pleasure was building in her, and with a loud moan, she exploded and fell apart like stardust. She tightened in a ferocious convulsion, a blazing eruption. The orgasm cascaded through her in a searing wave.

  Owen climbed up and stretched next to her, taking her into his arms.

  “Ye’re so bonnie when ye find yer release. I havena seen anything so beautiful as ye,” he said, his voice a husky rasp.

  Amber opened her eyes and met his gaze, breathless. Love for him spread through her, and she thought she’d never seen anyone as handsome as he. He eyed her with male pride and a sense of possessiveness. He traced a finger down her cheek, down her neck and towards her breast, circling her nipple gently with his knuckle. It hardened from sweet pleasure in response. The sensation shot straight through her core.

  Amber bit her lower lip, surprised at her reaction. She’d just come, and yet she was ready to go again.

  Yes, she thought in surprise, yes. She wanted him. She wanted him inside her, driving into her, owning her, making her his.

  She reached out and kissed him, trailing her fingers down his hard body, over the crisp hair on his chest, his solid six-pack, and down to his erection. She circled the base of his cock, and he sucked in air with a hiss.

  “Lass…” he groaned, his voice a hot warning.

  “Hmm,” she mused and began stroking his hardness up and down.

  A low, animallike growl escaped his throat. “Christ, these sweet, sweet hands…” He looked at her with an insatiable hunger.

  “I canna hold much longer, lass…” His voice was thick and husky. “I want ye… Will ye be mine?”

  Be his…

  “Yes.”

  He rose to his
knees and with a lightning-fast movement, he yanked her up towards him. It was too fast. Too hard. For a brief moment, it reminded her of being with Bryan.

  “No!” Amber straightened as a ribbon of fear twisted in her gut. “Not too rough.”

  “Lass, ye can trust me. I’ll never do anything to hurt ye.”

  That was something she knew without a shadow of a doubt. Owen had protected her ferociously and saved her life several times.

  “But you’ll see my scars… They’re ugly, and they’ll never go away…”

  He kissed her and pressed his forehead against her. “There’s nothing ugly about ye. Ye’re the most perfect woman that has ever walked the earth.”

  “But—”

  “I want ye. Scars and all.”

  He turned her around so that she was on all four and started kissing her scars so gently it felt like cool feathers stroking her heated flesh. The onslaught of emotion brought tears to her eyes. He turned her face to him and kissed her mouth. She reached out between her legs and took his cock. She directed it to her entrance and arched her back to let him inside her.

  He pushed in and entered her, filling her.

  “So soft and warm, lass,” he groaned.

  Every rock-hard inch of him stretched her. She expanded in all directions, warm and pliable, like modeling clay in his hands. He cupped both her breasts and played with her nipples, rolling them between his thumbs and index fingers, sending waves of sheer elation through her.

  He glided in and out of her, his lips on her mouth, his hands on her breasts, naked lust in every stroke of his tongue. He made chest-deep grunts, like he couldn’t get enough of her. And when she didn’t think she could take any more, his hand went between her legs and pinched her clit. She shuddered and cried out as glorious waves of pleasure assaulted her from all sides.

  She tilted her head back as he dove inside of her in long, unyielding strokes, continuing to fondle her swollen clit. She bucked back with his every thrust, her breath ragged.

  Owen continued murmuring how perfect she was in his arms, how beautiful she was, how much he wanted her, and how he couldn’t ever get enough of her. Time slowed, and Amber had the wildest sensation of falling into the center of the world.

  Sweat misted her skin, her body shook on the edge of a climax. Intense, out-of-control spasms began to build within her. A wave of pleasure slammed into her, and her muscles tightened. The spasms racked her body and she convulsed in white-hot, blinding bliss.

  Owen stiffened, growled like an animal, and thrust into her with the hiss of her name. They collapsed on the mattress, warm and lax and hugging each other.

  As Amber looked into Owen’s eyes, the fog of naked lust faded away, and her heart started to hurt again. Was he just hungry for her, or had this meant more?

  She needed to know.

  But as she opened her mouth to ask, he turned away, an expression of regret clouding his face.

  Chapter 29

  What the hell did I just do?

  As the warmth and heaviness started leaving his sated body, cold realization crept into his mind.

  He’d just done exactly what he’d promised himself he wouldn’t do. Lose his head. Give in to distraction. He sat up, leaving the gorgeous, warm body of the woman he loved. His heart missed a beat at the loss of her touch, and his skin chilled.

  “I shouldna have…” Owen said.

  She sat up, too, gathering the blanket and clutching it to her chest. He couldn’t bear to look into her eyes. Fear gripped his heart. This distraction might ruin any chance of a successful battle tomorrow. Now that he’d tasted this woman, knew what it was like to lie with her, to have her trembling and shaking from pure pleasure around him, he never wanted this to stop.

  He knew he couldn’t afford to let his feeling guide any of his decisions. He couldn’t trust himself. His heart and his head always led him in two different directions.

  “Why?” she said, hurt tight in her voice. “Was it bad?”

  He turned to her. “Bad? That was the closest I’ve ever felt to God.”

  Her expression was part surprise, part understanding, part wonder.

  “Then why?” she said on an exhale.

  “Because I ken now just like I ken that the sun will rise on the morn that one time with ye will never be enough.”

  Amber inhaled a shaky breath. “Then what’s the problem? I don’t want us to stop at one time, either.”

  Owen slouched and ran his fingers through his hair. “My whole life, every mistake I’ve ever made was because I’ve let my cock lead me. I canna allow it now, not when the king himself has appointed me to lead his troops.”

  “That’s all I am to you?” she said, her voice breaking from hurt. “A distraction? Something your cock can’t resist?”

  She may as well have just stabbed him with a knife right in his heart.

  “Nae, mo chridhe.” No, my heart. “Ye’re so much more. Ye’re everything.”

  Her eyes widened. She inhaled shakily again and moved closer to him, just an inch.

  “But ’tis precisely the problem. My heart is full with ye. And when my heart is full, and my cock throbs, my head stops working. I need my head tomorrow. I need my head to be a clear.”

  She groaned. “But it doesn’t need to be like this. People love. They can be happy with someone and still focus.”

  “Lass…”

  She covered his forearm with her hand. “I can help you focus. We can be each other’s support systems.”

  Owen’s heart ached. How he wished he believed this could be true. How he wished he could have everything—to have Amber and be the man he wanted to be. He reached for her and cupped her face, her bonnie, perfect skin like flower petals against his fingers.

  But that was simply impossible for him. A life where he was a responsible leader and had the woman he loved in his arms was only a dream.

  “’Tis good that ye leave tomorrow, lass. And I’m sorry if I hurt ye. But we canna be together. If I want to be a leader worthy of my king’s trust, a leader my clan deserves, I canna let my feelings for ye cloud my judgment.” He shook his head. “Based on my previous mistakes, that can be lethal.”

  He thought of Kenneth, of Lachlan, of his grandfather. Of so many more lives lost in the feud with the MacDougalls.

  “Owen…”

  But before she could say something to change his mind, he stood, pulling his breeches up, then his tunic and his shoes.

  “Too much is at stake, Amber. The king’s life, the lives of my clansmen. Your life.”

  Amber stood and wrapped the blanket around herself, her shoulders and her arms still bare. God, she had the most beautiful, sculpted shoulders, the muscles on her biceps clearly defined in a feminine way. He itched to brush his tongue along them.

  That was exactly why he couldn’t stay.

  Amber’s eyes filled with hurt. “You know what, Owen. Go. Whatever. I never should have said anything about loving you. Now you feel like you’ve won, don’t you?”

  Owen frowned. “Won?”

  “Yeah. Won. Got the girl. Because all you have are bullshit excuses. You’ve always been a player, haven’t you? All you wanted was a piece of ass from another time, am I right?”

  All wrong. All lies. But it was better this way, anyway. Better she believed that and left and never returned. He walked to the door, opened it, but turned to look at her for the last time.

  “If I never see ye again”—his throat fought the onslaught of emotion—“I want ye to ken ye’re the best part of my whole life.”

  He left, aching as though he’d just torn his heart from his chest and left it with her.

  Chapter 30

  They marched early the next day. As the castle got smaller and smaller in the distance, Owen finally allowed himself to look back at the tower where his bedchamber was, hoping he’d get a final glance at Amber. The window was heartbreakingly empty.

  Leaving without saying goodbye to her was one of the hardest thin
gs he’d ever done.

  The back of his horse swayed as he rode. The trees to the right rustled in the wind. Loch Awe to his left was stormy and gray with angry waves clashing against each other. They went northeast to bend around the loch’s most northern point.

  The Bruce was worried that MacDougall had planted scouts that would spot the army moving, so James Douglas had gone ahead with his archers to position them above where the ambush would take place.

  Owen rode next to his father, Craig, Ian, and Domhnall. Their whole clan rode behind them, along with the Mackenzies, Camerons, Macleans, Mackintoshes, MacKinnons, and others. The king, Uncle Neil, and the rest of the knights rode in front of them.

  The way was windy and cold after the storm of last night. Even the small army of men following him wasn’t enough to make Owen focus on the task ahead. Even with the wind blowing in his face and the breathtaking beauty of Loch Awe that opened up in front of him, all he saw in his mind was the beauty of the woman he loved.

  Time passed quickly, even though they made one quick stop to rest. The closer they got to the Pass of Brander, the tenser the men got, the wearier their faces grew.

  They arrived early afternoon on the same day. Through the gaps between branches and leaves, Owen saw three birlinns, West Highland ships, on the river.

  “MacDougalls,” he muttered and pointed for his father and his brothers to see. He exchanged a glance with Ian and Craig.

  Tension in Owen’s shoulders released. The enemy was here, just like he knew they would be. He hadn’t let his king and his clan down.

  “Ye were right, son,” Dougal said, narrowing his eyes at the river.

  “Aye,” Craig said. “Well done, brother.”

  They reached the mouth of the Pass. To their right, the steep flank of Ben Cruachan started. Owen saw a small mountain path starting between rare bushes and trees up the slope. He’d take that path with his men as soon as the king gave him the signal.