My gaze lands on the table in the middle of the kitchen. "Looks like you finished up without me."

  "Aye. But you can help me later if ye like, when I wash our clothes."

  "Sure, I'm happy to lend a hand. Do you wash everything here in the kitchen?"

  Morna laughs softly. "No, gràidh. We wash everything in the river."

  I must be gaping like a cartoon character. "The river that the garderobe stuff flows into?"

  She laughs even more this time. "No, dearie. Well, yes, actually. But we cast a spell to cleanse the water before it ever leaves the garderobe channel."

  "But Kieran said all the dirty water goes into the river. He suggested that if I want to bathe in the river, I should do it upstream from the garderobe channel."

  Morna shakes her head while smiling. "Kieran believes that, aye. But only because we never told him about the water cleansing spell. He wouldn't have approved. Believe me, everything that flows from Dùndubhan into the river is as clean as water blessed by the Lord himself."

  I can believe Kieran wouldn't approve of what his aunts did. But their little magical sanitation project makes me feel a whole lot better. Maybe one day I will swim in the river. But not while Simidh Gunn is out there prowling around, plotting who knows what.

  On the night that marks my third week in medieval Scotland, Kieran and I head for our bedchamber as usual. We both undress, though I keep my chemise on while he wears a long nightshirt. I miss seeing his naked body, and I've started to wonder if he feels uncomfortable with nudity unless we're having sex. It's time to ask him about that.

  Kieran has just finished getting naked and is climbing onto the bed. I'm sitting up, leaning back against the wall, trying to work up the nerve to broach the subject. When did I become a coward? Suck it up, woman.

  I clear my throat. "Are you ever going to make love to me again? Or are you tired of me?"

  He veers his gaze to me. "Dinnae be daft, lass."

  "You haven't answered my question."

  "I assumed you would want to abstain since you declared that you don't wish to marry me."

  "That's what you think? If I don't want to marry you, that means I never want you to touch me again. That's 'daft,' Kieran."

  He lies down on his back, hands clasped over his belly, and stares up at the ceiling. "You might already be with child."

  "I'm not. I had my period a few days after I came to Dùndubhan." I suddenly realize he will have no idea what that means. Medieval women must've had a different term for it. "I meant that I, um, had my monthly bleeding?"

  "Oh, aye, that."

  Thank goodness he understood that. Not sure I want to try to explain the menstrual cycle to him.

  Kieran shuts his eyes and sighs heavily. "You are untethered to me."

  "Did you want me to be with child? So I'd have to stay with you?"

  "Nay, but—Pay no heed to what I said."

  I lean toward him to brush my fingers through his hair. "I want to 'pay heed' to everything you say. Please talk to me."

  "About what?"

  "Us."

  He opens his eyes, rotating his head to aim those gorgeous brown eyes at me. "In what manner do you employ the word us?"

  "We need to talk about our relationship. If you want us to have one, or if we're sharing this bed strictly so neither of us has to sleep on the floor."

  Kieran wriggles and grimaces as if he can't quite get comfortable. "Mayhap we should discuss this in the morning."

  "No more avoiding the issue. We need to talk about it now."

  "I am not trying to avoid anything. But your persistence arouses me, and if we continue discussing our association, I will need to fuck you."

  A laugh bubbles out of me. "That's what you're worried about? Relax, Kieran. That's exactly what I wanted to talk about. I miss having sex with you."

  His brows wrinkle in the cute way that always makes me want to kiss him. "You wish for me to fuck you?"

  "Yes, I do."

  "But we might create a bairn if we lie with each other in that manner."

  I've been on the fence about whether I want to have a baby with him. Honestly, I don't even know if I could get pregnant. I'm forty, after all, and that's not the prime age for conceiving a child. But as I lie here with him, gazing into his eyes, a sweet warmth blossoms in my chest, right over my heart, and spreads outward. I'd already realized I love him. Do I want a baby with him? Yeah, I think I do. But I want to be with Kieran even if I can't conceive.

  "I want you, with or without a baby." And it's time I told him the whole truth. "I love you, Kieran."

  He stares at me for a moment without moving or even blinking. Then he pushes up into a sitting position and grasps my hand, kissing the knuckles. "Tha gaol agamsa ort fhèin. That means I love you too, Alyssa."

  "My necklace can't translate what you said. Efrica told me that could happen if there's a strong emotion involved."

  "What I feel for you is stronger than anything I've experienced before."

  "The same for me. Sometime, I'd really like to learn Gaelic."

  He slides a hand into my hair, splaying his fingers over my scalp. "I'll teach you. But not tonight."

  That sweet warmth is spreading throughout my body, setting off a tingling in my sex and heaviness in my lower belly. When he touches his lips to mine, my clit throbs. But I know this time we won't screw each other like sex-starved wantons. No, we both want something more. So I clasp his free hand to my breast and whisper to him.

  "Make love to me, Kieran. Please."

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kieran

  Nothing in the world could make me leave this bedchamber, not even if the castle began to crumble around us. Alyssa asked me to make love to her. I understand what she meant even if I have never heard the phrase before. Her tone of voice and the look in her eyes makes her desire clear. With her breast cradled in my palm, I can do nothing but gaze into her eyes while my slat begins to swell and I struggle to catch my breath.

  Alyssa always steals my breath, my mind, my heart, and my soul. Now I want to show her what that means.

  "Tha mo ghion ort," I murmur. "That means I love you with all my heart. My crann is as hard as the stone walls of this castle, but I dinnae want to rush this time. When I push my slat inside your baltan, we will become one."

  "No more talking, please. Just make love to me."

  "Aye. Whatever you wish, mo chridhe. I will do anything for you."

  I take hold of her chemise's hem with both hands, dragging it up her thigh, over her hip, until I've exposed the auburn hairs at the apex of her thighs. Her breaths have grown heavier, and her breasts rise and fall, a clear sign that she is as aroused as I am. As I continue lifting her chemise, she raises her arms to help me pull the garment off over her head. I toss it away. Just as the chemise flutters down onto the foot of the bed, I strip off my shirt and fling it away as well. I pull back the bedsheet.

  "Lie on your back, mo chridhe."

  Alyssa shimmies into position, now stretched out along the length of the bed with her head on the pillow and her hair fanned out over it. Her eyes shimmer in the flickering light from the hearth. Their blue color seems more intense, darkened by the dilation of her pupils. I straddle her body and allow myself a moment to simply admire the beauty of her body, from the dusky rose of her nipples to the creamy shade of her skin and the pale brown of the freckles that dapple her flesh. I have seen her naked before, yet I had never taken the time to appreciate how bonnie she looks with nothing hiding her figure.

  "Tha thu bòidheach, Alyssa. That means you are beautiful."

  My cock hangs down between our bodies, almost brushing her skin. When I bend my arms just enough to feather my lips over hers, the moisture from my crown transfers onto her skin. I shudder from the arousing sensation. But I can't concentrate on that. The look on her face has stolen my senses and erased the rest of the world. If the earth exploded, I would pay no heed.

  So I kiss her slowly, exploring every inch of her mouth while she glides her hands up my arms to settle them on my shoulders. The aroma of her desire wafts in the air, exciting me even more, but I shan't rush to take her body, not this time. When I give up her mouth and crawl backward little by little, she catches her lip between her teeth and follows my movements. I pause above her breasts to pull one nipple into my mouth and lave it with my tongue until she gasps and clutches the bedsheet beneath her. As her back arches upward, I flick my thumb over the other nipple.

  "Oh, Kieran," she breathes.

  I lift my gaze to her, and the sheer lust on her face steals my breath away. No other woman has ever looked at me the way she does, whether we're fucking or simply talking. She makes me feel as if I could lift the whole world onto my shoulders.

  While she follows my every movement, I lower myself onto her body and crawl backward until my face hovers above the auburn hairs between her thighs. Their silky softness teases my cheeks. The lass spreads her legs for me without the need for me to ask, and I use two fingers to separate her outer folds so I can press my lips to her slick inner folds. The aroma of her juices surrounds me and infiltrates my senses so thoroughly that I can't hold back. I devour her flesh, licking with great fervor while I massage her nub with my thumb. She thrashes her head and cries out.

  Her body goes rigid, and she seems not even to breathe for a brief moment. Then her mouth falls open, but she makes no sound. Still, I know she has reached her pinnacle of pleasure. Lasses always behave this way in that moment, but she looks even more beautiful in the throes.

  As her pleasure subsides, I rise onto my hands and knees to thrust into her hot sheath. The sensation of her slick, soft flesh enveloping me feels wonderful, but I try to keep a measured pace because I vowed to make love to her, not ravish her like a wild beast. The look on her face grows softer, even while she still seems highly aroused, and the lass clasps my face in her hands as if she means to never let go. The merging of our bodies makes the bed creak softly while the scent of her juices fills the air. I bend my arms just enough that I can touch my lips to hers.

  She grips my upper arms, her eyes half-closed and her lips parted. "Oh, Kieran, yes."

  My cock has grown so stiff that I know I won't last much longer, but I experience a desperate need for her to come with me. If I reach down to massage her nub, mayhap she will come. But the way she grips my arms prevents me from doing that, and I dinnae want to break contact—with our eyes or her hands. As our gazes remain bound, I fervently wish for us to climax together. She comes with such languor that I only know it's happening because her fingers dig into my flesh, the spasms of her inner muscles rolling through her like a flower blooming ever so slowly.

  I suck in a breath and struggle to hold on until she finishes. When her neck arches and a wee cry tumbles from her lips, I let go and come. It rolls through me as sensually as her climax had done, urging me to thrust into her with a leisure that makes my heart pound, and when I spill my seed inside her, that flows out of me just as casually.

  The lass wraps her arms around me as I settle my entire body on top of hers. My head rests between her breasts.

  What happened? I've never experienced anything like the way we both came tonight. It felt like…magic. But that's ridiculous. I have no supernatural powers like my aunts do.

  Alyssa skims her hands up and down my back. "What's wrong?"

  "How do you know to ask that question?"

  "Because I know you. Will you tell me what's wrong?"

  'Twill make me sound like an idiot if I tell her. But if I want to be with Alyssa, I must tell her everything. "While we were in the throes, I wished for us to come together, and my wish was granted. Did you not feel the difference between this time and the others?"

  "Yeah, I noticed. It felt almost…magical."

  I lift my head to stare at her. "You felt that too? Does it not bother you?"

  "Why would it bother me? I love you."

  " 'Twas magic. But I do not have such powers."

  "Stop worrying, Kieran. Obviously, you do have powers. Think of that as a gift rather than something to panic about."

  I slide off her body. "After a lifetime of denying what my aunts claim—that I possess powers like theirs—I can't believe it might be true. Of course, you might be the one with such talents."

  "Nope. It's definitely you."

  "Despite my desire to refute that suggestion, I cannot do it. Mayhap you are correct."

  She rolls over onto her side, facing me. "The way you made love to me has left me feeling warm and liquid, like I might melt onto the floor. Let's cuddle up and go to sleep."

  "Aye, that sounds like a good idea."

  The lass drapes her arms and legs over my body and nestles her face against my neck. I listen to her breaths as they grow shallow and quieter, and I know she has fallen asleep. Alyssa always looks bonnier and sweeter in sleep, as if she has shed all the worries that harassed her in the daylight. The rhythmic sounds of her breathing lull me into slumber too.

  I wake in the morning feeling better than I ever have before, as if I could lift the whole castle and reposition it precisely where Alyssa wants it. If I do possess magical powers, then mayhap I could do that. But I've only just begun to accept those powers, and I did not make us come together last night on purpose. I cannot replicate that event.

  But I can give Alyssa a different sort of magic.

  So I pull on my clothes and slip out of the bedchamber, leaving the bonnie lass asleep under the bedsheet. Even my aunts haven't risen yet, which means I have all the time I'll need to craft my surprise. As I return to the bedchamber, I see my aunts emerging from their quarters. They all cast me knowing smiles, but I have no wish to chastise them for their impudence this morning. I'm too well-pleased to care.

  Alyssa is still sleeping when I walk into the room, and I carefully push the door shut behind me so as not to disturb the lass. I shall disturb her shortly, but first, I will lay out our meal. Once I've finished my task, I sit on the bed's edge near her hip and lean over to rest my arm on the pillow above her head. Then I feather a kiss over her lips.

  She stirs but does not rouse.

  I press my lips to hers. "No more sleeping, mo leannan. 'Tis time to rise and enjoy another day."

  She moans, the sound infused with a touch of irritation.

  "Rise, lass, or I'll tickle your belly until you laugh so vigorously that your eyes water."

  "Mm, one more minute."

  I sigh with sarcasm. "You leave me no choice."

  She mumbles and covers her eyes with one hand.

  "As you wish." I pull back the bedsheet and lay my mouth on her belly and blow, keeping up the torture until she does as I predicted. The lass laughs so vigorously that her eyes water. "Will you arise now? Or should I do the same thing down here."

  I move my hand to cover her mound.

  She wipes at her eyes while still grinning from the way I had teased her with my mouth. "Good morning, Kieran."

  "Good morn, lass." I straighten and wave toward the area behind me. "I have prepared a bath for you."

  "Bath?" Her look of surprised excitement makes me want to kiss her, but I restrain the impulse. "How did you do that?"

  "My aunts have a special room for bathing, though they prefer to wash themselves in the river. I created that room after I found an old tub in the bakehouse and cleaned it up."

  "They didn't mention that to me."

  "Your arrival upset our routines, but none of us would complain about that." I slide off the bed, then pick her up and carry the lass to the tub. As I move to lower her into the water, she winces as if in anticipation of diving into cold water—until she feels the warm liquid surrounding her. "I heated the water over the hearth for you."

  "Thank you." She grins as she swishes the water with her hands. "Never thought I'd get a warm bath in the medieval era."

  "You seem to have the idea that men and women of this time are heathens who know naught about hygiene."

  "How often do you bathe?"

  "My aunts do so once a week. I, ah, wait a bit longer."

  She lifts her leg out of the water to nudge my knee with her big toe. "You seem pretty clean to me."

  "I bathed in the river yesterday. Upriver from the garderobe channel."

  Alyssa bites her lip, a mannerism I've come to know means she wants to tell me something but fears how I might react.

  "You can tell me, gràidh. I shan't bark at you."

  "I guess you really don't know." She pushes herself up to sit straighter in the tub. "Your aunts cast a spell that cleanses the water before it even leaves the garderobe channel."

  "They did what?"

  Aye, I might be digging three graves today.

  Chapter Twenty

  Alyssa

  "Don't be mad at them," I say. "Your aunts meant well. They wanted to make sure the water was clean, for drinking and bathing. I shouldn't have told you about that since they didn't tell you themselves. But I don't want you to feel like you have to worry about my health if I decide to go swim in the river. Promise me you won't snarl at them. Your aunts only wanted to help, but they know how you feel about magic."

  "I am not angry."

  "Good." I draw my knees toward my chest. "Then climb in, and we can get clean together."

  He shakes his head slowly. "If I do that, I'll be fucking you within a matter of seconds."

  "I have more faith in your willpower than you do. Give it a try. You might surprise yourself."

  Kieran eyes the tub with suspicion, then steps in and gingerly lowers himself into the water, bending his knees once he's settled. He picks up a sponge that had been lying on the floor and dips it into the water, squeezing out the excess. "Shall I bathe you first?"

  "Sure, I'd love that."

  While he runs the wet sponge over my body, I let my eyes drift shut and simply enjoy the sensations. I do get mildly aroused, but mostly, I let my other senses take over and treat myself to the best massage I've ever had, thanks to the Laird of Dùndubhan. Kieran constantly surprises me with his tenderness, even while he also annoys me sometimes with his bossiness and his insistence that I belong to him. I need to understand more about his past, so I'll know for sure whether we can make a future together.

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25