HISTORICAL ROMANCE: Scottish Romance: Scars of a Highlander (Highlander Alpha Male Romance) (Historical Fantasy Scottish Time Travel Romance Short Stories) (3 page)

She had learned much about the world that she had woken up in too, and as she opened her eyes on what was to be the eighth day of being lost in time, her stomach sank as she realized what it meant. Her father the red haired man had told her about the upcoming battle. He had told her that’s why they were camping out so far away from their village and it was today that the battle was due to start.

Martha pushed her legs out of the cold bed and shivered when the even colder air hit her. She walked over to her wardrobe and threw on her gown, before she walked out into the quiet settlement that hadn’t quite woken up yet. She walked over to Henry’s tent without making a sound and then pushed open the curtains, so that she could walk in.

Henry and Martha had been spending a lot of time together since they had first met. Martha had grown quite fond of his sense of humor and warm smile that seemed to reach all the way up to his eyes. At first she had felt guilty knowing that Ross was out there somewhere in time, but she quickly pushed those feelings away as the desire between her and Henry seemed to build up. There was something about him that reminded Martha of Ross. It was, perhaps, the way that he made her feel as though every smile, his lips gave was for her, or the way that his eyes filled with warmth whenever he looked at her.

She walked over to his bed and gently shook his shoulder. “Are you awake?” She asked quietly, although she already knew that he wasn’t.

“Well, I am now.” He said with a chuckle as he turned over and smiled at Martha.

Martha stood and smiled right back at him for a moment, before she felt his warm arms wrap around her waist and pull her onto the bed with him. She laughed as he lifted up the covers and let her slip inside.

“It’s freezing out there.” He said, as he pulled her even closer to him with his arm.

Martha could feel her body wrapping around him, as his skin seeped heat into her. “It certainly is.” She agreed.

“Do you know?” Henry said and then he paused, as he brushed back a bit of Martha’s hair behind her ear. “That I can’t remember what life was like before I met you.” He said gently. “It sounds stupid doesn’t it? We’ve only known each other such a short time and yet, my life didn’t really begin until I saw those beautiful green eyes of yours.”

“I know what you mean.” Martha said without really thinking. “I feel as though I’ve known you all of my life.” She said and she turned her body so that their eyes were meeting against the dusky light that was just starting to brighten up the day.

They said nothing to each other. Martha could feel the tip of her nose brushing against Henry’s, but she didn’t try to move away. She could feel the heat from his breath, as it caressed her cheek and she closed her eyes, so that she could soak up the moment without any distractions. That’s when she felt Henry’s lips brush against hers. The kiss was slow and soft at first. She could feel his lips, as they learnt their way around hers. She could feel his kiss as is deepened and started to fill with a hunger that she was could already feel.

She shifted herself closer to him and found that her whole body was pressed against his. She could feel his heart beating hard against her hand, which she had rested on his chest and she pushed his kisses back, as she began to give him her own. The moment melted away with each other them lost in the other, until Martha felt a wave of tingles running up her spine, as Henry’s hand slid up her leg and pushed gently for them to part.

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t move. She was too afraid that any gesture from her might scare him away and she didn’t want him to stop. She desperately didn’t want him to stop, as he lowered his lips from her lips to her neck and started to leave a trail of kisses down to her collar bone. She could feel her skin starting to speckle with goose bumps, but she didn’t care. His every touch was like bliss to her. She could feel her body crying out for more every time he moved away and she knew that he had complete control over her.

Their eyes met again, as he lowered his lips from her collar bone and started to work his way over to her heaving chest. She could feel the hot little touches from his lips, as he started to kiss her breast and then circle his tongue around her hardening nipple. She could see her breath hanging in the air in animated clouds, as she breathed heavily and tried to control the deep desire to moan loudly. He closed his lips around her nipple and she felt his teeth graze against it. A shiver shot up her spine and caused her to call out, before she could stop the nose. He moved his teeth again and the same feeling shot through her, but this time seemed to end between her legs.

The sudden attention change to the space between her legs surprised her, as she felt a sudden void that needed to be filled. She could feel herself getting wet over his every touch and her mind was already showing her all the things that he could do. She watched with excitement as his hand slipped up her leg again and this time brushed up against her panties, which she was sure were hot and damp.

She shivered at his touch and looked at him with eyes that begged for more. She needed him in a way that she had never needed anybody. She could feel her whole body crying out for his touch. She could feel her heart growing giddy with anticipation of what was to come and then the whole world went silent, as she felt him sliding closer to her and his hardness pressed against her hip. She let her hand fall from his chest, as she playfully traced a line down his chest and then across his hardness.

She could hear the way his breath got caught in his lungs, as she started to lightly run her hand up and down on his hardness. She could feel the way it throbbed over her touch. She could feel the way his body was building up with excitement over being with her.

“I can’t wait any longer.” She whispered to him, as his hardness throbbed to the same rhythm that she could feel between her legs.

He didn’t say anything. He just held her eyes and climbed on top of her. She was surprised to find that he’d managed to distribute his weight through his legs and she could barely feel his weight, as he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her deeply and passionately. She closed her eyes, as the moment took her away and then she felt his hand sliding down his hardness as he directed it to her. She held her breath as she waited for him to give her what she needed. She could feel her lungs burning with hunger, as she her head fell back and he thrust inside of her, filling her in a way that she was sure she would never feel again.

******

The next morning was quieter than usual.  The men of the camp had gone to explore the nearby highlands for new land worthy of migrating onto and to maybe even return with dinner. Martha had heard the silence fall over 3 hours ago, but no one had come back to camp yet. She had begged her father to allow her to go explore with the men and when that failed, she had appealed to Henry too, but neither of them had allowed her to leave with them. Instead, she had been waiting back at the camp alone in this still strange world.

She stood up when she heard the squelching of footsteps against the wet earth that was outside of the tent. She walked over quickly and pulled open the curtains to find that the men were returning to the camp. She scanned the crowd for the two faces that she most wanted to see and felt her heart drop into her stomach, when she realized that Henry was being carried by two other men.

She rushed over to him without a thought for herself and instantly felt tears pricking in the corner of her eyes. Henry was awake, but she could tell from the glazed over expression in his eyes that he wouldn’t be for long. His leather protectors had been stained with a deep red liquid that Martha could tell was blood. She looked at Henry’s almost limp body and found the source of the bleeding.

He had been slashed with a sword to his stomach. They accidently stumbled onto another clan’s territory, and negotiation was not an option. She could see the steady flow of blood pouring out of the cut and the panic that set into her body, as she realized that the injury was too great for any hopes of a recovery. She followed the men who were carrying him into his tent and then she knelt by his bed.

“Henry.” She said softly as tears streamed down her face in silent sorrow.

“It’s going to be alright.” Henry said, but his voice already sounded faint.

“I can’t do this without you, Henry.” Martha said and she shook her head. “Don’t you dare leave me now. I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.” She begged him, but his eyes were already starting to dim.

“Finding you was the perfect ending.” Henry choked out, as he reached out and held her hand as tightly as he could. “You can’t let this stop your happiness. I’ve seen what happiness does to your eyes and it isn’t fair to expect the world to continue without it.” He said and then he started to cough. “Don’t you worry about me; I’ll always be by your side.” He said and then his grip dropped from her hand and she realized that his chest had stopped moving.

Martha threw her arms around his still body and tried to take in its last offering of heat. She could still smell his rugged scent over the coppery smell of blood and she tried to commit it to memory. She could feel an aching in her heart start to intensify, as her tears fell quickly and her body shook with silent sobs. She was ready to leave now. She didn’t want to spend another day away from her home. She wanted to go back and find that Ross was waiting for her. She wanted to open her eyes and find that everything had just been a bad dream. She closed her eyes tightly and started to beg the fates to allow her to go back, because without Henry there was nothing that was worth staying for.

*******

Martha opened her eyes slowly and noticed the dry air that seemed to be surrounding her. She looked around the room and found that the tent walls she had grown used to seeing had been replaced by bricks and mortar. She sighed with relief, as she realized that she had managed to find a way home again.

A noise to the sound of her made her jump and she turned her head quickly. She waited for a moment, as her balance came back and her vision stopped being blurry for her fast movement. It was Ross, lying next to her. He was asleep and his gentle snores were filling the space around them with soothing noise.

“Hey.” Martha said as she gently shook his shoulder.

Ross opened one his eyes and smiled. “Hey gorgeous.” He said and then pulled her closer to him.

“When did you get home?” She asked with a confused face.

“I got in last night. We had to cut the excursion short due to the storm coming. I stumbled in last night, and you were passed out on the kitchen table.” Ross said sleepily, as he opened up his other eye and started to sit up.

“I’ve missed you.” Martha said with a grin as she snuggled her body into his for a moment.

“I’ve missed you too.” Ross said gently as he kissed the top of her head. “You must have been wearing yourself out, for you to fall asleep at the table?” He asked with curious eyes.

“I guess.” Martha said with a small shrug. “I mean I went out for a little bit yesterday.” She said because she wasn’t sure just how much she should tell him about what had happened. It wasn’t that she wanted to keep secrets from him. It was just that she was sure he would think that she had gone crazy since he had been gone.

“Well, you were sleeping like a baby, when I came in.” Ross said.

“I guess I needed some sleep.” Martha said vaguely.

“Have you been up to much since I went?” Ross asked as he stretched out his arms and then slipped out of the covers.

“No, not really.” Martha said with a shake of her head. She turned her eyes to look at Ross and found them glued to his stomach. She could feel her heart starting to race, as she took in the long, thin mark across his stomach that was in exactly the same place as Henry’s cut had been. “How did you get that?” She asked him, as she moved quickly over to his side of the bed and ran her finger down his stomach.

He looked down in confusion for a moment. “It’s just an old birthmark.” He said with a shrug. “Are you telling me that you’ve never seen it before?” He asked with surprised eyes.

“Of course I’ve seen it before.” Martha frowned playfully at him. “I guess I’ve just never gotten around to asking you were you got it from.” She said with a casual shrug.

“Well, now you know.” Ross said smiling. “Do you want a coffee?” He asked when he walked over to the bedroom door.

“A coffee sounds great.” Martha said with a smile.

She watched as Ross walked out of the room and then closed the door behind him. She could already feel a thousand questions prodding at her curiosity as she tried to work out, how he could have ended up with a mark in the same place as Henry’s.

She thought back the last moment she had shared with Henry. She thought about his last words before his hand had fallen limp and his eyes dark with emptiness. He had promised to always be by her side. Had this been what he had meant? Had he really meant it to such a degree that they were still finding each other many years after their first meeting?

Martha let herself think about the way he had made her feel. He had made her feel exactly the same as Ross did. He had managed to lift the same smiles from her tired heart. He had made her heart race a way that only Ross had ever been able to do. She closed her eyes and thought about Henry and the way he had looked deeply into her eyes. He had made her feel so sure that they were meant to be together and now, how could she ever argue with that?

She got out of bed herself and put on her dressing gown. The house was a lot warmer than the tent, but that didn’t mean that it still wasn’t a bit chilly on her legs. She padded softly downstairs and into the kitchen. She smiled, as Ross turned around and let his eyes examine her.