ROMANCE: Lion Protector (Paranormal Shifter BBW Military Romance) (Shapeshifter Alpha Male Short Stories Book 2) (119 page)

“There’s an apple orchard not far from here. It’s got the nicest apples this side of Aberdeen. Would you like to come pick some with me?” Ailean asked, wanting to spend more time with this girl and hoping to get to know her a little better. It would be nice to have someone around who didn’t judge him for not shooting arrows at anything that moved. A human friend was something he had never had before.

The offer was indeed tempting, but Caitriona had to stop and think. Was this the right thing to do? If her parents found out, who knew what they would say? They would be furious if they found out she had spent time with a MacNeil lad. Not to mention this could be a trap. Just some fool-hearted trickery to lower her guard! But no, that didn’t seem right. Caitriona sensed no foul deed. She could tell this boy was being genuine. All she could see in the boy’s bright, blue eyes were happiness and hope. It made her smile, and she eventually agreed to participate in some apple picking.

“Sure, I’d like that,” Caitriona agreed, and Ailean smiled, leading the way to the apple orchard.

Chapter Two

Caitriona hadn’t ever picked apples herself, or even been to an orchard. Her family was wealthy enough to buy most of their produce, and what they did grow at home was tended to by the servants, so walking into the big apple orchard was a bit of a shock. There were so many rows of perfectly planted trees, all with their limbs burdened with large, ripe fruit. She went up to the first tree she saw and examined the apples that were within arm’s reach before picking a nice big red one and taking a bite. The fruit was incredibly sweet with a nice crunch to it, much better than what she could ever get from the market.

While Caitriona was eating her apple, Ailean found a few smaller apples that little Hamish could eat without too much difficulty, and fed him first. Caitriona was just about to compliment how great the apples were here when she noticed that Ailean was making sure the little buck ate first, and she smiled at that. Ailean really did treat the buck like a person rather than a pet, and it was heartwarming.

“This is a beautiful place,” Caitriona began, mainly just to start a conversation. She didn’t want to express her feelings about how cute it was that Ailean and the deer were like brothers. Or at least they were how brothers should be in her mind, but they were nothing like her own brothers. Ailean and Hamish treated each other like equals. They cared for each other. That wasn’t difficult to tell. However, she would keep such comments to herself for now.

“Aye, it’s a grand place. I always come here when I need to think. The river nearby is also a great place to swim. Have you ever been?” Ailean replied, looking up at Caitriona as a soft smile tugged on his lips. He was really starting to like this girl. She was beautiful, kind and he knew under that tough exterior, there was a heart of gold.

“I’m afraid not. I don’t tend to go farther than the stream by the oak tree. This is probably the farthest away from home I’ve ever been,” Catriona responded, looking a little to the ground after she spoke. This really was the farthest she had been from home. Sure, she would wander the grounds of their land, but her father usually stopped her from going too far. A lady shouldn’t stray too far away from the house. It was unsafe in the wild for a little girl. At least that was what he thought.

“Then maybe we should go sometime. Nothing’s better than a nice swim after a long day,” Ailean said, but he couldn’t help but think it was odd that Caitriona hadn’t ever been farther than the stream by the oak tree. That was only about a quarter of a mile away from her home, if he remembered the geography right. That wasn’t even a stroll, as far as he was concerned. “If you don’t mind me asking you, though, why haven’t you ever gone very far from your home? Are you just afraid that you’ll get lost?” Ailean never considered that Caitriona’s parents were constricting about where she was allowed to go, because he always had been allowed to wander wherever he so chose, and had even made it to different villages in the area all by himself.

“No, it’s just my dad. He doesn’t believe a lassie should be too far from the house,” Caitriona peaked her voice to a higher pitch, just to mock her father, before giggling a little. She had never had the chance to talk about these things with anyone else. It was nice. She could speak freely, and just be herself. That was something she hadn’t really had before.

“Well, I’ll just have to protect this wee lassie from any harm that may come her way. Whether it’s some big bear, or just a handsome devil,” Ailean replied, beefing up his voice to a deeper pitch. He winked, striking up a hero pose. He even started flexing his biceps, even though he didn’t really have much muscle there, but it made Caitriona giggle like a love-struck schoolgirl. Sure, the boy was a little scrawny, but Caitriona was seeing far past that right now.

“Oh, could my big, brave boy keep me safe then?” Caitriona asked, keeping up a high-pitched voice as she twirled her skirt a little, like an innocent girl. That certainly caught Ailean’s attention, and he took a few steps forward, extending his arm out to link with Caitriona’s

“Anything for a pretty young lassie like yourself,” Ailean chuckled, and Caitriona linked arms with him. She couldn’t stop smiling as her cheeks flourished with a rosy blush. There were fairies fluttering inside her as she felt shivers shaking her spine. This feeling was not something she was accustomed to, but she loved it. Caitriona wanted more, and it seemed Ailean was eager to please as he led her towards the river.

The skies were illuminated with gorgeous blues and purples as the day began to wane, which Caitriona could see above the greenery of the orchard, and it became even more clear when they past the trees and stood by the softly flowing river just a few feet away. The sun’s beams flared in bright oranges and reds as the sky shone with purple and blue colors mixing beautifully above. Everything was radiating with a magnificent light. The scenery was just perfect.

Caitriona felt herself being completely immobilized by the beauty as they stopped and stared for a moment. Having always been relegated to a rather small stretch of land, and usually called back to the house before the sun started to begin its descent, she had never taken in such a picturesque scene. She admired it for a while, only stopping when Ailean reached for her free hand and turned her around. Now she was looking at his gorgeous, glowing green eyes. She was captivated. Ailean didn’t say a word. He just moved his hand up Caitriona’s side, letting it cup under her chin, and leaned forward to touch her lips softly with his own, engaging her in a sweet kiss.

Caitriona almost didn't know how to react to the kiss. She'd never fancied a boy before, at least not until she met Ailean, which had only happened not too long ago. Everything seemed to be moving so fast, but the real question she had to ask herself was: is that such a bad thing? Maybe things were moving fast, but she knew she liked the direction they were heading, so she wrapped her arms around Ailean’s neck and returned his kiss. At first, both of them being naive virgins, they didn't much know what to do. Instinct soon kicked in, though, and Caitriona opened her mouth slightly and let her tongue venture out and trace along Ailean’s lips, entreating him to follow in her suit. He didn't hesitate, and soon their tongues were dancing together in a heated and fiery kiss.

When their lips parted, it was only due to being dizzy from not having enough air. Caitriona didn't want it to end, though, so she held Ailean close and pressed her body against his. Ailean took the hint, and his fingers began to explore Caitriona’s body. She was muscular, so despite her curves, her body wasn't the soft and supple sort of body in fairy tales, but he loved the feeling under his fingertips, and the sound of her soft sighs, and most of all he loved the shivers that overtook her as her excitement built.

“You’re so beautiful,” Ailean spoke in a soft, husky whisper. He was mesmerized by her. The kiss had been nothing like how he had imagined it would be. His dreams couldn’t compare to how amazing Caitriona made him feel. She made him lustful and daring as he leaned in close to her, pulling her waist towards him as he inhaled her sweet scent. It was much more elegant than the apples of the orchard, so delicious he just wanted to taste it. Ailean planted his lips to her neck, slowly kissing it bit by bit as he let his lips trace up her neck to her jawline, making the most of his time with her, while they were all alone in the wilderness.

Caitriona let a soft moan slip from her lips as she felt Ailean kissing her neck. She never knew such a simple thing could be so divine. What she did know was that she didn't want this to end.

With Caitriona’s moans enticing him, Ailean ran his fingers down her sides and did an exploratory grope of her rear, just to see if she would allow him to go on. She responded by raising her leg and wrapping it around Ailean, both to give him more access and encourage him to keep going. What ended up happening, however, was she accidently knocked Ailean off his balance and he came tumbling down, and Caitriona, only supporting herself with one leg, fell as well.

The ground near the river was covered in plush grass, and the soil was soft, making the landing painless. Caitriona giggled a bit and gave Ailean a kiss. She was on the ground, with him lying on top of her, looking slightly confused at what had happened, but after the kiss he just smiled.

“Sorry about that,” Caitriona said with a chuckle.

“Sorry? You don't have to apologize. We would have gotten here sooner or later,” Ailean replied, running his fingers down Caitriona’s side. She shivered slightly in anticipation as his fingers made their way further south. Even though he had plenty of body language showing that Caitriona was into this, Ailean still wanted to make sure that he wasn't getting ahead of himself here.

“I mean, this is the direction we were heading, right?” Ailean asked.

“What do you think?” Caitriona replied, thinking it was cute how Ailean asked, even though she was obviously enjoying herself. His consideration for her feelings was really something that she hadn't experienced from anyone else before. No one had ever asked her what she wanted to do or how she felt before, so it was refreshing to see how much Ailean cared. Not to mention that the confused expression he wore when she was sarcastic with him was priceless. “Yes, this is what I want,” she replied softly, and Ailean smiled and went in for another kiss.

This kiss was much slower than the first, but it had more of a loving feel to it. Caitriona wasn't interested in Ailean because he was some kind of handsome devil. Sure, he was nice to look at, despite being a bit on the thin side. The real reason that she was interested was the fact that he actually cared about her, and they could relate to each other. So, the loving kiss was much appreciated.

As their tongues danced in each other's mouths, Caitriona let her fingers do a bit of wandering, considering she had been more of a passive person in this encounter so far. She wasted no time with the meandering caresses that Ailean was so fond of, though, and went straight to what she wanted. She ran her fingers over Ailean’s crotch. He was starting to get hard already, but as she caressed him, his package grew. She didn't have a frame of reference, but she knew that it was pretty good sized, which gave her to wondering exactly what the logistics of this were, and how they could make it fit.

“Is something wrong?” Ailean asked, as he saw Caitriona wearing a pensive expression, which wasn't exactly the face he wanted to see a girl wear when she was feeling him up.

“No,” she quickly replied, just so he didn't think she was having second thoughts. “I was just wondering if it will fit,” Caitriona said, a blush blossoming across her freckled cheeks.

“Oh. I hadn't thought about that,” Ailean said. That was something he had more or less always taken for granted. “What should we do?” he asked. Caitriona had thought that Ailean would have known, but it seemed that they were both rather clueless.

“I guess we can just start at the beginning,” Caitriona replied, and started to undo the buttons on Ailean’s shirt to get him undressed. “We'll just take our clothes off, and let whatever happens, happen,” she said and continued taking off every piece of clothing Ailean was wearing, and then letting him return the favor for her.

Ailean certainly wasted no time in getting Caitriona undressed. He could feel his heart racing in his chest as he unlaced her dress and delicately removed it from her soft, pale skin with his somewhat shaky hands. With the clothing now off, Ailean took a moment to simply bask in the glow of the beauty that had been hidden from him. Caitriona was like the masterpiece of the century, hidden from the world for only the worthy to see, and Ailean was definitely taking in the view. She had an hourglass figure, with attractively toned arms, chiseled abs and beautiful breasts. Ailean almost couldn’t resist. He wanted to let his hands pounce on his prize, but he hesitated. That was not the way. So, Ailean looked up at Caitriona, his hands glued to her waist for now, until he had permission to embrace his animalistic desires.

“May I?” he asked softly, to which Caitriona giggled. Ailean looked so cute, and so sweet with those glorious, green eyes, but she could see the lust that lingered behind them.

“You may,” Caitriona purred, moving herself forward to let her waist line up with Ailean’s, brushing her womanhood close to his package. The boy moaned softly, feeling the blood pumping to his muscles and feeling his snake growing harder as Caitriona moved closer to him. The anticipation was building, but they were in no rush. There was plenty of time for them to enjoy each other’s company, and get to know their partner’s body.