Tagan's Child (27 page)

Was there
anything he didn’t do better?

The lambing hut
wasn’t quite what I was expecting. It was the size of a large
garden shed and had curtains at the window. Why on earth would
sheep need curtains?

“Do sheep
really give birth in these huts?”

Ahran chuckled.
“No of course they don’t. These huts are for the shepherds. When
sheep are lambing it’s necessary to keep a close eye on them. We
like our animals to give birth as naturally as possible and because
our climate is mild we don’t bring them indoors to lamb. The
shepherd sleeps in a lambing hut so he can inspect his flock at
intervals during the night.”

“Oh,” I said,
laughing at my own ignorance.

We approached
the hut and I stumbled up the steps which were steeper than I
thought. Ahran lifted the latch and the door swung open. It looked
like we had somewhere to spend the night after all.

“There should
be everything here we need, these huts are usually pretty well
equipped and we aren’t too far away from lambing season.” Ahran
felt his way around the room and found a wind-up lamp hanging on
the wall. He got to work winding it up to charge the battery.

“Once I’ve got
this going, I’ll light the fire.”

“There’s a
fire?” I was starting to feel chilly and wrapped my arms around
myself, the thought of a warming fire made me shiver with
anticipation.

“Yes, there’s a
small log burning stove over there.”

I was still
struggling to make anything out in the dark.

“There.” He
finished winding the lamp and switched it on. It wasn’t overly
bright but it cast a subtle glow around the inside of the hut.

Ahran was
right, there was a small wood stove against one of the walls and a
neat pile of logs stacked next to it. It was as if someone had been
expecting us. My eyes travelled around the room and rested on the
bed at the end. It wasn’t a double but it was wider than a single
and big enough to accommodate a Ramian. It was going to be snug
with both of us in there. The thought of a night snuggled up to
Ahran was scary and comforting at the same time. I was too
exhausted to worry about sharing a bed with him tonight.

“Do you think
there might be some bedding anywhere?” I said, walking over to it.
The mattress was bare and uninviting.

“Have a look
underneath, there might be some blankets there,” Ahran suggested as
he got to work lighting the fire.

Sure enough
there was a plastic box with a lid and in it was a pillow, a sheet
and a couple of blankets. I took them out and shook them. They
smelt a bit stale but they were dry. I set about making up our bed
for the night. When I had finished, it looked much more inviting
and a hundred times better than the straw bed I had imagined we
might be spending the night on.

Ahran had got
the fire going and the hut was feeling much cosier.

“That’s
better,” I said, moving over to the fire and holding my hands
out.

Ahran started
to look through the wall cupboard above a small table and two
chairs that were pushed up against the wall. “Sometimes they leave
some basic supplies of food. It depends how long ago it was last
used or how soon they intend on using it again,” he said
distractedly.

“It looks like
we might be in luck.” He took a tin out of the cupboard and opened
the lid.

I peered into
it. There were some sachets of some kind of powdered hot drink and
a packet of unopened biscuits. It was an unexpected but most
welcome little cache. It had been hours since we had eaten. I dared
to think that we were having a well-deserved run of luck after the
day we’d just had.

Ahran found a
tin kettle and went outside to fill it from the tap by the door. I
rooted around the cupboards and found a couple of mugs. Ahran had
been right. The hut was surprisingly well-equipped, it had
everything a shepherd might need for a night. A five star hotel
didn’t seem any more appealing at that moment.

I sat down in
front of the fire and hugged my knees whilst Ahran put the kettle
on top of the wood burner and emptied the sachets into two
mugs.

“Is anyone
likely to find us here?” I asked.

“I doubt it.
The reason they have these huts is because we are a long way away
from the farmhouse, or indeed any house. The chances of anyone
coming here tonight are slim,” he said as he put another log on the
fire. “Anyway, it’s unlikely that the sheep would be lambing yet.
Now that the fire’s got going though, I’ll switch the lamp off so
that there won’t be any light visible from outside, just as a
precaution.” He turned off the lamp. The light from the fire was
enough to cast a flickering light around the hut.

He handed me a
steaming mug and sat next to me.

I took a sip of
what turned out to be creamy tasting hot chocolate and stared into
the fire wondering where Toby was. Would he be tucked up in bed or
alone in a cold and draughty prison cell? I hated the thought of
him having to suffer for one second. If that bitch Bazeera touched
one hair on his head I would kill her myself!

We sipped our
drinks in silence. I wondered what Ahran was thinking. Was there
any part of him that thought we had a chance together?

Jesus! Who was
I kidding? What hope was there? There were so many reasons why it
could never work. I started to go round in the same old circle and
it made me feel confused and miserable.

“What are you
thinking Sophie?”

I laughed a
humourless laugh. “You wouldn’t want to know.”

“Try me,” he
replied.

“It’s nothing,”
I said and reached for the biscuits.

“No, it is
something, you look miserable.” His face was full of concern and it
all very nearly came tumbling out.

“I don’t know,
it’s just everything. I didn’t ask for any of this,” I said
despairingly.

I put my mug
down and struggled to open the biscuits, my hands were shaking and
I fought the tears that were threatening to spill. Ahran took the
packet from me.

“Come on he
said, let’s get you into bed, you are exhausted.”

He scooped me
up into his arms, laid me down gently on the bed and pulled the
blanket over me.

“You need to
get some rest. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No,” I said
too loudly in the quiet of the hut. “No,” I repeated more quietly.
“You can’t sleep on the floor, please, sleep in the bed, you must
be just as tired as I am.”

“Are you
sure?”

“Yes I’m sure,”
I said softly.

I moved back
towards the wall to make space for him to get in and held the
blanket back. He filled the space next to me and pulled me into him
so that my head lay on his chest. I closed my eyes and took in a
deep breath. There was that sense of complete security again. It
felt like no harm could ever come to me as long as his arms were
around me. I inhaled the smell of him and nestled closer into him.
I could hear his heart beating hard and fast under my ear. In the
quiet darkness of the hut the atmosphere between us had suddenly
changed.

“Do you hear
that Sophie? That is the effect you have on me,” he said, lacing
our fingers together. I stared at our hands resting on his
chest.

“I don’t know
what has happened to me since I met you. I can’t seem to think
straight when I’m around you,” he said quietly.

I leant up on
one elbow and looked into his eyes. He looked troubled and I
reached up and touched the side of his face just like I had wanted
to do so many times before.

“I want to kiss
you so badly.” His voice was husky and it did funny things to my
insides.

I hesitated. “I
want you to kiss me,” I said, my voice little more than a whisper.
I did want him to kiss me more than I had ever wanted anything else
in the world. Sleep was now the furthest thing from my mind. I
wanted him to wrap his arms around me so that I could lose myself
in him. I wanted to feel his warm skin against mine, to entwine our
bodies so tightly that nothing could ever come between us.

His lips found
mine and I knew there was no going back. Ahran had been right on
the train. What was about to happen was inevitable and I had been a
fool to think I could stop it. I opened my mouth to the demand of
his tongue and felt his intake of breath. The sensation of his hot
demanding mouth made a burgeoning heat spread through my body and a
quiet moan escape from my throat. My hand found the top button of
his shirt. I hesitated and he gently caressed my throat.

“I have wanted
to touch you since the first moment I saw you,” he said against my
lips. It was all I needed to spur me on. I started to unbutton his
shirt, desperate for the feel of him. I wanted to get rid of the
barrier of clothes, to feel that moment when his skin would finally
touch mine unhindered. There was no voice of reason now, it had
upped sticks and left, allowing my desire for him to flow freely.
Talina? Talina who? My need for him was so great that any
rationality had deserted me, all I knew now was how it felt to be
here touching him, being touched by him, and I was hungry for
more.

I fumbled with
the buttons on his shirt. He helped me finish the job and shrugged
it off. I tentatively touched his chest and felt the contours of
his muscles beneath my fingertips. His eyes were dark pools of
desire in the dim light. My fingers became sensitised by the
smattering of hair over his pecs. Slowly I ran my hand down the
sculpted form of his stomach and felt his muscles tense. His
reaction made me feel bolder. I trailed my fingers lower to the
hair that dipped down below the waistband of his jeans.

I sat up and
pulled my jumper and t-shirt over my head in one. I couldn’t wait
any longer. I needed to feel his skin next to mine as much as I
needed to take my next breath. My hands went round my back to
unhook my bra.

“Don’t do that
yet,” he requested.

I looked at him
uncertainly. A slow smile worked its way across his face. “I’ve
been waiting for you all my life, let me savour this...”

He started to
plant slow kisses along my collar bone and I let my head drop back.
Each kiss was slow and exquisite and I focused on the feel of his
lips as they brushed over my skin. His mouth trailed down and I
gasped as his tongue flicked over a hardened nipple through the
lace of my bra. I moaned on my outward breath as the effect of what
he was doing radiated through my body.

His hand found
my other breast and his thumb mimicked the movement of his
tongue.

“So beautiful,”
he said, his mouth hot through the lace of my bra. The heat of
arousal was now throbbing in every fibre of my being and I wondered
if I might expire from the sheer pleasure of it. My hands traced
the hard line of muscles from his neck and down over his shoulders,
he was the embodiment of male perfection and I arched my body into
his shamelessly.

He paused from
his devoted attention. “Oh God Sophie,” he said suddenly, “I
haven’t got any protection with me. Have you?”

“I…no,” I
replied, comforted that he hadn’t thought I was a sure thing but at
the same time thinking I might go mad if we stopped now.

“We’ll just
have to improvise,” I said suggestively. So bold! But this was how
he made me feel when we kissed, wanton and unrestrained. Any
remaining hang ups I had about not being like the Ramian women he
was used to, went out the window as he resumed his reverent worship
of my breasts.

“Not…” he began
to say as he started to trail wet kisses over my chest and up my
throat, “being able…” He licked and nipped the side of my neck. I
tilted my head to one side my breath coming in uneven gasps. I
could feel my most intimate parts beginning to throb impatiently,
“…to bury myself,” his mouth moved up the side of my neck, his
voice sounding distinctly breathless, “…in you,” his licks, nips
and kisses continued their trail along my jawline, “…is going to,”
I turned my face my lips hungrily seeking his, “…drive me to,” and
just before his mouth crushed down on mine he finally managed to
finish his sentence “…insanity.”

“Then I’ll go
there with you,” I said breathily, briefly pulling away so I could
reach the waistband of his jeans to undo his belt. I undid the
buckle but struggled to undo the buttons of his fly, his arousal
was straining forcibly against it. He helped with the buttons and
pushed his jeans down over his hips. He pulled his boots and socks
off and finally rid himself of his jeans. The sight of him big and
bold in his form hugging boxers made the ache between my legs begin
to throb painfully.

“Take your
jeans off,” he insisted.

I obediently
did as he said. If he had told me to take a running leap off the
nearest cliff, I would have flung myself off the edge with reckless
abandon.

He gently
lowered me down until I was lying on my back and he knelt over me.
His eyes were hot and hungry as his gaze slowly ran down my body.
“Sophie, you are so beautiful, how am I ever going to be able to
keep my hands off you now?” He ran a hand down over my breast and
splayed his fingers out over my stomach. He was touching me like I
was some precious work of art to be admired and savoured. “The way
you look now will stay with me forever.”

I basked in his
appreciation.

He straddled me
and dipped his head to begin a luscious assault on my mouth. I ran
my hands over the smooth skin of his back as he lowered himself
onto me and then down further as I reached underneath his boxers
and made contact with the hard muscles of his backside, the hot,
hard, length of him, pressing into the top of my thigh. I grasped
his rear and pulled him to me.

“Ah, Sophie,
that’s more than I can bear.” His voice sounded pained and he
pulled himself away. His lips began to burn a trail back down my
neck. He pulled my bra straps off each shoulder as his mouth
continued its devastating descent. A deep groan came from his chest
as his tongue made contact with my left nipple. I arched my back
forcing it further into his mouth. Just his gentle sucking nearly
sent me over the edge.