THE GIFT: A Highland Novella (9 page)

His hand slid up her side and cupped her breast. When he rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger, bright sparks of pleasure shot through her. He was moving inside her, setting off sensations that were so intense she could hardly bear it.

Murmuring words in Gaelic to her, he kissed the side of her face, her hair, her throat. Then his tongue was in her ear, and she never would have guessed that would feel so enticing.

All the while, he continued moving inside her, sliding in and out at an excruciatingly slow pace. Tension built inside her until she thought she might burst. Her skin felt too tight.

“
Lock your legs around me,
”
he said in a strained voice.

When she did, he groaned as he slid deeper inside her.

“
Mo r
ù
in
, I cannot go slowly much longer.
”

He was
trying
to go slow? She dug her nails into his arms.

“
Please. I want
…
I want
…”
She could not form words for what she wanted.

But then he began moving faster, and all thought fled as her entire being was caught up in the movement of their bodies and the overwhelming sensations flooding through her. As his body rocked against hers, she held on to him with all her strength and met his thrusts, urging him harder, faster.

“
Lily,
”
he said, holding her face between his hands.

Their eyes locked as he thrust deep inside her. Her body clutched around his, and she cried out his name as waves of pleasure rolled through her.

Before she could catch her breath, he called her name again as he surged inside her, and she went over the edge with him.

***

Roderick lay awake watching the dark night clouds blowing across a blacker sky and wondering what in the hell had happened to him when they made love. He felt stunned, as if he had been struck in the head or something. He thought that surely the feeling would ease if they made love a second time. Yet he had felt just as stunned the second time. And the third.

She had only let a man take her to bed once before. Why did she choose him? Was it merely to satisfy her curiosity? Because she believed he would do a better job of it than the weak, fat-bellied merchants she knew in London?

He was still awake when the sky turned from black to gray, signaling the coming dawn. An opaque mist lay over the shore, obliterating their surroundings and making it seem as if there was no one but him and Lily in the world. He looked at her face as she slept in his arms, and his heart tripped a beat.

The utterly foolish idea of asking her to wed him flitted across his mind.

With his finger, he brushed a wild strand of flaming red hair from her cheek. She looked deceptively fragile, but she had such a strong spirit. He felt an overwhelming desire to protect her. Just because he succeeded in satisfying her in bed did not mean she wanted anything more from him.

How could he have let this wee elf of a lass, an English lass at that, grab hold of his heart?

Ach
, last night was a mistake for so many reasons.

Before last night, he could have been content with a local lass from Skye who would count herself lucky to live near her kin and be satisfied with a strong husband who could protect her. Hoping for something more from a wife was a mistake. His first marriage should have taught him that.

As he watched Lily
’
s eyelids flutter and her chest rise and fall with her shallow breathing in that dreamlike state between sleep and full wakefulness, he imagined watching her wake each morning. Before last night, he had not thought beyond delivering her to his clan. Now he was imagining a future he knew he could not have. And one she surely did not want.

His wife had found the isolation of the Isle of Skye unbearable, after growing up in the town of Inverness. How much harder would it be for a lass from the great city of London? And he would have to leave her alone for long periods of time. For a Highland warrior, there would always be battles to fight.

And he could not bear to make Lily unhappy.

CHAPTER 7

Lily opened her eyes to find Roderick staring at her intently. The memory of all that they had done during the night came back to her in a rush, making her cheeks go hot. She had never had such a magical experience or felt so close to another person.

“
Good morning to ye,
”
he said, and kissed her forehead.

Had he felt as much as she had? She was desperate to know and wondered what he would say to her. As the silence stretched between them, she felt as if a fist held her by the throat, making it impossible to swallow. She needed him to say something
—
that she was special, that he wished they could have more time together, at least that he enjoyed the night
—
anything but this silence.

“
The fog is lifting,
”
Roderick said, looking out toward the shore.
“
We should be on our way.
”

Without another word, he got up and put on his clothes, as if last night was just another night and she was just another woman. She felt as if she had been kicked in the stomach. If he had professed undying love, she would not have believed him any more than she had believed her merchant suitors. But all he could say to her after what had passed between them in the night was
The fog is lifting
?

Evidently, the night had not been utterly magical for him. After baring her soul
—
not to mention her body
—
it was painful to find she was so forgettable.

But she refused to be the sort of pathetic woman who would sniffle over a man. After pulling on her tunic, she furiously wiped her nose on the sleeve, then looked for the rest of her clothes under the blanket.

Where in the hell were her stockings?

Was her brave Highlander afraid to speak out of fear she expected an offer of marriage? He needn
’
t have worried. The notion was ridiculous. She never wanted to be tied to a man who would tell her what to do and expect her to wash his clothes and fix his supper every night. And she knew as well as Roderick did that she did not belong here.

She had her shop in London, and she wanted to get back to it as soon as she could. The shop had always been her refuge.

It was all she had.

***

Roderick stomped to the nearby burn and splashed water on his face. Lily had her reasons for going to bed with him, but he did not believe that marriage was one of them.

He had not taken her virginity, so he was not honor-bound to wed her. And yet she had seemed so innocent that he almost felt as if he had been her first. Should he make the offer and tell her why she ought to refuse him? He doubted she would consider it anyway.

He was still debating what he ought to do when he returned to their camp and found Lily on her hands and knees, frantically searching the grass where their blanket had been.

“
What is it, lass?
”
he asked, crouching beside her.

“’
Tis gone!
”
she said, without looking up from her search.
“
I
’
ve lost it!
”

He
’
d never seen her distressed like this before, though she
’
d had plenty of reason.

“
I
’
ll help,
”
he said.
“
What are we looking for?
”

“
The key to my shop,
”
she said in a choked voice.

He rested his hand on her shoulder.
“
Ye can always have a new lock and key made.
”

“
I know.
”
She sat down abruptly and turned her back to him, but not before he saw a tear slip down her cheek.
“
The door will be broken and everything stolen anyway.
”

“
Then why is this key so important to ye?
”

“’
Tis a reminder of my old life,
”
she said,
“
and a promise to myself that I
’
ll be able to return to it one day soon.
”

Well, that made matters clear. The prospect of a marriage that would keep her in the Highlands forever would not be well received.

Since she had no feeling that she belonged here, it also seemed very doubtful that Lily was the seer his grandmother foretold. If she had
The Sight
at all, she hid it damned well. The key was lying right in front her in the grass.

“
Here it is, lass,
”
he said, and handed it to her.

“
Praise God!
”
She clutched the key in her hands like a prayer and rested her head on her knees.
“
I don
’
t belong here. I want to go home.
”

Her words left a hollow feeling in his chest. To comfort her, he sat beside her and put his arm around her.

“
Well, ye can
’
t go just yet,
”
he said.
“
But in a few weeks, the winter storms will pass, and it will be safe to sail the open sea again.
”

By then, he
’
d know if she carried his child. If she did, he could give her no choice but to marry him. He did not know which made him feel worse
—
the thought of never seeing Lily again or the prospect of making a second wife miserable.

“
You
’
re a verra special lass,
”
he said, squeezing her shoulders.
“
I
’
ll hate to see ye go.
”

He was shocked to his boots when she turned and pulled him into a deep kiss. Soon, they were rolling on the ground lost in passion, with no thought of tomorrow.

CHAPTER 8

Lily gasped as another wave broke over the side of the boat, drenching her with cold spray. Her hair had blown free from its knot and whipped across her face, stinging her skin. Through the loose strands, she watched Roderick, fixing every image of him in her memory. She stifled a sigh and told herself not to ruin what little time she had left with him by dwelling on how miserable she would be when they parted.

Despite the rough sea, Roderick was laughing and talking with the other men as if he was unaware that the boat was bouncing like a cork. Clearly, the man was born to sail. After adjusting the ropes holding the sail, he crossed the boat to where she sat clinging to the bench to keep from sliding back and forth.

“’
Tis a great day for sailing, aye?
”
he said with a wide grin.

Racing across the water was rather thrilling, but if she were honest with herself, she missed the physical closeness of riding on horseback with him. And she could do without the dozen other men in the boat, who eyed her while speaking in Gaelic.

“
What are they saying?
”
she asked.

“
Well, they
’
re curious as to why I
’
ve returned with a Sassenach,
”
he said.
“
But mostly, they
’
re remarking on how fetching ye look in breeches.
”

She looked down at her wet and dirty clothes.
Fetching?
Either he was lying or these Highlanders had not seen a woman in a very long time. When they reached their destination, she would have to use one of her precious coins to buy a gown and shoes.

Roderick rested a hand on her shoulder and leaned down while he pointed to an island ahead.
“
That
’
s the Isle of Islay, the center of the great MacDonald clan. We
’
ll leave the galley in the bay and walk inland to Finnlaggan.
”

She heard reverence in his voice when he spoke of Finnlaggan, but she did not expect to be impressed. As a Londoner, she had seen royal processions, royal barges, and the formidable walls of the two royal palaces on the Thames.

“
Clan MacDonald has castles throughout the isles and on the mainland,
”
he said.
“
But Finnlaggan is where Alexander, the Lord of the Isles, meets with the council, and he considers it his home.
”

After the men pulled the boat onto the shore between dozens of others, Roderick lifted her down. The ground felt as if it were rolling under her like the sea, and she was grateful for Roderick
’
s arm to steady her as they followed the others down a well-trod path.

They had walked some distance when they entered a large meadow with a lone holly tree on one side of the path and a tall, rectangular stone on the other.

“
What is that stone?
”
she asked, pointing.

“’
Tis from long, long ago, before our people were Christian, before the oldest tales of our heroes. You
’
ll find stones like this alone and in circles throughout the Highlands. Some believe they still hold ancient magic.
”

Lily felt an odd vibration in the air, like the buzz of a bee
’
s wings. It grew stronger as they neared the tall stone.

“
I feel it,
”
she blurted out.

Roderick halted and gave her a penetrating look. Unease crept up her spine.

“
You don
’
t think I
’
m a witch, do you?
”
she asked.

He crossed the path to the holly tree, snapped off a sprig, and stuck it in her hair. Then he winked at her.
“
Holly wards off evil. A witch cannot wear it.
”