The Highlander's Curse (26 page)

The
head of his cock pressed against my entrance, and I spread my legs wide,
angling my hips upward. His hands ran down my thighs, pulling me up as he
pushed inside, groaning.

“Och,
Eliz—Scarlett. Ye dinna ken how this feels.”

“Yes,”
I moaned. “I do. Keep going slow.” He was big, and the feel of him inside
thrilled me, but also created a lot of pressure.

“Tell
me if I hurt ye.” His hands left my thighs and settled on either side of my
body as his cock inched even slower inside. “I dinna think I can go in anymore,”
he moaned, his body shaking. “Unless it’s—”

“You
have to push through it. Just be gentle. No…be fast. Do it fast. Please just
push inside.” I was breathing hard now, as pleasure and pain intermingled.

He
caressed my cheek and plunged deep inside me until he could go no farther. We
both moaned, and he bent down, muffling our voices by locking our lips
together. Our tongues clashed, and Cailen’s hips moved back and forth slowly,
gaining tempo as I thrashed. What hurt in the beginning now felt indescribably
rapturous, and I met him, thrust for thrust, losing myself to him.

Nothing
existed outside of this bed, outside of his arms. I touched him everywhere,
just as he did to me. His body quaked with desire, making my heart swell.

My
Highlander reached down and ran his fingers through the tiny curls at my core
as he continued to piston in and out of me. “Yer hair is longer here than last
I saw,” he remarked, his eyes fastening onto where we were joined.

“Mmm
hmm,” I responded as my body was pushed up and down the bed. “I haven’t found a
way to shave here.”

“Ye
shave there?” he gaped. “Nae, surely no’.”

“Mmm
hmm.” It was the only way I could respond as my body began tightening.

Cailen’s
thrusts sped up and I peered at him, seeing sweat sticking to his forehead. His
muscles were tense as he appeared completely focused. As our eyes met, he
slowed and pulled out of me.

“What
are you doing?”

“Turn o’er.”

I
leaned up on my elbows. “What?”

“Turn o’er.
There is one thing that must be done before…mmm hmm.”

I got
up slowly, eyeing him as I turned around so that my back faced him. He
positioned me on my knees and spread my legs apart. I cried out as he rammed
his cock into me once more. He pumped and pumped, going impossibly deeper
inside me. The sudden sting of a slap on my ass had me peering over my shoulder
in surprise. “What…was that…for?”

“It’s
yer punishment for lyin’ tae me.” He smiled and raised his hand again before I
felt another slap against my ass.

I
moaned at the feel of it, shocked at the pleasure it caused.

“Tell
me ye’ll nae lie tae me again.”

“Well,
if this is my reward.”

Slap
.

“But I
promise I won’t lie to you anyway.” My body tightened more.

Slap
.

Pure
euphoria.

The
sting, coupled with the pounding of his cock, sent me over the edge. My head
went backward as I cried out, and Cailen’s hand covered my mouth as he rammed
me harder and faster than he had before. He let out a strangled groan as his
body convulsed, and I felt his hot, wet seed jetted inside me. His hips slowed,
and we collapsed on the bed, enfolded in one another. Neither of us moved other
than to hold each other tighter.

I woke
the next morning as his door creaked open, and his mom shuffled inside,
freezing as she saw us both on the same bed. “
Crivvens, what are ye daein’
?”

“Mam!”
Cailen jumped to his feet—still wrapped in one of the blankets, thank God—and pulled
me up with him.

“Oh
God, she’s about to hand me my ass,” I whispered.

Cailen
peered down at me, chuckling. “She will’nae.”

“I kent
it wasn’ae suitable for the two o’ ye tae sleep in the same room,” she tsked.

“Nae,
it’s perfectly suitable. Or it will be soon.”

Ailsa’s
gaze flicked back and forth between us. I got the impression that she knew
exactly what had happened between us last night, especially since we wrapped in
the same blanket, and our clothes were on the floor in front of us. “Oh, and
why is that?”

My
Highlander grinned at his mom and pulled me into his side. “It’s time tae get
ma ring. Scarlett and I are tae be mairrit as soon as may be.”

****

“Ye ken as well as I dae
that ma mam will, as ye say, hand us our asses if she finds us taegether.”

“I
don’t care,” Scarlett replied. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I
dinna want tae either.” Cailen brushed his hands through her hair as he studied
the way her hair glimmered in the candlelight. “Yer hair is changin’.” It
seemed everything about his lass was ever changing.

“Hmm?
Oh. Yeah, no more trips to the salon for me.” She grinned. “That’s where people
go to change their hair color.”

Over
the last day the two of them had talked a great deal about the time Scarlett
had come from. Her world sounded wondrous, and not that he’d ever tell her, but
perhaps a bit frightening. Most of the things she spoke o’, she had to define
for him, but what made it even more delightful was the
way
she described
it. The lass spoke with her hands as though she had so much energy she couldn’t
help but use her body to help accentuate every word.

He
couldn’t get enough of her. Every minute of every day, he wanted to spend with
her. Which is exactly why he’d snuck into her bedroom tonight. Reverend Astor
hadn’t been available to perform their marriage ceremony that day, as he’d left
for other villages around Mull. Luckily Gregor had gone searching for him, and
had brought him back to Ardmoir late into the evening. That man was always
looking out for him.

“Are ye
ready tae become ma wife?” he asked, causing her to blink her tired eyes again
and focus on him. He really should let her sleep, but letting her do so made
him feel like it was time lost with his woman.

“Yes,”
she purred.

The sun
had just come up for the day, and the sounds coming through the walls indicated
that everyone was busy with their tasks. No doubt his mam had already checked
his bedroom to see if Scarlett was inside. He wondered if she kent where he’d
spent the night.

Probably,
his mother kent everything.

“Dae ye
want me tae let ye rest, love?”

“No. We
can rest after the wedding. I just want to be with you.”

Her
words made his chest swell with pride. This was his lass. This was the woman
he’d been waiting for and dreaming of since he’d been a young lad.

“I
could stare—”

A
strange sound cut off her words and she sat up hastily.

“Oh my
God.” She scrambled out of the covers and off the bed, rushing over to her bag and
shoved her hand inside.

“What
is that horrible racket?” On and on, it kept making that awful noise.

“That’s
my cell phone.” Scarlett yanked it out and held it to her ear. Her brows drawn
low, she slowly said, “Hello?”

Cailen
stared at her, unsure of what to make of the expressions on her face.

“Wait
I…” When she finally pulled the cell phone away from her ear, she peered at it
again. “It’s dead again.” She’d gone pale.

He was
beside her in an instant, helping her to sit on the bed. “What happened?”

“The
number was restricted but I…think I know that voice.” She peered into his eyes,
and unease crept through him. “She wants to meet with me. She wants me to go to
our spot.”

“Our
spot? What is our spot?”

“I
think it’s that tower thing up on the hill,” she replied numbly. “When you were
gone, I went up there sometimes, and your mom said it was your favorite place,
too.”

She
hadn’t told him that. If he hadn’t known, then who did? And how had someone
called her? “But ye dinna ken who it was?”

“No,
but she said she wanted me to go alone.” Scarlett got up and pulled on one of
the tartan dresses Una and Emily had made for her.

Over
his dead body she was going alone. “Ye’re no’ goin’. Ye dinna ken who it was.”

“I’ve
got to. I swear that I know that voice. And my phone, you know it was dead.
They don’t just start working like that. It worked for that one phone call, and
I have to know why.”

Cailen
stood and drew on his shirt. He’d never removed his kilt the night before so,
so it was much quicker for him to get dressed than it was for Scarlett. Helping
her smooth her dress, he followed her through the door, down the stairs, and
outside.

“You
shouldn’t go with me. She told me to go alone.”

“I
canna just let ye go. We dinna ken what kind o’ trouble there may be.”

His lass
walked briskly, and he kept up easily, checking the expression on her face as
they passed house after house. He felt uneasy about the whole thing, but there
was no arguing with her.

They
weren’t far from the cairn when a woman stepped out from behind it, fully
cloaked in a dark blue robe that covered everything but her chin and black
lips. Cailen gripped Scarlett’s arm. “Stop. It’s the witch.”

“Ah,
how nice,” the woman replied. “I’m so glad you remembered me.”

“O’ course
I dae. What hae ye done wi’ma brither?”

“She
sent him to my time,” Scarlett answered. Cailen gaped at her, but his lass
continued to stare at the witch. “That was the guy with the pocket watch, right
Shannon?”

The witch
cackled suddenly, her bright white teeth gleaming from underneath her hood
before she yanked it off her head. “Figured it out, huh? That was a lot faster
than I expected. At least that will make this go a lot easier.”

Scarlett
stepped back, her arm brushing against his again. “What are you doing here? And
what are you
wearing
?”

“You
know, Scar, you could’ve let me play the part a little longer. It’s not very
often I get to be in character, and this guy eats it up like catnip.”

Cailen
flicked his gaze back and forth between the two women. “Ye ken her? Ye ken the
witch
?”

Scarlett
glanced up at him for the first time since they’d reached the cairn. Her eyes
glistened with unshed tears. “Do you remember my cousin? The one I told you
about that was getting married?”

“Her?”
He pointed in her direction, not feeling any better about this situation. “Nae,
she didnae look like that in yer pictures.”

“She
doesn’t normally look like this.” She turned toward the witch as her brows
lowered. “What’s with the goth?”

“I
dunno.” Shannon shrugged and stepped forward.

Cailen
pulled Scarlett behind him, never taking his eyes off the other woman. “Nae.
Closer. I dinna hae any qualms wi’murderin’ a menacin’ witch like ye.”

“Oh?” she
replied, the corner of her black lips pulling into a smile. “Well you might
not, but your
wee lass
would definitely have a problem with it. Do you
really think she’d want anything to do with you if you kill her best friend and
cousin?”

“Why
Shan?” Scarlett asked, peeking around Cailen’s side. “Why put us through this?”

“Really?
You’re going to let your Scottish barbarian keep you from even giving me a hug?
I haven’t seen you in
weeks.
I’ve had to lie to your dad and my parents
since your little disappearance, and all you want is answers?”

“My
little disapp…” She sighed. “Did you orchestrate all of this? Cailen’s brother?
Me? Me inside the pub at the same time as Kieran? And don’t call him a
barbarian.”

Cailen’s
mind was whirring. Scarlett had seen Kieran? Why hadn’t she told him of this?

“Yes, I
‘orchestrated’ everything, but not by myself. And before anyone gets their panties
or kilts in a wad, I first want to say that I’m not the enemy here. No one is.
It’s just something that had to be done.”

“Why?”
Scarlett had beat him to it.

The
witch folded her arms, and drummed her fingers. “Do you remember when I went to
Scotland during summer break a couple of years ago?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,
I met a group of people and we really connected, ya know? It turned out that
they were witches and warlocks, and their main calling was correcting the
balance of life.”

Scarlett
and Cailen glanced at each other, and she shrugged. “’Kay?”

“So
what they do is research the past and find discrepancies. It’s their job—well,
our
job—to correct them. I joined them and they hooked me up with a coven in Utah.”

His
lass shook her head. “I don’t get what you’re saying, what does this have to do
with anything? And how can there be discrepancies in the past?”

“Oh
trust me, it has to do with everything. And there are a ton of problems going
on…you don’t even know. There are dead-ends
everywhere
. Sometimes we
just can’t find any information about a person.” The witch sighed and sat down
on the ground, leaning back on her wrists. “So okay…you know I research
everything, right? And I totally checked into this group. To prove to me that
they were legit, they let me research my own ancestors to see if there was
anything screwy going on, and you’ll never guess where the trail ended.” Her
gaze went back and forth between them. “With you.”