A Highlander's Home (28 page)

             
“Good,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows at her and smiling wickedly.

             
She swatted his arm and told him to behave himself while they were at dinner.

             
“Och, very well, then.  But I reserve the right to misbehave after dinner.”

             
She blushed and stifled her laughter behind her hand.

             
The tea was warming and helped to ease some of the morning sickness that had trailed into the afternoon.  She thought wryly that this was the same exact tea that the midwife had given her to prevent pregnancy.  She glanced at her belly.  Obviously it hadn’t worked.

             
For the next three days, Raine and Leith were together as much as possible.  Each had an excuse to see the other whenever they could.  If she was in the kitchen, he was suddenly famished and needed food.  If he was in the stables, she had the uncompromising desire to go riding.  And of course, each
of them were miraculously exhausted by early afternoon and asked the other to retire with them to the master bedroom where they found that their energies had returned in full force, often interfering with sleep until the early morning hours.

             
The day of their departure came sooner than expected.  The horses were saddled, the saddlebags full with provisions, and the soldiers armed to the fullest.  Leith wanted to take all precautions in the event that they met his uncle’s men along the way.  It was doubtful since Leith and his
entourage was
heading south and his uncle’s lands were north of Hell’s Gate, but he refused to take any chances.

             
Lady MacGregor had
insisted
upon accompanying them, saying that she needed to rid herself of the cabin fever that was taking over.  Leith found that hard to believe since winter had just begun, but he made no mention of it.
  Even Mac had joined their group, his sad sway back horse looking as if it might fall over dead at any moment.

             
“He’s a good horse with many more years left in him,” Mac had assured her with a smile, stroking the horse’s muzzle.

             
Raine was grateful that they were coming because it delayed their goodbyes, even if only by a few days.  She had grown quite fond of her mother-in-law and even the strange priest who was also served as the town doctor.

             
The snow muffled their departure as they made their way out of the heavy wooden gates of what had served as Raine’s home for the last six months.  The people had gathered to way their goodbyes,
thinking
only that their Laird and Lady were going to request an audience with the
Queen
regarding
the water dispute
between Leith and his devious uncle. 

             
Robbie stayed in Leith’s stead to guard the castle while his brother was absent, but also because he had a certain blonde haired lass who needed his attention more than Leith did.  Robbie watched the group leave from the highest watch tower and waved to Leith who waved back.  He wondered w
hat changes would happen in the future,
and then
caste that thought aside.  He didn’t want to know about the future any further than finding out where his lass was hiding. Smiling, he went to find out.

             
The weather was kind to them as they headed south.  The snow gave no sign of slowing, but neither was the sky threatening a storm.  There was an eerie silence that came with the winter here, harkened by the large forest and untouched land.  Raine could smell the purity in the air.  She would miss this.

             
The days passed much the same.  They awoke before dawn, broke camp, and rode all day at a walking pace, then made camp after dark.  Leith had told his head servant to make sure that his sleeping mat was altered to accommodate not only him but his wife as well.  They huddled around the fire, eating things that Raine had never tasted before and frankly did not want to ask about.  They boiled snow for water and retired as soon as possible.  If she did not know better, she would think that they were just on a long camping trip.

             
“We must take care, lass,” he had warned her on the first night.  “We travel out of Scottish boundaries into England.  And we do so without permission of either
Queen
.  We take great risk by doing so, but it would have been at greater risk had we asked for permission.”  He smiled wryly.  “I had no idea of how to explain my
reasoning
for embarking on a journey in the beginning of what I believe is to be a hard winter to return my new bride to magic stones to send her back to the future.”

             
She met his gaze.  “I’m sorry to put you through this, Leith.  I had no idea that it would be so dangerous when I asked you.”

             
He waved his hand in the air nonchalantly. “Och, lass, danger is my middle name.  And besides, I promised ye.  And I never break my promises.”

             
She inched closer to him and whispered in his ear, “Do we have time to be alone?”

             
He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they watched the fire. 
Sadly he answered,
“Alas, we dare not leave the safety of the camp.  I do not care to be skewered by an angry Englishman.”

             
Raine nodded.  “Oh, yes, the
Queen
’s do not like each other.  I forgot what year this was.  The religious tension here is profound.  Being judged based on your prayer preference is hardly justifiable.”

             
He nodded.  “One day the squabbling will end and everyone will get along.”

             
She laughed.  “Actually, yes, that
does happen.  But not for a
long time
yet
.”

             
“Surely ye jest!” he gasped.  “’Twas only a joke, lass.  Truly, does the bickering and war come to an end one day?”

             
Not sure how much she should reveal, she said carefully, “One day, this island stops warring with itself.”

             
He smiled.  “I knew it!” he exclaimed.  “I knew that it would not last forever.  Men tire of war after awhile.  I am glad to hear it.  Scotland is a great nation and someday the English will see that.  One day we will rule ourselves and England.”

             
She lowered her head and remained silent.  She had no wish to disappoint him by informing him that it was the other way around. 

             
Leaning over she rested her head on his shoulder and inhaled the male scent of him.  She had learned to like this over bearing medi
e
val Scotsman.  She had even learned to tolerate wearing these blasted dresses he insisted upon.  She might have enjoyed living here had she
been
born a few hundred years earlier.

             
Their trek was slow going but they finally stopped one evening and Leith pointed to the hills.  “Over that ridge are the stones.  We camp here tonight and rest the men and the horses.  Plus I think Mac needs to rest his bottom.”

             
They turned and watched a tired looking Mac fumble with his robes as he gingerly dismounted from his even more tired horse.  He winced and tried to inconspicuously rub his aching bottom.

             
Raine giggled behind her gloved hand and turned away, pretending not to see.  Leith hooked his finger under her chin, lift
ing her face to his, and placed
a sound smack on her lips
.

             
They made camp and cared for the horses, tethering them to the nearby trees.  The men were wary and kept one eye on their surroundings, always looking through the trees
for an unseen enemy.  They were in English country now
,
and this was not a good time to be crossing borders.  Even though Leith was a Laird, it held little meaning here in the deep of the
forest
where a man could easily be killed and buried and not found for centuries.

             
The same meal of strange meats and hard bread was served, but it was a welcome meal.  Raine had not had anything to eat since they broke camp that morning.  She ate her small portion with much enthusiasm.  Leith smiled at her.

             
“Hungry?” he drawled sarcastically.

             
She grinned ear to ear and
nodded, continuing to chew.  “
I’m famished.”

             
They ate in silence as evening descended.  Guards took to their posts and the fire burned down to low embers.  He took her hand and silently led her away from the group.  He nodded to the guard they passed who nodded in return.

             
“Where are we going?” she whispered.

             
He put his finger against his lips and motioned for her to be quiet.  They stopped at a small, thick cluster of bushes nestled in between the trees.  He grabbed her and pushed her against a tree trunk, lifted her skirts and sank to his knees in front of her.

             
She gasped but refrained from any other noise.  She closed her eyes and bit her lip as his lips quickly suckled her woman’s nub, flicking it with his tongue without ever breaking suction.  He brought her to climax so quickly, she lost her breath.  He hooked her knee over his shoulder and repeated the process, this time going slightly slower causing her to squirm and make muffled moans which she tried to stifle with her hand over her mouth.

             
At the height of her desire, he stood, flipped her skirts over her shoulders and rammed himself into her wet readiness.  He took her moans into his mouth, never breaking his hard rhythm.  Within seconds they both reached their
precipice and tumbled over together clinging to each other lest their legs give out and they tumble to the ground.

             
When their breaths came slower, he took her hand and led her to the thick brush and spread out his cloak.  He laid her on it and covered her body with his.  She had started shivering.  He intended to warm her with his own body heat one last time.

             
He started with her lips,
and then
moved to her neck.  His lips were warm and left a moist trail on her skin.  She shivered again, but this time it was not from the cold.  Digging her hands into his scalp she pressed his face into her bared breasts and urged him to take his fill.  His lips closed on the rosy mound and sucked so hard she was sure he must have tasted blood.  His fingers found the wet triangle between her legs that his mouth had so recently prepared for him.  He entered her slowly, building up a rhythm, enjoying how her hips moved in time with his hands.  Then once again, his mouth was torturing her point of desire with his sucks and flicks of his tongue.  When she thought she could take no more, he rose above her and entered her.  Her intake of breath was long and slow, assuring him of the pleasure he gave her in that one long thrust.  Her legs spread and wrapped around his hips as if they had been doing that very movement their entire lives.  Their movements were slow at first and then picked up pace until both were sweating despite the cold, their bodies surrounded by a
veil
of mist from their intense breathing.

             
There was no disguising or preventing their fall over the edge of sanity this time.  But they didn’t care.  This would be their last night together.

             
When they returned to camp, Leith nodded at the same guard they had seen when they left.  He nodded back and then stared past them into the night
, never giving away if he knew what they had just done.  Raine lowered her head as she past him, blushing with a smile. 

Chapter 24

             
The men, Mac
,
and Lady MacGregor were all wrapped in their cloaks and blankets around the fire.  Leith pulled back the edge of the blanket to let Raine scoot in, then followed her and wrapped it as tight as he could around them.  Neither spoke, but they lay there for awhile awake and each in their own thought.  Her fingers played with a string on the front of his shirt while his finger absently wrapped a curl around itself.

             
Lady MacGregor lay quietly, far from sleep.  They would reach the stones tomorrow
,
and then Raine
would be gone.  She had come to admire the lass.  She particularly enjoyed the way she argued with Leith and stood up to him.  No other lass had ever had the presumption to do so.  She had heard them sneak off to the woods and though she knew how dangerous it was for them being on British soil, she said nothing, and granted them the opportunity to enjoy themselves one last time.  She wiped a tear from her cheek.  She would miss the lass, aye, but she would miss the grandchild that she would never meet.