My Tempting Highlander (Highland Hearts #3) (12 page)

“I can wait no more.” Ronan walked to the bench with Mairi, then slowly lowered himself to a seated position, with her astraddle his lap. He leaned back, bringing her with him, then slid his hands to her firm breasts, catching her hard, pebbled nipples between his fingers. “I mean to enjoy every inch of ye,” he said as he ran his tongue up her throat. He first sucked then nibbled at her earlobe as he repeated the pledge in a rasping whisper: “Every blessed inch of ye. I swear it.”

Mairi purred an encouraging laugh as she wriggled atop his taut stomach and started to slide backward. “Nay.” Ronan caught her up close. “Not yet. I wish to enjoy ye slowly—savor ye—and I’ll be havin’ a taste of those fine breasts first.”

Mairi shivered with a pleased groan as Ronan thumbed the tightened nipple on one breast as he suckled the other. She pulled his head close and hard, rhythmically squirming atop him. He nibbled and pulled, enjoying each sweet nipple, until Mairi shuddered and dug her fingers into his shoulders. He trailed his fingers down between them, across her smooth, slick stomach until he found Mairi’s tender nub, swollen and throbbing against him. He massaged it between his fingers until Mairi cried out, “Please! Now!”

“Not yet,” he whispered against her cheek as he slipped two fingers up into her slick wet warmth while still thumbing her pulsing button.

Mairi groaned, grinding into his hand as she gripped his shoulders and cried out. When she finally collapsed, gasping atop his chest, Ronan scooped her up, rolled over, and laid her across the bench. He knelt by her side, cupping one sweet breast as he kissed her deep and hard. Ronan lifted his head and smiled down at her as Mairi smoothed the tangle of wet curls back from her face.

“And now I’ll taste the rest of ye.”

Mairi closed her eyes and smiled.

Ronan tickled one finger down the center of Mairi’s torso, following the trail he mapped out with a slow combination of kisses, nips, and licks. Drawing closer to Mairi’s quivering thighs, he groaned, enjoying her warm sweetness with longer, slower laves of his tongue. “Yer as sweet and intoxicating as honeyed wine.”

Eyes still closed, Mairi smiled again as she arched up to meet his mouth and stroked the back of his head as Ronan moved lower.
Aye. She’s the sweetest nectar
. Thank the gods he’d finally found her. Mairi bucked and moaned as Ronan dipped his tongue deep inside her.

Mairi draped her legs over Ronan’s shoulders and dug in her heels as she shuddered beneath his mouth. Ronan slid two fingers inside her, a deep groan escaping as he suckled her swollen nub. Mairi bucked, arching her back and moaning as she clutched at Ronan’s arms. Ronan cradled her hips in the curve of one arm, reveling in her bliss, while Mairi shivered through the last of her release. She fell back, limp atop the bench, both arms stretched above her head, mewling with shuddering snatches of breath.

Ronan looked up the length of Mairi’s glistening body and smiled.
Now. ’Tis time. Time t’make the joining complete.
Ronan gently slid Mairi up the length of the wide bench and lowered himself between her legs.

When Mairi reached for him and pulled him closer, centuries of loneliness and pain fell away. Ronan stretched across her, scooped her up in his arms, and brushed a soft kiss across her slightly parted lips. “I need ye more than the air t’breathe. Swear ye will e’er be mine.”

Mairi slid her legs up around his hips while cradling his face between her hands. “I need you too.”

“Swear ye will e’er be mine.” Ronan groaned aloud as he sank himself into her hot wetness then struggled not to move. “Swear it.”

Mairi shuddered, arched her back, and squirmed beneath him. “I do,” she panted, digging her nails into his ass and urging him deeper.

Ronan slid his cock out, trembling with explosive need as he held his body just above Mairi and cupped her face in his hand. “Swear ye will e’er be mine as I will e’er be yours.”

Mairi hitched in a deep breath and cradled his hand against her cheek. The gold flecks in her green eyes blazed with emotion. Her broken whisper sounded more like a throaty growl as she locked her thighs around Ronan’s hips and pulled. “I swear it. I will always be yours. Now and forever. Now take me before I freakin’ die.”

“Aye, m’love. As ye wish.” Ronan plunged deep into the sweet wet warmth and pounded into the ancient rhythm.

Aye and for sure
. He’d take her for all eternity.

A high-pitched yip followed by an insistent tug on her hair pulled Mairi into a state of semi-wakefulness. She had barely pulled one eye open when needlelike teeth closed down on the end of her nose. She jerked sideways, the eye-watering sting more effective than an alarm clock.

“Dammit! No biting. Bad puppy.” She scooped one hand under the squirming fur ball while patting her nose and checking for blood. Mairi raised the wiggling butterball up to eye level. “You don’t bite.”

The puppy yipped and licked out his tiny pink tongue as though asking for another taste. Mairi pushed herself up to a seated position, blinking away the last of her sleep as she glanced around.

Tangled in the pillows and blankets they’d yanked from the bed and moved to the floor, Ronan still slept, one hand possessively draped across Mairi’s leg. A tingling shiver stole across her. They’d ended up on the floor last night because her antique bed hadn’t quite held up beneath the stress of their sexual marathon. The frame had buckled and the mattress and box spring had crashed to the floor during round three. Or had it been round six? A flush of delightful warmth reignited between her thighs.
Damn, what a night.
Ronan had definitely gone for the gold—and nailed it. Several times.

A demanding yip interrupted her memories of last night. Mairi squirmed against the erotic ache. Time to get back to reality. Lilia’s puppy had to be fed and needed to go outside…unless it was already too late.

Mairi eased out of the nest of blankets and pillows. “Come on, Sir Yips-a-lot.” She inwardly groaned as she stepped into a warm wet spot on the plush area rug. “Ugh. That’ll teach me to let you sleep in my room, won’t it?”

Passing the puppy between her hands, Mairi shouldered on her robe and tiptoed to the door. She glanced back one last time just as Ronan rolled to his back and started snoring. Whispering into the puppy’s fur, Mairi eased open the hall door. “We’re going to let him sleep. He’s definitely earned it.”

The puppy perked its tiny ears forward, looked across the room at Ronan, and growled.

“Shh.” Mairi quietly closed the door and descended the stairs in light, barefooted hops. She’d forgotten her slippers, the floor was cold, but she didn’t care. Mairi smiled to herself as she bounced around the final turn. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this content. For the first time in a very long time, she felt…Mairi paused, the impatient puppy squirming against her chest and the other hand resting lightly on the cold brass of the stair rail. How did she feel? A single word settled in her mind.
Complete.
Mairi eased in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Yes. That’s exactly how she felt. Complete. She pecked a kiss to the top of the puppy’s head and bounced into the kitchen.

“There’s my Buzzy boy.” Lilia hopped up from the kitchen table, rushed over, and scooped the little dog out of Mairi’s hands. The puppy grunted and yipped a happy greeting as he wriggled up against Lilia’s throat and nibbled on her ear. “I was worried about you—especially after that loud crash that shook the house right before the butt crack of dawn.”

“Slight furniture malfunction.” Mairi cinched the belt of her robe a bit tighter and headed toward the coffeepot. She needed caffeine. A lot of it. “Your little Buzzy boy actually behaved last night. He slept snuggled up to Ronan like a little cuddle-bug.”

Eliza’s teacup halted midway to her mouth. Lilia lowered the puppy away from her ear and stared at Mairi with a
what the hell did you just say
look. Then her eyes narrowed and a wicked grin appeared as her gaze swept from the top of Mairi’s tangled mass of hair down across her robe then lower to her barefoot toes. Lilia’s wicked grin bloomed into a knowing sisterly smile.

Mairi squirmed under Lilia’s all too familiar perusal. Her twin knew her better than anyone. Nothing escaped Lilia. The kitchen suddenly felt as though time had stopped.

“And I take it you slept snuggled up to Ronan’s other side—Miss Cuddle-bug?” Lilia tucked the puppy close to her side and settled back to the table. “I saw the lip-lock you put on him outside the shop. I had three customers asking for a gallon of whatever aphrodisiac I’d sold him.”

Embarrassment heated Mairi’s face as she rushed across the kitchen. “It was the only way I could get him into the car. We were soaked to the skin and needed to get home to a nice hot shower.”

“Okay.” Lilia spoke slowly as though attempting to guide Mairi through a set of difficult instructions. “So…how far did you have to up the ante to get him upstairs to your shower?” Lilia’s expression shifted to a sly
I want every detail
level.

Heavy footsteps thumped down the back staircase then Ronan stepped into the room with nothing but his plaid wrapped about his waist.

“My my…what a beautiful morning….” Lilia stood up from her chair and leaned beside Mairi against the counter, openly gawking at Ronan’s muscular expanse of broad chest. She giggled as she elbowed Mairi then smiled at Ronan. “Mairi didn’t say at the shop but I don’t suppose you’ve got a brother?”

“Nay.” Ronan’s brow creased into a confused furrow as he glanced first at Mairi then politely nodded to Lilia. “I have no brother.”

Ronan’s deep voice triggered a delicious visceral response in Mairi’s nether regions. He’d growled the words
aye
and
nay
to her all through the night. A lot. Mairi shifted in place.
Lord have mercy, the kitchen is hot this morning
.

“Damn, sis.” Lilia leaned in close to Mairi. “No wonder you’re walking bowlegged this morning.”

Mairi fixed Lilia with a
shut the hell up
look. “There should be some smashed dog food in that cup over there. Even though he’s your responsibility now, if you’ll feed him, I’ll run upstairs and get dressed so I can take him for a walk before he leaves any more presents on the floor.”

Lilia winked then made silent kissy faces at Mairi. “I don’t blame you. I’d be anxious to get back upstairs too.”

Eliza cleared her throat and returned her teacup to its saucer. “Tha’ll do, Lilia. A lady never overly advertises her appetite. ’Tis quite unbecoming. Yer Granny would tell ye such is the behavior of the common whore.”

Mairi bit her tongue to keep from giggling when Lilia turned her back to Eliza and made a snarky face that told Mairi exactly what her sister thought about Eliza’s advice.

“And dinna be rollin’ yer eyes and makin’ yer faces. Ye ken I see everythin’ ye do.” Eliza spared a narrow-eyed look at Lilia before turning her attention to Ronan. “Please have a seat, Chieftain. I’m sure ye must be quite famished.”

Instead of sitting at the table, Ronan moved across the room to Mairi. The closer he drew, the harder Mairi’s heart pounded. If he touched her, she’d surely burst into flames.

“Did you sleep well?” Her voice squeaked and broke like a thirteen-year-old boy fighting the throes of puberty.

Ronan’s unreadable expression shifted with a calm knowing smile. He cradled her face in one hand then eased forward and brushed a light kiss across her parted lips. “Aye. Last night I was blessed with the sleep of a fully satisfied man.”

Mouth dry, nipples so tight and hard they burned, Mairi hitched a sharp intake of breath. “Me too,” she whispered as she floated in Ronan’s silver-eyed gaze. A sigh escaped her. Mairi finally blinked as though breaking free of a stupor. “I mean…not a fully satisfied man but a woman. I slept…oh, never mind.” Mairi shifted back a step and fanned the open throat of her robe as she turned to Eliza. “What’s the furnace set on? It’s hot in here.”

Eliza arched an incredulous brow at Mairi then swiveled in her seat and shot a disapproving look at Lilia, who stood with one hand pressed across her mouth, snickering. “The furnace is fine. Why dinna the two of ye go upstairs…” Eliza slammed a ring-covered hand down hard on the table at Lilia’s sudden peal of laughter. “Lilia. Take the wee dog to the garage, feed it, then take it outside and dinna come back in the house ’til ye can control yer outbursts and keep yer mind on something besides yer sister’s affairs.”

Lilia alternately teetered and snorted as she scooped up the saucer of dog food and tucked the puppy under her arm. On her way out of the kitchen, Lilia smiled at Ronan. “Did yourself proud, did you?”

“Lilia. Out. Now.” Eliza rose from the table. Her bracelets rattled wildly up and down her arm as she jabbed a pointing finger at the door.

As it swung shut, Eliza turned back to Mairi and Ronan. She waved one hand at the kitchen chairs, pinching the bridge of her nose with the other hand while slowly shaking her head. “Sit. Please. The both of ye.”

Eliza’s tone was like a dousing with icy water. Mairi snugged her robe tighter about her body and retied the belt. This was the first time she’d ever seen Eliza in such a strained mood. Her dear guardian was always an eclectic soul of bubbling energy. “What’s going on? What has you so…tense?”

Ronan started to speak but bit back the words when Eliza stopped him with a raised hand and a quick jerk of her head. She pulled out the center kitchen chair and wearily sank into it.

A nauseating wave of dread rolled across Mairi. Something was very wrong. Not only was Eliza acting like the world was about to end, but she’d sucked Ronan into it too—and he didn’t look a bit surprised by her behavior. The relaxed lover of a moment ago was gone. Ronan now looked like a man ready to go to war.

Mairi forced in a slow, deep breath then just as carefully released it. This couldn’t be happening—not after last night.
Please don’t spoil this. Please.

The corners of Eliza’s immaculately penciled and painted mouth drew down in a sorrowful frown. She held out her hand, palm up, waiting for Mairi to take it.

Mairi stared down at Eliza’s hand. What a seemingly innocent trap. If she touched Eliza’s hand and listened to whatever ill tidings Eliza needed to share, the wonderful magic of the previous night would be gone—lost forever. Mairi laced her fingers together in a tight-fisted knot and propped her hands on the table.
Hell no. I’ll be damned if I’ll throw it all away so easily.
She jerked her chin toward Eliza. “Just tell me. Straight.”

Eliza deflated with a heavy sigh, shaking her head as she reluctantly withdrew her hand and stroked the table with a slow hypnotic wipe. “Ye must go back. Now. Much is at risk. Lives could verra well be at stake.”

Mairi clenched her fists so hard her fingers went numb. She stole a glance at Ronan and her heart fell. He didn’t seem the least bit curious or shocked by Eliza’s words. Instead, he seemed…resigned. And too damn knowing. Dread knotted in the pit of her stomach, tightening like a snake coiled to strike. She really didn’t want to know what Eliza meant, but she forced herself to say the words. “Whose lives?”

Eliza stared down at the table as she spoke. “Many.” She leaned forward, her hands pressed together as though she were about to pray for deliverance. “Chieftain Sutherland’s best friend and his mother are unwell. And the peace of the MacKenna clan could verra well be in danger too. Ye must go back. Yer the only hope t’save them all.”

Chieftain Sutherland’s best friend and his mother are unwell.
In the past. In the thirteenth century. With shaking fingers pressed against her temples, Mairi sucked in another deep breath, struggling to control the time bomb of emotions threatening to explode. She’d been played. Played and betrayed. Totally taken in and screwed in every sense of the word. The protective wall she kept around her heart rapidly reconstructed itself, brick by brick, growing more impenetrable with the mortar of Ronan’s subterfuge. She tensed with the sickening realization as she turned and faced him. “So you’re from the past. The thirteenth century?”

Ronan glanced at Eliza before he finally turned to Mairi and nodded. “Aye.”

“Why did you look at her first before you agreed? Have the two of you not had time to work out all your lies?” Mairi slammed her chair back and rose from the table. She should’ve known he was too damn good to be true. Why the hell had she let down her guard?

“He was sent to fetch ye.” Eliza raised her voice as she fisted her hands atop the table. “Ronan’s mother and his best friend have taken verra ill and the Sinclairs have been charged by the Fates to the task of setting things a’right. A dark evil has descended upon MacKenna Keep and Nia and yer sisters canna battle it alone. Ye must go back, child. Many souls depend on ye—depend on the healin’ that only you can do.”

Eliza’s explanation didn’t add up. Both Granny and Trulie possessed the gift of healing and both were already firmly ensconced in the past. And why would the Fates specifically charge her with this
mission
? What the hell had she done to piss them off?

Mairi swallowed hard against the sick feeling of betrayal, doing her best to ignore the bile burning the back of her throat. She glared at Ronan, searching his face for some clue as to why he hadn’t told her all this sooner—before they’d had such an unbelievable night.

Why the hell do you think he kept his mouth shut?
She already had a pretty good idea. He’d known she’d refuse. And what did Eliza mean by “
a dark evil”
had descended upon the keep? How was she supposed to fix that? She wasn’t a freakin’ exorcist or a damn ghostbuster.

Ronan broke her tortured reverie when he shifted in place. He stared at her, eyes cold and unreadable, jaw locked as though waiting for the death sentence he knew he deserved.

“Granny or Trulie can heal them.” Mairi kept her gaze locked on Ronan. Her eyes burned with the need to blink, but she didn’t care. If she blinked she might miss another clue as to why he’d gone to such lengths to hurt her. She could already read the guilt and pain in his eyes; this trickery was as much his doing as Granny’s. “Why didn’t you just take them to MacKenna Keep instead of coming here to get me?”

And that was another thing—he couldn’t be a male time runner. There was no such thing.
Someone
would have had to help him and she had a pretty good idea who it was. This power play to get her back to the past had Granny written all over it.

“Who are you really?” Mairi leaned across the table. “And I want the damn truth this time.”