Chapter 7
WHIZ!
“What in bloody hell was that?” The look on Donell’s face was priceless, and Lainie couldn’t help laughing. They’d spent a couple of days in the cottage and glen, but they’d transitioned to exploring more of the modern world.
“It was a car. Instead of riding horses and in carriages, we have cars.”
“Good Lord, the contraption nearly killed me.”
Lainie didn’t think she’d ever seen a man jump as high as Donell when the little Euro car flew by.
“They can be dangerous.” She wiped at the tears collecting in her eyes.
Donell gave her a sideways glance, the corners of his lips turned upward.
“These dinna feel right. They are clutchin’ on my man goods,” Donell said with a wink, fiddling with his pants.
Indeed, they were clutching his man goods. Lainie’s nipples pebbled, and the heat between her legs moistened just from looking at the massive bulge in his jeans.
“That’s the way of things here. You will blend right in.”
He raised his eyebrow, and this time she winked.
After getting over their initial shock and Donell’s anger, they’d spent the morning leisurely making love and eating breakfast. The time passed in the blink of an eye, and still, they had no idea why he was there.
Lainie had gone out and bought him some modern clothes, jeans, and a sweater.
He looked like a model who’d hopped out of the pages of a magazine, only sexier and much more muscular.
As much as she loved the idea of staying inside and having sex for the rest of eternity, they needed some fresh air.
“Do ye think they’ll recognize me?” Donell pointed to MacDuff Castle.
Their footsteps crunched as they walked up the gravel path to the massive structure.
“No, they wouldn’t believe you were him even if it crossed their minds.” Lainie felt sure, even if he were dressed in a kilt, no one would think him Donell, Laird of MacDuff, come to the future.
“Perhaps I should give the tour,” he chuckled. His soft burr caressed her soul. Even when she no longer had him, she would never be able to forget the way he said her name or whispered sexy things in her ears.
Lainie laughed, imagining Donell as a tour guide. “You know that’s not a bad idea.”
Donell stopped in the middle of the path, his brows furrowed a bit, and his lips pursed as if he were pondering something.
“What is it?” She couldn’t make out what he was feeling from his expression.
“Come, I want to show ye somethin’.” He winked, a devilish grin covering his face.
Enticed by those wicked green eyes, she would always be willing to do as he asked. Anything he wanted to show her, she was more than happy to see.
She laughed and followed him—unaware that the next time she stepped through those woods, everything would change.
Donell clasped her hand in his. His grip was strong, sure, and utterly devastating.
She imagined where his hands had been only an hour before…
He led her into the woods, and they walked briskly until they arrived in a clearing.
He looked around for a moment as if trying to remember where he was and then continued on.
The smile on his face broadened as they approached an entrance to a cave.
“This, my beautiful vixen, is what I wanted to show ye.” His eyes twinkled with delight, and he exuded enthusiasm. Lainie couldn’t help but be excited with him.
“A cave? You’ve been here before?” How remarkable… Nearly four hundred years later, he could still locate it. She supposed the Earth didn’t shift much, but the grounds must have changed quite a bit.
“Not only have I been here, but I also know all the tunnels. I am sure nobody has found my secret place in all these years. Come now.”
Lainie followed him into the dark cavern. The light from outside barely made a dent in the gloom. The scent of the cave was musty and wet, and the temperature inside was remarkably warmer than outside. Looking around, she noticed the light inside grow brighter.
“Almost there,” he reassured her, seeming to sense her hesitancy.
She didn’t know why she trusted this stranger so much.
Although after last night and this morning, he wasn’t really a stranger anymore…
What hold did he have on her? She was utterly intoxicated by him.
Was it because he originated from a time that held so much fancy for her?
In reality, life was more brutal in his time than romantic, but he was so different she couldn’t fathom it any other way.
“Here.” He stopped, his hand squeezing hers gently.
Sun beat down on them now from an opening in the roof. Steam spiraled up from a pool of clear water in the center of the cave.
The sparkling liquid was truly a magical sight, setting an air of enchantment.
“A spring,” she breathed. The cave and waters didn’t look like they’d been touched for hundreds of years, just as he’d predicted.
“Aye, ‘tis my spring. Nobody but I knows of it. I would come here to think.” He looked away from her. “Perhaps coming to a place so important to me will help me return to my people.”
“Yes.” Lainie hid the disappointment from her voice. She was in such a romantic spot with the sexiest man she’d ever known. She wasn’t going to ruin the moment with ruminations on him leaving.
Donell sauntered up behind her, placing his strong hands on her shoulders, kneading the knotted muscles. He placed a tender kiss on the side of her neck.
“Should I return, I want to have a place I can go to remember ye.”
“Mmm…” She couldn’t speak. His hands traversed from her shoulders to caress her breasts, tweaking her nipples.
“I want to see ye when I come here.” His voice was soft, full of desire.
Donell turned her towards him. His thumbs caressed her cheekbones, her lips. Lainie opened her mouth and tasted the tip of his finger. He closed his eyes and sucked in his breath. She sucked his finger into her mouth, her tongue swirling around the tip.
“I want to relive my time with ye, every moment.” His voice was husky, the sound vibrating her body. “Starting now.”
He slid his finger from her mouth, replacing it with his lips.
He kissed her deeply, their heads dipping from side to side as they consumed each other.
The clean scent of him was everywhere. She breathed him in.
Her hands ran through his hair, over his back, as her mouth tasted the raw essence that made up Donell.
Just from knowing him for less than twenty-four hours, she wondered why she’d kept such a solitary life.
“I want to see you, all of you,” Lainie whispered, stepping away. She undid the top button of his jeans as Donell tugged the sweater from his chest.
“I want to show ye,” he breathed back.
He unzipped his jeans, and Lainie shook her head. “Let me.”
She slipped her hand through the opening, moaning at the feel of him—hot, heavy, alive beneath her touch. The warm length pulsed in her hand as she let her thumb brush from the tip, then all the way down.
Donell growled.
She slipped both her hands onto his hips and slid his pants down to his ankles.
Trapped now, he couldn’t escape with his pants holding him hostage.
She ran her fingertips along his thighs as she’d imagined doing while standing in front of his portrait.
Corded with muscle, they were covered in soft curly hair.
He must get plenty of sun with no clothes on.
Not a single tan line marred his skin. Boy, would she like to be the lucky lady who stumbled on such a sight.
Leaning in, she flicked her tongue over the tip, laughing sultrily when he took in a ragged breath.
“Oh, Lainie.” His hands ran through her hair, gripping it tight.
His moans were all the encouragement she needed.
Her mouth worshiped him, slow kisses and gentle sucks that made him tremble against her.
Lainie breathed hotly on the tip, smiling at his loud moans.
Finally, she ended his torment and placed her lips around the head, sucking slowly.
He tasted so good and smelled even better.
Clean male scent. Sweet and salty taste.
She moaned as she took him deeper into her mouth and then withdrew at a titillating pace.
He bucked against her, but she held his hips in place.
“Oh, god,” he moaned, his hands tugging on her hair.
Lainie teased him again with her tongue, flicking once more along the tip.
“Please, Lainie…” Donell moaned.
Her body pulsed and hummed with his begging. She took a little more of him in and then let him slide back out. Gripping his length with her hand, she stroked him as her mouth bobbed up and down, her pace increasing a little. Her other hand cupped his sac, massaging.
Lainie didn’t think it was possible for him to grow thicker, but he did. The silky skin pulsed in her grip.
“Stop, no, don’t stop,” Donell moaned. His hips thrust forward, and then he dragged himself from her mouth.
She looked up. His green eyes were cloudy, heavily lidded.
Between her thighs quivered from his gaze, knowing she’d been the one to turn him on.
She smiled devilishly and licked her lips.
He hauled her up roughly and placed his lips on hers.
The kiss wasn’t tender, but rough, demanding.
Showing her just how much he wanted her, how much she aroused him.
As he assaulted her with his mouth, his hands disrobed her, tossing her clothes to the side. For being a man of a different century, Donell had no problem removing modern clothing. She laughed low in her throat at his urgency.
“Ye tease me, little minx.” He nibbled on her lips, lifting her in the air. She wrapped her legs around his hips, her arms around his neck, and let him take her to the edge of the spring. “Care to take a dip?”
“Mmm…” Her head fell back as he lowered his head to her breasts, flicking his tongue against one nipple and then the other.
They slipped into the pool. The warm liquid against her skin only heightened the sensuality and pleasure Lainie was experiencing.
“Donell, this is pure heaven.” She sucked on his lower lip as she rubbed her pelvis against his.
“Nay, this is pure heaven,” he whispered as he shifted their hips and thrust into her. Lainie gripped his shoulders, her nails digging in as she massaged the taut muscles.
“Oh, yes.” She wrapped her legs tighter around his waist and reveled in the sinewy muscle that rubbed against her mons.
Their bodies molded perfectly to one another as she gyrated her hips with Donell’s rhythmic motions. Being in his arms was exquisite bliss. Lainie was sure no other man could make her body purr the way he could.
Their pace quickened. Her body sang from every pore as Donell once again propelled her to a crescendo.
“Donell!” His lips captured her moan as lightning ripped through both of their bodies.
As the electric shock of their lovemaking subsided, their kiss became tender.
The echo of their cries still shimmered in the cavern.
For a long moment, neither spoke. She traced the water’s ripples and thought how easily time itself could ripple too—and what it might cost to change its course.
Lainie sat back and looked deep into Donell’s eyes.
“I don’t want to live without you in my life. This has all been better than a dream,” she whispered.
“Aye, sweetness. ‘Twould be a nightmare, that.”
She clung to him as the spring light shimmered around them, half afraid that when the steam cleared, he’d be gone. But for now, he was still hers—and that was enough.
On the cottage table miles away, the box trembled once, its carved knotwork glowing faintly. The air smelled of rain and rosewood, the scent of what it guarded.