Chapter 25
The last week of their excursion was like something out of Kate’s dreams.
They alternated between observing the eagles by day and making love by night.
Although neither she nor Nat had any experience when it came to lovemaking, together they did what scientists did best—experiment.
They tried a half a dozen different positions, each one more pleasurable than the last. Kate’s favorite was when Nathaniel lay on his back, and she rode him.
She liked it because the sight of her drove him wild, and that roused her further in turn.
And because his thick cock hit her at just the right angle in that position.
And also because in that position, Nathaniel could easily reach up and rub that magical spot at the juncture of her thighs.
In that position, Kate could climax two or even three times in a single bout of lovemaking.
She even gathered her courage and tried pleasuring him with her mouth, as he did for her each and every evening.
Nathaniel rather obviously enjoyed her ministrations, but he would never let her bring him all the way to his peak.
But he assured her that this was only because he loved being inside her so much.
She could tell that he delighted in the pleasure she derived from his cock; she could feel him swelling with pride—literally—when she shattered around him.
Kate wasn’t about to complain. But she silently vowed that one of these days, she would bring him to completion with her mouth.
As they approached the scheduled date of their departure, they discussed how they would comport themselves for the remainder of their trip.
They were in Scotland, which meant that they could wed without the need to call the banns or secure a license.
But as much as they both wished to marry immediately, they agreed that it would be best to wait until they returned to Edinburgh.
“Kit” turning out to be “Kate” would be enough of a scandal in the cosmopolitan capital.
The people of the Hebrides were renowned for being both pious and conservative, and they agreed that the news that an unmarried couple had been sharing a bed would not be well-received, even if they attempted to make things right with a wedding.
They therefore agreed that Kate would continue wearing her disguise for now, but they would marry as soon as they returned to Edinburgh.
As they stepped out of the shieling for the last time, Kate cast a wistful glance toward the mountain where they had spent so many happy days.
Nat understood her feelings intuitively. “I’m sad to leave, too. But don’t worry. We’ll come back someday.”
She smiled at him. “Yes. Yes, we will.”
It only took one trip to ferry their possessions back to the coast as they had eaten almost all their provisions.
Kate was worried that Mr. MacIvor might not be waiting for them, considering how many days past the agreed-on date he had arrived in Stornoway.
But they only had to pass two nights in the shieling by the white-sand beach before his boat appeared on the horizon.
By this time, Kate’s breasts were bound, her cravat was knotted up to her chin, and what few curves she possessed were carefully concealed beneath her padded coat.
“Kit” was ready for one final appearance.
Back at the Star Inn, Mr. MacRitchie had saved them their old room.
The ship that would carry them back to Edinburgh was already in port, so they would depart on the morrow.
Kate thought with a pang that there wasn’t even any point in getting out her watercolors to start testing color combinations; there wouldn’t be time for the paint to dry before their departure.
And so, the time came to spend one final night in the bed they had shared so fitfully together, back when Kate had been Kit. At least this time, Kate was able to unbind her breasts for the night and remove her trousers.
Nat sat on the edge of the mattress. “We’ll have to get used to sleeping in a real bed again.”
“Indeed.” Kate dropped her voice to a whisper.
“Do you remember our first night in this room? You went straight to the washstand, took off your shirt and started splashing yourself with water. I was in agony from wanting you, and the whole while, you were blissfully oblivious, thinking I was a boy.”
Nathaniel laughed. “I remained oblivious for longer than I remained blissful. The next morning, I was at a loss to explain why I woke with a painful erection and couldn’t seem to keep my hands off my male illustrator.
Each morning, I had to pretend things were somehow normal.
” He waved a hand. “Carry on! Nothing to see here!”
Kate smiled. “And here I thought I was the one inflicting myself upon you.”
“No. It was very much mutual.”
She nodded toward the narrow bed. “At least tonight, we’ll be able to make good use of that bed.”
A pained expression stole into his eyes. “I’m not sure that would be wise. The inn is full, and the walls are thin. And the islanders are a pious people. This isn’t some fancy London hotel where no one thinks a thing about an unmarried couple meeting for a rendezvous.”
Kate shrugged. “So, we’ll need to be quiet. We can do that.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Can you?”
Kate bristled. “What are you saying? That I’m loud?”
He held both hands up, palms out. “Do not mistake me. I enjoy your… enthusiasm. But—”
“You have the nerve to imply that I am the problem here?” She crossed the room in two strides to jab him in the shoulder. “You, Nathaniel Sterling, are not any better!”
A smug, masculine look swept across his handsome features. “I most certainly am.”
She was going to wipe that smug expression off his handsome face. Without warning, she grasped the hem of her shirt and yanked it over her head.
She wore nothing beneath. She noted with some satisfaction the way Nat’s eyes immediately strayed to her breasts. “Kate,” he breathed, reaching out to stroke a pebbled nipple with his thumb.
She stepped out of his grasp. “Hang on. We can’t risk discovery by pleasuring me in any way. We all know how unrestrained I am.” She cast a significant look toward his groin, where his cock was tenting his white linen sleeping shirt. “You, on the other hand, are in complete control of yourself.”
His voice was tight. “That might be overstating things. But I can be quiet,” he added eagerly.
She stepped between his legs, then reached down, gently stroking him through the linen of his shirt. “You’d like me to take care of this for you. Wouldn’t you?”
His breathing had gone ragged. “Yes.”
She gave him a final, long stroke that earned her a gasp, then released his length. She reached for the hem of his shirt, noting how he immediately lifted his hips to help her.
Once she had him naked before her, she ran her hands across the broad planes of his chest. He made a low, thrumming sound of pleasure. “Nathaniel!” she admonished in a whisper. “You have to be quiet. Remember?”
“Right,” he panted. “Sorry… Mmm.”
A thrum of pleasure went through him as she threw a leg over him and settled, straddling his lap. She immediately brought a finger to his lips. “Quiet!”
“Sorry,” he repeated, reaching for her waist.
She swatted at his hands. “And no touching me. Remember?”
“R-right,” he said, his voice shaking. He placed his hands behind them, leaning back and clasping fistfuls of the quilt. “I can behave.”
The corner of Kate’s mouth twitched. She very much doubted it, at least, if she had anything to do with it.
Leaning in to kiss him, she proceeded to caress every inch of his beautiful, sculpted torso, but never let her hands stray below his waist.
He made sounds of pleasure—softly enough that she chose not to admonish him again. But although he appeared to be enjoying her ministrations, they were clearly not enough, because he kept scooting forward in a poorly disguised attempt to rub against her with his cock.
Kate eluded his first few attempts but eventually took pity on him and chose not to block him from brushing against the soft skin of her inner thigh.
With a groan, he began rubbing himself against her, quickly settling into a back-and-forth motion that caused the bedframe to start a telltale rhythmic creaking.
She lifted her lips from his. “Nathaniel,” she admonished.
His eyes blinked open. They were hazy with pleasure. “What is it?”
She twined her fingers in his hair. “Would you listen to what you’re doing?”
Only then did he seem to notice the rhythmic bouncing of his own hips. “I…” He bit off a curse.
She shook her head as if disappointed in him. “I do hope Mr. Buchanan next door is as deaf as he appears. Because that particular sound is rather telling, don’t you agree?”
“You’re driving me mad,” he gasped.
“Me?” she asked, all innocence.
He pinched her bottom, and she had to bite down a squeal.
“And you’re doing it on purpose,” he continued.
She twined her arms around his neck. She felt just a little bit wicked as she smiled at him. “Maybe. But the fact remains that we will need to try something else if we are to escape detection.”
Without warning, she hopped off his lap. She was halfway across the room before he managed to protest. “Kate!”
“Shh!” She retrieved one of the ladderback chairs from the circular table in the corner and brought it to the center of the room, then gestured for him to sit. “Let’s see if this will be more to your… satisfaction.”
He shot her a petulant look but rose from the bed and dutifully seated himself in the chair. “I don’t see how this will be any better than the bed. I’m not even sure what you’re going to… Merciful heavens, Kate!”
She had sunk to her knees in one smooth motion, seized his cock in both hands, and taken it into her mouth. She glanced up at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling with silent laughter.
He glanced down at her. “You’re going to be… the death of me,” he panted. But based on the look of pure, unadulterated bliss on his face, she didn’t really believe he was cross with her.
She pressed forward, taking him as deep as she could, continuing to stroke him with both of her hands.
He moaned. She wasn’t so cruel as to stop what she was doing, but she gave him a very stern look from her position on the floor.
Thenceforth, he managed to limit himself to a mixture of gasps, hissed curses, and desperate whimpering.
It wasn’t long at all before his thighs turned to iron. “Kate,” he breathed, a note of urgency in his voice. “Kate, I’m about to… You’re going to make me… God, that feels good, and… Kate. Kate. Kate!”
A rush of warm, thick liquid entered Kate’s mouth, but that was all right. She had been expecting it. She quickly swallowed it down, then continued sliding her mouth and hands up and down his length, focusing on his pleasure.
Soon, he stiffened, and gentle hands threaded into her hair, easing her off. She was preparing to give him a smug smile when his large hands seized her beneath her armpits. Nathaniel lifted her effortlessly from the floor, stood, and placed her on the chair.
She looked up at him, cautious. “Nathaniel?”
He was the one sporting the smug smile. “Turnabout is fair play.”
Her breath hitched as he sank to the floor, pressing her thighs open as he went.
She was completely nude, and although she had spent the past twelve days tangled up with this man in every conceivable configuration, she felt curiously exposed.
It had been dark in the shieling, as they’d had to rely on rushlights.
Now, in the light of the tallow candles illuminating the room, Kate was exquisitely conscious that Nathaniel could see her most intimate parts in a way he could not before.
She tried to brush it off. “I thought I was too loud.” Her voice emerged with a breathy quality rather than the breezy one she had been attempting.
He paused the trail of kisses he’d been pressing up the inside of her thigh to give her an evil grin. “You’ll just have to manage.”
He brought his mouth to the apex of her thighs, and lud!
Kate liked everything she and Nathaniel had done together, but this act…
It was almost too good, like eating pure icing.
Her earlier self-consciousness forgotten, Kate spread her legs farther and scooted to the edge of the chair to allow him full access… and the blasted man stopped!
Nat gave her a reproachful look. “Now Kate, you have to stay quiet.”
“How,” she panted, “am I supposed to stay quiet when you’re—”
He was already leaning down to return to his task. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Kate gasped as he swirled his tongue over a particularly sensitive spot.
She clapped both hands over her mouth in an attempt to muffle the squeals of pleasure emerging from her throat.
Apparently, Nat had a point, and the situation only grew worse when he began massaging her with the flat of his tongue.
That made it a thousand times more difficult to stay silent, but, on the plus side, it brought her to a quick, trembling climax that brought her intimate aria to a conclusion.
When she was next aware of anything, she found that Nathaniel was seated on the chair and she was cradled in his lap. “What happened?” she asked blearily.
His smile was full of masculine satisfaction. “You almost fell off the chair. It’s a good thing I managed to catch you.”
She smiled against his neck. “You were obliged to catch me. The entire situation was your fault.”
He shook his head. “Is that the thanks I get?” But Kate couldn’t help but notice that he was smiling.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Kate enjoyed Nathaniel’s warm hand stroking up and down her back.
She was debating whether she wanted to crawl into the bed and fall asleep in his arms or swing her leg across his lap and see what else they could manage to do in that chair when his voice rumbled in her ear. “Kate, something occurred to me the other day. I’ve been meaning to discuss it with you.”
“Oh?” A yawn slipped out. As tempting as another round of lovemaking with Nat sounded, perhaps they should have a short nap first.
When he spoke again, his voice was soft, and there was an undercurrent of dread in it. “I fear you will not like it.”
She looked at him then, took in the creases of concern on his forehead, and the tightness of his jaw.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.