The Highlander's Secret(56)
Her breathing calmed and Alan moved again, rocking them in a syncopated rhythm. He took pleasure in the gentle musings that escaped her lips and knew he must have been doing something right.
It was like nothing he’d ever felt before, the waves of pleasure came washing over him and built like a kind of tension. Alan dipped his head to kiss her neck and face while Jain bucked her hips to meet him properly. She raked her nails across his back hard enough to leave a mark and kissed him deeply on the mouth.
He slipped one of his hands underneath Jain’s thigh and lifted it higher on his waist to shift the pressure. Alan wasn’t sure how long they were lost in the throes of passion, but it didn’t feel like long enough. She was too sweet, too kissable for him to stop.
Eventually, they became exhausted and collapsed in a tangled pile of flesh and sweat.
Neither of them spoke at first until Alan decided to break the silence. He turned to her and asked, “Are ye alright?”
Jain chuckled to herself and rolled over on her side to look at him. “I’m not as breakable as all that. Ye might be surprised at what I can take.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Jain woke up in bed next to her husband and smiled, nuzzling her head into the crook of his arm. The red waves of her hair spilled out across the blanket and tickled the side of her face. Her body was deliciously sore after their first days of marriage and they were more in love then Jain could have ever hoped. It was like waking up only to realize that her dreams had indeed come true.
Alan groaned, rolling over and opened his eyes to kiss her on the forehead. “Good morrow, love.”
She lifted her chin to kiss him softly on the lips before climbing out of bed. The whiskers of his beard tickled the skin around her lip, but Jain didn’t mind in the least. “Good morrow, Alan. Shall I get started on the morning meal?”
“Mmmm,” he hummed sleepily while trailing his fingers lightly up and down her arm. “I’d much rather have ye lay with me in bed a while.”
Jain laughed, reaching over to rouse him from his sleep, and said, “Aye, but Bruce will be expecting ye at the shop and we both have work to do. The world dinnae stop just because ye and I are happy and in love.”
He sat up on the bed next to her and blinked, letting the blankets fall down around his stomach. “Curse ye and yer infallible logic.”
She smiled at him and leaned in suggestively, “There’s always tonight, my love. Trust me, I’ll be more than willing to make it worth the wait.”
Alan sighed and threw off the rest of the blankets before climbing out of bed. Jain pulled on a grey tunic and wrapped her leg with a bit of fabric over the pair of hose. The extra layers kept her legs warm beneath her kirtle while Alan stoked the fire. He glanced up at her and grinned when she came into the living space. “I’ll be sad to leave ye every morning,” Alan murmured. “But knowing ye’re here waiting fer me will make the day pass that much more quickly.”
Jain smiled. “I feel the same.”
He watched as she undid her braid from the night before and started cooking them some breakfast. When it was ready they both enjoyed a brief meal before Alan had to go. She walked him to the lawn outside and held his hand before they kissed with a dreamy smile. “I’ll be back in the eve,” he promised.
“And I’ll be waiting.”
Alan waved goodbye and left her embrace to start walking up the hill. Jain wondered how life turned out this way, especially after thinking for so long that she could never be happy with domesticity. Her thirst for travel hadn’t disappeared completely, but it had been pushed to the back of her mind while enjoying the life that fate had seen fit to grant her.
For the first time, it felt like everything she needed – everything she ever wanted – was right here. She’d never felt so content.
While the day grew on, Jain prepared a noon day meal for Alan and Bruce and started up the hill outside. The pads of her shoes crunched on fallen leaves that were strewn across the lawn. Autumn had come at last and all of nature celebrated its arrival with a colorful display of orange, brown and yellow. With a determined sigh, she headed up the path towards Elign with a basket on her hip filled to the brim with a tasty snack. She’d barely reached the village gate when a rider came galloping up behind her, making his way towards the keep. Its hooves beat against the ground like thunder as the horse and rider sped off into the village. Her eyes grew wide when she saw him disappear around the bend, and fear trickled down her spine, raising goosebumps on her arms.
It could only mean one thing – the Vikings had returned.
Jain broke into a run, following the horse all the way to the steps of the great stone fortress. Her lungs were burning, and she was out of breath when she got there. Her father was standing near the gate outside, speaking with the man who came riding with such urgency. His face said everything, with a furrowed brow and eyes dark in concentration.
“Ye’re sure?” Eamon asked him.
The man nodded, still sitting aloft his horse. “Aye, my laird. The Viking ships are unmistakable. They made camp on the northern coast, but it’s only a matter of time before they attack.”
“They’re back,” Jain breathed out in desperation, torn between panic and brave resolve. “What does that mean?”
Eamon sighed, turning to address his daughter. “It means we still have a couple of days to rally more forces until they get here.”