“
Oh, hey, this corset
isn’t too tight at all. What goes next?”
“
The petticoats,
m’lady.”
“
Oh, please, you don’t
have to call me that. You can call me Piper.” Colm admired her
trying to befriend Annie, but Annie was a timid lassie who would
never call her lady by her given name.
Annie helped Piper into
her petticoats. Thankfully there were no panniers with this style
gown or he thought Piper might have a tantrum. Well, another
tantrum. The skirt fit, hitting right at her ankles, but Colm had
one more piece to add. Grabbing his great plaid, he draped it
around her, sliding his arms around her waist to wrap her as a lady
would wear an
arasaid
, the women’s version of the plaid. With each brush of his
hands against her body, warmth spread through him, reminding him of
how hot Piper could burn, of how hot he wanted her to burn. She
must have sensed the change in him, because she stopped fussing
with the “ruffles” and looked up. Her eyes dilated and she leaned
in to his body, into his touch. But she shook it off and stepped
back. Colm narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like that. What was she
afraid of?
He offered her his arm and, with only
a slight hesitation, Piper took it. He led her out into the hallway
and took her through the keep. While not as impressive as Blair,
the Perthshire castle, the more modern Scottish Baronial mansion
was the seat of the Struan Robertsons, and his chief preferred it
here, since his wife had died. His clan was still recovering from
their losses at Culloden several decades past, so taking Piper as
his wife would only help cement relations with neighboring clans,
and hopefully bring his clan back to their former prosperity. He
still didn’t know what Grissall gained from this alliance, but as
long as he kept Piper, he would be happy.
* * * *
Piper was enjoying the tour with Colm.
She didn’t know what she’d expected, but the beautifully decorated
and luxurious mansion wasn’t it. Her imagination must have taken
her back to drab castles with nothing but tapestries. This light,
open and sumptuously furnished manor was far more wonderful than
anything she owned at home.
When Colm stopped in the library, she
almost swooned. It was heaven on Earth. It wasn’t set up like any
library she’d ever seen. It was very open and grand. The shelves
were against the walls, and each book shelf was taller than she
was. The antique couch and chairs, which were probably not antiques
at all, but originals, were arranged in front of the fireplace, and
Piper could easily see herself snuggling up in one reading her
favorite book. Holy crap, if she stayed, she could read a Jane
Austen book in Jane’s own century! If she stayed, Piper would make
a point to hunt down Ms. Austen and get her book signed when it
came out.
As enticing and exciting
as that was, that meant that she was considering staying in this
time. And how scary was that? Very. The mere thought of leaving
everything she had was intensely frightening. She may not have had
the best life going, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that
it was
her
life
and she should have a say in her own life. The thought of leaving
behind everything that was familiar, especially indoor plumbing was
starting to freak her out. Piper’s breathing increased and she
suddenly felt faint. Plopping gracelessly down in a delicate chair,
she put her head in her hands.
Colm’s strong hands and deep voice
were right there. He didn’t ask her what was wrong, he just
murmured soothing phrases in her ear. She had no idea what they
meant, but she could tell he was trying to comfort her. And wasn’t
that a trip? No guy had ever really comforted her.
It was as if Colm knew what she needed
better than she did. Right now, she wanted to curl up in his
embrace and cry. That was huge for Piper, she wasn’t a crier. But
today, she figured, it was allowed. She’d freaking traveled time!
Who knew this was possible? Did NASA have this kind of capability?
Oh God, this was totally impossible. Yet, here she was. But Colm
had said she could go back, right? What if they tried to date? This
might work, freaky as it was.
Lifting her head, Piper met his
worried gaze. “Look, I like you. A lot. But I’ve never lived with a
guy before, so moving in with you is huge, let alone moving into
your time. There has to be a way we can just, I don’t know, visit
each other to see if we even get along. I mean, what if I move
here, and we break up? I don’t want to be stuck here forever. Or if
I went back to my time, would the same amount of time have passed?
How did you come to my time, anyway? Was it a gateway that we can
use?”
Colm cut off her babbling with a very
gentle finger against her lips. “Nay, Piper. It doesna work in that
fashion. You have to decide now. The witch doesna have enough power
to send you through again.”
“
She has enough to send me
back, if I don’t want to stay, though, right?”
A heartbeat passed before he answered.
“Aye.”
Did he pause? Piper searched his eyes
but could find no lie there. Either he was an accomplished liar, or
she really could choose to go home. But the question niggling at
the back of her head was, Did she really want to go back? She
didn’t have anything special waiting for her, other than Katie. She
would miss Katie, but was that reason enough to go back? Piper was
leaning more and more towards staying. How many people would ever
have this chance? She was always impulsive, and yet she couldn’t
make a decision here. Which was probably a good thing, as this was
one of the most important decisions she would ever make.
“
Do I have to decide
now?”
His shoulders slumped slightly as he
released his breath. Had he been holding his breath over her
answer?
“
Nay, Piper, no’ now, but
soon.”
Colm took her hand and pulled her to
her feet, her skirts swishing around her ankles. Piper hated to
admit that she actually liked wearing the ruffled gown, and as soon
as no one was looking she planned on spinning in circles to see how
far the dress would flare. Maybe she was more girly than she wanted
to admit. With a bit of a smile on her face at that thought, Piper
let Colm lead her out to the garden through beautiful French doors
that were flanked on either side by floor-to-ceiling
bookcases.
Touring the beautiful lands that
surrounded the manor, Colm surprised Piper with a waterfall. She
was pretty sure the series of falls was dammed in her time. The
slivery water was clearer than any she’d ever seen. With the
sunlight causing bright sparkles to dance on top of the waves,
Piper was caught anew at how beautiful the land here was. Realizing
that it was pollution-free, Piper bent down to take a sip of the
water. It was crisp and cold, and if she could bottle it, she could
sell it to make a fortune in her own time. Amazing, simply amazing.
She sat on the edge of the pool, and stared out at the babbling
water.
“
I’m scared.”
Colm was right there, kneeling beside
her, understanding her. He’d quickly become her rock, her one
steady thing in a crazy adventure.
“
I ken. ‘Tis a muckle
frightening to be taken from all that is familiar.”
Without turning her gaze from the
water, Piper nodded. “The weird thing is that I don’t really think
it was all that familiar. I never felt like I had a home. I never
felt like I fit in anywhere. That’s why I surf. I love the peace.
There’s no confusion, no one judging me. Now that I’m here?” Piper
watched a bird dart from the sky and dive to the waves, coming up
with a wriggling fish. The thing was, it didn’t feel scary, knowing
she’d been transported back in time. It felt right. Something
inside her had clicked and Piper felt home. “I don’t feel out of
place. It’s similar to how I feel out on the waves.”
“
You feel at peace?”
Colm’s voice was low, soft, as if he were afraid a loud noise might
spook Piper.
“
Ha, no. I’m still too
scared to feel peaceful. But, I do feel like I
could
be at peace here.” Piper
turned finally to meet Colm’s eyes. “With you.”
Colm’s lips were on hers before she
finished the sentence.
Chapter Six
He hadn’t actually expected Piper to
agree to stay so soon. Pressing his lips against hers, he slid his
tongue along the lush pillow of her lower lip before nipping it.
Colm had to force himself to go slowly, not wanting to rush her,
but the small, feminine sounds Piper was making in the back of her
throat were spurring him on. Unable to fight it, he framed her face
with his hands, cupping her cheeks gently, wanting her to feel she
could pull away if she so desired. Colm intended to make sure the
only desire she felt was for him.
He nibbled her mouth gently before
slipping his tongue between her slightly parted lips. This time he
stroked her tongue with no intention to go any further. He wanted
to kiss her until she couldn’t think beyond the next swipe of his
tongue. She would be writhing beneath him from naught but a kiss,
before he allowed himself to explore her body. Her tongue had
joined his in the dance, and his cock was getting harder than the
steel of the sword she’d handled yester morn. Beneath his fingers
he could feel her heartbeat increase, pulsing against him. Colm
shifted from his kneeling position to press Piper to her back,
sliding one hand behind her head, and the other to hold his weight
off her.
Many times he’d been too large for the
lassies. He was one of the tallest men in the clan, and laying with
a woman who barely came to his chest had never held much appeal to
him. When he tupped a woman, he preferred someone who could handle
him his strength, his size. Piper was indeed that woman, and yet he
found himself holding back, gentling his touch, tempering his
strength. She was long and lean and solid muscle, yet still he
couldn’t bear to drop his full weight on to her.
Piper took the decision out of his
hands as she slid her hands up his chest, over his shoulders and
yanked him down. Her thighs cradled his hips and his erection
pressed against her. There were too many layers of clothing between
them, though, and he wished for her to be back in those
tight-fitting blue trews. Colm was fairly certain he could have
those off her in less time than it would take him to unlace her
stays. This was why so many men just tossed skirts up and pushed
kilts aside. But not now, not with her. She was more, so much more,
than a simple release. This was Piper.
* * * *
Piper was nearly mindless with desire.
This man had brought her to the edge with nothing but a kiss. Piper
writhed against him, trying to feel that large erection, but there
were too damn many skirts between them, including his. She spread
her legs just a bit wider, hoping he’d take the hint, but instead
of grabbing her gown and yanking it up, he ground his hips against
hers.
“
Please,” she finally
gasped.
“
No,” he said, sounding so
calm, damn him. Colm went back to nibbling her lower
lip.
“
What do you mean, ‘no’?”
Piper demanded. How could he say no when he was driving her insane
with need?
“
I mean no’ yet. Now stop
talking.”
He feathered light kisses down her jaw
line, to her neck, and sucked on her pulse. She didn’t think he’d
left a mark, but Piper realized she wouldn’t mind if he did, which
was strange, since she hated hickeys. His hands finally released
her face to trail after his lips. They skimmed down the sides of
her neck, made sensitive by his beard stubble and lips. His fingers
crept along her collar bones, slipping along the edge of her
bodice, but never doing more than that. When his hands finally met
in the middle of her bodice, Colm slid a finger in her modest
cleavage. Pressing under her stays, he found her nipple and pinched
lightly. Piper nearly bucked him off her, the sensation was so
intense.
A masculine grunt of approval came
from Colm as he slid his other hand down her stomach, to stop
between her legs. Pressing the heel of his hand against her, Piper
felt the skirts rub her just the right way, and with one slow, hard
circle of his hand, Piper came. Her back arched, her head dropped
back, and her hips nearly lifted off the ground.
Colm’s mouth was on her, hot and hard.
His fingers were working on her laces of the old fashioned gown,
and Piper was ready, so ready for him. She fumbled with his kilt,
gripping handfuls of the wool, but before she could lift it, Colm
had her wrists pinned down by her shoulders.
“
Nay, lass, I’m no’ ready
for that yet.” And he squeezed her wrists gently before returning
to the task of unlacing her gown. Before she could draw breath,
Colm’s weight was off her. In a daze, Piper looked around for what
reason Colm could possibly have for stopping what they were doing,
leaving both of them so unsatisfied.
The sound of his sword being pulled
from its leather sheath had her lifting a hand to block the sun so
she could see what was wrong. There were horses galloping at them.
Right at them. Piper tried to scramble to her feet, but kept
getting tangled in all the skirts.
Without even looking at
her, Colm leaned down, gripped her arm, and lifted her to stand
behind him. It wasn’t until the riders were closer that he lowered
his sword and relaxed his stance.
Were
they friends, then?
Piper wondered. Tall
enough to peek over his shoulder, Piper watched the men stop a few
feet away and say something in what she could only assume was
Gaelic.
It’s not like the Scots would
speak Spanish, right?