Tempting the Highlander (Pine Creek Highlanders #4)

Chapter Twenty-four

R obbie barely recognized the place. And from the look on his wife’s face as he carried her through the door, Catherine was just as surprised as he was.

The old cabin was spotless. All the broken furniture, the years of accumulated junk, and every last spider web and squirrel nest were gone. All that remained was a recently painted wrought-iron bed, a table and two chairs, a rocking chair, and the newly reblackened woodstove. The counter and cupboards had been painted red, there were new curtains in the windows, and even the floor was freshly painted.

And dozens of candles, just waiting to be lit, sat on every available surface.

Robbie looked down at his wife in his arms and found her looking around the cabin in shock. “I had no idea they were doing all this,” she whispered, looking up at him. “I just asked them to clean it up a bit.”

Robbie lowered Catherine to her feet and picked up the envelope leaning against the large three-wick candle sitting in the middle of the table. “I’m almost afraid to open this,” he said, holding it between them. “The last note I got was an invitation to my own wedding.”

She took the envelope from him, slit it open, and pulled out the card. “It’s the boys’ wedding present to us,” she told him, handing the card back. “They said every married couple with a houseful of hoodlums needs someplace to escape to.”

Robbie quickly read the card and tossed it down on the table, picked up his wife and set her on the counter, slipped between her knees, and locked his hands behind her back.

“I thought our deal was that our marriage didn’t start until you faced Daniels.”

She covered his lips with her fingers. “Sshhhh. Don’t even say his name. He no longer exists.”

“Aye, but he does, Catherine. I’ll not spend our wedding night with his ghost in our bed.”

“Even his ghost is gone,” she whispered, smiling into his eyes as she started unbuttoning his shirt.

Robbie covered her hands with both of his, shocked by her eagerness.

Shocked but not really surprised.

He’d been living with a stranger for the last three days, a woman who appeared confident and determined and now, obviously, quite brave.

“What happened this week?” he growled, holding her hands safely in his.

“I had a talk with a wise and rather insightful owl,” she said, pulling free and working the buttons open again.

“You talked with Mary?” he whispered, stopping her and holding on tighter this time. “She spoke to you?”

Catherine nodded. “We had a wonderful conversation. Mary explained how I was letting you do my thinking for me and that our marriage was never going to work as long as I allowed it to continue, that I had to start thinking for myself.”

“I was doing your thinking?” he repeated, feeling heat creep up the back of his neck. “What in hell are you talking about?”

She tried to wiggle free, but once she realized he wasn’t letting her have her hands back, she sighed and shook her head. “Mary explained that it’s a guy thing, this need you and your father have for me to confront my ex-husband. Men choose the most direct approach to a problem, and it usually involves fighting. Your solution is for me to barge in with my stick raised, hellbent on purging my memories by beating them away. Am I right?”

“I didn’t mean for you actually to fight Daniels. I was thinking more of you facing him with me standing beside you.”

“And exactly what would that accomplish, other than for me to feel safe only as long as you’re around?”

“You’d also see that Daniels is nothing more than a bully.”

“But I already know that.” She shook her head again. “Mary is right, it is a guy thing. But Robbie, women think differently. We don’t need a huge confrontation or some defining moment to tell us we’re over our problem. We only have to let it go in our own minds.”

“Then why didn’t you do that three years ago, when you divorced him?”

“Because I was still thinking like a victim. And when I came here and met you, and even after visiting Scotland, it was easier just to go along with your idea to confront Ron because I knew you would protect me.” She looked down at their clasped hands. “That’s the problem with falling in love with guardian angels,” she whispered. “It becomes too easy to let them take over.”

Still holding her hands in his, he lifted her chin with his knuckles and smiled. “It’s even easier for us guardians to take charge, because that’s how we think.” He leaned over and gently kissed her sweet lips, then pulled away only slightly. “I’m sorry, little Cat, for nearly taking away your power instead of helping you find it. That was the last thing I wanted to do.”

The moment he freed her hands, she wrapped them around his waist and hugged him. “So, now we’re married in all times,” she said, her lips caressing his chest where she’d unbuttoned his shirt. “Does that mean we can finally start the honeymoon?”

“Aye,” he growled, lifting her off the counter and carrying her to the bed.

She jumped up the moment he set her down. “We have to light the candles,” she said, racing to the table and picking up the box of matches. She stopped, looked from the matches to him, and tossed them back on the table. “You light them, husband, with your magic.”

He walked over, took her hand in his, and held it to the candle on the table. “All you have to do is wish for the energy to show itself,” he told her, touching their fingers to one of the wicks, then pulling it away once the flame appeared.

She gasped and looked up at him.

He moved their hands to the next wick and repeated the magic, then moved to the third, releasing her fingers. “Just ask, Catherine,” he whispered. “See the flame in your mind first, and expect it to appear, and it will.”

“But I can’t do magic,” she said, despite holding her finger to the last wick.

“But you are the magic, little Cat,” he whispered, smiling as she tried to all but glare the wick into lighting. He took hold of her shoulders and added his own will, catching her when the wick suddenly burst into flame.

“You did that!” she said with a laugh, turning and wrapping her arms around him.

He kissed her deeply and quite thoroughly, then lifted her off her feet and carried her back to the bed. He set her on the quilt and stared down at her.

Again she got up but knelt on the mattress, pulled his shirt from his pants, and pushed it off his shoulders.

He unknotted the shawl she’d brought from Scotland.

She unbuckled his belt.

His wife had him half undressed before he could even get her blouse unbuttoned.

She pushed his hands away and stepped off the bed, facing him as she slowly undid her own buttons, looking up with the smile of a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.

And damn if Robbie didn’t feel his toes start to curl as she slid her blouse off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, revealing a lace bra that lovingly cupped her plump breasts, her two beautiful pink nipples straining against the satin material.

Completely forgetting his own need to get undressed, Robbie reached out and ran a trembling finger across the top of the thin lace, marveling at the contrast of his large, dark hand against her pale skin.

She was so delicate. So utterly feminine. So…his.

The candle on the windowsill above the bed burst into flame, reflecting in Catherine’s shining eyes as she unfastened her skirt and let it slide to the floor, revealing matching panties that were more lace than material. She stood in the pool of her clothes, her eyes dancing with blossoming excitement. Robbie tucked his hands behind his back and balled his fists in an attempt to control his own volatile energy.

A second candle on the windowsill flared to life.

“You have the most beautiful body,” she whispered, sliding down the zipper of his pants with maddening slowness.

Another candle—this one clear across the room on the counter—flared to life.

“You’ve done nothing but tease me with your body since I met you,” she continued, her voice husky as his pants fell to his own feet. She looked up at him, her womanly smile widening. “And now you’re all mine,” she whispered, walking her delicate fingers up his stomach, sending ripples of desire quivering through him.

She covered his chest with both hands, lightly feathering her fingers through his chest hair, and leaned forward and kissed one of his nipples.

The candle on the bedside table flared like a blow torch before settling into a gentle flame.

“Touch me, husband,” she whispered, pulling his mouth down to hers as she pressed against him. “Set me on fire.”

As difficult as it was, since his toes were curled so tightly, Robbie finally scuffed off his shoes, wrapped his arms around her, and stepped out of his pants. He lifted Catherine out of her own discarded wardrobe and carried her to the bed, setting her on the quilt and quickly lying beside her before she could jump up again.

Not that she tried. She rolled toward him, entwined her arms around his neck, and kissed him with the eagerness of a bride about to share her greatest gift with her husband.

Robbie kissed her with the eagerness of a bridegroom about to explode.

One by one, the candles scattered around the cabin began to flicker to life as their wedding bed heated with an energy unlike anything Robbie had ever experienced.

She was so tiny and delicate yet so trusting and suddenly bold. Her hands were all over him, caressing, exploring, exciting him until he could barely stand it.

He didn’t know how it happened, being so busy reeling with sensation after sensation, but his bride was suddenly sitting astraddle his hips, her fingers kneading his chest and her moist, puffed lips curved into a smile.

“Am I going too fast?” she asked, looking not the least bit worried that she might be.

He took hold of her hips, stilling her movement. “Aye, I’m thinking ya are, lass. If we don’t slow down, this whole place will go up in flames.”

She blinked in confusion, looked around the cabin, then shot him a glorious smile. “Did you do that?”

“Nay, little Cat, you did.”

Her lovely chest puffed up until her breasts all but spilled from her bra. Robbie reached up and covered them with his hands, feeling her nipples pushing into his palms through the lace. She reached behind her back, undid the clasp of her bra, and slid the straps off her shoulders until only his hands were holding it in place. He let the bra drop down to his own chest and quickly returned his hands to her naked breasts. She threw her head back with a moan of pleasure, placed her hands over his, and moved her hips along the length of his shaft.

Robbie could no longer stand the sweet torture. He rolled until she lay beside him and spanned one hand across her chest to keep her in place while he propped his head on his other hand so he could stare down at her.

Satisfied that she’d stay put, though unable to still her restless movements, Robbie leaned over to kiss her—but shouted instead when she wrapped her strong, delicate fingers around his shaft. “Nay,” he growled, quickly trapping both her hands over her head. “You’ve had weeks to explore my body, little Cat. Now it’s my turn to become acquainted with yours.”

“But I haven’t explored all of you,” she countered, sticking out her lower lip.

“Aye,” he said with a chuckle, kissing her pout and then letting his mouth trail down her chin to her neck. “But ya needn’t worry,” he whispered at the base of her throat. “We won’t leave this bed until ya have.”

“Is that a promise or a thre—oh!” She gasped, arching her back as he covered one firm, budding nipple with his mouth.

It seemed he had found a most interesting way to subdue her. Robbie spent several minutes keeping Catherine so busy moaning and writhing in pleasure that she forgot all about driving him crazy with her own explorations. He made delicious love to her breasts, then continued his mouth’s journey down over her stomach to the top of her panties.

He slid his fingers under the elastic and slowly lowered the thin lace, exposing more and more of her, drinking in the dew of her heated body. Her freed hands dug into his shoulders before grabbing his hair and guiding him on a savory journey from one sensitive spot to another. He slipped her panties down her long, beautiful legs and then off completely, and came back and kissed her belly button. He moved lower, opening her thighs and covering her feminine bud with his mouth, sliding his hand under her backside when she arched into him.

He could feel her tightening, straining toward her orgasm, and Robbie continued to pleasure her, reveling in the feel of her blossoming fire. He moved quickly, settling himself between her thighs, keeping his arms rigid so he wouldn’t crush her.

“Open yar eyes, Cat.”

His voice seemed to startle her, and her eyes flared with recognition as she came back to her senses. She reached up, grasped his shoulders, and smiled. “Yes. I certainly wouldn’t want to miss anything,” she whispered, lifting her hips and wiggling until his shaft touched her entrance. “I’ve been told this is the best part.”

Despite his urgency and overwhelming need to claim her, Robbie couldn’t stop the laugh that broke from his chest. He lowered his forehead to hers, closing his eyes with a frustrated groan. “Dammit, Cat. This is serious business.”

She flexed her fingers into his shoulders and licked his lips with her tongue.

Robbie reared back and glared down into her sparkling eyes.

“Aye, husband,” she murmured in a guttural mimic of his brogue, lifting her hips just enough that he started to enter her. “Being in love is a most serious business.”

He kept his gaze locked on hers and slowly eased inside her, then retreated just enough to return even deeper with another careful thrust.

Her smile disappeared, replaced with a moan of pleasure, and her eyes widened as her fingers bit into the straining muscles of his shoulders. “Yes,” she gasped on an indrawn breath. “It truly is magic.”

“Aye,” he whispered when he became fully embedded inside her. He leaned down and kissed her smile, then started moving in a primordial rhythm that sent bolts of energy rushing through him.

And again, he felt Catherine tightening, straining toward fulfillment as she met his thrusts with eager and rather loud cries of encouragement.

He couldn’t stop looking at her. She was so freely and boldly giving herself to him, so unabashedly enjoying their pleasure, so vividly open with her response that Robbie lost the last of his control. He quit being careful and began feeling instead—every flex of her muscles sheathing him as he unleashed the full force of his urgency.

The cabin filled with blinding light, the flames on every candle flaring with simmering heat as the air charged with the pulsing glow of a magic so powerful that time stopped for the merest of heartbeats, only to start again with the explosion of their mutual fulfillment.

Catherine cried out, and Robbie actually shouted as the crashing waves of chaos took them over the edge of reality and into the realm of their consummated union—into that magical, wondrous world where two hearts start beating as one.

The pleasure lasted for what seemed like forever, and Robbie refused to move, instead holding himself rigid, deeply inside her as her lingering pulses continued to tighten around him.

Apparently, Catherine had more presence of mind than he did, for she reached up and trailed one finger down the side of his face, ending at his chin and gently pushing his mouth shut. She smiled—a warm, smug, I’ve-got-you-now smile.

“That really was the best part,” she whispered, lifting her hips slightly. “And definitely better than anything I could ever dream up.” She looked around the cabin flickering with candlelight, then brought her shimmering gaze back to his. “If I didn’t love you so much, I might be a little freaked out. Is this going to happen every time we make love?” She cupped his chin in her palms. “Because it’s going to cost us a fortune in candles.”

Realizing he was about to collapse, Robbie rolled off her, bringing her with him and tucking her against his side as he stared up at the shadows dancing over the ceiling. “I truly hope not, little Cat, or I’ll be dead before my next birthday.”

She threw an arm and a leg across him, kissing his nipple before settling her head in the crook of his arm. He could feel her smile against his chest as she let out a satisfied sigh.

Then she suddenly lifted her head, looked at the table beside the bed, and started laughing. Robbie turned to see what was so funny and started them both shaking with his own laughter. There on the bedside table, leaning against a gently burning candle, were three packets of glow-in-the-dark condoms.

“I’m guessing it’s Cody,” Catherine said, settling back against him and drumming her fingers on his chest. “No, it’s Rick.” She tilted her head to look up at him and frowned. “I think there’s really a prankster lurking behind that quiet demeanor of his.”

Robbie captured her drumming fingers and kissed her upturned nose. “Do we need the condoms, Catherine? We really haven’t discussed adding to our family.”

She pulled herself up until she was straddling him again and slowly shook her head. “No. We don’t need anything between us,” she whispered. “I could never have too big a family. You want a boy or a girl, Mr. MacBain?”

Robbie thought about that, looking up into his wife’s beautiful, glowing face as he tried to picture her pregnant. “Maybe six of each,” he finally said.

Which made her laugh.

Which made his toes start to curl again.

“I love you, wife.”

She gave him a smile that outshone the candles. “And I love you, husband.” One of her eyebrows rose inquisitively, and those maddening fingers of hers started walking up his stomach again. “Have you gotten your strength back yet?”

Every candle in the cabin suddenly flared again.