“Don’t antagonize her,” Catherine whispered to Catriona.
“But it’s just too damn easy.” Catriona grinned as a Farquharson delegate approached and extended his hand to Catriona in invitation. Catriona winked at Catherine before taking her place in line.
“Lady Catherine?”
Catherine turned to find a Keith representative behind her. She wanted to groan since she believed the man was the laird’s nephew. She didn’t want to discuss a potential match between her and the young man’s uncle, even if that was part of what sent Andrew home to see his father.
“Aye.” Catherine dipped into a curtsy as the man bowed over her hand. They took their places in line not far from Catriona and her partner. As the music began, and the couples moved through the steps, Catherine scanned the crowd for Rab. He stood near the wall much like he had the first night they’d talked. He sipped whisky from a flask, but his attention followed her as she moved from one partner to another before returning to the Keith warrior. His expression remained neutral, but Catherine wondered if watching her dance with another man bothered him.
When the set ended and the next required Catherine to stand closer to her partner and remain with the same man throughout the song, she noticed Rab flinched. She knew Rab understood he had nothing about which to be jealous. It was the same envy she would have felt watching another woman dance with Rab when all either of them wanted was to dance together.
During the country reel with a third partner, Catherine pitched to her right and stumbled several steps. Her dress’s hem caught beneath her foot and ripped. “Oh dear.” Catherine smiled apologetically at her partner. “I don’t think I can finish the dance. I’ve twisted my ankle and torn my gown. Please excuse me.”
Hobbling back to the table where she knew several ladies witnessed her nearly fall, she lowered herself gingerly to the bench.
“Are you hail, Lady Catherine?” Mary Forbes asked. Another Highlander, Mary preferred to only associate with her extended Lowland family, the Scotts. She’d been only too happy to pretend she wasn’t from the Highlands. But the Scotts’ recent troubles with both the Armstrongs and Elliots made the woman try to ingratiate herself with the few other Highland ladies. None were interested in accepting her after she’d snubbed them upon her arrival.
“I twisted my ankle rather badly.” Catherine said as she lifted the torn hem away from the joint that appeared suspiciously fine.
“Mayhap you should retire rather than try to dance on it,” Mary suggested.
“We’ll make your excuses,” Evina said. The shrewdness in Evina’s gaze told Catherine two things: her roommate knew she was pretending, and she knew Catherine intended to sneak away again. Evina hadn’t asked her directly, but she knew Catherine began spending most of the night away from their chamber when Rab arrived, then she remained in her bed each night that Rab was gone. Catherine supposed Evina believed she was doing far more with Rab than she was because she’d never been out so late with Edgar. She’d only slipped away for a half an hour at a time when the disgraced laird courted her. Catherine now returned in the wee hours of the morning.
“Thank you.” Catherine’s appreciation was heartfelt. From the smile Evina offered, Catherine knew Evina understood she meant far more than simply telling others that Catherine injured her ankle. Moving with a slight limp, she wove her way through the crowd until she could walk past Rab. She kept her gaze straight ahead as she passed where he stood, but she didn’t doubt he understood she intended to go to the hayloft earlier than usual.
Rab swept his eyes over the crowd, ensuring no one watched Catherine with excessive interest. He waited five minutes before scanning the Great Hall once more. A few people stared at him as they talked. He couldn’t be bothered to imagine what they were saying now. He pressed the stopper into his flask and dropped it into his sporran. Like the other nights when he lingered in the Great Hall, his men had already left for the barracks. With a look of mild disgust, he wanted anyone watching him to notice that he made his way to the doors opposite the ones Catherine used. It meant he had to go up a floor and backtrack to come down a different flight of stairs to enter the bailey at the right place, but it should keep anyone from putting them together.
He wasted no time heading to the stables. When a few hay pieces fell from above, he knew Catherine was already in their secret hideaway. He scaled the ladder, skipping rungs. He threw open his arms wide as she launched herself into his embrace. He lifted her from her feet, and her legs wrapped around his waist as their lips fused. The separation hadn’t been long, but after three years apart, even four days now felt like an eternity.
Rab tugged at the laces to Catherine’s kirtle as she pulled his leine from his belt. She squirmed until she freed the front of his leine and slid her hands over his scorching skin. The late autumn air was brisk, but he radiated heat. Rab groaned as Catherine’s movements made his cock ache even more than it had since he first spotted Catherine in the bailey. His tongue caressed the recesses of her mouth as she slanted her head and opened wide. Bracing her with one arm around her waist, Rab tugged the loosened garment down Catherine’s shoulders until her breasts were only covered by her chemise. Impatient for their skin to touch, he lowered Catherine to the floor and yanked his leine over his head while she plucked the ribbons at her shoulders and let the chemise fall to her waist, where her gown now rested.
With hands clasped, they lowered themselves to the bed of hay. Rab lifted Catherine to straddle him, but she shook her head.
“I like it when I’m beneath ye. I like the feel of ye, to watch as yer muscles bunch. It makes ma heart flutter.” Catherine ran her hands over his corded shoulders and washboard abdomen.
“And I fear crushing ye against the hard floor. Mayhap on a soft mattress, but I worry aboot hurting ye. The hay isnae that thick tonight.”
“It isnae ma back—nor ma ankle, so ye ken—that hurts. I ache for the feel of ye, Rab. I kenned ma mind and ma heart would miss ye, but I couldnae have imagined how ma body would miss yers.”
“I ken, Kitty. I didna expect how restless I felt without having ye to hold each night. I missed ye even more than I ever have because I couldnae touch ye.”
Catherine laid her body against Rab’s as their kiss once more exploded into a raging inferno. Together, they gathered Catherine’s skirts above her hips. Guiding them, Rab eased Catherine into a rhythm that rocked her mons against his rod. With a moan, Catherine placed her hands beside Rab’s head and pressed her arms straight. Rab massaged the globes that swung before his face until he could wait no longer to taste her. Raising his head as she bent her arms, Rab suckled Catherine.
Moaning again, Catherine increased the speed and pressure as her bare mound moved over Rab’s plaid covered cock. He sucked her nipple and tugged until it elongated, and he could press his teeth to it. The short spike of pain registered only as pleasure to Catherine as she threw her head back.
“I want to watch ye, Rab. But I canna keep ma eyes open, canna think straight.”
“Dinna fash. I’m watching ye, and I have never seen a more glorious sight.” Rab’s thumb sought her nub, rubbing circles around the bud as it emerged from its hood. Catherine moved her hands to brace herself against his chest, swooping in for a kiss that stole their breath.
Nearing her release, Catherine leaned back, reaching behind her until she flipped his plaid high on his thighs. She wrapped her hand around his cock and stroked. She only moved her hand thrice before Rab grasped her wrist.
“It’ll end far too soon.” Rab offered her a guilty, lopsided smile that made her heart flutter. Rab watched as a thought he couldn’t guess created a speculative expression on Catherine’s face. “What is it, Kitty?”
“I’ve heard—I ken—a mon and woman can join in a way that isnae exactly coupling. I told ye I havenae used ma mouth, but I ken what I can do.” Catherine whispered her suggestion, mortified to say it aloud and regretting it as soon as she did.
“Kitty, we can explore whatever ye want. I already admitted I dinna mind kenning ye have some experience. I dinna ever want to frighten ye with what we can share. I’m nae so keen on kenning how ye came aboot yer knowledge, but I’m nae so prideful that I canna admit that it benefits me. Do ye understand how we can do that?”
“Aye. At least, I ken how it can be done for one of us then the other. Can we both?”
