Page 32 of Highlander’s Quest of Desire

It was much too tight and stopped dangerously high on his thighs but it did the job. Elspeth took no notice of her own semi-nakedness and opened the door. Beatrice walked in, all business and smiles.

“I’m happy ye two ‘ave made up. ‘Tis a dangerous road ahead. Nae use fighting with yer one companion.”

“Aye. He’s been apologizing to me all night.” Elspeth laughed, collecting all of Bruce’s clothes from the hooks and the floor. Bruce stood there, awkward in his ill-fitting robe, and a little peeved to be talked about as if he weren’t there. “And yer wonderful dinner did much to ease his mood. Ye ken how men are when they’re hungry. Ye’ve been very kind to us.”

“It gladdens me heart to hear that. Well,” she adjusted the clothes in her arms. “Goodnight. We’ll see ye in the morning. Be sure to have some breakfast before ye go in the morning.”

After she left, Elspeth pulled back the covers of the bed. “I shall take this side,” she said, putting a pillow in the middle of the bed. “Ye may take that. And we shall have a barrier between us in case ye fear I’ll cross over to yer side.”

Bruce eyed the pillow with disdain. If he wanted to bed Elspeth, she could be sure a pillow was no defense. She must have caught the meaning of his expression because she flushed and climbed the bed.

“Ye may blow out the candle if ye please,” she said, laying on her side, one hand beneath her head, covered up to her chin with blankets. “But please leave the window open. I like the breeze.”

Bruce did as he was told. The moonlight was enough to guide him to the bed in the dark. Taking off the robe and hanging it on a peg, he slipped under the cool covers and lay absolutely still.

The pillows and mattress were soft, the blankets warm, but he was deeply aware of Elspeth lying on the other side of the bed. He lay absolutely still. He could feel every muscle in his body. It was a sensation that was completely alien to him. He had never felt so uncomfortable in his own skin.

Bruce was afraid of the need in him; the need to touch and caress her. They were barely touching, but she still felt too close. He was certain that sleep would elude him, but after a while his tired body gave into slumber and he travelled the dark halls of his dreams.

He was hunkered down in a tight place. There was a light up ahead in the tunnel, and it was there he would find the Honors. Bruce crawled forward, a sweet breeze reaching him from the chamber up ahead. The sound of the sea invaded the darkness when he finally reached the chamber. When he stood up and finally saw the room, he saw it was a small chamber with a high ceiling, and the only light came from a sliver in the wall. It was his prison cell at Bass Rock.

Panic fluttered in his throat, and for a moment he couldn’t breathe. He had been tricked. The map had led him back to prison. Without wasting any more time, Bruce knelt down to reenter the tunnel he had come through, but a sound froze his blood in his veins.

Elspeth was crying out for him.

“Bruce! Help me! Please. I can’t bear it anymore!”

She was trapped somewhere in the prison. Someone was hurting her. Her screams rendered the air and Bruce lost all reason.

“Don’t hurt her!” he shouted at the walls, looking for a way out. But there was no door.

“Bruce!”

He was trapped, unable to help her. “Let her go!” he yelled, thrashing his arms at the walls.

“Bruce!”

Soft hands were shaking his shoulders. His eyes snapped open, and he sat up in bed. Looking around him frantically he saw that he was still in the inn somewhere on the road to Edinburgh. The moonlight flooded the room, and the sweet scent was honeysuckle. Elspeth was holding him, concern etched on her face.

It was a nightmare! He must have been tossing and turning in his sleep to alarm her so. Oh, but she was safe!

“You’re safe!” he exclaimed and pulled her toward him.

In his relief he cupped her face between his hands and kissed her. Lips as soft as he had imagined, they parted underneath his mouth, and he deepened the kiss. Her nightdress had lifted up in the night and he felt her bare legs against his thighs, the heat of her skin warming his. His hands took on a mind of their own and trailed down her back, and cupped her buttocks, lifting her up and onto his lap.

Breasts pushed up against his chest, her hands on his shoulders, she was exactly where he had dreamt her to be every night. Elspeth moaned, a sweet sound that stoked the fires of his desires but was also enough to snap him out of the enchantment.

Breaking the kiss, he gently pushed her away from him. He covered his aching manhood with the blankets. Elspeth sat on the bed looking confused. She drew a ravishing picture sitting there in the moonlight, her legs underneath her, her breasts pushed out and heaving ever so slightly as she tried to catch her breath. It took all of Bruce’s strength not to take her in that instant.

“I’m sorry,” he grunted. “That was wrong of me.”

“Were you kissing me in your dreams?” she asked, raising her blanket to her neck.

“Nae,” he said gruffly. “I was dreaming of someone else.”

She flinched, and he could see hurt in her eyes. It caused him immense pain to hurt her, but it was imperative that she form no romantic attachment to him. His dream was another reminder of why she must be sent away as soon possible. Bruce couldn’t risk putting her in danger any longer.

He turned his back to her and pretended to sleep. I’ll tell her to leave tomorrow morning, he decided. She can go on to Laird Labert’s if she so wishes. It would be best if she does.