CursedLaird (13 page)

He wore a borrowed bathing suit beneath the neoprene diving
suit. The way the diving suit fit had her insides twisted with the desire to
peel it off him and taste him inch by succulent inch. Caledonia swallowed hard
and mentally reissued the silent warning she kept giving herself.
He is your
diving student. Teach him. Don’t think about how hot he looks.
But it was
damn hard not to drink him in from head to toe every time she looked his way.
Neoprene never looked so fine. Eyes squeezed shut, she tried desperately to
force the image from her mind, but failed miserably. It didn’t help when she
opened them and he stood beside her.

“Okay, walk down the dock and we’ll take it from there,” she
said offhandedly. It took a great amount of mental strain to stall the sexual
images flipping inside her brain, but she managed to force her focus on diving.
At least for the moment. She huffed, trying not to stare at his ass as she
followed him. “Let’s start your first underwater lesson. We’ll go off the end
of the dock and stay close to shore until you get the hang of everything.”

He held his hand out to her and though she hesitated, she
took it. He lifted it to his lips and placed a tender kiss to her knuckles.
“Thank you,” he whispered right before he released her.

The touch tore through her, sending instant need to her
core. Damn, this wasn’t good. Caledonia turned to face Poppa. He followed them,
pushing a small cart carrying their supplies. Poppa handed them the masks,
flippers, and scuba tanks. Caledonia placed her mask on her head so it sat on
her forehead. Struan did the same, mimicking her every move. He put on his
flippers like she showed him. Like a pair of ducks, they waddled to the end of
the dock with the scuba tanks on their backs.

Caledonia lowered her mask, looked at Struan and asked, “Are
you ready to give this a try?”

“Aye,” he replied, tugging his mask on properly.

She nodded at him then stepped off the end of the dock.
Though the water was cold, it did nothing to cool the desire for her student.
Struan entered right behind her. Caledonia tucked her regulator in her mouth
and guided him through his first lesson on actually using the diving
paraphernalia underwater. Repeatedly, she reinforced the emergency scenarios
they’d practiced, making sure he understood. When she felt confident he had
them down pat, she led him on his first official dive.

Together they explored using underwater flashlights. She
somehow managed to keep him to within fifty feet of the shoreline even though
he urged her to go deeper. He wasn’t ready. In her experience he needed a few
dives under his belt in less than thirty feet before she’d venture farther.

Each time they returned to the dock to rest, his excitement
warmed her soul. It had been all she could do to make him take breaks long
enough to eat, relax and go over the equipment again before they returned to
the water. She gave him a map of the loch and together they marked the areas he
explored that night. They repeated this scenario several times.

Struan’s agility and quick-learning ability astounded her.
He took to the water like a natural, which made her heart swell. The man was
perfect. Remnants of her dream filtered through her thoughts each time he
brushed against her. A thigh-to-thigh touch nearly undid her focus on teaching.
And when he swam in front of her, the sight of slick neoprene pulled taut
across his buns almost made her choke on her regulator.

Yeah, the man was perfect. She squeezed her eyes shut
against the flood of sexual images Struan in a tight diving suit caused. This
was killing her, but she could do it. Redirecting her energy to the task at
hand, she was determined he enjoy his first venture underwater with her as his
teacher. Hopefully he’d want to do it again. She made the wish as she opened
her eyes.

Several feet ahead, Struan plundered the underworld with the
excitement of a kid at Christmas. Seeing his flashlight beam dart from one
thing to the next made her smile inwardly.
Idiot!
she scolded.
He’s
having fun and you’re being a dirty-minded soul.
But boy, she bet sex with
Struan while diving would probably blow her mind. Caledonia’s watch flashed
abruptly, interrupting her deviant thoughts and alerting her it was time to
surface.

The sun would rise soon and there was no way she wanted him
turning to stone while diving. It’d be a hell of a thing to have to explain to
the O’Reillys as to why they were hauling the statue up from the bottom a
second time. And worse, explaining how it got there.

She swam over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. With a
hand gesture, she let him know they had to surface. Instant disappointment
shone in his eyes. Caledonia lowered the light from his face. It hurt her heart
to have to make him leave the water again but she had no choice. Time played
against them. She led and he followed as they returned to the dock. Caledonia
tossed her mask and fins onto the dock. She grabbed the ladder and lifted out
of the water. When she slipped, a strong hand cupped her bottom and kept her
from falling.

Moisture from something other than the loch formed between
her thighs and she shivered. Never had she been this sexually excited by a
simple touch of a hand to her arse. Caledonia swallowed against the knot in her
throat and regained her balance. She quickly scooted onto the dock then turned
to help Struan. He handed her his fins then lifted onto the dock without using
the ladder. Pure strength rippled from him as he exited the loch with ease.

Excitement filled his voice as he spoke. “Caledonia, that
was the most exquisite experience. Can we do it again?”

Her heart pounded and sank at the same time. It made her
extremely happy to know he loved to dive and wanted to do it again. But she
knew he wanted to return home as well. “We can. But not now, we’re running out
of night. And tomorrow the van should be back and I promised to take you home.”

Silence fell between them and she noted a change in him. It
appeared as if he struggled with a decision, but she kept quiet and didn’t ask
what was on his mind. He helped Caledonia with her scuba tank, then removed his
and carried them both as they walked toward the shed. He returned the tanks to
their proper place in the rack and hung a red tag on each that would let the
others know which ones had been recently used. Caledonia couldn’t help but
smile at the fact he’d remembered her instructions right down to the minor
detail of red tagging.

Struan straightened and turned to face her. His eyes seemed
to sparkle and the joy in his tone couldn’t be missed, letting her know he
spoke from the heart. “Caledonia, ye have given mi a great adventure. One I
shall never forget.” He paused, looked around the room then returned a heated
gaze directly on her.

Raw need battled her conscience in her desperate struggle to
keep her hands at her sides and not peel the diving suit from his flesh and
taste him from head to toe. Those eyes of his could melt butter. She was
certain of it with the way he’d warmed her insides with just a hot, sexy look.
When he closed the gap between them, she couldn’t move. Every ounce of her
wanted him to kiss her. He took her hand in his and kept his eyes leveled on
hers.

“There is something I need to do before ye return mi to mi
home,” he said. “And ye are the only one who can help mi with it. Are ye
willing to take mi to the bottom o’ Loch Tay? I want to see mi watery grave
before I return to Castle MacKinnon. I want to lay to rest mi past and start mi
future without regrets.” He lifted her hand and laid a tender kiss to her
knuckles without releasing her gaze.

The look in his eyes portrayed desire mixed with a deeply
haunted sadness, which tore at her heart. There was nothing she would deny him,
not when he looked at her like a lost soul in need of guidance.

“Aye, Struan,” she replied, swallowing the sudden excitement
welling in her core. He wanted to stay and dive more with her. But it wasn’t
about her, she reminded herself, it was about his need for closure. Inside her
emotions tumbled in a mixed array of joy compounded by lust and confused by the
noble side of her conscience to help.

She cleared her throat and managed to state, “I will help
you. But it will take a series of dives and training to prepare you to reach
that depth. It’s not a simple task. Are you sure you want to do this? Don’t you
want to see your family?”

“Mi family has waited for mi return for over two hundred
years,” he replied, cupping her cheek. He caressed her lower lip with his thumb
and it was all she could do not to sample it between her teeth and suck the
salt from his skin. “I do not think a few more days will matter.”

His smile brightened his eyes yet the haunted sadness
lingered in their depths. It was then she decided no matter what it took, she
intended to help make that sadness disappear. Caledonia smiled.

“Okay, Struan. I’ll help you reach the bottom.”

Struan’s reaction took her by surprise. He grabbed her
around the waist and spun her around in his arms as he laughed loud and hearty.
She couldn’t help but laugh with him, even though being wrapped in those big,
strong arms wreaked havoc on her system. She wanted his hands on her, holding
her, kneading her flesh and molding her breasts in his palms. God, this was
truly going to be a test of her ability to refrain from sexually attacking her
pupil.

As he slowed in his spinning of her, their gazes met.
Silence weighed heavily between them. Caledonia couldn’t help but hunger for his
kiss and he didn’t disappoint. Struan kissed her. Gently at first, then their
mutual desire controlled their actions, turning it into a passionate,
tongue-tangling kiss of pure lust. Caledonia laced her fingers in his hair.

Struan cupped her breast with one hand, while his other
caressed her back in a sensual massage along her spine. His hand lowered to her
bottom, tugging her tighter against him. The taut neoprene diving suit outlined
his solid cock pressed firmly against her lower abdomen. She wanted him and he
wanted her. Caledonia broke from their kiss, placing tender kisses and nips to
his lips, his jaw and his neck. She had to have him. Nothing would stop this,
not now.

She worked her hand between them and pressed her palm to his
distended member. She heard his muffled gasp against the top of her head as he
nuzzled her hair. She liked the way he whispered her name as he released her
breast and gathered her face in his hand. “Caledonia.”

Their mouths connected again. The fire of desire flowed
through her veins and she knew there was nothing that would ease the growing
ache within her pussy but to have Struan’s cock buried deep inside. She was
lost in the arms of an ancient Scottish laird. But fate laid down a cruel card.

The first rays of morning light broke the sky. Heat sizzled
in the air and Struan reacted instantly. He released her so quickly she
stumbled backward. His actions managed to place a gap between them a second
before the curse snatched him into its folds. Frozen in stone, his statue portrayed
a new position. Dressed in a diving suit, slightly bent at the waist, legs
spread apart, arms outstretched and a look of strained surprise on his face.

Bewildered, Caledonia grappled for control over her reality.
Fierce emotions zinged uncontrollably, while unrequited desire ripped through
her core. Caledonia stood on trembling legs and stared. Thoughts tumbled inside
her brain. Though she knew he’d fall to the curse at daybreak, it still
disturbed her.

Studying his face, she interpreted the look as one of
surprised fear. Was it fear that she might get caught up in it if they touched
when he returned to stone? Would she? Would she turn to stone if they touched
as the curse resumed its vindictive hold upon his soul? The diving suit turned
to stone. Did his kilt and other belongings turn as well or did they have to be
on him? She had to know. Caledonia turned to the table and touched the neatly
folded pile of his clothes.

They had not turned. Lifting his shirt, she fingered the
material. His scent filled her nose. Pure masculinity mixed with fresh morning
air. She gathered his shirt to her chest in an empty hug. His clothes held his
smell, which soothed her tattered nerves. His sword she left on the table along
with his boots,
sgian dubh
, and sporran. His shirt and kilt, she decided
to take into the house to wash. With his clothes draped across her arm, she
tiptoed and placed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll be waiting for you to wake.” She leveled her stance
and met his eyes. Though she wasn’t sure if he heard her, she continued anyway.
“Rest. You’re going to need it for your next lesson.”

Caledonia closed the shed doors tight and made sure she
locked them. A strange niggling at the back of her brain suggested it was best
to weigh on the side of caution. After a long, steady gaze across the loch at
the wooded area, she issued a silent prayer for Struan’s safety. The person in
those woods yesterday probably was just a hiker, she tried to convince herself.
But it didn’t still the growing suspicion in her gut. She tugged the door one
more time before turning and heading into the house.

Fatigue filled her muscles. She desperately needed a nap.
Struan’s eagerness to learn made her smile. But it was the bout of making out
in the shed that had her emotions frazzled. Where was this headed
relationship-wise? Could they remain friends after that show of heated
affection toward one another? God, she wanted more of him. She wanted all he
had to offer. Caledonia couldn’t think straight. She needed to stop thinking
about sex and Struan. It wasn’t good.

At the door, she stopped and stared over her shoulder at the
shed. Nothing would be decided at that moment. She sighed heavily. If nothing
else, she had him in her life for a few more days before he’d return home.