Echoes From the Mist (33 page)

Bridget moaned loudly, her hips thrusting upward of their own volition as Faylinn continued to suckle her. The younger woman’s teeth grazed the sensitive tip and she cried out again, wondering if she might come from this alone. When she could take no more, she put her hands on both sides of Faylinn’s face and brought their mouths together for another incendiary kiss.

The last remaining vestiges of their inhibitions were washed away when Faylinn’s thoughts made themselves clear in Bridget’s mind once again. They mirrored her own needs and there was never a question that Bridget would do everything within her power to fulfil her lover’s deepest desires. Wasting no more time, she leaned forward taking Faylinn with her. "God, I want to make you explode," Bridget murmured.

The words barely penetrated the hedonistic haze that Faylinn was drowning in but insistent hands broke her suction on Bridget’s nipples. Her face was flushed and she shook her head in frustration.
Can women…? I don’t….
"I-I don’t understand."

"You will," Bridget vowed, leaning forward and kissing the valley between Faylinn’s breasts. Her other hand snaked down between their bodies and began stroking the silky skin of Faylinn’s inner thigh.

Faylinn screwed her eyes tightly shut and braced herself by grabbing the side of the tub. A pressure was building deep within her so fast and strong she didn’t know what else to do. "Oh, God."

Bridget turned her head and brushed her cheek against Faylinn’s hypersensitive nipple before taking it into her mouth. She groaned against the luscious flesh, sucking greedily.

"Jesus!" Faylinn nearly spasmed out of the tub, but a long arm held her securely in place.

"Let me touch you," Bridget drew her fingertip over Faylinn’s swollen lower lips, "here."

Faylinn swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes! Please," she begged shamelessly, her heart threatening to beat out of control.

Bridget stroked her relentlessly, feeling Faylinn’s body begin to quake. The motion of her fingers never wavered as she kissed her way up from heavy breasts. She took her time when she reached Faylinn’s slender neck, dipping her tongue in the hollow of her throat and kissing her pulse point gently, feeling the pounding of the younger woman’s heart and the rushing of her blood against her lips. By the time her lips found a delicate ear, Faylinn’s arms were shaking and their bodies were slick with sweat.

Breathing heavily, Bridget pressed her lips to Faylinn’s ear and said the words she knew her lover needed to hear. "I love you. And it’s all right, dearest."

Faylinn whimpered and let her forehead drop Bridget’s shoulder as her hips took on a life of their own, moving against Bridget’s hand.

"I’ve got you," Bridget promised. "Relax and let it happen."

Faylinn shook her head wildly. "I-I don’t—"

"You do," she assured her, dropping a heated kiss on the delicate skin below Faylinn’s ear. "Let me love you," she whispered. "Let me have all of you." Bridget moved her fingers slightly and began a massage of Faylinn’s most sensitive spot.

Lips parted, Faylinn’s eyes flew open and her entire body stilled, her white-knuckled grip causing the wooden slats in the tub to creak in protest. The pressure from within her built to breaking point and beyond until, in one furious instant, the dam was shattered and her body began to quake. Her eyes clamped shut and she threw her head back, screaming as a powerful orgasm swept through her, threatening to tear her in two. She convulsed again and again, groaning loudly and sending more water cascading to the floor.

Faylinn’s heart began to calm and she fell bonelessly against Bridget, still panting.

Bridget wrapped her in a tight embrace, thrilled to the core by her lover’s response. She pushed pale, damp hair from Faylinn’s eyes and kissed her forehead, quietly murmuring words of heartfelt devotion and love.

"Oh, my God," Faylinn whispered when enough blood had finally made it to her brain so that she could actually think. "We could have been doing
that
every night and you’ve allowed me to get by with only a kiss goodnight? What is
wrong
with you, Bridget Redding?"

Bridget let loose a rarely heard, full-fledged laugh. "I love you madly, Faylinn."

Faylinn found the strength to lift her head and look at Bridget. She quirked an eyebrow then she kissed her soundly. "I love you too."

"Faylinn?"

"Mmm?"

"You… um… Well, you still want me to show you some things, don’t you?
Now
, remember?"

Faylinn smiled at the hint of desperation that colored Bridget’s words, well imagining the state she was in. She brought both her hands to her lover’s flushed face and stroked her cheeks tenderly, giving her a dazzling smile that managed to show every ounce of the love she held in her heart. "Yes, Bridget.
Now
."

K
AYLA AND LIV blinked dazedly as Badger stopped talking, turned over his pipe, and tapped out the few shards of remaining tobacco.

Liv closed her sagging jaw and shook her head as she gave her horse a quick kick, sending him galloping away from the old man and Kayla.

"What in the—?" Kayla turned in the saddle and watched Liv’s flight across the grassy meadow.

"Better go after her, lass. I’ve got to get some water anyway." Badger lifted an old-fashioned leather bladder whose handle was made from woven strips of leather and dyed in the same colors as his kilt. He held it up and sucked down the last few sips of water, wiping a few errant drops from his beard. "My throat couldn’t be drier."

"Wouldn’t a regular canteen be easier?"

Their eyes locked and a wordless understanding passed between them. Badger bowed his head slightly then winked. "Now you a
ken
as well as I do, Kayla Redding, one of those shiny metal canteens, or worse yet, an awful plastic one, would ruin my lovely costume. What would the tourists think?" He reached down and absently stroked his mare’s snowy mane. "Go on now. Find out what sent your lady tearing out of here like the Devil was on her heels. Or maybe you’re just trying to stay around long enough to watch me climb down off this horse?"

Kayla paled. "No!"

"Your loss, lass." Badger grinned roguishly. "There’s a clean stream at the bottom of the
brae
just on the other side of the tree line. I’ll see you there in a few moments." He reached back and patted his horse’s rump, sending her cantering towards the trees.

Kayla rode over to Liv, who was talking to herself. Loudly. "What’s up?"

Liv looked at Kayla as if the answer was obvious. "I can’t believe it!"

Kayla waited for Liv to continue but the older woman simply crossed her arms over her chest. Kayla sighed. "Believe what, Liv?"

"Badger and that freakin’ story! I was… you know." She emphasized the last word.

Kayla wriggled her eyebrows. "Well, you
did
ask. But even if their story is family lore, I have a hard time believing that they would ever tell anyone something so person—"

"That’s not the point," Liv snapped.

"Are you expecting me to read your mind here?" Kayla put her hands on her hips, her patience slipping away quickly. "Because if you just tell me what has your panties in such a wad it would really make things easier."

"The point is, I was riding along, listening to a man old enough to be my grandfather, and who looks like Santa, talk about two dead chicks getting it on, and I was getting
hot!
I’m worse than Dougie, who is a walking breathing hormone. I’m sick," she exclaimed, thoroughly appalled.

Kayla bit her bottom lip.

"Don’t you dare laugh, Kayla." Liv narrowed her eyes. "It’s not funny. It’s… it’s yucky! I just ran the speeding chariot to Hell right off the road so I could get there first. And now Christmas is ruined too!"

Kayla couldn’t take it anymore and dissolved into laughter. "Why did you ask then? It’s not like he offered to tell you out of the blue, you know."

Ignoring what she considered a rhetorical question, Liv shot Kayla a disgusted look then noticed for the first time that they were alone. She glanced around. "Where’s Badger?"

"He went to get some water from a stream over there." Kayla pointed to the spot in the heavy tree line where the sturdy man had disappeared.

"Why didn’t you say so?" With a tug of the reins, Liv turned her horse around. "You know sex makes me thirsty." She guided her horse closer to Kayla, until their thighs were touching but they were facing in opposite directions.

Kayla’s eyebrows shot skyward. "But we didn’t have sex."

"That’s only because Badger is waving at us." Liv smiled at the man, who was sitting on his horse at the edge of the woods, patiently waiting. She waved back, then reached out with one hand and grabbed the front of Kayla’s sweater, pulling them nose-to-nose. "We don’t want to disappoint him, Kayla. He’s used to catching us kissing. Plus," she shrugged one shoulder, "I’m horny anyway." She tugged hard on the sweater in her hand, stifling a surprised gasp, then a languid moan, with a deep, passionate kiss.

*  *  *

At Badger’s urging, they all continued their rides, but in the woods. It was warmer and darker there, sheltered from the gusty afternoon breeze and protected from the bright sun, which was now mostly hidden behind gray clouds. The earthy smell of wet leaves and rich soil wafted up from their horses’ hooves as they slowly navigated the large tree trunks and the jagged rocks that peeked up from the lush forest floor.

"There’s someplace I want to show you, lasses. But first I believe there was one last
auld
tale I promised to tell."

Kayla and Liv listened carefully as a strong, clear voice floated over them, taking them back in time….

Virginia (Mainland)
May, 1691

"How are you feeling?" Bridget dropped down onto the ground next to Faylinn and draped her arm over the smaller woman’s shoulders. "Tired?" she asked sympathetically.

Faylinn let out an exhausted breath and looked up into the clear spring sky, wiping a trickle of sweat from her brow. "How much farther, Bridget?"

"Not far, love. A few more hours at the most."

"Thank God," Faylinn sighed. "Wait." She pinned Bridget with a withering glare. "Didn’t you say that a few hours ago?"

"Yes. But this time it’s really true."

They’d been riding for two and half days, on their way to the partially completed cabin Will and Bridget had been working on since March. The week before, Katie Beynon had walked in on the women unannounced, and the passionate kiss she’d witnessed could not be explained away. Days of confusion, arguments, frustration and tears had led to the result that Will had foretold months earlier. Katie had searched her soul and with watery eyes came to the only conclusion she could live with. A physical relationship between Bridget and Faylinn was an affront to God, a sin that was to be repented for, not accepted. Even Will couldn’t convince his wife to the contrary, though to his credit, he argued diligently on his friends’ behalf.

Katie had offered to allow Faylinn to stay on alone so she could help with the birthing of her baby, but the blonde woman had refused without thought. Nothing in this life would separate her from Bridget. Not again. And so it was time to leave the coast, and the tiny haven they’d known since the fall.

"Can you ride some more? It will only make the trip faster." They’d already added a day and a half to the trip, mainly because Faylinn had to stop and use the bushes every hour or so.

"If I must," Faylinn growled.

Bridget’s eyebrows disappeared behind windblown bangs, her eyes going round.
Uh oh.

"Please, Bridget, not that wounded look. I can’t take that." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "I have a headache and my back has been killing me all day. I know I’m tired and grumpy."

Bridget’s face took on a shocked expression. "You?"

Faylinn’s eyes popped open and she sneered. "Yes me. I know it’s hard to believe." She let out an aggrieved sigh. "I’m sorry."

"I know. I’m sorr—" Bridget’s words were cut off by an impudent hand.

"Don’t say it," Faylinn warned her dangerously. "Don’t say you’re sorry. Not one bit of this is your fault and if I have to say that
ever again
as long as I live, I’ll scream. Besides," she managed a small smile, "except for feeling as if I swallowed an elephant, I’m truly happy." There was no comparing the love she shared with Bridget with her marriage to Cyril. So she didn’t try to. "Even if I am acting like an ornery shrew."

Bridget saw Faylinn struggling to get up and jumped to her feet to lend a hand. "You’re not acting like anything of the sort," she lied kindly.

Faylinn stood up straight and awkwardly reached behind her to brush off her trousers. Even Will’s pants were now too small, and these were a pair Katie had made by cutting apart a pair of Will’s old trousers and adding the material to the ones she’d already been wearing.

"Even if you were a shrew, I’d still have to say you were a cute one."

Tenderly, Faylinn reached up and gently traced the scar that ran from Bridget’s eye down to her jaw. The thin, jagged line was the only visible reminder of her love’s ordeal on Cobb Island. "You are a sweet woman, Bridget Redding. I selfishly thank God every day that you spurned the attention of Court’s eligible bachelors and that you came into my life. I love you."