The Laird's Future Bride (17 page)

Holly had spent every morning since she’d decided to stay in this time with Duncan helping in the kitchen after she ate breakfast. The women had become her friends. They were now used to what they called her unusual ways and sayings about certain things.

The other day Holly had caught Edna heating something with fire from her hands and Mary flipping things over without touching them. Edna and Mary had looked terrified when they saw Holly.

Holly had smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.” Holly had winked at them and knew that she could tell them who she really was. “I’m glad I know.” She moved closer to them and whispered, “I can now tell you my secret. I’m from the future. I was brought here by magic in a storm. It’s why I talk different and feel different on a lot of things.”

“We suspected something of the like,” Edna said. Then questions had flown around after that. Edna and Mary wanted to know all about the future. Fiona and Iris had brought the conversation to a close, as Holly learned they were some of the few in the clan who weren’t supernatural.

Holly stayed back in the kitchen the last couple of days to talk more with Mary and Edna. She had learned that Magan’s closest friend was the clan seer, and could tell you if you had any power and what it was.

Today Holly was going to the loch for a soak and relaxing swim. She always felt better after a soak and swimming. At first, after what happened on her birthday, Holly had been hesitant to leave the castle grounds, but after a couple of weeks of being cooped up, Holly knew she couldn’t let what happened keep her too scared to go to her favorite place. She loved to swim, and not being able to was getting her down.

Holly always had sharp knives on her now, and kept them close. She smiled as she remembered the strange look on Magan’s face when she asked her to make cases for them so she could have them in her hair safely. Holly now wore two decorative knives in her hair, and had been sneaking away the last couple of weeks to teach herself in secret how to throw knives and hit targets. Holly was slowly getting better.

Stripping to her bathing suit, Holly paused and looked down at the bikini top, which looked like it had shrunk. It felt tight and was causing her breasts to ache. Her bras were doing the same too, but Holly noticed it more with the bikini top. Walking to the water’s edge, she looked down at her reflection and noticed her breasts did look bigger. Cupping herself, she tried to weight them but couldn’t tell if they were heavier, but they definitely felt bigger. Holly studied herself: her hair looked shinier, her skin glowed with happiness, and she noticed her waist looked wider and her stomach was bigger. Her heart rate picked up, and she sat on the boulder.
Oh God, could she be pregnant?
Holly tried to remember if she’d had her period since arriving in this time, but she didn’t think she had, even when she was scared and cooped up after the attack.

Needing to calm down and think, she stood and dived into the water. She did a couple of laps before she let herself think. Water had always soothed Holly, and she always did her best thinking when she was in it or near it.

Holly was terrified, sure that she was pregnant. She didn’t think she could have gotten pregnant so easily. She’d only been married for two and a half months. Holly had things she had wanted to do before she had children, like finish university, get a job, somewhere in there meet a man and get married. She groaned, knowing that she now couldn’t do that, not only was she already married, but she didn’t live in a time anymore where she could go to university. Tears fell down her cheeks, and she wiped them away. She felt silly crying, but a future she’d thought she would have was now gone.

Closing her eyes, she lay on her back and floated. Holly loved Duncan. She could never go home to her own time, because there was nothing back there for her. The only thing she really missed was some of her friends, mainly Jane, but she loved Duncan and her life here. It may have taken her a while to get used to how things were done and the people of this time, but Holly had friends now and she was slowly getting comfortable with her role as the laird’s wife. Opening her eyes, she smiled. Duncan was going to drive her nuts when he found she was knocked up. She couldn’t help giggling as she thought of telling him using those exact words. He’d have no idea what she was talking about.

Holly was going to tell Duncan, but first she wanted to know if she had any power that could help her feel more useful in this time and help the clan in any way. Since Mary and Edna had told her about Magan’s best friend, Blair, Holly had debated whether she should go and see her. She hesitated though, afraid she might learn something she didn’t want to know. Holly didn’t want to know the future; it was bad enough she knew what she remembered from history classes at school. To know anything about her own life was what had held her off.

Turning around as she felt like she was being watched, she sunk under the water and went to a spot where she could hide. Peeking from the water, she sighed in relief when she saw nothing. Staying in her spot for a while, she made sure she was alone before she swam away and to her clothing.

Walking out of the water, she bent down to pick her clothes up only to hear a loud groan. Freezing, she reached up to her knives, only to stop when she heard, “I’m only a man. I came to scold ye for leaving the keep on yer own, but the sight that greets me is hard to resist.” Duncan’s arms came around her, and he nuzzled her neck. “Ye're a vixen.”

Duncan pushed her against a boulder. She felt his erection rub against her. His hands glided down her body, and she felt fingers slip into her swimmers. “I want ye. Do ye want me, angel?”

She moaned as he slid a finger into her core. “Mmm, Duncan.” A string at the side of her swimmers came undone.

“I canna wait. I watched ye walk out of the water like a mermaid. Me mermaid.” His finger left her and he nibbled on her neck.

Duncan lifted her higher and the boulder’s ridges became the perfect height for Duncan to line himself up. She felt her legs being parted further and she took deep breaths as anticipation consumed her.

“I can see ye want me.” She felt his cock rub her entrance. He teased her and at agonizingly slow rate eased into her until he was draped over her. Duncan kept an easy pace for a while, but she could feel his stomach muscles wound up tight, and the faster his thrusts got, the more he tensed in preparation for his release.

Duncan sucked and nibbled on her neck, finding all her sensitive spots. The hard stone had no give as he drove into her over and over. She could feel her nails breaking as they dug into the rock, but nothing had ever felt so wonderful.

“I’m going to come, me little mermaid.” Holly let herself go as his hands on her waist tightened. She moaned her release as his teeth sank into her neck. “Mine,” she heard muffled against her. “I’ll never get enough of ye, Holly.”

Duncan slipped out of her, and Holly turned to face him wrapping her arms around his neck, she brought him down and kissed him. “Good. I’m glad. I like that you can’t resist me, because the feeling is mutual.” She brushed her lips over his again and took deep breaths of his woodsy smell. “Did you come to find me?”

“Aye. I’d like to ken why ye're this far from the keep without a guard? Ye should ken what could happen to ye. Did ye learn nothing from what happened with the McCoy?” Duncan’s hands held her waist and gripped her tighter with each word. “Do ye ken what they would do to ye if ye got caught? I canna have anything happen to ye. Ye're mine. Me wife. Mine.” Holly dropped her arms from his, as his hold on her made her wince and her own anger started to rise. “Ye're nay to leave this keep without at least two guards. Ye're too valuable.” Duncan’s face was red with anger and Holly stepped away from him and grabbed her clothes.

Dressing angrily, Holly shot back, “I was there, Duncan. I killed a freakin’ man. The McCoy’s attack is something I’ll never forget. I know what they would have done. I’m not stupid. I thought coming here would be okay as it’s closer to the castle, and I’m sick of being cooped up.” Holly did up the dress as best as she could and slipped into her shoes. “And I may be your wife, Duncan, but I can’t be there for your beck and call. I’m not used to being surrounded by so many people all the time. I need time to myself. I need to come here for a breather, swimming relaxes me, plus I always have knives on me even in the water.”

Dressed as best as she could by herself, Holly stormed back to the castle to find Blair. She needed to get away from Duncan, so didn’t even bother to check if he followed her.

The long jog back to the castle gave her time to think over things. Did she want to have a child in these times? Holly didn’t even want to think about the birth, with no drugs and no doctors. With all the dangers, was it safe to have a child? The child she had would be important. If she had a son, he would be the next laird, and that was a lot of responsibility, that is, if he survived until adulthood with everything that was against them in this time. Holly placed her hands on her stomach and went over everything she’d learned since being here. She didn’t know if she could let her son train at the young age they started them here. Or if she could let her daughter marry at fourteen, even sixteen.

Slowing her pace, she glared at the two men who followed her down to the village. Holly knew she was being followed, at first, she’d thought it was Duncan, but when they came to the clearing she saw it was two of his men, Mason and Ian. “You’re my guards now, aren’t you?”

“Aye,” they both replied.

“I’m only going to the village, so you don’t need to follow me there.”

“Aye, we do,” Mason answered.

Growling, she turned and stomped down to the village. She could understand needing guards if she left the surrounding area, but not to go to the village.

Once in the village she went to the house that Mary had told her was Blair’s. The door opened before she could knock. “Ye're late.” A woman with blonde hair and a small frame said as she pulled her into her cottage. “I’m Blair. I know ye’ve heard about me. I ken some things about ye.”

Holly let Blair drag her to a seat.

“Sit. Ye need to sit and get comfortable. It will be better for the bairn.”

Holly could feel her eyes widen at the woman. “How…I mean…I only guessed today…um a couple of hours before I came here.”

Blair sat across from her and patted Holly’s hands. “I kenned for a while, but ye had to learn first.”

“Oh. Ah, do you know why I’m here?”

“Aye. Yes, ye do.”

“I do what?”

“Ye have powers. I dinna ken if ye should ken what they are though.”

“I don’t understand. Are they not good powers? Will they cause trouble?”

“Nay. Aye.” Blair ran her fingers through her hair. “Emotions. Ye can manipulate them. Ye're bonny, but did ye find that ye have always been well-liked? That no one could stay angry at ye for long? It’s part of yer gift. If ye wanted to, ye could make people fall for each other, but ye could do the opposite. The seed has to be there though.”

Holly could feel her heart sinking. Did that mean she wasn’t really Duncan’s soul mate? Had she manipulated him? She blinked to stop her sudden tears from falling.

“Och, lass, this is why I dinna wanna tell ye.”

“Is that why Duncan and Callam both fell for me?”

“Nay. One is your soul mate the other has fallen for ye.” Blair grimaced. “They always liked the same things and went for the same women.”

Holly hugged herself. “Can I make the man that’s not my soul mate
not
like me?”

Blair sighed. “It is nay that easy. Even without yer powers, ye're a very bonny woman. Magan said ye’re willing to try many things to please people.” Blair leaned over and wiped her tears away. “A positive is always easier than a negative. In other words, it is easier to make the seed of love grow than the seed of hate.”

“It’s not the gift I was hoping for. It’s not a gift that can help the clan.

“Ah, that is where ye're wrong. That horse of yers loves ye because ye made it grow to love ye within seconds on meeting ye. Think of the possibilities. Ye could keep animals away, or help train them. Ye could help couples. Persuade clans to stop fighting. Stop feuds. Ye could even bend the king’s ear.”

“How will I ever know if people will like me for me, and not the powers making them?”

Blair leaned over and placed her hands on Holly’s heart. “Ye will ken here.”

Holly stood. She couldn’t listen to any more. She needed to leave.