To Marry A Scottish Laird (5 page)

J
O SHIFTED SLEEP
ILY AND SMILED AT HO
W WARM
and comfortable she was. The patch of ground she’d chosen was a little lumpy, but softer than she recalled it being last night when she’d lain down. And for a change instead of waking up cold and a little stiff from sleeping on the cold, damp ground, she was warm and . . . moving slowly up and down, she realized, her eyes popping abruptly open.

Darkness surrounded her, confusing her briefly, and Jo lifted her head, feeling something pressing against her head and shoulders as she did. It was like some kind of material was over her, she thought with confusion and was completely befuddled by that. She was also starting to panic a little when the cloth that she’d felt was suddenly pulled off her head and she found herself staring down at . . . Someone’s chest? A chest that was moving up and down with every breath. She recognized that chest too, Jo thought and lifted her head to find herself staring into Cam’s open eyes.

Jo opened her mouth, intending to ask how the devil she’d got on his chest. And how they’d got on the same side of the fire, but as she noted the grimace of pain on his face, what came out was a concerned, “Your back,” as she realized he was lying on it.

Cam reacted immediately, splaying one hand on her back, catching her head in his other and abruptly rolling so that she was lying flat on the ground, and he was on top of her. He quickly shifted his hands then to allow his elbows to take his weight, and she expected, to get up off of her, but instead his head came down and his mouth covered hers.

Jo was so stunned at the action that she simply remained still for a moment. This was not the first time she’d been kissed. A village boy or two had tried while she was growing up, but she’d never been much moved by the activity. Perhaps that had been due to the kisser, she thought now, because the kisses she’d received in the past had seemed sloppy and uninteresting and had always left her wanting to wipe her hand across her mouth. This kiss was nothing like that. Cam’s mouth was firm as it brushed across hers, and then he nipped at her lower lip, a quick, tantalizing tug that had her mouth opening with surprise. The moment she did that, his tongue slid into her mouth like an invading army, causing chaos and starting up fires at various points throughout her body.

Jo had never experienced anything like this, and was so overwhelmed that it took a moment for her to realize that Cam was kissing her. Her . . . Jo . . . who he thought was a boy. Her eyes immediately popped open and she began to press against his chest, trying to lift her mouth from his. When escaping his kisses upward didn’t work, she finally turned her head determinedly to the side. That worked. At least it broke the kiss. However, bereft of her mouth, Cam began to trail kisses across her cheek toward her ear.

“Cam, this is—” This was what? She wondered, trying to recall what she’d been about to say before he’d begun to explore her ear, nibbling and kissing it in a way that had the most unexpected effect. Damn, she couldn’t recall, but what he was doing was rather amazing. It was sending shivers of excitement up and down her body in waves of pleasure like she’d never experienced.

If the church knew about this they would no doubt be up in arms, she thought. Nothing that felt this good could be condoned by the church. They tended to disapprove of anything pleasurable and— That thought reminded her of what she’d wanted to say earlier, this kind of thing was definitely not condoned by the church, not just because they weren’t married, but because she was a boy. At least, he thought she was a boy. She wasn’t of course, but to his mind he was kissing a boy, which was a bit distressing since she was enjoying it, but knew he was a man. She’d seen him naked after all. How disappointed would he be when he discovered she wasn’t a boy as he thought?

She’d barely had the thought when Jo became aware that Cam had been easing her tunic up her back and encountered the binding that kept her breasts flat and helped her with her disguise. She expected him to ask what that was about and whether she’d broken her ribs in the beating she’d taken, but instead she felt cold steel against the skin of her back and the binding suddenly gave way. A heartbeat later his hands had shifted around to clasp and cover her aching breasts so that he could squeeze and caress them.

Not so disappointed, she thought dizzily as he suddenly rolled her onto her back and lifted her tunic as he shifted down her body so that he could claim one nipple in his warm mouth.

Why wasn’t he disappointed? She wondered with confusion. Or at least startled? And why did that feel so damned good?

Jo moaned as he tugged at her nipple with his lips, drawing all the excitement presently bouncing through her body to that area. That excitement only increased when she felt his knee slide upward between her legs and press against the core of her through her braies. So she almost moaned with disappointment when Cam suddenly raised his head and asked, “Joanne or Josephine?”

“What?” She stared at him blankly.

“Yer name,” he explained solemnly. “It has been driving me mad the last two days since I discovered ye weren’t a boy. Every female name I could think of that might fit has gone through me thoughts, Joan, Joella, Joanna, Jocelyn, Jo-”

“Joan,” she interrupted, and asked, “You knew I was a girl? How—?”

“I saw ye preparing to bathe that first night,” he explained, shifting up her body to settle his weight on his side, leaving his hands free. “Ye let yer hair down, removed yer tunic, and then unwrapped the binding and all that beautiful bounty spilled out and I kenned ye could no’ be a boy.” Lowering his head then, he claimed her lips even as one hand settled over some of that “beautiful bounty” to palm and caress her.

Joan moaned into his mouth at the combination, her back instinctively arching to thrust her breast more firmly into his caress. She released another moan, but this time one of protest when he once again broke their kiss and stopped caressing her. Jo reluctantly opened her eyes, expecting another question, but then blinked them quickly closed and raised herself slightly, her upper arms rising instinctively above her head as he tugged her tunic up from where it had gathered above her breasts and pulled it off. She started to lower her arms then, instinct making her reach to cover her breasts, but Cam caught her wrists before her hands could finish the action, and pressed them down on the ground on either side of her head as he kissed her again. He shifted over her as he did, not pressing his weight into her, but urging his knee up against her again and allowing the springy hairs of his chest to brush across her sensitive nipples.

Jo gasped and writhed beneath him, legs shifting restlessly before closing around his knee and urging him on, even as she arched to allow her nipples contact with his flesh. She also sucked at his tongue when it shot into her mouth, wanting to keep it there. She had no idea if that was the right thing to do and didn’t care, it felt good. But she nearly bit his tongue when one hand left her breast and ran down to slide beneath the waist of her braies until he could cup the center of her.

While his knee had been nudging her there, ratcheting up her excitement, his hand against her bare skin was shockingly intimate and Jo went still, uncertainty claiming her as the shock allowed clarity briefly in to warn her they were messing with fire. This was how babies were made and she had no desire to die on the birthing bed, some part of her mind reminded her. But then his fingers shifted, one pushing in to run along her embarrassingly damp flesh and Jo gasped, her hips jerking at the caress and her mind losing track of the warning it had tried to sound.

With him touching her there, Jo didn’t even notice that his other hand had stopped caressing her breast to work at her braies until he broke their kiss and left off caressing her. As he shifted to his knees between her legs, she realized that her braies had been pushed off her hips and were halfway to her knees. Even as she noted that, he caught her legs by the ankles, raised them before him and quickly removed the leather pants.

When he tossed them aside, Jo stared after them wide eyed and almost reached to drag them back with some vague intention of pulling them back on, but then Cam set her legs down on either side of him again. She turned her attention back to him just in time to see his face duck out of sight between her thighs.

“Wha—ohhhh!” she cried out as his mouth took over what his fingers had been doing moments ago. His lips, his tongue, even his teeth came into play as he explored a part of her that no man had ever got near before, and Jo was quickly undone. The ability to think seemed to leave her altogether as sensation took over and her whole body rocked under the assault. Some part of her was vaguely aware that her head was thrashing, rolling back and forth in the dirt as she emitted high, loud, senseless sounds and clutched at his head.

When Cam tapped her hand gently, Jo realized she was pulling at his hair and immediately eased her grip, not wanting to hurt him, but that was the extent of what she was capable of. The man was driving her crazy with what he was doing. But then she felt something pressing into her that was too firm to be his tongue and she glanced down with confusion to see that his head was still buried there and she could still feel his lips and tongue working, but now—Oh, his finger, she thought vaguely, her hips dancing under the tune he was playing as he pushed one finger into her at a maddeningly slow speed.

Her hips rose and thrust and tried to force him along, but he was determined to control this and simply eased his finger back out before letting it slide part way in again. His tongue and lips worked madly as he did, plucking at her until she began to moan and wail so loud that she became aware of it. Jo bit her lip then, trying to silence herself, but that was impossible. She wanted to scream with the need claiming her, wanted to cry out, beg and demand by turn that he bring an end to this madness, and that he never stop. And then it was as if something snapped inside her, some string she had never known existed, and in snapping it released a wave of pleasure so strong she briefly shimmied and convulsed under it. It was while she was still convulsing that Cam left off what he was doing, rose up between her legs, clasped her thighs and drove himself into her.

Jo’s pleasured cries turned to a shriek of pain as he encountered and slammed through her maiden’s veil. Her mother had told her it was different for each woman, that some hardly felt more than a pinch, while others felt as if he were tearing through a thick layer of skin. For Jo, it was the latter option. She definitely felt more than a pinch. In truth, she would have compared it to someone stabbing her with a blade. Not that she’d ever had that happen, but if she had, this was what she imagined it would have felt like.

Much to her relief, Cam stopped moving when she cried out. They were both still for a moment and then Jo forced her eyes open to look at him uncertainly. He stared back briefly, and then shifted one hand from her thigh to slip it between them just above where they were joined. When he began to caress her again, she nearly released an exasperated sound, quite sure he wouldn’t be able to stir up any interest after that shot of pain. But she’d barely had the thought when she felt the first stirrings of her rekindling desire.

Cam still didn’t move, remaining fully imbedded in her as he patiently worked to rouse her once more, and in the end it was she who began to move. The pain not quite, but almost forgotten, she began to shift against his shaft, knees rising and heels digging into the ground as she began thrusting into his caresses, unintentionally riding him as she sought that release he’d already given her once.

He let her have her way for several moments, but then Cam gave up caressing her and clasped her hips to control her movement as he began to thrust in and out of her, in and out. At first Jo was disappointed and even a little frustrated, but then he shifted and changed the angle somewhat so that his body rubbed against her core and she closed her legs around his hips to egg him on. This time when she found that release she sought and cried out, Cam cried out with her, his hands tightening on her hips and holding her tight against his body as he poured his seed into her.

Chapter 5

J
OAN STR
AIGHTENED FROM CHECK
ING ON THE
pheasant she had roasting over the fire and glanced to Cam’s sleeping face for about the hundredth time. He was still sleeping soundly and the sight made irritation flicker through her before she turned to pace to the water’s edge and back. She then did it again. Jo had been pacing all day, ever since he’d made love to her.

All right, it hadn’t been all day, she acknowledged silently. Cam had collapsed next to her after they’d both cried out with release. Lying on his side beside her, he’d then thrown one leg over hers and one arm across her chest and promptly fallen asleep. Jo had actually slept too for a little bit. She hadn’t been able to help herself. Her body had been trembling and weak in the aftermath of what they’d done and she’d just dozed off there with him. She didn’t think she’d slept long though. The sun had still been creeping upward in the sky when she’d woken up sometime later.

Jo had remained where she was briefly, listening to Cam’s steady heartbeat next to her ear, but then had eased out from under his arm and leg and got up. The first thing she’d done was dress, and rather quickly too. The worry that Cam might wake up and see her naked making her move with more speed than grace. Then she’d sat beside him, berating herself for acting like such a ninny. The man had seen her naked, most intimately in fact, and yet she was going to go all shy about his seeing her again?

She’d followed that up with berating herself for letting him do what he had, or for doing it with him, since it wasn’t like she hadn’t been a party to it. Joan had reminded herself that she didn’t want to get with child, and that she had no desire to be some dalliance for a noble, and that a dalliance was all she could be to Cam. Certainly nobles didn’t marry commoners. That depressing lecture had taken quite some time and left her feeling deflated. Not that Jo had started imagining marriage and happy-ever-afters before that. Still, the cold hard truth was often difficult to swallow and after the incredible passion she’d experienced, being brought down to earth so abruptly was much like falling out of the tree had been. She’d landed with a nasty bump.

Feeling cheap and even a little angry then, Jo had taken herself off to find wild berries to break her fast with. Despite the depression hanging over her, or perhaps because of it, she’d suddenly felt hungry. She’d taken her time, finding enough for both she and Cam in case he was hungry when he woke up. It was on her way back to their camp that Jo had spotted the pheasant. Once again, her slingshot had come in handy, but this time she hadn’t had to chase the bird up a tree. It had still been on the ground when she’d shot it. But she’d broken its neck for good measure the moment she reached it, to avoid what had happened the night before.

Cam had still been sleeping when she’d returned to camp, so Jo had plucked and cleaned the bird. When she’d finished, Cam was still sleeping with no sign of stirring, so she’d started another fire, and cut down two large Y-shaped branches to stick in the ground on either side of it and a third straight branch to skewer the pheasant on to lay across the first two branches. She’d been eating the berries she’d collected ever since while pacing and occasionally turning the pheasant. The sun was now past its zenith and on its downward journey; the berries were long gone, the pheasant was done, the fire was dying, and Cam still slept.

Sighing, Jo paced to the water’s edge again, her eyes wandering to the waterfall. It was beautiful and the idea of stripping and standing under it to wash had been tempting her every time she’d looked at it. The only thing stopping her had been the fear that Cam would wake and see her. But he was showing no sign of that happening anytime soon, which was a bit worrisome really. If it weren’t for the occasional snore that slipped from him, she would have feared he was dead.

Jo had no idea why he was sleeping so long, but then she had no idea about a lot of things. Like how had she ended up under his plaid with him, sleeping on his chest? And why had he not told her that he knew she was a girl and not the boy she was pretending to be? She might have been a little more prepared for his advances had she known that. Although, to be honest, she might not have been; the last time she’d seen her reflection she hadn’t exactly been attractive so wouldn’t have imagined he’d lust after her.

Perhaps soaking her face in the cool water last night had rushed her healing along and she looked like herself again, she thought suddenly, and knelt at the water’s edge to peer at her reflection in the rippling surface. Joan watched a frown pull her brows together as she got a look at herself. While the swelling had gone down a bit and the bruising appeared more green and yellow than black now, she still looked like hell and had to wonder what had moved him to want to bed her.

Sighing, Jo straightened and got to her feet. Another glance at Cam showed him still sleeping. She was beginning to think he would sleep right through the rest of the day and into night. The only thing she could think was that it was because he was still healing. Perhaps they had overdone it yesterday, traveling so long. Perhaps they should have waited an extra day for him to heal, or at least kept their traveling down to half a day or something. She would have to talk to him about that when he woke up, Jo decided and glanced to the waterfall again.

She had never seen a spot as beautiful as this one, and wasn’t likely to again unless she stopped here on her return journey. Even then it was doubtful she’d find this spot on her own. Unfortunately, Jo hadn’t taken note of where they’d left the trail. So if she didn’t bathe in the waterfall now, she would probably never get the chance again.

Glancing over her shoulder, she noted that Cam was still sound asleep, and then she began to disrobe. She would be quick about it, Jo promised herself.

C
AM OPEN
ED HIS EYES TO A BEAUTIFUL SUNNY DAY,
stretched and yawned and then winced as the stitches in his back pulled a little. They’d done that a time or two last night while he was tupping Jo, too, he recalled and the thought made him glance to the side for her. She was no longer sleeping beside him . . . and wasn’t in the clearing, he noted, after sitting up to glance quickly around.

Frowning, Cam got to his feet and pushed his hands through his long hair to get it out of his eyes as he looked around for any clues as to where Jo had got to. The smell of freshly roasted meat drew his attention to the pheasant over the cooling ashes of their fire. That made him relax a little. Only then did Cam admit to himself that for one second, he’d feared perhaps she’d been upset by what he’d done and left while he slept, setting out on foot alone.

Cam grimaced at the guilt that suddenly beset him. He hadn’t forced her, he knew, but he
had
been rather aggressive that morning. He’d also caught her half asleep and no doubt completely unprepared for his advances since she was pretending to be a boy. On top of that, she had been completely inexperienced. That had quickly become obvious, even before he’d broken through her maidenhead. In fact, it had nearly made him stop at one point, but she’d felt and tasted so delicious, and she’d been so responsive that he hadn’t been able to reign himself in.

Damn, he thought, Jo had a lot of passion in her. She’d moaned, writhed, gasped and cried out like a wild thing as he’d pleasured her, and it had all just made him want to pleasure her further, wring more cries and pleas from her sweet lips. The memory was enough to make Cam hard all over again, and he glanced down at himself, grimacing when he saw the dried blood on his shaft, further proof of her innocence.

Not that he’d needed to see the blood to believe it, he thought, and decided a quick dip was in order and then he would go in search of Jo. They needed to talk. He didn’t know what he would say, but was pretty sure that at the least he owed her an apology. Not only had he taken her innocence, but he’d neglected to withdraw or do anything else to protect her against getting with child. That last part was alarming. He liked Jo, a lot. In fact, he liked her more after knowing her these few short days than he’d liked any woman he’d known, even his wife, whom he’d lived, slept and dealt with for a year. He didn’t know why. Perhaps because he’d relaxed and talked with her as a friend when he’d thought her a boy. He’d never spoken so freely with a woman before, but felt, even now, that he could talk about just about anything with Jo.

Whatever the reason, the fact was that Cam liked her and had no desire to see her grow big with his child and then die screaming as she tried to push it out of her body. He should have left her alone, or failing that, used a pig’s bladder. That was what he had been doing since his wife’s death. He’d carried around a pig’s bladder and when the need arose, tied it around his shaft with twine to prevent spilling his seed in a woman.

Unfortunately, the bladder had somehow torn while he was with the tavern wench. Cam wasn’t sure how that had come about. He’d discovered it on waking up in the morning. He’d had a sore head at the time, and hadn’t been pleased at the discovery. He’d hoped for more than one night in the tavern wench’s arms, but he wouldn’t risk it without the bladder, so he’d mounted up and left, expecting to catch up with his cousins the next day. Instead, he’d run into Jo and her attackers. He wasn’t sorry. Frankly, he would pass up a dozen attractive barmaids for one Jo any day. So, in the end, the bladder tearing was a bit of good fortune, he thought with a grin . . . Except for the fact that he hadn’t had it to use with her, some part of his mind reminded him, making his grin quickly fade.

Sighing, Cam pushed his thoughts aside and headed for the water to clean up. He was nearly to the water’s edge when he realized that someone was already in it. Pausing, Cam stared. Jo stood under the waterfall, half turned away from him. Her eyes were closed, head tipped back, hair appearing almost alive as the water caught it and moved it about, streaming it over her shoulders and body.

She was beautiful, he acknowledged as his eyes ran over the curves on full display. Her nipples were erect, hardened by the cold water, he noted, and her hands were gliding over her body to aid the water in cleaning her. Water nymphs could not be more beautiful than Jo was to him in that moment and Cam stood, simply staring for a moment, watching enviously as she cupped her breasts and lifted them slightly, as if offering them to the water rushing over her. When she then released them and slid one hand down over her stomach toward the apex of her thighs to clean there, Cam couldn’t stand it anymore and hurried into the water to cross to the falls.

The water was cold but did nothing to cool his ardor. Besides, his body seemed to adjust quickly and Cam was quite comfortable by the time he reached the waterfall and climbed up the boulders to join her on the flat ledge she stood on. Eyes closed and with the sound of the pounding water covering his approach, Jo was taken completely by surprise when he reached out and touched her shoulder. Her eyes popped open on a startled cry that ended in a gurgle as she took in water. Then she turned too swiftly, stumbled and nearly fell off the ledge into the pond it ran into.

Fortunately, Cam caught her arm and pulled her against his chest before she could. He then shifted them both closer to the small cliff’s wall and out of the downpour. Jo opened her eyes the moment she was able and relaxed a little when she realized it was him, but not fully. He could see the questions forming in her eyes, and knew they should talk, but they were both naked, she was in his arms, his erection was cuddled against her stomach and her hard nipples were poking into his chest and all he wanted to do was—

Cam kissed her. It was not the questing kiss he’d started with that morning, it was a hard, hungry claiming. He wanted to devour her and his kiss said as much as he urged her lips apart and drove his tongue in to plunder the passion he now knew resided in her. Jo didn’t fight him off, in fact she seemed too stunned to react at all at first, and that wasn’t good enough for him. Cam wanted her hot and wanting him as much as he wanted her. He wanted to hear her gasps and moans in his ears, wanted her clinging to him, her nails scoring his shoulders, her body arching and thrusting.

Urging her back against the cliff face, he pinned her wrists to the rock on either side of her head and slid one knee between her legs, rubbing it against her core as he broke off kissing her to drop his mouth to one breast.

Jo said something as soon as her mouth was free, but he couldn’t tell what it was with the sound of the rushing water so loud around them. Ignoring what could have been either a protest or a plea, he caught her nipple between his teeth and then closed his lips around it, drawing eagerly until she stopped trying to free her hands and arched into the caress. Cam released one of her wrists then so that he could reach down between her legs and caress her, and much to his relief, she immediately clutched at his shoulder with the free hand rather than push him away.

Continuing his caresses there, Cam released her nipple and straightened to claim her mouth again. This time she kissed him back with all the passion she’d shown him that morning, her own tongue meeting his and wrestling with it briefly before giving that up to instead suck on it when he urged one finger inside her wet warmth while continuing to run his thumb around the nub of her excitement. Her body was not still, her thighs were alternately tightening around his wrist and hand as if trying to keep him from removing it, and easing apart to keep from restricting his touch, as her hips moved, eagerly riding his fingers.

Concentrating on what he was doing, Cam was caught completely by surprise when she suddenly moved her own hand between them to wrap it around his erection. Breaking their kiss on a gasp, he threw his head back, his teeth snapping together as her fingers began to move on him. Her touch was tentative, she obviously wasn’t sure of what she was doing, and he closed his free hand around hers, urging her to use a firmer grasp, and then immediately regretted it as his cock jumped in her hands. Cam nearly found his release right then, and soon would if she continued at what she was doing. To ensure that didn’t happen, he dragged her hand away and then caught her by the backs of the legs, spreading her thighs even as he used his hold to raise her against the cliff face.