Highlander's Trials of Fire

Jonet could not recover quickly enough to respond. Her body felt numb, sated. Yet there was something lingering within her, something that told her she needed more.

Matthew continued kissing her, as though he knew her unspoken need. She could feel him against her thigh again, nudging against her entrance. To her surprise, she did not feel scared. She was excited for what would happen next.

He positioned himself over her, capturing her mouth with his as he slowly slid inside. Jonet tensed at the feel of him, but after a few moments, she began to adjust. He moved in all the way, then slid back.

Gradually, he built his speed. They did not stop kissing, not until he was going fast enough to keep them both on their toes. After that, Matthew buried his face into the crook of her neck and she wrapped her arms around him, moving to the rhythm that he had created.

Faster and faster they went, until that now familiar feeling rose within her again. She managed to say as much to him, that she could feel it coming, and he spurred her on with kisses to the neck. Faster and faster, he continued.

Something magical happened. He grunted, his body going rigid. Jonet had half a second to register what it was before her world exploded around her as well. Together, they soared high, past the room, towards the clouds.

Together, they came back to Earth.

Matthew fell to the side of her, breathing heavy. He gathered her into his arms and Jonet slung her leg over his, resting her head on his chest. She had never been so happy.

Matthew kissed her on her forehead. “Ye daenae need to worry about anythin’ when ye’re in me arms, Jonet,” he whispered to her. “I want ye to ken that.”

Jonet could not hold back her smile. She would have lifted her head to look at him had happy tears not pricked her eyes. A little embarrassed by that, she tried blinking them away.

“I ken,” she replied. “And I’ve never felt safer.”

Chapter 21

“Ye wished to see me?”

Matthew looked up at the door where an uncertain Georgie peeked his head into the room. He shot to his feet, putting his hand on the windowsill he had been sitting by as he grinned. “It took ye long enough.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, slipping into Matthew’s bedroom all the way. “It took me a little longer than I expected to get away from the horses. I dinnae expect ye to call me all the way up here. Is somethin’ the matter?”

“Nothing at all, young Georgie,” Matthew sang, “though it warms me heart to see ye worry for me so. What would ye say? Havenae we grown quite close over the past few weeks?”

Georgie’s brows dipped in question, even though his usual smile was slowly creeping over his face. Matthew supposed it was difficult for a boy like Georgie not to be happy in the face of Matthew’s obvious excitement.

“Of course, I think we are friends, Matthew!” he said readily. “Ye are the most interestin’ man I ken.”

“Now, ye’re just pullin’ me leg,” Matthew smiled, but he waved his hand dismissively. “Never mind all that. I need yer help with somethin’.”

Georgie came closer. Matthew was standing by the window of his bedroom, where he had been ever since he returned after breakfast. He was just now realizing how when he stood at a certain angle by the window, he had a good view of the training yard where Dougal and Jonathan spent most of their time.

It would be useless information if it were not for the fact that Jonet had opted to watch their mock battle after breakfast, as per Jonathan’s request. Matthew had taken this as his chance to do something he had been thinking to do for the past few days, and he needed Georgie’s help for that.

Georgie came to stand by his side, trying to take a look at what Matthew was staring at so intently. Jonet was shaking her head, a broad smile on her face as the wind whipped her hair out of its braid. It had been three days since they had made love and they had been inseparable ever since. Matthew, as impossible as it felt, had fallen even deeper in love with her and now, he felt he needed to find a way to show it.

“Ah, Miss Jonet is quite bonnie, isnae she?” Georgie said.

“The most beautiful creature on Earth,” Matthew agreed without hesitation. He could not wait to marry her. He wanted to put aside any remnants of fear she might be harboring, so that they could be happy forever.

That nagging guilt he had been trying his best to suppress reared its ugly head and, as per usual, Matthew shoved it aside. Right now, he wanted to do something nice for her. To show her just how much he loved her. There was no time to bemoan the things he had done in the past.

Though, the longer I take to tell her the truth, the worse it will be. She’ll never forgive me.

That thought rushed through his head at least twenty times a day. Half that time, he told himself that she loved him enough to forgive his wrongs. The way she looked at him—boldly, without a care in the world who might be watching—told him that she had not only given over her body, but her heart and soul.

“So,” Georgie dragged out the sound. It drew Matthew’s attention away from Jonet’s laughing face. “What did ye call me here for?”

“I want to do somethin’ nice for Jonet.”