Medieval Highlands 01 - Highland Vengeance (43 page)

They traveled in silence for almost half an hour more. Tho’ Jesslyn was becoming ever more hot and winded from the many rises they’d had to climb, she still managed to mentally mark the route as they went, knowing that she must find this place on her own the next time. Desperate for a rest, she absently rubbed the stitch in her side. “How much further is the fall from here?” she called out weakly.

*

Tho’ Bao had been acutely aware of the lady tramping along behind him, he’d needed to stay alert to hunters or others who might be walking close by, so had said naught as they continued their trek. He stopped now and turned to wait for her, instantly amused and aroused by the state of her dishabille. The heat of the day must have been too much for her, for she’d loosened the top ties of her gown and chemise and they’d fallen off her shoulder. Unfortunately, the lush flesh now unclothed was obscured by her long hair. Her face was flushed and glowed with the dew of her exertion, bringing out the bright blue of her eyes. Her flaxen locks, which she’d tied into a ribbon at the side of her neck, was escaping from its binding, leaving wisps of damp, curling hair clinging to her plump, red mouth.

She halted a couple of paces away from him, clearly just realizing he was no longer in motion, as her head had been down while she walked, no doubt in an effort not to repeat her stumble of this day past. She attempted to blow the hair out of her mouth as she hauled the gown and chemise back onto her damp shoulder. The hair did not budge, so she swiped at it with her fingers, dragging it back from her dewy face. Evidently realizing where her gaze was focused—on his chest—her eyes leapt to his. She must have seen the carnal look there, because her own eyes dilated. She backed up a step and teetered, almost falling as her foot landed on the side of an egg-sized stone.

“Be careful!” Bao lurched forward and grabbed her by her upper arms, his fingers brushing the sides of her breasts as he pulled her forward. Her hands came up and rested on his bare chest as she steadied herself and his breath caught in his throat as the contact burned his skin. Without thought, he wrapped his arms around her, bent his head, and captured her soft, slick lips with his own.

*

Jesslyn struggled at first to pull away, fear of what she would allow this stranger to take from her running through her veins. However, her reticence was soon overcome by the stimulating heat of his embrace. His tongue plundered her mouth in a kiss so filled with unsated desire, it inflamed her own. She relaxed into him and he brought his giant warrior hand behind her head, holding it as if it were made of the finest glass while he sipped more fully of her lips.

She whimpered, returning his kiss in full measure.

A deep moan rumbled up from his chest.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and, rising to her toes in a sensual slide up his torso, cradled his pelvis with her own.

A squirrel made a cacophonous chatter in the tree a few feet above them and they bolted apart. Winded from the erotic interlude, they stood gaping at each other until Jesslyn broke the silence. “That was a mistake. It should not have happened, and it shall not happen again. I’m betrothed. In any case, I am not a widow who takes to light dalliances, if that is your aim.”

His mouth turned down in a grim line. “I do not believe you to be such; I give you my oath,” he said. “’Twas your loveliness and nearness that overcame my better judgment for a moment. As I am in no position to pledge my troth either, I must agree that it shall not happen again.” Then, with a sweep of his arm in the direction they had been taking prior to their amorous interlude, he said, “We only have a bit further to go until we arrive at the fall. Shall we continue on?”

Relieved by his words, Jesslyn nodded. When he turned and set out once more toward their destination, she trudged behind him as she’d done before.

A few moments later, they were ascending a steep incline. Jesslyn followed Bao’s example, grabbing clumps of heath and branches of trees to use as leverage as she hauled herself up to the top. Her heart thudded with anticipation—for now she could plainly hear the loud rushing sound of water.

At the summit, Bao pulled back some overgrown vines that hung from two large trees and wound through the smaller brush in between. Once cleared, he turned and took hold of her hand with a silent entreaty for her to walk through the opening ahead of him.

Stepping forward, Jesslyn gasped in wonder. This was the place; everything was just as she remembered. Taking in the sight before her, she realized she was standing where her husband had stood in the dream and endeavored to find the path he would have taken to get from the other side without swimming the width of the pool.

Jesslyn turned to Bao and pointed to the area in question. “Is there a way to get to that side of the pool from here without swimming it?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “If there is one, I’ve not found it. As far as I’ve seen, the only way to reach that bank, other than the water, is to come from that part of the forest.”

Disappointed at his answer, Jesslyn continued her perusal, hoping to find what Bao had missed. After a moment, she asked, “Have you swum here? Is there an easy way down to the water?” Feeling his eyes on her, she turned her gaze to his and his heated, contemplative gaze struck her full-force before he shuttered it with a blink and, clearing his throat, said hoarsely, “Aye, to both questions. There is a natural set of limestone shelves on either side of the waterfall.” He took a step in that direction and turned. “Would you like to take a look at the ones over here?”

Tho’ she was still recovering from that blast of sexual awareness he’d sent her way, she managed, “Aye,” and then followed behind him. What had caused that look? Had he imagined them swimming together in this place? A thrill ran through her, but she quickly squelched it. Shaking her head to clear it, she turned her thoughts back to her purpose.

She’d not truly expected to see her husband upon arriving here today—not when she had another with her. But she would come back here alone as soon as she could and she hoped that Graeme would come to her then. For he had wanted her to find this bower, she had no doubt of it now. And he had told her to memorize it. Surely, that meant that he would meet her here again, as he had in the dream, did it not? And even if ‘twas only for one more encounter, at least she would have a chance to say goodbye to him then. So many things had been left unsaid and, Lord, how she wanted to say them—and craved to know he heard them.

Halting several paces from the fall’s terminus, Bao pointed to the narrow slab a foot below the spot where they now stood. “There is another shelf further below this one—see you it?”

The water’s roar was deafening this near the fall. Jesslyn shrugged and shook her head as she motioned toward her ear. “I cannot hear you,” she yelled, but heard naught from her own lips either.

Bao placed his hand on her upper arm and motioned that he was going to go down the steps.

Jesslyn nodded her head in reply.

He unlaced his boots and took them off before placing them on the bank, away from the pool’s edge. Drawing the back ends of the light woolen cloth that encircled his hips up between his legs, he tucked it into the front of his belt and pulled up the sides higher on his thighs before stepping down to stand on the first slab. Using his foot, he showed her where the next level was, just below the water’s surface. This slab was a bit wider, she noticed immediately, which would make it not too difficult to climb back up. He also showed her several jagged protrusions in the stone wall next to the natural stair that could be used as hand grips for additional support.

When he was sure that she had seen and understood the best means of descending into the pool safely, he climbed out of the water. Grabbing his boots, he motioned for her to walk with him back to the place near where they’d entered. When they were far enough away from the deafening roar of the fall to be heard once more, he said, “I’ve not only shown you the way to this place, but how to get into the pool without killing yourself.” He released the ends of the cloth and sat down on the edge of the limestone before putting his boots back on. “Will you at least tell me your dream? I’m quite curious.”

Nodding, Jesslyn sat down next to him. “It began with me walking across the glen. My husband, Graeme, was standing on the edge of the wood beckoning me to follow him.” She turned to Bao and added, “This is my dear, but dead, husband, you ken?” At Bao’s nod, she continued, “Of course, I eagerly ran to him. Then he led me to this place. But I came through on that side.” With a sweep of her hand, she pointed to a place just across the pool from them and then allowed her hand to drop once more to the limestone. “He was standing in this very place we sit upon now when I came through the foliage. I tried to get to him, but could find no way to do it.” Pausing for a moment to gaze once again at the area around the pool, she said, “I even tried getting down the side from where I stood—I would have swum the width, so desperate was I to be near him—but I could gain no foothold.”

His smile sad, his voice gentle, he said, “So you decided to see if this place truly existed…and if, perchance, you might find your husband here?”

He was much too shrewd for her liking. Giving him a sharp look, she said, “Aye, mayhap I had hoped to see him here. What matter it to you?”

Bao placed his hand over hers. “It matters only to me that you not endanger yourself by coming here alone to swim—or search on your own for a means of getting to the other side from this one as further proof that your husband’s visit was more real than dream.”

Jesslyn rose to her feet and walked a distance away, her arms crossed over her chest. She was quiet for a time. When she spoke at last, her voice was firm. “What think you of this: You were here as well in the dream. Or, at least, ‘twas your likeness. For my husband somehow changed his looks into yours for a moment.” Turning to face Bao, she said, “Then he told me that I should assist you, that you know something of Daniel’s past which will help him heal.”

*

Bao’s heart pounded.
Mayhap ‘twas
she
who was the spy in this game.
He leapt to his feet and stalked over to her. In a flash, his hands were at her waist, lifting her off her feet—he ignored her gasp—to fire his gaze directly into her widened blue eyes. “I know not whether to believe you. Do you tell me truth or has this been some skillful lie you’ve played out in order to win my trust and ferret me out?”

She looked more startled than afraid as she leveraged her hands on his shoulders. “And I know not how to explain it, but I do not lie to you. I wonder now if ‘twas dream or vision; so much has proved to be truth and not fantasy.” With a shrug, she shook her head. Her tone held bewilderment when she said, “‘Tis the reason I decided to keep faith with you.”

Bao nodded and lowered her to her feet. In agitation, he pulled out the leather thong that held the top portion of his hair away from his face and scrubbed both hands through the dark locks before swiping back the mass with his fingers and holding it against his head. Elbows forward, he silently began to pace.

“You ken now why I would think I might see Graeme here again,” she said after watching him stalk back and forth a couple of times. “Would it be so impossible?”

“I know not. I know not what to think.” Turning on his heel, he faced her, dropping his hands to his sides. “I, too, had a vision of this place that I thought, until this day past, to be naught more than a dream. ‘Tis why I searched it out as well.” His heart pounded as he forced the confession past his lips. “You were here—in my dream.”

Her eyes widened as she sucked in a breath. “How is that possible?” she said, her voice a mere whisper. Then, more sharply, she said, “Are you sure ‘twas
I
you saw? When did you have this dream? ‘Tis truth, it unsettles me more that you saw
me
in a dream than it does that I saw
you
.”

Bao gave an involuntary smile at that, but his mouth turned grim again as he shook his head. “I, too, understand it not and, aye, I am certain ‘twas you in my dream.” He crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged. “I—had the dream not long after I arrived here, about three moons ago. ‘Tis the reason I revealed myself to you this day past after seeing you crossing the glen.”

“What was I doing in this dream—was there a flaxen-haired warrior here as well?”

Bao knew he could not reveal the erotic details of the dream—she would surely run from him as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. Nay, ‘twould be best to give her a very broad version. “You were swimming. Alone. When you saw me, you came out of the water and we settled on the rocks. We became friends.” Extremely
good
friends, he thought lewdly.

“How odd,” she said, her brows drawn together in confusion. Eyes narrowing a bit, she studied him more closely. Her voice was filled with disbelief when she said, “I just came right out of the water when I saw you—a stranger—and forthwith I befriended you. That is not my usual custom, I assure you.”

Bao kept his features perfectly guileless when he said, “Aye, ‘twas odd.” Then, lifting his brows, as if only just remembering something, he said, “Tho’ now that I think on it a bit more, it did seem as if you knew me.” Aye, she’d “known” him quite well. His groin began to swell.
Aargh!
Be quiet!
Would his mind never stop these carnal thoughts? He’d no doubt be jumping into the cold water of the pool soon if they remained here much longer. Swiftly, before she saw the proof of his desire for her, he turned away, saying, “Come, ‘tis time for us to depart. The sun will be setting in a couple of hours and you must return before you are missed.” It should not be difficult to keep his aroused state from her notice if she stayed behind him.