Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Dunstaffnage, present day

Bree curled up on the study couch, sipping from her wineglass as Colin wrapped her in his arms. There was no place she would rather be on a rainy night at Dunstaffnage. She remembered the first stormy night Bree stayed at Dunstaffnage. She'd snuck down here during a storm to pass the night and fell into Colin's arms. She smiled remembering as she literally fell off the bookshelf into his arms.

That occurred the first time she recognized she became attracted to him. After that night, their romance blossomed into love. Thunder boomed.

She jolted slightly.

Colin wrapped her in a tighter embrace. "Storms still bug ye, mo chridhe? Ye should know I'm here to chase yer storms away."

Bree hugged his arms and replied in her best Scots accent, "Aye, ye big, sexy Scot."

Colin chuckled and kissed her.

She cuddled back into his arms and sipped her wine. A moment of silence passed, then another. She couldn't get Marie off her mind. A priest took her, traveled back in time with her, and John followed. The same as she and Colin—taken for an Iona Stone. This time they searched for the Stone of Fear. Was her friend okay? Had John found her yet? Would they return to the present, if at all?

Colin grunted, "I can hear yer mind churning from here." He kissed her head. "What's bumping around in that head of yers?"

Bree sighed. "Marie and John. I'm worried about them."

Colin took her wineglass, set it on the table, and turned her in his arms. He caressed her face and kissed her. She grinned into his kiss, and he growled, then deepened the kiss. Their tongues danced. Marie and John flitted into her mind.

Bree sat up. "I know you are only trying to distract me."

Colin growled, "Damnit, woman, I was just beginning to enjoy myself."

Bree swatted his chest. "I mean it, Colin. I am really worried."

Colin sighed. He gazed at her from the side. "If I put yer fears at ease, can I have my way with ye?"

Bree raised an eyebrow. "Ye can't put my fear at ease. They are back in time. It's not like you can call them on their cell phones."

Colin's smile widened. "Ease yer fears, and I get me way with ye. Deal?"

Bree grabbed her wineglass and took a sip. "Challenge accepted, but if you lose, I get to have my way with you."

Colin leaned toward her and kissed her so hard the hairs on her arms rose.

He sat back. "Ye got yerself a deal, woman, but be prepared because I'm coming for ye."

Bree barked a laugh.

Colin rose and strode to the fireplace. He glanced over his shoulder, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. He stood there momentarily, and Bree shrugged her shoulders, uncertain what game he played tonight.

He smirked at her. "Woman, ye should know me better than that by now. I always have a trick up my sleeve."

He bent down to the left side of the mantel and opened the bolt hole.

Bree sucked in her breath. "Damn!"

Colin pulled out a scroll, turned, waved it, and chuckled. "Ye have such little faith in me, wife. I'll always have a way to make ye happy."

Bree gulped her wine and folded her arms as she huffed. Clearly, she lost the bet.

"Yes, I forgot about the bolt hole, but obviously, you and John didn't."

Colin sat beside her, holding the scroll up as he stared at the rolled paper.

Bree adjusted her seat and leaned close. "Well, open it."

Colin sighed. "Bree, ye need to be prepared. This may not be good news. It may be something ye don't wish to know."

Bree's brows crossed, and she gave him her best pout. "It must be good news. I can feel it."

Colin stood, crossed to the fireplace, then opened the scroll. He didn't want her to see it until he read it—always the protector. Colin took a while reading it, and the words made a long letter from where she sat. Much longer than other scrolls the men exchanged between times before. Colin's expression shifted from concern to shock, and he abruptly laughed out loud.

Bree about jumped off the lounge and tackled him. "Well?"

Colin glanced at her, then back at the scroll, and laughed again. "Ye will not believe me when I tell ye."

Unable to wait any longer, Bree jumped up and crossed to Colin. "What, is Marie hurt? What's happened?"

Colin shook his head. "The priest still has Marie, and they've chased him all around the western coast of Scotland. They plan an ambush at Ardchattan Nunnery. But that's not the shocking part."

Bree grabbed the scroll from Colin, and he still laughed, almost out of breath.

Bree read frantically. "His father? He found his father. Wait, didn't his father disappear years ago?"

Colin laughed. "Aye, and he's been living in the past. Do ye know what this means?"

Bree looked at him and shrugged.

Colin smiled. "The Fae Fable isn't about John and Marie, or even ye or me. It's his da." the Fae Fable Book thumped across the room and startled Colin. Curious. The book stayed the same since Marie went missing. What would the Fae want now?

Bree strode toward the book, but Colin caught her arm. "No, I don't want ye near that damn book. I prefer nothing happening to ye."

Bree smiled at her husband and patted his arm. "Colin, it's just a book. No harm ever came from reading a book."

Colin wouldn't let go of her arm. "She says after the last time ye read from a poem book, ye fell back in time. I don't want ye reading it."

She turned and kissed him. "It'll be fine. The Fae wouldn't move the book if they didn't want us to see what it says. You can hold me while I read if it makes you feel better."

Colin growled and took the scroll from her. As they walked past the desk, he set the paper down. When they neared the Fae Fable Book, Colin gathered Bree in his arms and gripped her tightly. He shifted her almost behind him.

She squirmed and tried to move around him to view the book. "Colin, how can I read the book this way? You brute."

Colin growled, "I'll read the book. Ye stay here."

He leaned over, peeked at the book, and then slammed his hand on the glass case.

Bree jumped in his arms. "Careful, Colin, that is glass."

He growled again. "It's not glass. It's a damn Fae spell. I won't have ye touching it."

Bree sighed. "Okay, but what does it say?"

He heavily sighed as he rolled his eyes. "The page is blank."

Bree giggled. "Colin, Brigid is playing with you again. She wants me to read it, not you."

Colin groaned as Bree patted his shoulder. "You sound like a bear tonight."

She turned in his embrace and leaned over the glass case. The words appeared, but only one line. She read it aloud. "The father thanked God, for our best blessings are often the least appreciated."

Bree smiled as she glanced at Colin. "See, that wasn't so bad. It's the end of the fable. Brigid says the end is near, and we must appreciate our blessings."

Colin swept her up in his arms, carried her to the couch, and laid her on it.

He slid over her. "Aye, our best blessings. Ye, Bree, ye and the kids are my best blessings." He kissed her again. "And I thank ye."

She slid her arms around his neck as he kissed her. He slid his tongue in and connected with hers as he deepened the kiss. She moaned lightly. Colin's hands roamed her body, down her sides to her hips as he rubbed against them. She wiggled her hips in delight.

Colin trailed kisses down her neck and back up to her ear. "Ye know, I've dreamt of taking ye on this couch since that night of the rainstorm."

Bree smiled and arched her neck in an invitation, so he kissed it again. "You have? Well, your wish is my command, husband." She grabbed his shirt and stripped it off, then ran her hand through his chest hair as he helped her by tossing his shirt aside.

Colin growled and kissed her deeply, then grabbed her shirt. As she sat forward on the couch, he stripped it off, and she hoped he liked her surprise.

When his gaze roamed her body, he chuckled. "No bra? Were ye planning this, wife?"

Bree smiled. "Maybe. You always said this was the best place to pass the time during a storm."

Colin sat up and gaped at her. "What about the kids?"

Bree smiled as she took hold of his neck and pulled him to her. "Already asleep. I checked on them before coming down."

She guided his head to her chest, and he sucked on a nipple as she arched her back.

He repeated the same for the other and nibbled on the nipple. His hand cupped it and squeezed the tip, sending sharp tingles to her toes. Bree shifted and arched, begging him to do the same to the other.

His chuckle let her know he understood what she wanted, and he complied with the other making it tingle as well. Grabbing both, he squeezed them together, suckling both tips in his mouth as Bree arched, and the sharp tingles shot across her chest. He released her and slid farther down the couch as he kissed his path toward her navel. The tickle of his unshaven chin caused her to suck in as his tongue against her lower abdomen spread heat.

She rubbed her hands through his thick black hair as he undid her pants and revealed her second surprise.

Colin sat back and stripped her pants off, and when his eyes fell upon her, he smirked. "No knickers. Why, Mrs. MacDougall, ye are becoming a naughty wife."

She wiggled as he stared at her body. "Your naughty wife enjoys her naughty Scot."

Colin bent and spread her legs. She allowed one to dangle off the edge. He blew on her curls, then ran his finger over her as he spread her juice. He hummed as he licked her nub.

She arched and moaned.

He licked it again and glanced up. This remained one of Bree's favorite forms of play.

He smiled as he teased her. She liked it when he tormented her with his mouth. His tongue flicked again, then he wrapped his mouth over her nub and sucked.

Bree gasped. "Oh, Colin."

He sucked a few more times and licked her nub as it grew hard under his torture. Colin stood, stripped off his pants, and his hand stroked him.

He slid up her body and kissed her hard. "God, Bree, I can't take it anymore. I must have ye now." He entered her swiftly, and she yelped. He kissed her hard again, pumped once, then stopped, seated fully in her.

He panted. "Woman, I can't ever get enough of ye. Every time I touch ye, I can't stop myself. I must have ye, over and over."

Colin rocked slowly within Bree as she caressed his face. "I know. It's like an obsession. Please take me, Colin. Make me fly."

He kissed her in a promise to make sweet, hard love to his wife.

She slowly responded as she wanted this to last. She waited till they were back at Dunstaffnage, waited for a rainstorm so she could make love to him here where their attraction started. Her fantasy of taking him to the study came true, and she wanted to savor it.

Taking her cue, Colin started again, slowly, the friction enhanced by the sensitivity of his earlier play. He bumped into her nub and sent tingles through her as she moaned. He bent and kissed her as he slid in a little harder.

He read her needs and desires and shifted as his hand traveled from her hip to her knee. He drew it up against his hip, allowing him better access, and he went deeper on the next thrust.

She sensed his desire build, felt him swell in her. She arched in the next push.

He grunted as he increased his pace. He rose a little on his hands, shifted again, and gained better mobility. Colin liked his loving hard and fast. She grabbed his shoulders and held on for the ride as Colin increased the pace, building pressure inside her.

Colin continued to push and drove the force of love that became part of their lives. All their passion poured into each stroke and thrust and rose in anticipation. Bree became the first to find release as she cried out his name. Colin followed quickly, slammed into her, and shouted her name with his release. He still shook when he shifted her to his side as they snuggled on the couch.

As Colin still tried to catch his breath, Bree giggled. "I won. I had my way with you."

Colin huffed. "No, I won. I had my way with ye."

Bree ran her hands up and down his back. "I appreciate you, Colin."

Colin kissed her once and then again with each word he said. "God, woman, I appreciated ye yesterday, today, tomorrow, last year, and next year."

Bree laughed. "I love you."

Colin finally caught his breath as his hand caressed her face. "Aye, mo chridhe, I love ye too."