Wedded to the Highlanders Read online

  It was the first time anyone had spanked her when she was slightly aroused, and she found the pain of the spanking seemed to fade as a glow in her core turned the sharp swats into searing tingles of heat dancing across the surface of her skin.

  He continued swatting her, and a little moan came out of her mouth. She lifted one hand from the floor and clapped it over her lips.

  “Oh, you like that, do ye?” Steen asked. She squeaked and shook her head. His hand landed on her rear, harder than before, as though it were even possible.

  “Are ye telling tales?” he prompted.

  “I... you... this... um...” She couldn’t complete a thought process because his hand was demanding her entire attention, now, and although it hurt, her body still somehow revelled in the way the heat pooled deep inside her. She knew he hadn’t been entirely serious when he’d initiated this spanking, but it was still a nice symbolic gesture to show she’d obey him, if he courted her. And oh, how she hoped he would still court her. She’d had no idea his hand could do things like this to her, without even touching her most intimate places.

  Soon, the spanking stopped, and she remained over his knee, breathless, while her rear throbbed with the residual fire.

  “Unusual...” Steen managed after a long silence.

  “How?”

  “You could break rocks on my todger about now.”

  Lucy giggled. “Maybe you should give it some relief.”

  “D’ye ken anyone who would oblige?”

  “Well I’m down here, and you already have me bared and bent over...”

  “Very true, aye.” His voice became thicker. “And are ye ready?”

  “Let me put it this way; if ye dinnae get somethin’ inside me soon, I’m going tae go out and find a dry stone wall to straddle!” she chided him.

  He chuckled and lightly brushed his fingers against her sex. She gasped as the brief contact sent a spark of lust through her body.

  “Please, dinnae leave me hanging!” she murmured.

  “Someone needs tae learn a little patience.” Steen circled her clitty with his fingers, which were still hot from spanking her. She writhed under his hand and yearned for him to touch her more deeply. He teased her until she was thrusting her hips back and forth in a most wanton display.

  She moaned as his finger slipped inside her and stretched her in a way nothing ever had before. It was heavenly but also slightly terrifying, because she saw his cock outlined against his trousers and the bulge there was as big as his entire fist. For some reason, while his size was frightening, it was also exciting.

  “Is this your first time, aye?” Steen asked.

  “Yes,” she breathed. “Your finger is so big!”

  “My cock is bigger. I dinnae think this is the right time for ye to experience it, though.”

  She froze in surprise. “Are ye saying ye dinnae want me?”

  “Nae, lass, I want ye more than anything, but your first time... it shouldnae be around the back o’ the village whisky store.” His voice was strained as he spoke.

  Lucy sighed heavily. Would she ever know what it felt like to be taken by a man? It was seeming less and less likely with each passing day. She tried to get up, but Steen’s other hand pushed her back down again.

  “Who said ye could move, lassie?” he asked. She gasped and shook her head. He pushed his middle finger inside her a little deeper and began to circle it in her too-tight sheath. His digit stretched her and she sighed as his other hand worked her clitty.

  The heat in her bottom was still radiating and it combined with the tantalizing sensations he was eliciting from inside her. To her greater surprise, he gently slid his middle finger back out and her eyes widened with fear as he pressed it against her bottom hole.

  “Just relax, lassie, and let it in. Focus on the pleasure, where my fingers are rubbing you,” he coached her. She found it worked, and the pain in her rear was diminished, as he slowly inserted his slick finger.

  Soon, her tight rear opening was filled with achingly satisfying tingles as he thrust his finger in and out of her naughtiest opening. When she began rolling her hips and quietly moaning, he slid his first finger into her pussy, and soon she was impaled on his two big fingers while he drew scintillating tingles from her body. Her whole world wrapped around this one moment, as he filled her completely and pleasured her, and soon, she was hurtling towards an incredible pinnacle.

  She needed to arch her back... to stretch her legs... to squeeze his fingers and let it out. And she exploded, feeling her body clamping down on Steen’s fingers, her hips rolling against his hand on her clitty, her mouth open as she tried not to scream at the top of her voice for fear of attracting unwanted attention, and a moment later, she was back on the slightly dusty ground, gasping for air as her mind tried to process the incredible new sensations she just experienced.

  She giggled and craned to look up at him. “That was... unbelievable,” she remarked.

  “Aye. And now it’s my turn. Have you ever had a man’s cock in your mouth?”

  She shook her head.

  “Would you like to?”

  Her eyes shone. He had made her feel so wonderful, she wanted to make him feel the same way, too. “Yes, please,” she replied in a small voice.

  “Come and kneel between my legs, lassie,” he told her. She obeyed him and watched as he unbuttoned his trousers. His hardness sprang out, and it was even bigger than it had looked under all the clothing. It was firm and slightly pink, with veins standing out as the tip throbbed gently. Lucy licked her lips.

  “Take me into your mouth, Lucy,” Steen said softly. She drew the head of his cock in past her parted lips. He was warm and firm. It felt like she’d been yearning her whole life for this. She sucked on him gently, going deeper, so his shaft was inside her, too. She was in awe he had gifted her with this precious part of him, and was resolved to do her best to make him happy. She sucked as her head moved up and down, and she was rewarded with soft moans from Steen.

  As she worked his manhood, one of his hands tangled into her hair and she thought he was going to force her to take him deeper, but he didn’t. He let her control her pace, and she spent many happy minutes exploring this new delight while she savoured the noises he made.

  “All right lass, I’m going to take control, now, but I want you to tap me on the leg if you cannae breathe,” he told her. She nodded, and the hand in her hair pulled harder, causing a sharp tingle to run from her scalp straight to her recently-used sex, and she was forced onto his cock, until the tip pressed against the back of her throat.

  “Good lass,” he encouraged her. He thrust into her, harder, using her, and she was surprised she wanted him to. It felt so good to let him take what he wanted from her while she had to oblige, and when his movements became faster, she felt liquid trickling out of her pussy again.

  “Swallow every drop,” he murmured, thrusting hard as hot liquid shot down the back of her throat. Lucy swallowed for all she was worth, until he slid out and joined her on the floor, drawing her into a warm embrace, holding her protectively as they watched the overgrown stalks of grass in the doorway quivering from side to side in the summer breeze.

  Chapter 5

  After he left Lucy behind the whisky store, Steen quickly washed his hands in one of the water butts collecting rainwater to nourish the village flower beds, and he made his way to the shop and fetched the baking powder. The romantic interlude with Lucy had taken time, and he hoped he wasn’t in trouble with his parents for being so slow to bring back the ingredient they were waiting for.

  He arrived back in the bakery. Papa Seoras folded his arms and raised a stern eyebrow.

  “Did ye wait for the baking powder tae grow in a field, lad?”

  “Nae, Pa, I’m sorry. Here.”

  “Where were ye? I could have got it myself if I’d thought it would take ye so long.”

  Steen knew better than to ever lie to his parents. “Lucy. I saw Lucy. And I needed tae talk tae he
r.”

  “Well, if people come in later and they wonder why the cakes are nae ready, I’ll tell them it’s all well because young Steen got tae speak wi’ his lassie.”

  Steen sighed. Sometimes, being stuck in a family business was very irritating.

  After what he had done with Lucy, however, nothing could detract from his mood, and he was soon washing pots and pans in the big square sink and humming a folk tune about a young maiden from Inverary.

  Not that Steen was interested in the girls in Inverary. Lucy was all he wanted. He hoped the spirit world would bind them together at the Circle Dance.

  After Steen left the alcove, Lucy waited a few minutes before following, to ensure nobody knew the two of them had been together. She walked around the corner of the whisky store and bumped straight into Hugh. She gazed up at him as her face coloured red. She knew she wasn’t exactly well-dressed right now.

  “Sorry! At least I didn’t knock you over, this time!” she said, furiously trying to rearrange her dress so she looked less like she’d just been rolling in the hay.

  “There is that,” he remarked dryly. “Although I’m a little curious about what you were doing behind the whisky store.”

  She flushed even more furiously and wished she could turn invisible like the fey did.

  “Just... looking for something.” She tried to sound casual but cringed inwardly, because her voice couldn’t sound more guilty unless she made some sort of confession.

  “You’ve lost something? Again?” He sighed heavily. “When will you stop losing things and finally start being more responsible, Lucy?"

  She took a step back, stung by his words. “What’s it to ye, Hugh? Go an’ find someone else to judge!” Seizing her skirts, she turned and ran.

  Not feeling like being around her family, she hurried out of the village, across the green and into the woodland. She had been so happy, minutes earlier, and yet somehow, one swift cutting remark from Hugh completely destroyed her. She began to cry.

  As she walked, she trailed her fingers against the white bark of the silver birch trees, until she reached the more ancient, dense evergreens.

  Fallen leaves crackled on the perennially-brown floor as the last of the bluebells tried to collect some vestiges of the afternoon sun, filtering through the leaves of the trees, and Lucy wondered, not for the first time, why they even tried to grow, here, when they would surely be happier in the bright sunshine of a meadow. And yet, she had never seen bluebells out in the open; they were always on the forest floor.

  As she kept going, Lucy got the distinct feeling she was being watched. She looked over her shoulder and thought she saw something scurrying away behind a tree. Pausing, she watched the landscape for a long moment, daring it to do anything peculiar. When nothing happened, she turned and resumed her journey into the forest, following the same pathway she’d walked upon a dozen or more times in the past.

  She reached the Frostbite stream. It was a very circuitous flowing brook, with many meanders, and nearer to the village and the sea, the Frostbite fed into the big River Crief by way of a beautiful, showy waterfall. Here, however, it was peaceful. There were smaller waterfalls around a tranquil forest clearing, where two or three big ancient pines had fallen down at some point in the past. Lucy had been drawn to this spot ever since, as a child of six or seven, her mother had brought her here one day. For almost twenty years, it had been her quiet place to think; her little bubble of calm while the rest of the world got on with its problems.

  Again, she felt as though she was not alone, and when she looked around, small, dark shapes seemed to hurry across the forest floor for a split-second, then she might have imagined them for all was still once more. This situation with Hugh was making her crazy.

  “I just wish I knew what tae do!” she cried in despair.

  There was a sound from the stream, like water pouring off a large object, and a moment later, a deathly-pale young woman, with tangled hair of pure white, and wearing a dress of dead leaves, appeared on the bank.

  Lucy stared in amazement. She had heard about the water nymphs and other creatures inhabiting the area around the village—some even said there were wolf-people who could change their shape into ferocious creatures—but until this moment, she had never seen any of it.

  “Are you a water-nymph?” Lucy asked, feeling slightly silly for saying the words aloud, but with no other explanation for the woman who had appeared from nowhere and now stood beside the fast-moving water, the possibility of her being a spirit was all Lucy thought of.

  “Yes. I’m Keelie, your local water nymph. I protect the glen. At least, I do now.”

  “What did you do before?” Did nymphs have some sort of employment service wherein they were engaged in other ways, occasionally? Lucy had grown up with the idea of the spirit world, but she’d never seen any of them before, let alone had a conversation with one.

  “Nothing, really. But in the future, I’m hoping to be a wood nymph. I think I would have been better at it, all things considered.” She shook her white hair, and some twigs fell out as she dripped.

  “Don’t you get cold and wet in the stream?” Lucy thought it was a horrible place to have to live.

  “I’m a nymph. We don’t really feel much for ourselves. But I can sense your sorrows. What is troubling you so deeply?”

  “Men,” Lucy said flatly, but she decided it was an unfair statement. “Or, rather, one man in particular. See, the Circle Dance is coming up—d’ye ken what that is?”

  “Indeed.”

  “And I was hoping two men I liked would ask me to dance. There’s Steen, the baker—I mean, really, it’s his pas’ bakery, but still—and there’s Hugh. He’s a fisherman. He doesn’t look the type tae be broody but he really is, and he asked me to take care of his cat aboot two months ago, and anyway, the stupid cat ran away and he’s sure it’s my fault, but I looked everywhere at the time and I cannae find her. Now every time I see him, he seems tae find me lacking in every way, and I dinnae ken what I can do tae get his approval.”

  “And you care for his good opinion?” Keelie asked pointedly.

  Lucy sighed. “Yes. But I really wish I didnae.”

  “If you truly think he is the one for you, go and look for his cat right now. By the sea. There’s a cave, and lots of rock pools filled with crabs. That is where you ought to search for his cat.”

  Lucy turned this over in her mind. “Ye ken where the cat is?”

  “No. As I said, only go there seeking his cat if you are serious about him.”

  Confused, Lucy nodded, anyway. She knew the spirit world was mysterious and she trusted creatures like water nymphs wouldn’t lead her astray. “Thank you. I’ll go now.”

  “Don’t be surprised by the result. And good luck. You’ll need it.”

  Lucy watched, baffled, as Keelie faded away back into the stream once more. She decided ethereal creatures were cryptic and confusing, but at least Keelie seemed to mean well.

  Alone, Lucy turned around and retraced her steps to the village, enjoying the afternoon sunshine even though it was diluted by the tall trees. The villagers were erecting a few wooden tables beside the green, and Lucy remembered she’d promised to bake enough cakes to fill a cake stall at the bake sale to help Pauline. She would make a start this afternoon. Really, she knew she should be attending to her baking, not chasing after Hugh’s cat. It was Monday, and she wanted the extra time in case anything went wrong or she had to wait for any ingredients to arrive from Fort William, where the local shop got all their supplies. With so many people baking at the same time, she could easily see there being a problem with getting the usual ingredients if she ran out of anything.

  And instead she was here getting all caught up over Hugh.

  The heart wants what the heart wants, she pointed out to herself, as she headed back out of the village in a different direction and made her way to the sea.

  The sun had been sporadically coming out from behind clouds, but not for
long enough to heat the ground, and as a result, the sand was still wet from the high tide, even though the sea level suggested the water must have washed over here hours ago.

  Lucy walked along the sand, reflecting that her hobnail boots weren’t very appropriate for this landscape. Still, it was nice to walk among the glittering rocks and occasionally glimpse the seals out at sea, even if it was a bit chilly today.

  About half a mile up the shore, she saw the cave. Putting on a burst of speed, she hurried toward it, hoping to catch the cat in time. If she returned Hugh’s cat, after all this time, and proved to him the animal had been just fine, she was sure he’d finally stop disapproving of everything she ever did.

  When she was almost at the cave, the ground became even more damp, as the high cliffs in which the cave dwelt had shaded the beach here from the sunlight. The rocks were slippery and the going was slow as she attempted to avoid getting wet ankles from accidentally stepping into any of the big rock pools filled with brightly-colored anemones and limpets.

  Suddenly, she slipped, and her foot landed in some water, scraping her ankle between two heavy stones. She tried to regain her balance but a solid, clamping feeling told her that her ankle was trapped. Her toes began to get wet, and she looked up and down the beach but there was no-one, anywhere. This was one of the more secluded areas, and she didn’t know if anyone would ever come by here.

  Stuck and beginning to panic, Lucy pulled on her ankle again, more carefully. If it had gone in, it had to come back out. But the way the rocks had hurt her ankle, it was swelling rapidly and there was no way she could help herself. Balancing precariously on her other leg, she lowered herself to the edge of the rock pool and began to cry.

  Why hadn’t she looked where she was going? She’d been too hasty to get Hugh’s cat for him. Now, it was probably long gone. Life was so unfair, she thought, not for the first time today.

  The sun went behind a big cloud, and the new light made the whole shore look dull and grey. She wasn’t sure if it was about to rain. Lucy had come out without even a hat; she’d only been on a brief errand into the village. And now she was at the mercy of the fickle elements while they toyed with things much greater than her.