Ella had never seen anything as beautiful as the MacGille lands. It was well after sunrise when they crossed over into what Lucas had told her was safe territory. If Ella had to guess she would say it was close to mid-morning, maybe even noon. They road in a green valley with just a hint of Autumn coloring accenting the sharp peaks rising on either side of them. She saw in the distance a crystal blue lake, that had a bit of fog rising up from it, giving it an ethereal quality. No wonder the Scottish people believed in fairies. It would be impossible to live in such a place and not believe in magic.

“What ur ye thinkin’ about lass?” Lucas whispered in her ear, sending a chill of pleasure down her spine. His burr thick and husky with the dawn.

“I can’t believe how beautiful your home is,” she said, wistfully. “I mean, if I grew up among this type of beauty, I would never want to leave.”

“Aye, ‘at is why leavin’ tae fight the English is so hard,” he said. “I wish it wasnae necessary tae keep our folk and lands safe, but it is.”

“You must hate the English,” she said.

“Nay, I dinnae hate the English, lass. I only hate what English rule over highland lands represents. It would be the end of my way of life, me da’s way of life, an’ his da before him,” he said, with a sadness in his voice that Ella felt she could understand. She wouldn’t want a foreign government coming in and telling her people what they could and couldn’t do. She was learning that there was an honor in the way highlanders lived. She felt badly for all of her preconceived notions about the Scottish people, and highlanders specifically. Now that she had spent time in their company, in Lucas’s company, she was learning how wrong she had been.

“Lucas, can you tell me what the keep will be like?” she asked. She could feel his smile in her back.

“Aye. ‘Tis beautiful, albeit a dirty place sometimes. Mud in the spring, thick as snow,” he said.

“That’s not what I meant,” she replied, somewhat embarrassed by her lack of knowledge of his culture. “I have always been told highlander men were brutes, and the castles of the Lairds scary places where women have no say and are made to do unspeakable things. I can’t imagine you would live in a place such as that, I’m just wondering what to expect is all,” she finished in a rush. Happy that he was behind her on the horse and unable to see the redness in her face.

He let out a full and hearty laugh. “Don’t laugh at me Lucas, this is serious. I’m an English woman heading into enemy territory.”

He laughed again, this time harder, and Ella felt her embarrassment turn to anger. “Lucas, please…” she begged. She desperately wanted to know why her questions caused him to laugh.

“I’m sorry lass, I dinnae mean tae make ye angry. I’m not laughing at you, but if ye kent how the keep really ran I think ye’d laugh too,” he said.

“What do you mean,” she asked.

“I mean, that I agree with ye that highland men are braw and strong indeed, but ‘tis the women who really run things up here.” The women ran things? Surely he was kidding her. “The women cook the food, raise th’ bairns, and generally run the day tae day of the keep. Not a single man, no matter how much a warrior he may be in battle, would ever speak against his woman. Not if he valued his life, at least not a MacGille man. A MacGille clansmen worships his woman above all else, and the women feel their power in that worship. That ‘tis why I laughed. The English nannies and governesses have it backwards. ‘Tis not the highland men ye should fear lass, ‘tis the women,” he said.

They stopped by a small stream to rest and water the horse. She climbed down first, and watched as Lucas winced as he got off the horse. His body stiff from hours in the saddle. Ella motioned for Lucas to sit beside her in the soft grass. She wanted to check his bandages and he needed to rest. He closed his eyes and leaned against the tree, letting out a sigh of relaxation.

“Dinnae let me sleep long lass, I’m eager to get you back to the keep where I know no harm will come to ye,” he said sleepily.

“I won’t,” she promised. Satisfied that his bandages didn’t need changing she shyly positioned herself in his lap and ran her hands over his bare chest, putting slight pressure and kneading with her fingers when she reached his shoulders. She had watched Gwen rub her own shoulders after a long day of work, and even though she had never tried it herself, she thought it might be something Lucas would enjoy. He let out a small moan of pleasure, and she knew she had done something he liked. “Does that feel good?” she asked.

“Aye,” he replied, keeping his eyes closed. “Dinnae stop. Yer hands are like little angels on my skin, but I have tae warn ye I may try tae ravish ye right here in th’ open.” His voice was heavy again and full of gravel that warmed her insides. She wouldn’t mind in the least if he did ravish her. She was curious about the feelings she experienced when she was this close to him. She felt his sex harden against her and she wiggled slightly, readjusting her body in order to feel more of him. He grabbed her hips forcing her to keep still.

“Lass, dinnae move. Ye dinnae know what ye are doin’ tae me,” he said, his eyes open and staring at her, hooded with lust. She hadn’t been aware that men were so easily aroused. Maybe, she thought, it isn’t all men. Maybe it was just Lucas. She only wanted it to be Lucas at least for her, she was finding she liked this new power she had discovered.

“Tell me, Lucas,” she asked quietly, her own voice heavy with need. “What am I doing to you?”

“Ahh lass, I cannae tell ye. I’ll have tae show you,” He smiled as he unwrapped his plaid and let his manhood free. She was impressed by its size. She had never seen a fully erect male before and Lucas was a sight to take in. She felt a burning warmth between her legs as moisture began to pool there, and it made her feel like she needed to be as close to Lucas as possible. Taking her hand in his own he wrapped it around his hardened sex. She was amazed by the strength she felt pulsing out of him. He groaned as she delicately used the tip of her thumb to rub back and forth exploring the softness of his satin tip. She smiled and leaned down to plant a gentle kiss where her thumb had just been, and used her tongue to fleck it, licking the salty, light moisture that had formed there. His sharp intake of breath let her know she had done something right, and that pleased her. She took more of him in her mouth and kissed with slightly more pressure.

He pulled her up and then down tightly against him. He lifted her away and brought her up to face him. Staring at her in awe for just a moment before crushing his mouth to hers. She opened for him, and he used his tongue to probe her mouth. She matched his urgency with an insistence of her own, using her own tongue to seek out and taste him.

This was so different than the first time he had made love to her. She felt more free, and wanted to explore his body in a way she had been too afraid to do before. Of course, in the barn she had seen all of him, but this was different. He didn’t need her in the same way anymore but his need was still there. She was coming to him now, not as a healer, but as a woman. Breaking their kiss she trailed her tongue and lips down his tight, tanned neck and back up again stopping when she captured the soft end of his ear in her teeth, and then whispered lightly, “What would like me to do?” She felt the raised chills form on his body and he moaned again.

“Ella, ye ar’ killin’ me, sweet but in th’ best way. Don’t dae anythin’ ye are perfect as ye are,” he said through clenched teeth.

He rolled her over so that she was on her back looking up at the blue morning sky. He lifted her skirt and rubbed her legs to keep her warm. She smiled at him, his face shaded and his long red hair falling into his emerald eyes. He used his hands slipping a finger inside her wet waiting center and smiled up at her.

“Ella, you are so wet and ready for me. I cannae tell ye how sweet it is,” he groaned, licking his finger and kissing her again. She smiled back, liking that her body pleased him. She loved the weight of him as he covered her, and this time when he opened her legs and moved his body to enter her, she wasn’t scared. She wanted to feel him inside her, filling her. She stretched her arms high above her head and Lucas dipped his down to take her lips again. He entered her quickly and she wrapped her legs around his body, bringing her arms down around his neck and shoulders urging him to plunge deeper inside her. With his free hand he cupped her breast, using his own thumb to mirror the action of his sex. First with one breast, then the other, he kneaded and fondled, sending shocks of lightning bolts through her with each touch. She felt tension build in her center and slowly spread over her entire body. She closed her eyes and focused all of her attention on the feelings Lucas was creating inside her.

He broke their kiss, whispering in her ear, “What would ye like me tae do tae ya, lass?” turning her own question against her. She whimpered. He moaned again, and she gasped as he thrust deeper and deeper inside her. They moved in a magical unison, and Ella thought to herself that this must be the closest to heaven that could be reached on Earth. The heat of their bodies joined together in tight friction keeping them warm in the cool Autumn sun. Lucas sped up his pace and Ella matched. The tension that overtook her body began to coil tighter and tighter, until she could only focus on the feelings Lucas was creating within her. Suddenly she exploded in waves of glorious sensation, and the tingling in each of her fingers and toes began to ebb. Relaxation washed over her and then she felt Lucas go rigid. He shuddered and moaned into her as he reached his own climax. When he rolled over and came out of her she felt an emptiness, she relished the feel of him inside her, wanting him to fill her completely, forever. He held her tight and placed light kisses into her hair.

“Lucas, is it always like this?” she asked, sweetly.

“Nay, lass. ‘Tis never been like this before, and it willnae ever be like this again,” he said before dosing off with his arms around her.

Ella listened to the steady rise and fall of Lucas’s breath. She wanted nothing more than this moment with Lucas to last. They were so close to his family home now, and once they crossed into the keep he would stop being her Lucas and become the new MacGille Laird. She wanted nothing more than to stand by his side and help him lead his people, but she knew that wasn’t possible. No matter how friendly he said his people were, no matter how kind, she was still English and he was still Laird. He would have to marry, his clan would expect it, and he would have to provide an heir. And it wouldn’t be her.

She felt foolish in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Why would Lucas risk everything to marry her. It would be selfish for her to even think it was possible. She realized his offer to send her to France was actually a kindness, and she was wrong to be angry with him for it. Maybe she should go. No, not maybe. She kissed his hand as his arm was wrapped around her. Her time with Lucas had been precious, and whatever limited time they have left, she decided to cherish for the memories that would sustain her. But their relationship was one borne of necessity and desire, not a mutually agreed partnership that had mutual benefits for both families. He was a Laird, and she was English so she knew when the time came, she would not be able to watch him be married off to another.

She hoped beyond hope that his family would at least be kind to her, even if they couldn’t accept her. She would prove to them she was not part of the bad English who wanted to rule Scotland and change their way of life. She was not an enemy to the Scottish people, and specifically not the highlanders. She curled her body tightly into Lucas’s sleeping form. Partly to keep warm, and because she needed him wanting to be as close to him as possible while she still had time.