Love Beyond Compare (Book 5 of Morna’s Legacy Series) (24 page)

She laughed and, as she did so, her hair bounced toward him, sending a scent to his nose so delicious, his lower abdomen surged with need of her.
 

“What did ye do to yer hair, lass? The smell of it…” He closed his eyes, leaning to take in another breath.
 

“That’s shampoo. One of those lovely things you get to use in a shower. It’s nice, yes?”

It was more than nice; he found it intoxicating, just as he did everything else about her.

“I misspoke before, lass. There is one thing I find more astonishing than yer coffee.”

“Hmm…what’s that?” She leaned into him, her hair landing on his nose and sending him wild. She did it to tease him, he knew.
 

“With yer blunt tongue and the way ye came to me in the sitting room, I’d no have thought ye a lass who is easily embarrassed. But ye are.”

“What makes you say that? I’m really not.”

Adwen laughed, nodding toward the seat behind him. “Lass, ye have spent every moment of the flight worrying because the lad heard us. He dinna even see anything, Jane. And I’d wager that most in the castle heard us.”

“Cooper’s different. I don’t want to be the one responsible for exposing him to the birds and the bees. If it had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have cared at all.”

“Is that so, lass? I doona believe ye.”
 

Jane sat with a blanket draped over her with its end tucked around her shoulders. It would be effortless, simple, to slip his arm beneath the blanket and reach for her in the quiet darkness of the plane. Would her words hold up then, when he had her writhing in silence beneath his hand while so many sat around them unaware of what was happening between them?
 

“Truly, Adwen. I’ll say anything—do anything. Surely you’ve seen that by now. Did I hold back from saying a thing to you when we first met? Cooper’s just…I’ve more concern for his wellbeing than most.”

“Aye, ye say whatever ye wish, but ’tis no the same. Look around, Jane, I doona see anyone awake save us, do ye?”

She shook her head, and he leaned over in the dim light, kissing her neck as he slipped his hand beneath the covers, reaching for her hand.
 

“If all are asleep,” he whispered, pulling away from her hand to trail his fingers down her thigh, “there is no reason to be embarrassed, aye? As long as ye can keep from making any sound. Can ye do that, lass? Or will it embarrass ye overmuch?”

He pulled away from her neck, swallowing his own groan of need as he watched her lip tremble in response to him. Her legs parted and he slipped his hand beneath the moveable waist of her pants, biting on his lip to keep quiet as he cupped her warmth.
 

“Jane,” he leaned in, his breathing shallow and shaky as he whispered in her ear. “I wish to have ye tremble in response to me. Right here, while no one is watching. But to do so will make me verra uncomfortable—swear to me that ye will share my bed this night.”

She said nothing, only turned to him and pressed her lips hard against his. He kissed her in response, pulling away as their lips sped up and their need for one another grew. It wouldn’t do to draw attention. Jane nodded in understanding, leaning back in her chair as he stroked her.
 

It didn’t take long for her to quiver beneath his hand. As she did so, she crossed her legs to push him away, leaning in to speak as she did so.
 

“I can’t take any more. Not unless you want me to cry out and cause a scene. You’ll get your turn when we land. Perhaps you should have waited until we started our descent; we’re not even halfway through the flight.”

Adwen ground his teeth as he sat back in his seat. He’d been a heady fool—he would be in agony until they landed.
 

CHAPTER 33

New York City – Present Day

Everything was louder than I remembered, more crowded, even smellier. My first thoughts as I climbed out of the fancy SUV that picked us up were not at all what I expected. Rather than love and longing, I just felt rather confused. Confused that I couldn’t remember the specific things I missed so much about my beloved city.
 

Pushing the thoughts away, I put it off to jet lag and the copious amount of coffee that had me feeling jittery and kind of mad. Tomorrow, I was sure, I would see everything in an entirely different light.
 

Beyond our plane tickets, I wasn’t sure how everything would work once we arrived. I halfway expected Morna to be waiting in baggage claim. Instead, we were greeted by a man named Nick who was tasked with the job of seeing us to, of all places, The Carlyle—one of New York’s most legendary hotels. Upon arriving, we were quickly ushered inside, and I found myself utterly mortified to be standing in such an establishment in yoga pants and tennis shoes. No matter how much I loved slipping them on, it wasn’t worth this.
 

Thankfully, the man who greeted us didn’t seem to mind my grungy garb, no doubt bribed to ignore my apparel by the hefty bill and tip lauded to the hotel by Morna’s undoubtedly shady credit card. We followed the man to our rooms all a little slack-jawed—Cooper reaching out to touch things on the walls he had no business touching, Adwen and Orick doing their best to keep quiet and not say anything that would garner a crazed look from our host.
 

We had two rooms—the hotel’s largest suites. It was all completely ridiculous. As the man handed us our keys, I asked him about Morna.
 

“Is the woman that arranged all of this staying here?”
 

“No ma’am. She’ll be along in the morning to join you for breakfast. In the meantime, enjoy your evening and let us know if you need anything at all.”

Once he was gone, it took Adwen all of five seconds to step up and direct us each to our respective rooms.
 

“Cooper, do ye mind staying with Orick tonight, lad? I canna bear to be next to him, his snoring kept me up all night at Morna’s.”

Cooper shrugged. “Sure, but Orick doesn’t snore.”

I handed the key to Cooper as he reached for it, refraining from snickering at Adwen’s attempt to cover up the reason for such a sleeping arrangement. It was a bad excuse. Cooper woke before everyone. He would know well enough if Orick snored, but I didn’t say anything, instead trying to change the subject as quickly as possible.
 

“Coop, will you show Orick how to use the shower? I’m sure both he and Adwen are ready to get cleaned up in a way that doesn’t involve a sink full of water and a rag.”

“Sure, but then I am going to bed, Aunt Jane. I am wiped.”

I yawned in agreement even though my heart was going a million miles a minute, and my head was starting to ache rather badly. I hoped I hadn’t overdosed on caffeine. “Me too, Coop. I’m so very tired. Okay, then. See you guys in the morning.”

*
 
*
 
*

Adwen spun me toward him, crushing my back into the doorknob the moment I latched it. I cried out in pain as I reached behind to touch at my most-assuredly bruised ribs. He apologized half-heartedly before scooting me over so that my back pressed flat against the door and pulled my sweater frantically over my head.
 

“Hey, slow down, mister. Don’t you want to look around the room first? Maybe get a drink of water or something?”

“Jane, do ye see what ye’ve done to me? I havena been in this much pain in all of my life. If I doona have ye now, I fear I shall die.”

I almost laughed at the desperation in his voice, but as I looked at his face, I sort of believed him. My gaze moved downward, and I gasped at the bulge in his jeans.
 

“Please tell me that hasn’t been that way since the plane.”

“Aye, it has. And ye teased me about it, lass. ’Twas more cruel than ye know.”

“God, Adwen, I never thought…I mean, I didn’t think…there’s no way it should have stayed up that long!”

I reached for him and undid his jeans as quickly as I could. Every movement I made against him caused him to groan in agonizing pain. When I finally managed to pull his jeans downward, he gasped in relief.
 

“’Tis better but no good enough, lass.”

I nodded, stripping quickly as he did the same. Once naked, he lifted me off the ground as my arms went around him, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me to the nearest resting place—a console table around the corner of the entryway. It sat empty, no more than a decorative space-filler against the wall. He sat me down on it as he plunged deep inside me, groaning as he leaned forward so far that his forehead lay against the wall.
 

“Are you okay, Adwen?” His hips had stilled but his shoulders trembled from the effort of it. I couldn’t see why he resisted so—not when he needed to release himself so badly.
 

“No, lass, for this will be twice that I’ve no worshipped ye as I wish to.”

I reached around and grabbed onto his cheeks, pushing him into me to spur him on. “Adwen, I don’t care. Not right now.”

He moved roughly, each thrust making my heart beat faster. I clawed his back as I clenched around him, my body responding in ecstasy the same moment he found release. He kissed the sweat on my brow, lifting me gently, carrying me over to the bed as he pulled out of me.
 

“Thank ye, Jane. I’m so sorry.”

I laughed, my chest rising and falling in such quick succession I felt like I’d just run a great distance. “For what? Are you crazy? That was great. Are you?” I glanced down and exhaled in relief. “You’re feeling better now, yes?”

He grinned in a way that just one corner of his mouth pulled up. He’d never looked more attractive to me.
 

“Aye, verra.”

“That’s good.” I lifted myself and leaned over to kiss him. “I thought I was going to have to take you to the hospital or something. It could have just broken, you know. That’s actually possible.”

“Ach.” He looked horrified at the suggestion. “Thank the saints, it dinna.”

Every inch of me felt filthy, and I knew Adwen had to be feeling much the same way. I stood and took a step toward the bathroom, extending a hand out to him.
 

“If you’re too sleepy, that’s fine, but I’ve got to take a shower. Are you ready to experience that miracle?”

*
 
*
 
*

Watching Adwen in the shower reminded me of watching a puppy bounce happily around in the rain for the first time—they shared that same sheer joy. We stayed beneath the warm spray, cleansing, exploring, holding one another until we were both so pruned and exhausted from the heat we could hardly stand.
 

The rest of the night drifted by as we dreamed with our arms wrapped around one another, only waking when Cooper’s fist knocked on the door, his voice barely reaching the bed as it traveled across the vast expanse of the suite.
 

“You guys missed breakfast which is sure a shame ’cause it was real yummy. It’s okay though, cause there’s some out here for you. Aunt Jane, you better get up and dressed pretty fast. Morna’s in the lobby, and she’s real anxious to talk to you.”

CHAPTER 34

She had great timing, I had to give her that. I spent the better part of a year being so angry at her I thought I’d spit in her face if I ever saw her again. Instead, still high on Adwen’s adoration, I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything other than mild irritation as we sat down together.

During my first few months in the seventeenth century, when I’d been so mad and angry and frankly, rather crazy, I turned her into some sort of wart-faced monster; in truth, looking at her now, I knew this woman would be beautiful even at a hundred and five years old. For all I knew, she might actually be that old—perhaps even much older than that.
 

“I must say, lass, there are no many people who dislike me as much as ye do. It has taken more energy than I have to give to win ye over.”

I kept my mouth in a thin line, my eyes squinting in suspicion as I looked at her. “About that…why have you been trying so hard? I wouldn’t think that you would care if I liked you or not.”

“It wouldna matter if ye were wrong to be angry at me, but I can see now that ye have every right to be so.”

“What?” I’d played our conversation out in my mind a thousand times. In every different scenario, I never expected an admission of wrongdoing.
 

“I am a witch, lass, no a saint. Often times when helping another, I get carried away, no thinking of the others that get carried along with it. When I sent Kathleen back, ’twas for Jeffrey, though I used yer search for Grace as a means to send ye back. I used ye for her sake, justifying to myself that it would be good for ye as well, for ye would be reunited with yer sister. I’m sorry for that. Though I do believe that yer future lies in the past, ye should know that ye doona have to return if ye doona wish it. I could help ye in gathering the pieces of yer old life. Would ye like to stay here, Jane?”

“No. I want to go back.” It surprised me how quickly and effortlessly I answered her. I never even thought of the possibility of staying here, not because I thought it impossible but because, in truth, I didn’t want to. My home was centuries behind me. All I’d wanted was to be given the choice. “I think maybe it’s me that should apologize.”