Highlander’s Viking Seductress: Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Read online

  “Gavin,” she murmured, as she took hold of his hands, preventing him from touching her, “Sit down.”

  He smirked but did as she requested, sitting on the riverbank. She swallowed her nerves, allowing excitement and desire to take over before placing her feet on either side of his hips to straddle him.

  “I quite like ye in this position,” he whispered, causing both of them to laugh.

  She lowered her hands to his chest and leaned back, the better to see him in the silvery moonlight. He watched her as she brought her mouth to him, leaving small kisses across the center of his chest and down to his abdomen. With each kiss, she brushed the skin with her fingers delicately, the touch so brief it was tantalizing, and he made small, breathy noises as she moved.

  She next reached down to the leggings he wore, brushing the crotch and earning a greater gasp from him. She could feel the hardness beneath; it made her bite her lip in anticipation as she began to unbuckle the leggings, but his hands moved to the belt of her dress.

  “Fair is fair, bandia.” He smirked, looking down at her dress. “Yer turn to take off somethin’.”

  She smiled back, tantalized by his taunts, and raised her arms in the air. He obeyed, untying her belt quickly and lifting the dress from her. He pulled it slowly over her head, allowing the wool to brush her skin as it parted from her. She was left in a thin white chemise that did nothing to hide her body. His hands moved back to her waist, caressing the curve of her waist and hips as she returned her attention to his leggings.

  “Your turn again,” she whispered in his ear, dropping a kiss to his neck before she helped him remove the garment. It soon joined their pile of clothes. Gavin pulled a cloak from nearby and placed it beneath them, allowing them to sit on the cover rather than on the grass.

  With him completely exposed to her, she sat back and admired him for a moment. The muscle tone from his years of training for battle was evident, resulting in his toned chest and muscular legs. His length was something that surprised her. She reached out with curiosity, causing him to moan as she took hold. Taking a minute to explore – she was uncertain what to do until Gavin showed her. He wrapped his hand around hers, dictating a rhythm. Once she built up the pace, he released his grasp and tipped his head back, moaning her name repeatedly.

  Idunn was startled to have such power over him, to be able to drive him to feel such pleasure. She was reminded of how he had lifted her skirts atop the box of candles and caused her such pleasure from his fingers alone.

  His hand went to still her.

  “Did I do something wrong –”

  “Nae a thing wrong, bandia,” he whispered breathlessly, “I just think it is yer turn again.” He smiled and took hold of her waist, flipping her easily over until she was on her back.

  She felt her breathing grow short and stuttered with anticipation as he lifted the skirt of her chemise. Quickly, he lifted it over her head, revealing her nakedness to him. He placed a hand on her cheek, brushing it for a moment as his gaze wandered up and down her body.

  “Ye are beautiful.”

  She reached out towards him, sharing a brief sensual kiss. He lowered her head back down to the cloak-covered ground and moved his kisses down her neck. They traversed the valley between her breasts and slowly moved to one of them. The sensation of his lips on such an intimate area had her straining against him. She felt a pool of wet between her legs, her desire climbing so high that she ached for him.

  “Gavin,” she moaned, as her hands wove through the auburn locks of his hair, “Please.” He kept his mouth on her, but his hand travelled down her waist to her legs. He brought one knee up slightly, then placed his hand at her center.

  She gripped tighter to his hair at the dual sensation, desiring him so much that her body welcomed his fingers, allowing them to slip easily inside her.

  Yet she wanted to feel the whole of him. To share with him this moment and be with him completely.

  “Gavin, I…” she trailed off, urging him to raise his head and look at her. He paused, seeing the desire in her expression.

  “Are ye certain?”

  “Já.” She nodded with a smile, pulling on his hair and urging him to kiss her again. At the parting of their lips, he smiled again, his own breath as shuddery as hers.

  “It will hurt yer first time, bandia. But nae again afterward.”

  She had heard as much from other people.

  “I trust you,” she whispered, and planted a quick kiss on his lips again.

  He placed himself between her legs and lowered his body to hers, encapsulating her in another deep kiss. She was so distracted by it, entwining her hands in his hair and deepening the touch of their lips, that when he entered her, it was a surprise. He did it quickly, leaving her to gasp against his mouth.

  He pulled away from the kiss and watched her face. She tried not to wince from it. To her, it was just a little pain, but she had not been expecting the sensation to be quite as intense.

  “Let me ken when the pain has passed.” He dropped a kiss to her neck and gave her the softest of nips, trying to distract her. She had barely thought of his words before she realized that the pain had gone.

  “It has passed.”

  He raised his head again, his eyebrows raised in a question.

  “Gavin, it has passed.”

  They shared another brief kiss before he began to move - setting up a steady rhythm. Each movement had Idunn moaning in amazement. Her dreams and fantasies of Gavin were surpassed by all that was happening between them.

  Her whole body was alight with fire as they moved together. There were kisses, sweet ones dropped to each other’s necks, and passionate ones where they pushed against each other. There were touches, where she explored his back and chest, and he returned his attention to her breasts. Their legs were sometimes entwined. At one point, Idunn wrapped her legs around his waist, but soon Gavin was pressing both of her legs open. Being so available to him made Idunn watch him, admiring his handsome figure as he moved above her.

  The sight of him with the stars above his head made a coil tighten within her. Just as earlier that day atop the box of candles, she felt a wave of bliss. She could feel another one building. Clinging harder onto Gavin’s back, she made deep red scratch marks as a wave of joy crashed over her.

  She moaned his name as she rode out the pleasure, amazed at the feeling of being so close to him. It seemed to cause something in him. As she finished her quivering, he buried his head in her neck, declaring her name as he pushed one last time inside of her.

  They laid there together for a few minutes, enveloped in each other’s arms and trying to regain their breath. Neither one of them wanted to move. To Idunn, she had never felt so close to him, and she didn’t want it to end. A minute later, Gavin rested on his elbows above her, his cheeks flushed red and a wide smile across his cheeks.

  “That was…” He shook his head, unable to think of the words.

  “I know,” she giggled, as she looked up at him. She moved her hands to his hair and brushed it back. He smiled at her movement before looking briefly behind them, before returning his gaze to her. “What is it?”

  “I have an idea.” He pulled away from her and offered a hand to help her stand. She got to her feet a little shakily, her legs still trembling from what had taken place as he led her towards the loch.

  “You want to swim?”

  “Well, we can bathe.” He turned back briefly to place a sweet kiss on her lips. “As we are stayin’ here all night, we have the place to ourselves.”

  Idunn and Gavin had spent some time swimming together in the loch, bathing. They teased each other with splashes of water and cleaned the sweat from their skin. Idunn still found it impossible to stay away from him. As he helped her bathe, she moved towards him, setting her body against his and showing her intent with a passionate kiss.

  He had complained at first that she would be sore and that he did not wish to hurt her, but she persuaded him that she w
as fine and drew him into more kisses, more exploration of each other. He soon gave way, lifting and wrapping her legs around his waist to open her up once again to him.

  He entered her again, and their second time together took place in the water. Their bodies dappled with water and glistened in the pale moonlight as they moved as one. Idunn clung to his shoulders, enraptured by the passion between them and the pure need they had for each other. She reached her peak quickly, digging her fingers into his arms as he held her to him. He reached his own pleasure a minute later, though he refused to set her down and carried her out of the water, back to the cloak on the riverbank.

  They stayed awake for hours, telling stories of Oslo and of Banff. They discussed myth, legends, and their faiths. Idunn finally slept in his arms, warmed by the heat from his skin. They woke together with the first peek of the sun above the nearby hills - casting them in an amber and red glow.

  As they lay content in each other's arms, he wound his hand into her hair, pulling the braid free until her tendrils were loose and flowing past her shoulders. She sank into his grasp as he played with the locks, resting her head against his chest.

  “Have I told ye the story of how Clan Comyn came to be?”

  “Nei, you have not,” she replied sleepily, too distracted by his hand playing with her hair, “Is this another myth? Or is their truth to it?”

  “Nay one is sure.” He held her close with his other arm around her waist. “It is said the Clan Gordon had a daughter so fair that barely a man who met her could not fall in love with her, though she vowed never to love. Until the day she met the son of the Clan Gordon. She fell for him, and he fell for her. Yet their parents forbade their relationship, saying the clans were enemies and the two couldnae marry.”

  “Seems harsh.”

  “They didnae let it sway them. The two wed in secret and ran away to Banff. They built the castle here and created Clan Comyn. They stayed married until their deaths, giving birth to the Comyn lairdship and leading the Clan to success.”

  “It is a sweet story,” she murmured, as she dropped a kiss to the center of his chest. He did not reply but merely held her tighter as though he did not wish to let go.

  It took a moment for Idunn to realize that she had perhaps missed something in the story.

  Was there something else he was trying to tell me?

  She brushed it away the next moment; she was too happy and complete to worry about anything else.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Tadhg had to re-read the letter in his hand; it startled him so much. The Norse Viking’s response had arrived, and Einarr had agreed to his deal.

  After Gavin’s birthday celebrations, Tadhg had barely been able to sit still, anticipating the reply with much tension. A few days later, and the letter was now within his grasp, his plan about to be put into action.

  He had to see Einarr and discuss the matter in person. Hiding the letter within his desk, he jumped to the window, looking down at the castle grounds. It was crowded with servants busy at work, but fortunately, neither Gavin nor Kenna were anywhere to be seen. He was about to move away from the window when he caught sight of Idunn.

  She was walking out of the laundry store with some of the other servants, laughing at something one of the older women was saying. Far from being the isolated slave she once was, he could see how she had ingratiated herself. The idea made him clench his fists. She had charmed her way into the lives of many, especially Gavin.

  The image of Gavin and Idunn together in the cellar came back to Tadhg’s mind, followed by Idunn’s firm strike to his nose and the blood that had poured from it.

  He did not have long to wait for justice. He pushed away from the window and hurried to the stairs. He had to see the Viking and secure the man’s word in person. He needed to know that he would keep to all parts of their deal.

  Idunn was helping Annas with the laundry when she saw Tadhg walking across the courtyard and felt the fibers of her body twist with anger. She could never forgive him for what he had tried to do a few days ago on the riverbank.

  He did not even look her way but pulled up the hood of his cloak, hiding his face from view. Idunn frowned as she watched him; she had observed him many times over the last few months, and she had never seen him make an attempt to hide.

  She paused in her work with the laundry, following him with her eyes. He was glancing behind him, looking around. She recognized the action – she had done it enough times when sneaking out to meet Gavin. Tadhg clearly did not want to be seen.

  “Idunn, lass?” Annas called her attention.

  “Já?”

  “Could ye do me a favor and go wash these in the river?” She held up a basket of dirty garments.

  “Of course,” Idunn smiled, taking the basket from her, “See you in a bit.” Annas nodded, and Idunn walked away, directing her steps to follow Tadhg’s through the courtyard and towards the castle's gateway.

  His behavior was too suspicious for her to ignore. That was why she jumped at the opportunity Annas had offered. Under the pretense of washing, she would have the chance to follow him a little way.

  Being careful to keep a distance between them, she followed Tadhg under the portcullis in the curtain wall. As Tadhg directed his steps towards the stable, Idunn carried on towards the river, furtively glancing back at every opportunity to watch his progress. She placed the basket down by the river as Tadhg emerged from the stable atop a horse.

  She hid her face, pretending not to be watching as Tadhg passed nearby on the path. When he reached the end of the road, she lifted her gaze again. Rather than turning down into the village and taking the only road available, he turned the horse across the open grass in the opposite direction.

  Idunn was too intrigued to ignore him. She hid the basket within the bushes and hurried after him. He was easy to follow within the grand landscape before him, his horse standing out on the open hills, even though she could not keep up with him on foot. She soon became breathless, needing to take frequent breaks in her running, but her previous training had kept her fit, and she was able to keep him within sight.

  They seemed to be following the coastline, journeying parallel to the sea. She saw Tadhg and his horse dip down over the hill towards another cove. Slowing her pace, she followed at a walk, knowing that the vantage point on the hill would give her a good view of his progress. When she reached the top, she grasped at a large boulder to catch her breath before freezing at the sight that greeted her.

  Within the quiet cove were several Viking boats, bearing the flag of the Norse raven. The sight left Idunn cold. It was her kin. The Vikings were scrambling onto the shore. Some of them had already set up tents, a makeshift camp in readiness for an attack.

  She grasped tighter to the stone, realizing their plan. She knew their tactics well – when an invasion by sea failed, they would try again by land. By landing in such a quiet cove nearby, they would march on Banff, the surprise of the attack giving them the upper hand in battle.

  Her eyes searched for Tadhg in the landscape, but she could not be certain where he had gone.

  Is he here to see them? Nei, that is not possible.

  Idunn paced at the side of the rock, her mind torn in two. Before her was her opportunity to return to her kin, return home to Oslo, to the life she had grown up knowing. She could escape the fulling, the leech collecting, the humiliating nature of servitude.

  Then, of course, there was Gavin.

  The two halves of her mind raged between the two.

  She had to return to Banff to warn them of what was coming. If she did not, her friends could be in danger. The thought of Annas, Besseta, and the other servants at the hands of the warrior Vikings cut her deeply. She clutched her stomach, trying to hold back the pain.

  She had been with her kin enough times in battle to know what they would do. The servants would be slaughtered. Clutching her face, she willed away the image of Annas and Besseta in danger.

  Gavin…
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  If her kin were here to stay, to steal the land from the Scots, they would make a point of killing anyone who could fight a claim to the land. That would mean Fergus and Gavin would both be murdered. She closed her eyes, crushed at the thought of losing Gavin.

  I cannot lose him.

  She was torn, pacing back and forth in two different directions. She could run down the hill to join her kin, or she could run back to Banff to warn them.

  The image of the story Gavin told under the stars came back to her.

  ‘There was a time where I couldnae imagine what it was like to be a man so driven by love to fight for her hand every year for all time. I daenae need to imagine it now. I ken I would do it.’

  Idunn closed her eyes, blocking out the image of the Viking camp down in the cove.