Page 75 of Highland Hero
My hair doesnotgrow brighter. What a ridiculous idea.
Lost in her resolve that she would not be fodder for further entertainment, she didn’t realize until nearly an hour had passed that Rory wasn’t talking. Now that she was focusing on it, she’d only heard a few grunts and groans as he did a lot of shifting behind her. She grimaced. The saddle was really not meant to hold two people, but if she brought her leg over so she was sitting sideways across it, she’d not only see his face, she’d have to hold on to him as well. Better she stay astride like she was.
As they continued to ride, his shifting grew worse. She was about to ask him what was wrong when realization crept up on her. Hefeltdifferent than when she had first settled against him. There was no denying that his manhood had grown hard. Very hard.
Juliana waited for the sense of panic to take over, like it had in the woods. Her rational mind knew they were both fully dressed, but they were in the forest as well. Logic had nothing to do with the near hysteria anytime she had close contact with a male.
And yet…it didn’t come. She didn’t experience the urge to swat or kick Rory, to fight and claw at him. No scream rose in her throat, and the grey haze that normally blurred her vision didn’t happen. Her heart was beating faster, but it wasn’t pounding. Her breathing might be a bit more shallow, but she wasn’t gasping for air. Instead, she was actually able tothink. To assess the situation.
She recognized now that all of Rory’s squirming was because he didn’t want her to realize his predicament. A sense of guilt niggled at her. She’d created the situation. Inadvertently, to be sure, but she still had been the cause. Instead of adjusting her own position, she’d stubbornly refused to move. The trotting, even though Baron’s gait was smooth, still had them bouncing a bit. She couldn’t have been making this easy for Rory.
And then she became aware of another sensation. This one was completely foreign. Her lower belly clenched, and an odd little throbbing that she’d never felt began to pulse between her thighs. A moment later when Baron stumbled on a jutting rock and caused both her and Rory to sway, her bottom came down directly on his hard shaft. The contact made her inner core soften, and she felt a wetness between her legs.What is happening?Behind her, Rory made a sound that came close to a growl.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He didn’t answer immediately, and when he did, his voice was raspy, as though he’d inhaled too much peat smoke. “I…will…be…fine.”
…
Except, of course, he wasn’t. Rory didn’t think he’d ever been so grateful to see a house come into sight as he was a few minutes later when they rode around a curve and the village of Dalwhinnie appeared. It wouldn’t be much farther to Keneth MacDonnell’s brother’s house now. He hoped.
He’d not been in such miserable pain in his life. Hours spent with Juliana’s soft arse rubbing against his hard cock had been pure agony, much worse than any physical wound he’d ever received. No matter which way he moved, he couldn’t get away from the constant friction arousing him. He’d seriously considered stopping, making his way behind some bushes, and taking himself in hand for relief, but he suspected such relief would not have lasted long once he was back in the saddle. Besides, he didn’t want to leave Juliana alone with two horses to manage. The last thing he needed was for them to bolt.
“Do you know which house is Keneth’s brother Tate’s?” Juliana asked.
“He said it was a square sandstone at the edge of town.” Rory had hoped it wasthisedge of town so he could dismount soon, but no such luck. “It looks like we will have to ride through the village.”
He was all too aware of the curious looks they were getting from people as they rode past an assortment of market stalls, a dry-goods store with a cooper’s sign hanging above it, the stables with the village blacksmith shop, a coaching inn in need of paint, and a small stone church.
Perhaps they should have waited until dusk fell before they rode through, but Juliana’s ankle needed tending to. Hanging down as it did, her foot had swelled, and God knew—and the devil as well—that heneededto get off the horse soon. Still, he would have preferred that they’d managed to get to the MacDonnell house without being noticed. The fewer people who saw them, the fewer lies he’d have to tell regarding why they were there. He couldn’t just say he’d simply been escorting Juliana through the central Highlands for nigh unto two weeks after her abduction without ruining her reputation. Since she didn’t want to claim to be handfasted to him, that left him with the plausible excuse that his brother Alasdair—who was presently in Ireland—was courting her. Rory grimaced. If word of that got back to Strae Castle, it would ruin Alasdair’s chances with Lorelei, the sister his brother really wanted to court.
“I do not see a sandstone house.”
Rory frowned and looked around. Cottages were scattered behind the buildings, but he saw no sandstone structure, either. Keneth had been quite clear in his description, and houses didn’t just disappear.
Juliana glanced over her shoulder at him. “Maybe we should stop and ask someone?”
“I doona think that necessary.”
She shook her head. “Why is it men never want to seek help? It will not make you a lesser man if you do.”
“A lesser man?” Good Lord. Did she think his manhood was too fragile to ask for directions? Well, his male pride anyway. Hismanhoodwas certainly intact, as he could certainly attest. Not that heactuallywould. Attest to it, that is. He growled. He was dangerously close to total madness.
“You do not have to get angry about it.” She shook her head again. “If you just stop the horse, I will ask for directions.”
By all that was holy! Did she think him toocowardlyto ask? He cursed silently and reined in Baron next to a man carrying a pail of coal. “Do ye ken where Tate MacDonnell lives?”
The man looked at him and then at Juliana before he turned his gaze to their riderless horse. It seemed he might be weighing whether they were reputable people or not. Just as Rory was about to ask again, the man finally pointed.
“If ye ride about a half mile more, ye’ll find him.”
He nodded to the man as he nudged Baron on. “Thank ye.”
“Now, was that so hard?” Juliana asked as they left the village behind them.
Rory gritted his teeth. “I didna think ’twas difficult.”
“Well”—she patted his knee as if reassuring a bairn—“we will soon be there.”
