Page 40 of Lost with a Scot
Anna placed her hand in his, following him through a narrow outcropping of rocks as they stepped carefully across the stream, which was pouring out of fissure in the rocks ahead of them. Anna braced herself against the tall gray stones that had been smoothed by centuries of rain. A low hum began in her head as they passed through the narrow chasm in the rocks, and she gasped.
In front of her were half a dozen pools of water. Each was a different size, and each one had a mirrorlike surface that rippled with rainbows of colors. The bigger pools fed into a larger pool at the base of a cluster of waterfalls that formed below a small hill that tapered away on the other side of a forest. The rocks beneath the water, rather than being brown or gray like most stones, were a brilliant blue or a rich emerald green. It didn’t seem possible. They stood side by side to admire the view.
“What is this place?”
“These, lass, are the fairy pools. I have never shown anyone this place before.” He knelt by the water, and she joined him as they sat on the rounded surface of a large stone by the biggest pool beneath the falls.
“Not even your brothers?”
“No, not even them.” He looked out over the water. “When my father first beat me, I ran on foot for days, thinking I would never come back. I was bleeding and hurting, and somehow, after five days on my small feet, I stumbled upon this place. Desperate for water, I drank from the pool just over there.”
He pointed to a spot by the edge of the water where they sat. Anna leaned against his shoulder and curled her arms around his, holding on to him as he spoke.
“The water felt good upon my battered skin. I swam and bathed here for a few hours and fell asleep on the shore. When I woke, my wounds were gone. The blood, the open flesh, all healed. Most people dinna believe in magic, that the old ways of the Scots are but nonsense and should be forgotten. Butsomethinghere in these waters took pity on an injured child.”
His blue-gray eyes were bright, and Anna sucked in a breath at the sight of his face. The hard lines softened, and his eyes were full of a glowing warmth when he spoke of the magic of the fairy pools. He was more beautiful to her now than ever before. Beautiful because he had bared his soul fully and completely to her.
“Most people would say it was a pretty story, but they wouldna truly believe me, but I think ye do.” He placed his palm over hers on his arm.
Anna nodded and scooted closer, her eyes searching his. For what she wasn’t sure, but she stroked her fingers over his cheek, her heart clenching as tears burned the corners of her eyes.
“I wish... I wish I knew who I was. I want you to know me as you have let me know you. I want to give you all of myself the way you’ve done for me.” They might not have been the most eloquent words, but they came straight from her heart.
Aiden cupped her hand against his cheek, keeping her cold fingers pressed to his warm skin.
“I know who ye are, from yer favorite color, which is green, to the way ye hold yerself verra still when unsure of yerself. Ye are smart and brave and ye aren’t afraid to explore things. Ye have a heart that could love every creature on this earth and still have room for more. Whatever else ye may one day remember about yerself, those will be just extra things for me to ken and love ye for.”
“You love me?” She still didn’t know how it was possible that they could feel so connected and so in tune with each other thatloveseemed like the only word strong enough to match what they felt.
“Aye, lassie.” Aiden’s soft words were so full of emotion that she held her breath. “I love ye more than the breath in my own body. I love ye as if we were born under the same blanket of stars a thousand years before and loved each other in another life. Ye and I... we are the same. Two pieces of the earth once separated, brought back together.” He swallowed, and his voice grew rougher as he struggled to speak. “Ye dinna ken how lost I’ve been, Anna. Finding ye that day on the shore... it was as if I’d stumbled upon the fairy pools a second time and was healed. Now I wish to heal ye.” He nodded toward the pool.
She followed his gaze toward the water where rainbows rippled across its misty surface. The humming grew deeper this time, so deep her bones seemed to vibrate with it.
They stood and moved toward the water together, as if it was always meant to be this way. She paused at the edge and removed the hat pins from her hair so she could set her hat on the ground.
Her heart beat wildly as she spoke. “Would you help me undress?” She lifted her skirts to show her boots.
He looked her up and down, as if sizing up her clothes and what it would mean to undress her. Then his sensual lips kicked up into a devilish grin that stole her breath.
“Aye, I’ll help ye, lass.” Aiden knelt at her feet, and she braced her hands on his shoulders as he unlaced her riding boots and slid them off her feet. Then he reached underneath her skirts and began to roll down her stockings, making her laugh as he tickled her skin a little. Unable to stop reacting, she giggled.
“The last time I undressed ye, ye were pale and cold as death,” he murmured. “I much prefer to take yer clothes off here, like this.” His gaze slowly roved up her bare legs to where she held her skirts up to her knees, and then his eyes paused on her face. Her breath quickened at the primal desire that sparked inside her. She wanted his hands everywhere on her body; she wanted to feel his weight on her as he pressed her down into the grass. She was vibrating with a need that her body understood far better than her mind.
He stood up, and they shared a soft, lingering kiss before he turned her around to unlace the back of her riding habit. Now she was left standing in her petticoats and chemise, and she waited for him to loosen the stays before she let those drop to the ground along with her petticoats. She shivered at the cool breeze while Aiden removed his own clothes except for his shirt, which came down to his thighs, hiding the most male part of him from her gaze. She blushed all the same, and when he caught her peeking, he chuckled.
“There will be plenty of time to explore me later, lass,” he teased. Then he waded into the water ahead of her and went hip-deep. Aiden turned and gestured for her to join him. The humming sound was stronger now, turning into a drumbeat as she dipped her toes into the water. It was cool, but not cold like she had expected. The water was as still as a mirror, despite the waterfalls nearby. Perhaps that was another kind of magic. It was nothing like the ocean she’d nearly drowned in. Anna walked deeper into the pool until she reached Aiden and he took her into his arms.
They embraced in the magical pool, and their faces turned toward each other. The water was cool on her hot skin, and the hard length of Aiden’s shaft pressed intimately into her belly, making her shiver with anticipation. There was no wind, no sound except the beating of their two hearts as they exhaled together.
“Can ye swim?” he asked.
She nodded. A memory had resurfaced at the sight of the pool, one of herself swimming in a pond with her brother, Alexei. They’d laughed and splashed and dove beneath the surface and back up again over and over.
“The middle of the biggest pool isna very deep, but it does cover my head,” Aiden told her. “Hold on to me.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed against his chest as he moved them toward the center of the pool. He stopped when he was neck-deep in the water, and she curled her legs around his hips to keep her face the same height as his. The feel of his body and hers so tightly entwined made her feel invincible.
“Ready?” he asked.
