“Jerry, there is something I must tell ye.”
He continued to caress and kiss and hold me tight against him. His words dragged across my skin as he spoke between kisses.
“Tell me later, lass. I canna promise I will remember a word ye say to me now. I canna think with ye in my arms.”
I pulled away to put some distance between us. He needed to hear me. Once he knew, it might change his feelings.
“If I doona tell ye now, I doona trust myself to ever tell ye.”
“What is it, lass? Nothing can be as bad as ye are making it seem.”
“Aye, ’tis.” I was so much more nervous to tell him this than I was at the thought of sleeping with him. “I believe it might be my fault, Jerry. I may have spelled ye here. It might have been me that pulled ye from yer home.” I couldn’t keep my voice from breaking.
“Morna.” Jerry moved to stand in front of me, gathered my hands in his own, and ushered me over to the bed where we sat at its edge. His eyes were kind and calm. “I doona mean to offend ye, lass, but seeing as ye havena been able to find a way to see me home yet, I doona believe ye were the one who pulled me from it.”
Looking down to avoid his eyes, I spoke.
“’Twasn’t my spell, though I was a willing participant. ’Twas Grier’s.”
I heard his breath catch and didn’t dare look up to see his face.
“’Tis not possible. Grier dinna possess such knowledge. I spent a year with her while she tried to find a way to send me home. She wouldna have done that if she’d known how.”
Still gazing downward, I shook my head. “I’m not so certain, Jerry. I know that ’twas she who sent ye back in time.”
“How do ye know that, lass?”
I told him everything about my last day with Grier, taking care to describe the man I saw in the mirror so he would know it was him. When I finished, his hand cupped my chin and gently lifted my head so I would look at him.
“Why did ye tell me this?”
Of course I felt responsible. If only I had told Grier no that day, Jerry wouldn’t have been pulled so suddenly from his home. His entire life wouldn’t have been upended without his consent.
“How could I not tell ye? Jerry, I love ye. I’ve loved ye for some time now, but what if the only reason we care for one another is Grier’s spell? What if ’tis magic and not truth that binds us together?”
“Magic done through love is truth, lass. I canna begin to understand why Grier lied to me for so long—why she dinna bring me straight here if she knew this was where I was meant to be. But I do know this: Grier cast that spell on the day she left because she loved ye and she wanted ye to be loved. I doona believe she found me and spelled me to love ye. I believe she looked into yer heart and saw what was destined to be.”
He paused and moved in to kiss me. His lips were soft, slow, and gentle. Each moment with him holding me allowed one more ounce of anxiety to melt away. Trailing his lips toward my ear, he whispered, “I doona care how I got here, lass. I love ye. ’Tis all that truly matters. Allow me to show ye what ’tis to be bedded by a man who loves ye. Close yer eyes.”
His lips touched my lids as I closed them. Slowly his hands grazed the sides of my neck, his mouth trailing quickly behind them as he continued to drag his hands down my body. The fabric of my gown was thin. As he cupped my breast, his thumb flicking the rounded tip of my nipple, I gasped and arched backward.
Eyes flickering open, I reached for his head to try and pull his mouth to mine.
He pulled away.
“I doona even have my hands on yer bare skin yet, lass. I mean to take my time with ye. If ye continue to breathe like that, I willna be able to. Close yer eyes and let all thought leave ye. Just feel my touch. Respond to it in kind.”
Smiling, I closed my eyes again and lay back on the bed, my knees and feet dangling off its side. I gasped once more as his fingers brushed the uncovered skin of my leg. He swept his hand up my leg with one quick touch, and my thighs opened instinctively, welcoming the sudden sensation of his fingers trailing across my center.
“I need to see ye.”
Lifting my hips, he scooted the bottom of my gown up until he could drag it underneath me. I should’ve felt exposed knowing he was about to see me naked. All I felt was anticipation.
“Look at me, lass.”
I felt his weight on top of me, and I opened my eyes to see him straddled over me, the bottom of my gown in both hands as he worked it up and behind my back. I lifted my head to allow him to pull it off me completely.
I smiled as I followed his gaze to my breasts. I’d never seen such blatant admiration on someone’s face before. It sent a flash of heat rushing through my body. Even without past experience to guide me, I felt empty without him. I wanted him inside me, claiming me. I wanted to be responsible for his pleasure.
