Page 16 of A Highlander's Vow

“What will I wear?”

He turned back, a grin on his face. “The plaid I just gave ye.”

She opened her mouth and shut it a few times before she cleared her throat. “Will ye stay in yer wet clothes, then?”

He returned his attention to the fire. “Nay, we will share the plaid and place the wet one in front of the fire to dry.”

*

Gregory grinned atthe grumbling coming from the lass. She might be grumbling, but he was sweating in spite of the cold. Once the fire was going, he pulled out left-over rabbit meat and warmed it.

’Twas going to be a difficult night for sure.

“’Twill be alright, Megan. We will sleep back-to-back with the plaid wrapped around both of us. Nothing need happen that ye doona want to happen.”

She huffed. “That is a verra indistinct statement.” She continued to eat the rabbit, wrapped in the plaid that she now learned would be shared with Gregory. And no clothes on!

Since he was still dressed, Gregory went outside to take care of his needs and get water from the overflowing creek behind them. The rain had stopped, but the night darkness with clouds still in the sky made it hard to see. He would have to walk with Megan so she could take care of her own needs.

He laughed thinking about how she would handle that.

When he returned to the bothy, she was still wrapped in the plaid, curled up in front of the hearth. She had tossed the bones from the rabbits into the fire.

“I assume ye will want to take care of yer needs outside?”

She nodded and stood, the large plaid dragging on the ground. “I will be right back.”

He reached out and grabbed her arm. The plaid slipped and she quickly grasped it, the other side sliding. She flushed as she did her best to wrap the plaid around her body.

“Nay, ye will no’ go outside by yerself, lass. ’Tis dark out there and ye could verra well trip and fall on the slippery ground.”

Her jaw dropped. “Ye canno’ go with me!”

He stood. “Aye I can and I will.” Without any further comments, he grabbed her arm and marched her toward the opening. She wrestled with the plaid and glowered at him.

The ground was more slippery than when he’d gone out since the temperature had continued to drop. They made it to where she was able to take care of her needs, and he took her arm and helped her back.

Megan was shivering something fierce when they returned to the bothy. Thankfully, the fire was still going strong, but he wasn’t sure it would continue through the night. It appeared they might only have each other to keep warm which would be dangerous if it was closer to winter.

She sat by the fire and settled the plaid around her. Gregory stayed seated while he removed the rest of his clothes. “We will need to re-arrange the plaid so it covers us both.”

She didn’t acknowledge him, but merely nodded. With her back to him, she said, “Go ahead and do what ye need to do so I can get some sleep.”

He grinned at the sharpness in her voice.

It took a few minutes for Megan to move off the plaid and cover both of them. She turned away from him and he slid closer to her so they shared their warmth without facing each other. ’Twas an awkward way to sleep but with Megan being so skittish they had no choice.

Morning came faster than Gregory thought it would considering what he’d had to endure.

Once he awoke, he lay perfectly still as he glanced down at their bodies. He was on his back and Megan was sprawled all over him, her head on his chest and her leg thrown over his.

Her golden red hair flowed down her back and over his shoulders like a waterfall of color. Her beautiful breasts pressed against him and his hand had wandered during the night to cup her lush bottom.

He groaned when his member stood up and saluted “good morning” to the lass.

Right before she sat up and screamed.