Page 8 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

Too Much to Handle

A melia felt the chill run through her body.

It was not cold in the castle, quite the opposite—no, it was the interaction with Jon that left her feeling cold.

She knew that she was partly to blame for that, having drawn away from him and vowing not to get involved with a man, but he had changed too, and it was obvious that he wanted nothing to do with her.

The way that he had looked at her and spoke to her could only be described as cold, and that sent a shiver running through her.

The passion she had felt coming from the man before was gone, and she did not think it would return now.

That should have meant the end of things, but it left her feeling empty.

She could not deny that she had enjoyed their back-and-forth conversations where they had probed at each other, teasing and pushing.

He was like no other man that she had known.

And the way that he had pushed her up against the wall. She was not sure if she felt violated by the act or turned on by it. Was it possible to feel both? It was pure, unbridled passion, and that could warm the hearths of their hearts, or it could burn them to cinders.

Amelia changed out of her housekeeping clothes, looking down at her body as she stood naked in her room.

She had never disliked how she looked, and even though her body had flaws, she welcomed and embraced them.

She ran her hands down her body, touching her breasts and stomach.

Amelia closed her eyes and imagined that Jon was the one touching her, and she felt herself becoming wet down below.

She was a woman, and she had needs, but those needs were not being met.

She wanted to feel Jon’s hands on her, if only for one night, but she knew that was not going to happen.

Amelia sighed and took a deep breath. She dressed, ignoring the urges that were coming from down below, and knew what she needed to do.

She could not have the touch of Jon for now, but she could have some of her other needs met.

Ruben had his own skillset, and that came in the compliments that he gave.

He was a good man, a nice man, and she always felt better when she spent some time with him.

He was like an older brother, even if he did perhaps want it to be more than that.

She did not want to lead him on, but she was frustrated.

I blame Jon. He is driving me into the arms of another man.

Amelia left her room and set off in the direction of the stables.

As she walked the stone hallways, she thought back to the dead-end that she had come across before.

She had not arranged to meet Ruben, so there was time to explore now that she was off work, and she wondered if there really were secret passages in the castle.

She could think of nothing more exciting at that moment than discovering one.

And she became more frustrated. When she had not been looking, she had found the dead-end but had no time to explore.

Now that she wanted to find it and had the time to explore it fully, she could not remember how she had come to it.

She spent almost an hour searching the lower level of the castle, but the hallways led to places, as if the castle had a mind of its own and had shown her a glimpse of its secrets to tease her.

For the second time that day, Amelia felt a chill. The first was because of a man and the second was because of an inanimate building. Amelia chuckled to herself as she thought about what she was trying to accomplish. She shook her head and walked directly toward the stables.

There were some horses tied up outside—there had been too many to house inside, and they were rotating them.

Some would be moved out soon so that all would have housing, come the colder weather.

Because of this, Ruben spent almost all of his time in the stables, and Amelia was happy to see that he was tending to the horses inside.

As if he could sense that she was there, he looked her way and waved.

Amelia waved back and waited for him to join her. “Do you have time to take a walk with me?” asked Amelia. “I feel as if I have no friends in the castle today.”

“We both ken that is nae true,” said Ruben. “There’s nay man nor woman who wouldnae want to be friends with ye, Amelia. And maybe a little more than just friends with how that gown hugs yer body.”

“Why, thank you,” said Amelia, knowing that Ruben was talking about himself but taking the compliment anyway.

Suddenly, she was feeling a little better about herself.

If she was not so confused about what she wanted, she might leap into his arms there and then, but she did not want that, and it tore her apart to know that he wanted nothing more.

“I cannae go for a walk with ye, no matter how much I want to. I mean, wild horses would have to drag me away from ye, and that is kind of what is happenin’.

Those magnificent beasts need me attention more than anythin’ or anyone else, even this magnificent…

I was going to say beast, but that would be to yer detriment. Yer nae a beast.”

“No, I am not,” said Amelia, but she wished that Ruben was more of a beast. That was part of the problem—he was just too nice, and now that she thought of him as a brother, she could not think any other way about him.

“Ye are beautiful, though,” said Ruben.

“You certainly know how to make a woman feel good,” said Amelia. “I still cannot believe that you are not married, Ruben. What happened?”

“That, I dinnae ken,” said Ruben. “Perhaps, I was waitin’ for the right lass.”

“The lasses would be lining up if they got a chance to spend some time with you,” said Amelia, hoping to deflect from what he was feeling.

She loved being in his presence, and he was always positive and polite, but she could see him falling for her and would have to put a stop to that at some point.

But that would hurt him, and she did not want to do that.

She only hoped that they could remain friends.

She took his hand in hers and smiled. “You are a good friend,” she said, hoping that he would take the hint without her coming out and saying that she was not interested in more with him.

“Come with me, I want to show ye somethin’.” Ruben kept hold of her hand and led her into the stables. When there was no one else in there, she started to fear the worst. She had come here to feel better about herself, but she was going to feel a lot worse when she rejected him.

“Here,” said Ruben, dragging her across to one of the stalls. Behind the wooden gate, there was a tall white horse. It snorted at the two of them, shuffling its feet and tossing its mane as the animal’s head bobbed up and down. “Isn’t she the most magnificent beast that you have ever seen?”

When she looked at Ruben, she could see the look in his eye.

She had seen that look many times before, not just directed towards her, but directed toward many different women.

It was a look that only meant one thing, and when he spoke, he was not talking about the horse, even if he did admire the animal.

Amelia thought about going along with it to help her forget about Jon, but it would not be right for anyone. No, this had to be done quickly, and it had to be done now.

There was a twitch on Ruben’s lips, and his head shifted ever so slightly. She thought perhaps that he would wait for her to do something, and she could avoid anything happening, but what she saw in his eyes was too powerful this time. He was about to act, and she would have to break his heart.

And then, everything was put to an end.

Jon felt like an old ghost wandering the halls of the castle.

He should have felt good about himself, knowing that he was going to get to run the castle for at least a few days, but the meeting with his uncle had only reminded him that he was not going to get to be Laird of the castle for a very long time.

He loved his uncle more than anyone in the world, but he knew that he could be a better Laird.

If only his uncle would understand that new blood was needed.

And he felt challenged. There was something about the way that his uncle had warned him off the lass that made him want to defy that order. No, it was not an order, merely a strong suggestion. Or was it an order from his Laird? Jon really did not know. Whatever it was, it was there to be defied.

Jon made the decision to go and find her. He did not know what he would do when he did, but that did not matter. He knew what he wanted to do, but he was also sure that was not going to happen. He wanted to make this woman his, and perhaps he would ruin everything by trying.

He searched for her first in her room and then the kitchens, but no one had seen her.

He hoped that she would be at the stables, and he headed there next.

She had been spending a lot of time with Ruben, and that should not have made him jealous, but it did.

When he closed in on the building, a pit formed in his stomach.

Amelia was sitting on a bale of hay with Ruben, and she was holding his hand.

He watched as they rose from their seat and went inside.

That should have been it. Everything was telling him to leave her, to move onto something else, and he almost turned tail and went back into the castle, but he could not overcome his emotions.

He was envious. He wanted her, and he did not want anyone else to have her. His mind was telling him to leave this place and leave this woman, but his heart was stronger, and it drove his body after them. Jon followed them into the stables. They were going to kiss, and he had to stop them.

He was a man possessed as he shouted. “Everyone out. I need to speak to Amelia.”

Amelia and Ruben jumped when they realized that they were not alone, and Ruben had a storm brewing on his face, but he knew better than to defy Jon. He looked to Amelia, but when he found no help there, he skulked out of the stables, angry at the missed opportunity.

Jon stood with his arms crossed and waited for Ruben to leave. When he did, it was Amelia who spoke first.

“What do you think you are doing!” she demanded.

“What are ye doing!” Jon countered. “Is that why ye came to the castle, to consort with the staff here?”

“What business is it of yours?” asked Amelia. She turned and started to walk toward the exit.

“Dinnae walk away from me,” Jon said, chasing after her.

“I’ll do whatever I want,” she said, turning back to face him. “Who do you think you are, anyway? You’re not the Laird, and you are not my boss. I answer to the Laird, and that is that. What were you thinking? Were you expecting to catch me in here with a man? Do you get off on that sort of thing?”

“Ye dinnae ken what ye are talkin’ about,” said Jon. He knew now that this had all been a big mistake. He should not have come here, but it was too late now. “I thought that….”

“You thought that there was something between us? Is that it? Well, there might have been if you hadn’t given me the cold shoulder. I was more than polite to you, and you were the one who was hot one minute and cold the next.”

“Me? Ye were the one who was avoidin’ me. Did nae take ye long to move onto another man.”

“Another man?” asked Amelia. “What’s that supposed to mean? I was never your woman to begin with. Yes, you might push me up against a wall and threaten me with a kiss and more, but you didn’t do anything about it, did you?”

Jon tried to read her, but he could not. Was she annoyed at him for even contemplating doing that to her, or was she annoyed that he had not taken it further? He gave in to what he wanted and decided that there was only one way to find out.

Before she could move from him, Jon stepped forward and grabbed her around the rear, hoisting her up and walking her until her back was against the wall. This time, he did not hesitate and pressed his lips to hers. They both gave in to their lust.

His tongue pushed through her lips, parting them, and it met hers.

She pushed back against his, and their lips moved together through moans.

Jon pressed his body more fully into hers, tilting his head to one side and then another to taste all of her.

He could feel the stiffening in his trews, and he wanted to unleash it.

Jon did not care that there would be people around.

When he had entered the stables, there was no one else there, but that did not mean that there was not now, and Ruben was sure to be close.

He might have started to care if Amelia had not dug her nails into his back, pulling him into her as they kissed.

He kept her pressed against the wall, and brought his hands up to her head, running his fingers through her hair. He breathed through his nose, not wanting to stop the kiss, each movement becoming more intense, the passion flaring and burning brighter with each passing moment.

There came a bite at his lip, and it drove him wild.

Her nails dug into him further, pushing past pain until he felt numb.

He had to have this woman right here, right now.

They came apart, and she untangled her legs from around him, dropping her feet to the ground.

The two of them panted, surrounded by the snorting of horses, their faces red and hot.

Jon’s mouth was open as he panted. Amelia had a wild look in her eyes, and he wanted nothing more than to tame her. He stepped forward and lifted her skirt, grabbing at her chemise underneath.

“No,” said Amelia. Jon did not hear her at first, the blood pounding in his ears. But he did hear it when she shouted. “No!”

Jon dropped her skirt and took a step back.

“I’m not a wench to toy with and then take what you want without so much as a word. I don’t even know what you want, but you can’t just take this because you think it belongs to you.” Amelia gestured towed her body.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Jon.

“Are you?” asked Amelia. She stormed out of the stable, leaving Jon standing with his own thoughts, his breathing still heavy and his heart pounding.

He knew that she was right. He wanted her, but he had gone about it the wrong way.

She was still his forbidden fruit, and he was not going to give up.

He had to make her his, but he had to do it right. He would do better next time and prove to Amelia that he was the right man for her.