Highlanders Collection. Ann Lethbridge

      ‘Bram, what is it?’

      He took a deep breath, but the chamber shifted again, the floor seeming to move beneath his feet. He couldn’t seem to regain control of his vision.

      ‘I need a moment.’ He turned away from her, striding to the window. He rested his hands against the stones, as if he could gain steadiness from them. The exhaustion of being without sleep for so long was making it harder for him to stand upright. The weakness infuriated him.

      Behind him, he heard Nairna’s soft footsteps. She touched his arm, but he didn’t turn around. His hands dug into the limestone, trying to reclaim his hold upon the moment between them. But his body wouldn’t co-operate with the desires of his mind.

      For a long moment Nairna said nothing, but merely rested her hand upon him. When he continued his silence, at last, he heard her retreating towards the bed.

      ‘It’s all right,’ he heard Nairna say. ‘Come and rest beside me. I won’t ask anything of you.’

      Hearing the sadness in her voice made him even angrier at himself. He wanted to touch her, to satiate this reckless craving inside him. But he didn’t trust himself, not when his vision and senses were failing him.

      ‘Wait for me in the bed and I’ll join you later.’ Leaning against the hard back of the chair, he closed his eyes. The darkness enfolded him in its suffocating arms and he struggled to find control over his body and mind.

      The rainstorm raged outside, but Nairna felt as if she might as well be caught in it. The shelter didn’t seem to matter, for her husband was slumped in a chair, his posture awkward.

      What had gone wrong? One moment, he’d treated her like a desirable woman, while the next, he’d seemed unaware of his surroundings. Now, his eyes were closed, as if he were suffering in some way.

      The wind battered the wooden shutters; the eerie sound seemed to disturb Bram within his sleep. He was mumbling something she couldn’t understand.

      Nairna didn’t know what was happening, but she couldn’t simply remain in bed and wait. Bram’s eyes remained closed, but he sat up when another howl of the wind penetrated the space.

      The shutter rattled against the window, grinding wood against stone. Bram’s eyes flew open at the sound.

      ‘It’s nothing,’ she reassured him. ‘Just the storm.’

      But it was as if he hadn’t heard her at all. His face was pale, his mouth set in a firm line. Nairna reached out a hand to take his palm, but he didn’t return the faint squeeze. His skin was cold, as if he’d been sleeping outside.

      ‘Are you awake?’ she whispered, already knowing the answer.

      He stared right through her. What nightmares tormented him, she didn’t know. But he wasn’t aware of their surroundings, nor even of her.

      ‘Come and lie down,’ she murmured, hoping to coax him back to sleep. When she reached for his waist, she struggled to draw him to his feet, and thankfully it was only a few paces before she pushed him back to the bed.

      He sat down and she helped him to undress. The darkness hid his body, but she eased him beside her.

      When she started to cover him with the blanket, she didn’t know if he had regained awareness or was still asleep. Her answer came when he seized her, holding her in a tight embrace. He held her as if gaining warmth and comfort. She rested her cheek against his bare chest and heard the rapid heartbeat.

      Though his hands were cold, his body was far warmer than she’d imagined. In his embrace, her skin grew heated, warming the damp shift. She tried to move beneath the coverlet and the motion pulled at her linen shift, baring her breasts.

      Though likely he couldn’t see her in the darkness, she felt awkward and vulnerable with her bare skin against his. Bram lay on top of her with his mouth against her throat, his breath intensifying her pulse beat. The thickness of his manhood rested between her thighs.

      She felt herself go liquid at the thought of him claiming her.

      ‘Don’t hurt him,’ he whispered against her skin. ‘Not Callum. Let me take his place.’

      Nairna saw that her husband’s eyes were closed. He wasn’t aware of anything that was happening. ‘It’s a dream,’ she told him. ‘You’re safe now.’ She touched his forehead, smoothing his hair over.

      ‘Nairna,’ he murmured.

      ‘I’m here.’ She stroked his bristled cheek, trying to soothe him. His grip relaxed as she touched his face, silently easing the nightmare.

      As his embrace softened, she saw the desperate need inside him, for peace. And he’d found it within her arms.

      She leaned down and pressed a kiss upon his mouth. He answered it, taking her lips with his own. The years turned back and she remembered what it was to kiss the shy young man she’d agreed to marry.

      As his kiss deepened, she found herself opening to him. She wanted to reclaim the past, to become the wife she’d never been.

      Bram rolled over, bringing her on top of him. Nairna’s legs opened, cradling his heavy thighs. Her bare breasts pressed against his chest, while she could feel his hardened erection against her womanhood. Her shift was bunched up, bringing them together intimately. The touch of his shaft against her wet entrance was so very tempting.

      Slowly, clarity transformed Bram’s expression until he no longer appeared lost in a dream.

      ‘Did I hurt you?’ he asked. ‘I don’t remember what happened.’

      ‘You were talking about Callum.’ She traced her fingertips over his chest, and as she touched him his length shifted against her. The desire to take him inside her body was provoking erotic thoughts. She wanted to feel the sensation of him deep within, and when he moved a second time, the blunt head of him evoked a sensual pleasure she hadn’t expected to feel.

      Before she could realise what he was doing, Bram wrenched her shift free of her thighs and pulled it over her head. He lifted her hips, guiding her higher until he was poised against her wetness. The firm length seemed to tease at her secret flesh, and she gasped when he eased her up, sliding her against his shaft.

      She moaned when he stroked over the soft hair above her woman’s flesh, the ache intensifying into a shaking desire she couldn’t control. Her body shifted against his erection and she needed to take him deep inside.

      She was wet and aching, and in the darkness she didn’t know where he would touch her next. His hands slid over her waist, up her ribcage, to tease at her nipples. Without warning, a hot mouth covered one of them, and as he suckled her she felt his length probing inside.

      Nairna tried to relax against the invasion, but it had been a long time since she’d taken a man. In spite of the restless needs, she grew tense.

      Bram brought her onto her back, only partially inside her. He pulled back again, slowly moving deeper, until their bodies were joined. For a moment, he held still and she struggled to adjust. When he pulled back, a primal instinct made her arch to receive him. The friction when he entered caused another surge of wetness and she waited for something to happen.

      Beneath her palms, she could feel his racing heartbeat. Though she tried to adjust her hips to take him in a little further, she started to forget what she was doing when he began to move in rhythm.

      The pulsing motion surged against her, and as he filled her she sensed something building inside. There was a rising pleasure that she’d never felt before. Her breathing quickened and she started pressing back in counter pressure to his thrusts.

      But then when she gave a slight cry, Bram slowed down. He pumped a few more times inside her and gripped her hips as he shuddered with release.

      Nairna lay beneath him, unmoving. Bram rested atop her, his weight fully relaxed. Confused, she reached up to touch his hips, hoping he would start up again. It seemed