“It is acceptable, and I will explain.” She smiled.
Daniel rushed through his nightly ablutions and climbed the steps to his room. Meredith sat in bed with the lantern lit on the table beside her. She lowered the book she’d been reading and watched as he stripped himself bare. Savoring the way her appreciative gaze heated his blood without so much as a touch, he slid between the sheets beside her. “This has to go, love,” he said, tugging at her nightgown.
She set the book on the bedside table. “We need to be quiet,” she whispered as she helped him remove the barrier between them.
He drew her into his arms. Her softness pressed against him brought a delicious ache to his loins and to his heart. He was home. “Meredith, tell me about your sister Grayce. How are she and her husband helping their clan to transition into the world at large? How do the clan members make their way in a world that is so foreign to them?”
“Really? You want to talk about this now?” She peered at him, obviously peeved at his suggestion.
“Aye, to settle my mind.” The warm breath she blew against his neck tickled his skin, and he tightened his hold on her and slung a leg over hers.
“Alpin and Boann create documents attesting to each person’s identity, early education, and whatever else is needed. Through their magic, the two see that those documents are filed in the county where they need to be, and they provide them with copies. If any official does a check on the person, they’ll see only that they were born and raised locally.”
She nuzzled the sensitive spot below his ear, sending need coursing through him. “Go on,” he urged.
She nipped his chin before continuing. “Grayce and Brían provide those who leave the hidden valleys with a safe place to live. They arrange whatever continuing education or training for them so they can earn a living and become independent.” She paused as if thinking about how it all must work.
“I’m sure Grayce and Brían provide the group with employment on their farm or at the inn during the interim. I know Boann has donated a fortune to the project. Brían’s parents manage the grounds and the farming. Only a few of the clan members are allowed to come through at a time, and no more are allowed in from the valleys until those who transitioned before them are settled. The entire project will likely take a few generations to complete.”
“Mmm.” Daniel absently ran his hand up and down her back as he considered their situation. If he did return with her, surely her kin would aid him as well.
Charles was wrong about one thing. Daniel would be able to support a wife and children. If he did travel to the future, he’d take his half of their profits in the form of gold coins with him. After all, Meredith brought a fortune back with her. He’d have enough money to begin anew. Alpin would likely be willing to help him with identity and educational documents. Perhaps he’d attend university once he studied the lay of the land to see what might be the most profitable career path to suit him.
Before he made any decision about now or then, he’d marry Meredith and return to Ireland to see that his mother and siblings were well set. Leaving his era was not his first choice, but he’d do so if Meredith won the coin toss—if it came to that. He could be very persuasive when he set his mind to it though, and he meant to put forth his best effort in that regard. His questions answered, he turned his thoughts to his more immediate concerns.
“Let’s save the explanations about gaiety and the rest for another time.” He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. She stretched luxuriously on top of him. “I know you’re longing to ravish me, aye?” Her laughter was music to her ears, and his cock hardened, straining to sheath itself within her slick heat … but he would not.
Meredith raised herself to sitting, straddling him so that his throbbing member rested between her slick folds. She rocked slowly back and forth as she traced her fingers along his collarbone and downward over his nipples. Gasping, his hips bucked against her in concert to her movements, creating a wonderful friction.
She moaned, quickening the pace of her slide over him. Then she leaned down and took his mouth in a demanding kiss.
No matter what, he knew they’d find their way together, so he let go of his worries as his future wife did indeed ravish him from head to toe in a most satisfying manner for them both. He swallowed her passionate cries as she shuddered in his arms, his climax following hers a moment later.
Feeling utterly sated and drowsy, he fell asleep that night with a smile on his face, and the woman he loved in his arms, secure in the knowledge that things would work out for them. He was, after all, an optimist and a dreamer.
15
Daniel, along with Oliver, the sheriff, and their volunteer posse walked through the ravine where he and Charles would be ambushed on Monday next. “If I planned to commit an ambush, I’d have a man come out from there to stop us,” Daniel said, pointing to the end of the ravine leading to town. Steep walls of jutting rock rose on either side of the trail. From a distance, the entire configuration resembled the ridged back of a sleeping dragon.
“I’d have guns drawn, and I’d demand that the victims drop their weapons and get down from the wagon,” he continued, telling the sheriff exactly what had happened that fateful day.
“Aye,” Charles agreed. “Then the other two could approach from the other end, coming up behind their victims.” He glanced at the sheriff. “Which in this case will
