Jack only hoped his words could comfort her even though they made his heart break. Isla missed her own world, and he knew he would have to let her go someday.
I have known this from the start.But Jack had let himself care for her anyway and now he couldn’t see how it was possible for him not to miss her to death after she was finally gone.
* * *
They journeyed to Kirkpatrick as he had promised the next day. Isla sat in front of him on the saddle, and his strong arms held her sides to keep her from falling off.
His hands at her sides made her relax against him until she felt his chin on top of her head. Jack’s body was strong all round, and as she pressed into the hard planes of it, she felt her insides turn soft with need for him.
She was getting more comfortable in a saddle and Isla realized it happened each time she went riding. Isla knew she would get better if she practiced it on her own frequently, but that didn’t matter now.
Today might be the day she returned to her time. If she found the gypsy she was looking for, then it was possible. She ought to be overjoyed at the possibility, but she couldn’t help the pang in her heart that stopped her from feeling joy.
Instead, it felt like she would be leaving some parts of herself behind. When Jack found her on the ground landing yesterday, she had been thinking about her parents and missing them which had made her cry.
Isla didn’t think she would run into him when she headed for her chamber. As much as she had begun loving Scotland, and the people here in this Castle, she still missed her home.
She never knew she would miss Penny and her other friends if she was separated from them. There were her friends, yes, but she had always believed herself to be smarter than them in every way.
Isla knew the ladies liked and enjoyed her company because of her social status and she had stayed friends with them anyway because she had no one else. Without them, she would have been utterly alone.
She had known that, but she never appreciated it.
Was I such a horrible person?
They rode in silence for a long time, then he paused for their horse to drink and rest.
Isla stood by the loch side while Jack stroked the horse’s mane. She remembered when they first met and journeyed to his Castle. Even then, Jack had taken care of her, and he hadn’t even known what kind of woman she was.
He had asked her once who she truly was, and Isla hadn’t had an answer for him then. She wondered if he knew who she was now.
“How do ye feel?” Jack asked as he came to stand beside her. “We are only a few hours from Kirkpatrick now. Are ye scared that ye will find the gypsy or happy?”
“Both,” she replied after a while. “The first time I met the gypsy I didn’t believe what she told me, or that the medallion had any power and now here I am. I wonder what I will learn this time. What I really wish to know is what is happening back in my time while I am here? Am I missing? Or is everything still as it was?”
Jack’s smile was gentle before he took her hand in his. Her gaze dropped to where their hands joined. His larger palm completed engulfed hers and he squeezed her fingers.
“I am goin’ to be with ye this time, and the gypsy willnae hurt ye.”
“Of course I ken she will not,” she said with a short laugh. “I trust ye to protect me.”
Isla looked at him and she lost track of time briefly when their gazes met. Heat rose inside her, flushed her cheeks, and created intense pools of desire in her loins. She realized they hadn’t done more than kiss. The last time he had kissed her on the fields, it had felt like they would do more, but Jamie had interrupted with bad news and since then they hadn’t had another chance.
She turned to face him squarely, then lifted a hand to his chest. “Jack,” she whispered as she held onto his gaze.
Isla leaned closer to him until their lips touched. Jack cupped one hand over her cheek and slid the other one into her hair. His lips were soft and warm as he licked her lower one, then slide his tongue in.
Isla whimpered when he pressed her harder against him, growled into her mouth and moved his hand from her cheek, over the swell of her breasts, then to her back so he could mold her bottom to him.
His hardness pressed into her abdomen, and the kiss was slowly heating into another level when the horse neighed suddenly, and they jerked apart.
Jack turned away from her, combed his fingers through his hair, and cleared his throat. She also nibbled on her lower lip, then ran her fingers through her hair.
“We must make haste,” Jack finally spoke first, and she turned to him. “Kirkpatrick is close now and we need to arrive before dusk.”
“All right,” she replied, then walked over to the saddle and mounted it without his help this time.
“Good,” Jack complimented. “Ye will be good enough for yer own soon.”