Kissing Cousins Ch. 11

Her exquisite scent made me twist with desire so driven that my sex ached from its pang. How dangerous could it be to be so isolated from the world that there would be nothing to do but make love to each other. My heart raced with the prospect. Her sex began to moisten with my ministrations, and her tongue rolled around her lips as she moaned out her ecstasy. I did tease her, but as her delicate nubbin grew with the anticipation of my attention, I could not help but suck its fleshy fullness into my mouth.

My teeth held it firmly, as my tongue rolled over its hardening length, and it was nearly too much for me. Could I reach my peak without ever being touched? Could the act of giving such pleasure to another be so moving as to elicit so violent a reaction, unmolested? It would not be so that night, but I had come so close that I had made it a silent quest to achieve that chaste nirvana that so nearly possessed me.

When at last, Sarah moved between my own legs, it was with a single lash of her tongue that I screamed with the most unrestrained passion imaginable. So sudden was my pleasure, that she startled from it. "My word, cousin, you were nearly there without me." She continued to nibble, but my passion was spent in one second of flame and searing heat. "Did you touch yourself?" She questioned.

"Not once, Sarah. Not a single finger." She smiled, her mind working, and then she was privy to my quest, without my saying a word. We both knew it.

The morning was cold, but not the normal cold I was used to. It was painfully so. The fire that I had built the night before had all but gone out, the hearth lifeless and cold. I steeled myself and rose out of bed, rushing to build another fire with a small amount of kindling and barely enough wood to start even a small blaze. As it lit, I ran back for the warmth of the bed, and Sarah's heat. She startled as I pulled up close to her, sliding away.

"Elizabeth, you are freezing cold." She complained, but when she saw the fire building in the hearth she turned and embraced me, shuddering as she did so. "Let us huddle together against this monstrous cold." I pulled up tight to her, but the thin blankets were little protection from the pervasive chill that gripped the room. Ever so slowly, the fire began to build, and the room became tolerable once again.

"Cousin, it feels like winter here, and it is barely fall. What shall we do when it arrives in earnest?" Her eyes glinted with an idea, and I knew exactly what she thought. "I think our lovemaking will only go so far to keep us warm, Sarah. We shall have to invest in thicker blankets, or a great deal more wood." Finally, the bedroom was warm enough to rise without feeling ill, and I was at last treated to the countryside around our new home. The windows were tall, and leaded, and they looked out upon a moor that was lit with a reddened sunrise.

With the daylight I could see the room more clearly, and although it may have seen more opulent times, it was still quite grand. The floors were inlaid wood, and the walls were paneled and tall. The ceiling was peaked with wooden beams that formed an arch over our heads, buttressed against each side. It felt very Tudor, and I wondered after its age.

"The place seems very old indeed, cousin. Do you know when it was built?" I questioned, wandering into an adjoining dressing room.

"My aunt claimed it was built before the Jacobite rebellion, but I think it even older than that." She searched through the clothing that was packing the armoires and found some velvet gowns that would keep us quite warm. They were dated, but it was function before form that day at least. I donned my wig for warmth alone, though I knew that Sarah would prefer me without it.

Making our way to the lower levels once again, our work lay ahead of us. Much of the house was in disarray, and there would need to be major renovations. As we explored, we heard someone banging on the front door. My heart leapt, as in my estimation it could only have been one person. But as Sarah casually approached the door and opened it, I was surprised to see an elderly gentleman come through. I was glad for the wig.

"Mr. McLaren, how good to see you again." They shook hands, seeming to know one another, but not well. "It has been so long since I have been to Gansebraigh." He looked out from under his grey tweed hat, his bushy beard and straggly hair giving him the very look of a highlander.

"G'dye ti ya, m'ladies." His brogue so thick it was almost comical. "S'good to 'ave some 'un abute the hall agin." He extended a weather-worn hand in my direction, and I took it, his rough skin abrading my own.

"Connor McLaren, this is my friend, Elizabeth Pendleton." I smiled as he shook my arm vigorously with his greeting.

"Welcome tu Gansebraigh, Sassenach." He smiled, revealing several gaps in his smile, and earning a raised brow from myself. I knew the term, Sassenach, and it was a disparaging title, which was given to unwelcome guests from the south. "It'd be jist tha tu of ye, den?" He wandered in, examining me with some interest. "And it'd be tha missus tings ya be weerin?" He judged, having noticed the gowns right away.

"Connor, it's too cold here for our own southern clothes, and these would do until other's can be made." He seemed bitter over our apparent thievery, but accepted Sarah's right to do what she pleased with the house and what lay within. "And I would very much appreciate it if you didn't refer to Elizabeth as a 'Sassenach'. She is a dear friend, and perhaps you should show her the same dignity as you show me."

Sarah went on to explain what she wanted done to the old house, in detail to old McLaren. He followed with some distaste as he listened to her plans. The hall and the lower levels would be redone in fresh panels, and the walls scrubbed of their mildew and mold. The kitchens would be refitted with stoves, as there was nothing but open hearths.

"Win wud ya liken to start all tis den, Miss?" He muttered.

"As soon as it can be arranged, Connor. Winter is fast approaching, and we will be in need of a warm house to stay." She thought for a moment, and then added. "We will also be in need of a large stock of firewood, and the food stores are quite empty. A reliable maid would be helpful as well." He nodded, with a scowl. "Is there a horse and carriage at our disposal?"

"Nah, but I'll make fer Dumfries to git ya one." Sarah reached into her clutch and handed the man what must have been a considerable sum of cash, and I wondered whether she was too trusting. After he left us, I confronted her with my concern.

"McLaren has been a trusted servant in my mother's household for many years. It would be a very great surprise should he turn out to be unfaithful." She assured me.

"Isn't all this going to cost a great deal of money?" I wondered, knowing the sum for which we were in possession.

"You will find that things are not nearly so expensive in Scotland as they are in England. Our money may as well be double what we have." She smiled as she began to straighten the hall. It seemed a daunting task, but one which was not so very unpleasant.

Later in the day, McLaren returned driving a carriage, his own horse trailing behind on a lead. He carried a large bundle under his arm as he approached the door, but Sarah saw that it was opened before he reached it. "I'll be stowin' the harse and buggy in the bairn, Miss, and tares a gud amynt a food in the bundle." He set the package down on the long table which would serve as our dining place. "Win I retarne a morrow, it'll be ta stairt tha or'seein' wit tha min. The maid'll be wit me, and she's a bonnie lass."

I watched as the man rode away, but not in any hurry. He trotted down the track away from the house. Sarah had carried the bundle into the primitive kitchen, and unwrapped the contents onto the table. "Elizabeth, why don't you go through those doors and bring as much wood up to the bedroom as you can manage." I didn't mind doing the heavier chores, but what I did not relish was my cousin's cooking.

"I will do as you ask, but please allow me to do the cooking." She smiled, knowing my motives.

"What know you of cooking in a hearth, Lizzie?" She grumbled, tucking away some the goods into bins.

"Probably as much as you, Sarah." I mused, but then I was out of the door. The day was warming slightly, and it was just a few moments, but I simply had to stand in the sun. The difference between shadow and sunlight was remarkable here. There was a slight breeze blowing from the west, and I could smell the sea, so I knew it could not be far.

I was able to carry several armfuls of wood to the bedroom, more than enough to keep the fire burning for the night. Then I took a few more, remembering how cold I was that morning. The wood stock was indeed low however, Sarah had been right. The house hung onto the cold, so I ran about opening windows, not only to allow the warmer air in, but to air out the must. As I worked, I could smell something delicious, knowing that my cousin had not heeded my request. Perhaps she was right about cooking on the hearth, and we would probably both stand equal chances of preparing an edible meal.

It was some sort of stew, and it smelled wonderful. I cut away a slice of bread and quenched my raging appetite, while Sarah opened a bottle of port. It was good, as was the stew, and as we relaxed outside in the afternoon sun, a glass of brandy each, we both began to feel more at ease. It was not until that moment that I realized how unsettled she was. Her hands were shaking as she served the meal, but now they were as relaxed as mine. I knelt at her feet, as she sat on the low stone wall, laying my head on her knees.

"Oh, my dear sweet cousin, we are in strange lands now, but rest assured we are safe." She ran her hand through my faux curls, not even trying to remove them.

"I so hope you are right, Sarah. I worry that Eloise has resources that are well beyond our understanding." Placing her fingers below my chin, she raised my head and placed a tender kiss against my lips. "I love you, cousin." I said into her mouth, our lips still touching. I tasted the brandy on her tongue as she slipped it into my mouth. Her knees parted, and I was invited to raise her skirts as the sun danced about her head above me. I found her quite naked beneath, her lips moist with excitement. The combination of the fresh sea air, the peaty spoil at our feet and her wanton scent, drove me into her with vigor. Her skirts covered the stones, but my chin rested against their hardened surface as I licked. Sarah sensed my struggle and turned to lie back on the wall. As she did so, I straddled the same, and found the position very stimulating. Never before had I made love to someone in the out of doors, and in broad daylight.

There was a small point that rested fortunately against me, so as my cousin enjoyed my ministrations, quite vocally I might add, I ground myself against this point. "Do you pleasure yourself against the stones, my dear Elizabeth?" She panted. I worked harder to please her as she recognized my covert wriggling. I felt my skirts being pulled up to reveal my bottom, the cool breeze caressing the globes with a tickling touch. I shuddered as I thought about how exposed I was, but there was no one there to see. Sarah's back arched in pleasure as I frantically sucked on her nubbin, her juices running copiously down my chin.

Without my knowing, Sarah must have grabbed a twig that rested against the wall, and as I felt the sharp snap of the makeshift switch against my flesh, I convulsed in an incredible release, my quim forced downward by the shock of the swat. "Ahhhh!" I yelped, but the cry was simply a reaction, my true feelings written in my writhing hips. I fully expected another blow, but was spared as the twig had apparently snapped with the first lash. She giggled as she reached out to rub my freshly chastised flesh, her fingers kneading me greedily. She pushed down firmly as she did so, causing me to rub myself even harder against the offending rock, a further wave of pleasure coursing through me. I lay panting against her sex, my mouth still well attached.

"There are some advantages to being in the wilds, Lizzie." She said, as we gathered ourselves together. My bottom still stung from her playful lash, but I wore it in the spirit it was intended.

She bid me follow, as she walked behind the house, and away from the road. The ground rose uphill from us, and was beginning to wind me by the time we reached its summit. Once there, I was treated to a breathtaking view. The sea stretched out before us, although some distance away. The scent of the sea no longer a mystery, I took in the view with a smile and a renewed sense of wonder. As we finally turned and began down the slope, Gansebraigh was nestled below us, the grandeur of the old house displayed quite well. It was bigger than I realized, and I wondered how much of it I had yet to see. Sarah pulled me close as we walked, her arm about me and our hands intertwined.

"It's a beautiful place, Sarah." I smiled, turning towards her.

"It is indeed." But, as the sun flirted with the tops of the trees, I still dreaded the coming night, and the cold it brought. We had prepared, certainly, but night always carried with it a sense of dread for me. I wondered if I would ever lose that irrational fear of the dark.