A Thistle Beyond Time: Book 2 of The Thistle & Hive Series Read online

A commotion at the front door ruined Jenna’s dreams of a trouble-free night. A few of her male friends were trying to prevent someone from entering. Her neighbor, Travis, called downstairs for Dylan, and an army of oversized football players, followed by Cormac, made their way upstairs to help.

  “What’s going on?” Jenna called.

  “Jonathan’s here,” Travis answered, as he headed her way.

  “What? Why?” Jenna was nearly beside herself. She could feel her blood starting to boil. The nerve of him, to show up here! She pushed her way through the crowd, which had formed near the entryway.

  “What are you doing here?” she calmly asked, when she came face-to-face with her ex. She couldn’t believe she had her voice under such control, because the adrenaline coursing through her veins had her shaking like a leaf. Cormac was at her side in a heartbeat, and put a steadying arm around her waist.

  “I heard you were having a little soiree tonight, and I assumed my invitation got lost in the mail. I didn’t want you to miss me, so here I am,” Jonathan casually announced.

  “No one invited you,” Jenna responded.

  “Really? I’m surprised. I’ve been invited to all the other bashes.” Jonathan raised his eyebrows as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Now that I’m here, I guess I’ll just have a little something to eat and drink, and then I’ll be on my way,” Jonathan announced, pushing his way through the door.

  “No! Get out now,” Jenna barked angrily.

  The crowd of big guys surrounded Jonathan instantly, and he backed up towards the door, lifting his hands in surrender. “Okay. Okay. I’m going. You’ll be seeing me around though. Don’t you worry about that, Jenna. I see you’ve got your new man candy standing guard, but I’m not afraid of him.” Glaring at Cormac he snarled, “I still owe you, dude. You’ll be hearing from me.”

  Cormac started towards him, but Jenna grabbed his arm. “Just leave it. The sooner we get him out of here, the better.”

  The crowd of men followed Jonathan out of the house and watched him get into his car and drive away. The group came back inside, slapping each other on the back, proud of themselves for handling the situation and muttering about kicking Jonathan’s ass.

  “I’m hungry,” Dylan announced. “Let’s get something to eat.”

  He was like the pied piper, followed by his entourage; they descended on the trays like a flock of starving seagulls and then headed out to the barbecue area.

  “Are ye alright, lass?” Cormac remained at Jenna’s side, and she hated to admit it, but his concern was sweet.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve come to expect this kind of thing from him. I wish he’d find someone new to torture and leave me alone.”

  “Dinna fash. I am here. I will protect ye.”

  Despite the fact that she had been very happy to have him by her side during the commotion, she responded rather sharply. “I don’t need you or anyone else to protect me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have guests to see to.” She stormed off across the room and didn’t look back to see the look of hurt she knew would be on Cormac’s face.

  SEVEN

  Shocked at her own behavior, Jenna gave herself a good talking to. Stop being so rude. What is wrong with you? Jonathan is the one you should be angry with, not Cormac. She was typically not a mean-spirited person, but she was having such a hard time controlling her mood. One minute she was calm and the next she was ready to explode - and she was afraid she was taking it all out on poor Cormac. She didn’t know how she could make it up to him, without giving him the wrong impression, but she’d try. She checked in on her guests, making sure they all had enough food and drink and then she went off in search of Cormac. She found him outside seated by the pool, lost in thought.

  “Hey,” she said, as she sat down next to him.

  He didn’t say anything. Instead, he continued to gaze out over the water.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me and I certainly don’t know why I keep yelling at you. You’ve done nothing but try to help and I’m grateful for that.” She tipped her head to the side, so she could get a look at his face. Receiving no response, she touched his arm and felt a head to toe rush of wanting him, which left her weak at the knees. He felt it too, she could tell by the way his head jerked up and his eyes found hers.

  They were so blue. How was it possible for anyone to have eyes of such a brilliant color? She could see the hurt she had put there, and her heart ached for him. Cormac placed his hand over hers, where it rested on his arm and before she knew what she was doing, she leaned forward and softly brushed her lips over his. His response was immediate - he reeled her into his arms and kissed her back, gently at first and then more passionately. Jenna allowed herself to let go of the control she usually so carefully kept in place, throwing her arms around his neck and tangling her fingers in his silky black locks. His tongue played at the crease in her lips, asking to be let in. Lost in passion, Jenna allowed it. He tasted salty and sweet all at once and he also tasted of beer. His hands settled on the curve just above her backside, pulling her closer. Jenna didn’t resist, melding her body to his, in order to be as close as she possibly could. The sounds of the party had faded into the background and she didn’t care what other people might think of her as she placed herself fully in Cormac’s hands. Coming up for breath, they looked longingly into each other’s eyes. There was an unspoken agreement passing between them and then the spell was broken by Dylan and his friends, as they grouped together to pick up both Jenna and Cormac, and threw them into the pool.

  Jenna sputtered to the surface and could barely see, with her drenched hair hanging into her eyes. Cormac came up right next to her and pulled her close, gently brushing her hair back from her face. They looked at each other and simultaneously laughed.

  “Dylan! I’ll get you for this,” Jenna shouted at her cousin, although secretly, she couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be than in the grasp of Cormac MacBayne, whose muscular arms held her securely against him.

  A tidal wave washed over them as everyone began removing shirts, shoes, and diving in beside them. Cormac’s facial expression was one of horror as he watched Jenna pulling her very tiny little dress off. He tried to stop her, but she was having none of it.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got my bathing suit on under this,” she smiled. “You might want to take that kilt off. It must be pretty heavy with all that water it’s soaking up.”

  “Are ye sure, Jenna?” Cormac questioned.

  “Yeah, go for it.”

  Cormac unwrapped the length of plaid fabric around his waist and Jenna suddenly remembered what the appropriate attire was beneath a kilt. Absolutely nothing. He pulled his t-shirt over his head, grabbed her dress, and then swam to the side where he deposited everything. His tight backside emerged as he dove under the water and swam back to her. She was speechless to say the least, when she found herself up against a very naked Cormac MacBayne.

  The rest of the crew in the pool decided they’d join in on the skinny-dipping and Jenna found that she couldn’t find a place to look, amidst the group of suddenly very naked men and women. There was plenty of laughing and splashing, but no one, other than Jenna, seemed the least bit uncomfortable.

  “I’d better get out and make sure everything is going smoothly inside.” Jenna excused herself as she disengaged from Cormac’s embrace and swam to the steps. As Cormac began to follow her she shouted, “Stay where you are, Cormac. I’m fine, really.” She didn’t look back as she headed for the house. “I’m just going to get towels for everyone.” Good excuse, she thought. She needed to get away from Cormac, for long enough to distance herself from emotions that were pushing her ‘I’m-not-getting-involved’ attitude to the side, in pursuit of the lusty agenda her body had in mind.

  ***

  Needing to cool his ardor, Cormac swam to the waterfall and let the icy water splash over his body. Watching Jenna walk away in the odd little bits of clothing she called a bathing sui
t had him more than ready to follow - partially to cover her from the view of the others, and partially to find out if that kiss they shared would lead where he hoped it would.

  Closing his eyes, Cormac tipped his head back and enjoyed the feel of the water coursing through his hair. The sounds of feminine giggles from nearby alerted him to the fact that he was not alone, and upon opening his eyes, he was surprised to see he was surrounded by a number of naked women, all smiling, and observing him with obvious admiration.

  “Ladies,” he nodded. As he attempted to move away from them, the circle around him tightened.

  “You’re a cute one,” the red-haired lass with the emerald green eyes said.

  “Cute?” Cormac repeated, not knowing what she meant.

  “I’m Amy. And you are?” she asked.

  “Me name is Cormac. I’m pleased to meet ye.”

  The girls all giggled.

  “I love your accent,” the dark haired girl on his right said, as she moved closer.

  “Thank ye,” Cormac replied. “Are ye a friend of Jenna’s?”

  “No, we’re here with the guys.”

  He wasn’t sure which guys, so he looked around to see if anyone was missing them. No one seemed to notice his dilemma.

  “Dylan’s friends,” yet another girl said.

  “No one told us there was going to be a hot English guy here,” Amy said.

  “I be Scottish, lass,” he replied, feeling insulted.

  With that, they all started oohing and aahing in chorus. Cormac was getting a bit nervous. That was not his usual reaction to women who were interested in him, but this time he didn’t want their attention. In the past, he would have enjoyed the company of the lot of them, but now he suddenly and inexplicably wanted to be out of the pool. Where had Jenna gone? He moved to swim past the girls, but the redhead wrapped herself around him. She had her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She was looking him right in the eye, with her nose touching his. Of course, Jenna chose that very moment to return, along with some of the catering staff. They all carried armloads of dry towels. Jenna took one look at Cormac, and stopped in her tracks, before she dropped the towels and ran back inside.

  “Hey, Amy. What do you think you’re doing? You’re supposed to be here with me,” the man Dylan had introduced to Cormac as Tank yelled, from across the pool.

  “Just having some fun, babe. Nothing for you to worry about.” Amy disentangled herself from Cormac and swam across to Tank, giving him a kiss on the lips and putting herself in the exact same position she was just in with Cormac. The other lasses followed, latching on to the rest of Dylan’s friends.

  “Jenna’s pretty pissed,” Dylan said, as he swam up to Cormac. ‘What did you do that for?”

  “The lass threw herself at me! I didnae ask her to. I need to find Jenna and explain to her,” Cormac was worried; Jenna had seemed extremely upset.

  Dylan laid his hand on Cormac’s shoulder. “I’d leave her alone for now, if I were you. Let her cool off. I’ll talk to her later for you.”

  Cormac shook his head ruefully. “Dylan, I cannae ask ye to intervene for me every time something goes wrong with Jenna.”

  “Okay, but I’m telling you, she’s not going to want to hear it right now.”

  “I’m going to go find her,” Cormac said, and he could hear the determination in his own voice.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Dylan, I’m nae afraid of yer cousin. She’s but a wee lass, with a big temper.” Cormac swam for the side of the pool and grabbed a towel, which he wrapped around his waist before beginning his search for Jenna.

  ***

  Jenna couldn’t believe her eyes. She had just started, stupidly, to think Cormac might be what she needed in her life, at this moment in time. She wasn’t out of his sight for more than five minutes and he was already glued to some girl she didn’t even know! Typical man. Well, she wasn’t about to let that happen again. To think, she had kissed him! What was wrong with her? She couldn’t seem to keep her lips to herself when he was around. I hope you learned your lesson this time, Jenna. Men are not to be trusted, no matter how good they kiss.

  “Jenna, I must speak with ye.” Cormac appeared in the doorway to her bedroom.

  “Not interested.” Jenna shut him down immediately. “Please leave my room.” She walked to the door, waiting for him to leave and prepared to close the door and lock it behind him.

  “Nae. I’ll not go until ye’ve heard what I’ve come here to say.” Cormac stood with his hands on his hips, filling the doorway and looking very determined about speaking with her.

  “I already told you, I’m not interested. What don’t you understand about that?”

  “Jenna, yer eyes saw something that was not as it seemed.”

  “Oh, really! Well, my eyes sure saw you and your hands full of that busty redhead and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t imagining it.” Jenna refused to look at him. All she could see was a naked Cormac and a naked redhead in each other’s arms. It made her furious.

  “Yer right, but ‘tis nae what ye think. I was trying to swim past her and the other lasses when she wrapped herself around me. I couldnae believe it. I told ye I would not lie to ye and I havnae. I would never do something like that to hurt ye. I want to spend my time here with ye, nae with anyone else.”

  Jenna was not good with confrontation. She hated it. There was always confrontation with Jonathan and she couldn’t deal with it anywhere else in her life.

  “I really don’t need this right now. I’d appreciate it, if you’d leave me alone so I can think.”

  Cormac looked totally defeated. He just stood there, not moving.

  “Please,” Jenna softly said.

  He sighed and dejectedly left her room. She closed the door behind him and wondered for the millionth time, what had gotten into her.

  Cormac spent the rest of the party downstairs in the game room, avoiding the amorous lasses in attendance. He had never met a group quite like them. Back at Breaghacraig, the ladies could be forward, but never so many all at one time. He wanted nothing to do with it. He was trying to prove to Jenna that he only had eyes for her and if it meant isolating himself in the game room, then that was what he was going to do.

  He could hear people leaving upstairs, as he lay sprawled across the sofa. The party had wound down and there were only a handful of Dylan’s friends left. As far as Cormac knew, Jenna had not left her bedroom after she closed the door on him. He had seen two different sides to Jenna. The soft side and the hard side. He knew the hard side was her way of keeping people at a distance. He also knew that he had the power to turn that hard side into soft, yielding Jenna. The Jenna who had kissed him, after she had yelled at him. He was so confused. He had never cared enough to let a woman baffle him before, but Jenna was proving to him that he did care. He just didn’t know what he was going to do about it. His days here were going to come to an end. He still had time left, but it certainly didn’t appear that Jenna was going to go anywhere with him, at least not willingly - and he was not going to force her. He came here to make Jenna his, and so far he was failing miserably.

  “Cormac! What are you doing down here all by yourself?” Dylan asked when he came down the stairs, after showing the last few stragglers out.

  “I’m attempting to stay out of trouble.” Cormac felt miserable; he couldn’t even muster a smile.

  “I believe you are already in trouble. I don’t think you would have made it any worse by staying upstairs and enjoying yourself,” Dylan responded.

  “Dylan, how is it that your cousin is yelling at me one minute, kissing me the next and then angry with me again - all in one night?” Cormac was exasperated and he flung his arms in the air as he spoke.

  “Dude, relax. It’s Jenna we’re talking about. She won’t stay mad at you. I guarantee by tomorrow morning she’ll be all apologies. Believe me, I’ve been on the receiving end of her temper on many occasions, and she hasn’t th
rown me out yet. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, bro.”

  “I hope yer right, but I’m only here for five more days and I’m not making any progress.”

  “I beg to differ. She was kissing you tonight, wasn’t she?” Dylan asked.

  “Aye. She was.” Cormac smiled thinking about it. “And she kissed me. I didnae initiate it. It was just like last night, when she had too much to drink.”

  “Well, she is definitely into you. She doesn’t do that with just anyone,” Dylan reassured him.

  Cormac began to feel more hopeful as he stood and clapped Dylan on the back. “I be verra tired and I’d like to go to bed.”

  “I hear you. I’m just going to make sure everything is locked up and that the alarm is on, and then I’m going to hit the hay too.”

  “The hay? Do ye nae have a bed, Dylan?” Cormac asked.

  “It’s just an expression, bro. I have a very comfy bed and someone up there keeping it warm for me.” Dylan raised his hand in the air and Cormac looked confused. “High five?”

  “I dinna ken.”

  “Let me show you. Put your hand up in the air, just like mine. Now we’re going to slap hands.” Cormac did as Dylan instructed. “That’s a high five. In this case, it would be like congratulating me on my good luck at having a hot babe waiting for me in my bed.”

  “I see.” Cormac said. “Well, enjoy yerself then, dood.” Cormac tried the word he’d heard Dylan use so many times.

  Dylan laughed and said, “You’re catching on, dude, I like it.”

  They headed up the stairs and Cormac was happy to have Dylan here with him. He reminded him of his brother, Cailin. “What will the day hold for us tomorrow, Dylan?”

  “Maybe surfing. I want to be sure you experience things you don’t have back home.”

  “Surfing?”

  “You’ll see. I’ll check the weather in the morning and we’ll go from there.”

  Cormac shook his head in disbelief. He was having a hard time understanding a lot of what was being said around him. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand English, but these words were not what he was used to. He really needed to lie down as he was feeling overwhelmed by the events of the past two days. He was happy when his head finally hit the pillow in his bedroom and oblivion overtook him.