tw/ this chapter contains sexually explicit material

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"I dinna think I'd see ye again." Ian's soft voice reached Beth's ears as they sat by the water. They were side by side, touching thighs and holding hands as they always had done before. But this time felt different. Beth had already been back for a few days now and today was the first time they had gotten the chance to be alone.

She squeezed his hand and offered him a sad smile. She didn't like the feeling there was something else, something more serious, that he wanted to tell her. She could see it in his eyes, she always could. "I'm sorry I ever left in the first place. It was foolish of me to ever think I belonged somewhere else. Somewhere you didn't exist." Her voice barely a whisper as it left her lips. She had curled into his side now, allowing for her head to rest on his shoulder as they listened to the natural sounds the brook made as it ran through the earth.

"I couldna make ye stay. I wanted to. So badly, I did, I swear it. But ye are a woman grown. Ye may your own choices in life." Ian replied, squeezing her hand in return. He let his eyes shut slowly, almost afraid to close them for fear that when they opened again she would be gone. He truly felt like it was a dream he was living. The best one, of course, because of Beth being here with him. If that were the case, he'd never want to open his eyes again.

"I know. You are a good man, Ian." Beth tilted her head back and let her eyes take in all of his features up close. His skin was so pale, yet still kissed by the sun in a way that didn't even make sense to her. The tattoo along his face brought out the intense color of his eyes, and truly Beth had almost forgotten how lost in those she could get. When Ian opened his eyes and looked down at her, she was quickly realized she was not lost. She was home.

Swimming in the seas of Ian, the man she had grown to fall deeply in love with, Beth felt at home. For the first time in almost a year, she was home. The emotions of the situation were intense and crashed over her like a tidal wave, sending shivers down her spine which caused her to hold on tightly to the man beside her.

"Are ye okay?" Ian whispered down to her. His arm wrapped around her back to help support her as their gaze connected. The look on his face continued to draw Beth in, there would never be any denying that Ian had that type of affect on her. She was doomed from the start - all those years ago when she first met Ian. She was his immediately, even if neither of them knew it then.

"I'm more than okay, Ian." Beth told him, though there was still something in the back of her mind that told her life would not be as easy as either of them had hoped for now that she was back.

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"She seems to follow you around a lot." Beth was standing across from Claire in her infirmary, twisting the pestle as she crushed the herbs she was working with in the mortar. She couldn't help herself but ask about Malva. The pale girl sent a wave of anxiety over her and she just knew something was not right with her. Something deep and dark. Something that could ruin them all.

"I told her she could be my apprentice. Now of course that was before we knew you would come home to us." Claire smiled at the girl as she continued her own work. She was trying to create enough supply of willow bark tea that it would last them a while. "I don't want to take that away from the girl." Beth added quickly, not wanting anyone to think that because she was back home she would take over or something. It was bad enough she felt daggers in her back everytime Malva stared at her. Beth had no way of ascertaining what the looks were for.

Jealousy? Anger?

"Nonsense. You're family." Claire shook her head and moved to continue what she was doing across from the younger girl.

The two continued working in silence before there was a knock on the door. Beth turned around and her lips twisted up into a grin as she spotted Ian through the frosted glass. "Go." Claire suggested, a smile on her own lips as she ushered the girl out and into the arms of her lover.

"I found myself missing ye." Ian told her, his hands cupping Beth's cheeks before he brought her closer in order to press his lips against hers. "Whenever ye aren't near me, I fear ye are gone again. I cannot stomach the thought of no longer waking up beside you again."

"I am here." Beth whispered against his lips. Her hands curled around his biceps, anchoring herself to him to show him that she was not going anywhere. "I am home." She kissed him quickly before pulling back just enough to take his hand in hers. "Let's go for a walk." She suggested as she had already started pulling him down the steps and off into the direction of the heavy trees surrounding the big house.

Rollo had followed them like he usually does. The white wolf kept his distance, running through bushes and across the expanse of land in search of something he could most likely catch and eat. Ian had never tried to change the beast. After all, that is exactly what he was. A beast. But gentle, when it counted most. Beth had missed stroking his soft fur whenever she was sad, and once she realized that it had been time for her to come home - her real home - it came as no surprise that Rollo had been the figment of her imagination that directed her there.

Once the duo made it to the stream, Beth nestled herself down by the nearest and thickest tree. Her eyes sparkled in the light, streams of golden hues filtered down from the sky and through the tops of the trees that offered them a decent amount of shade from the warm rays. Ian had been silent, watching her with a soft smile. She rested back against the rough bark, ignoring the slight dig in the middle of her back before her eyes found his.

"Do you remember the first time you touched me, Ian?" She questioned, a hint of desire and a teasing nature in her voice. Beth tilted her head back, elongating her neck and putting herself on display for Ian as one of her hands ran along her stomach before making its way to her thigh. She was teasing him, wanting to get a rise out of him. They had not had much time alone since her return and she was absolutely, completely desperate for his touch.

Ian remained stoic. His hands by his sides as he watched her hand make its way back up to her breasts. Her dress hugged her curves perfectly, accentuating her breasts and giving the impression that they were larger than they were when she was completely bare. "Oh... aye, I remember it well, Mistress Montgomery." Ian began stalking closer, his eyes darkening and set with determination as he dropped to his knees between her parted legs.

When Beth felt his presence looming over her, a sudden warmth flooded between her legs the moment his hands grabbed hold of her ankles. It was quite scandalous that they were in this position out here. Or really, in this position at all. They were both grown adults, they understood the way the world worked thought it did take Beth quite a while to get used to the oppression that women of this time faced.

Words were no longer needed. Ian knew what Beth had been implying, and Beth knew that Ian was not going to object. Her needs were also his needs. That was something that would never change. The immense amount of love that both of them felt for the other was almost overwhelming. The urgency behind his touch and behind her eyes as she arched her back and lifted her hips in a roll was suffocating them but the moment that Ian's fingers found what she had hidden beneath her skirts, Beth almost let out a cry.

"I need you." She begged him, her hands pressing into the earth beneath them to help steady herself as she felt Ian grab her thighs and tug her down closer to him. She was practically on her back down, propped up with her elbows as she watched Ian push her skirts further and further up so that she was on full display for him. She was already dripping with need, having had to deal with the minimal amount of pleasure just her hand and thoughts of him could bring her while she had been gone. It had never been enough. It could never be enough.

Ian's body shimmied back, no thoughts about the fact that he was dirtying the knees of his pants as he dug himself further into the earth. It would not be concerning to others if he got his clothes dirty, he had no care in the world about the state they would both be leaving the forest in. He peppered open mouth kisses along her inner thigh before he stopped at the apex of her thighs.

"Ian..." Beth whispered, pleading for him not to stop as she felt his breath ghost across her. Ian obliged quickly, licking one long stripe along her folds before he dipped back down to get a better taste of her. Beth allowed one hand to continue anchoring her, grasping at the roots of the tree behind her head while the other hand grabbed at Ian's head. She whimpered as Ian's tongue dove between her folds, dipping in and out of her and bringing her closer and closer to the brink of her orgasm.

Her fingernails scraped at the shaved sides of his head before they weaved into the patch of long hair he still grew out of the top of his head. The rough pull at his scalp caused Ian to let out a moan, the noise escaping his mouth and vibrating against Beth which had sent her completely over the edge. She cried out for him again, back arching and pulling her up from the dirt.

He continued running his tongue along her slick folds, taking in everything her body was giving him before he felt her other hand grabbing at his head. She was overstimulated but whispering for him to be with her, begging him to give her what she had been dreaming of.  "Please, I need you." She told him firmly, tugging on him again to pull him from between her thighs. The moment he was back up on his knees, Beth pressed her mouth to his. She had never tasted herself on his lips before and was surprised that she didn't mind it.

It was possible that it was solely because it was Ian. If she had been doing this with anyone else, there was that slim chance she would have not wanted to kiss them immediately after they brought her to orgasm. Her hands held onto him with purchase, wanting to hold him as close as was physically possible. Her lips parted against his, inviting his tongue into her mouth for a more in-depth taste of her own arousal.

The kiss continued for a few more moments, the heat between them only growing and growing more until they were both totally consumed by it all. One hand steadied himself above Beth, grasping the same thick root from the tree that looked over them, shadowing them from the warm sun, while the other hand reached down to tear at the laces of his trousers. Beth pulled back so she could reach between them and pushed his trousers down just enough to expose his manhood.

Ian wrapped his hand around himself, grunting with need as he pumped himself a few times before aligning the tip of his cock with her entrance. Their eyes met the moment Ian entered her, a gasp leaving her mouth as she grabbed at his sides. He took his time, pushing inch by inch until he was nestled to the hilt deep within her walls.

Ian remained slightly above Beth, one hand grasping the tree root again by her head so he wouldn't crush her. His hips started slow, taking his time pulling his hips back and leaving only the tip of his cock inside before swiftly filling her to the tilt again. Beth wrapped her legs around his waist, wanting to hold him close and keep him inbetween her legs.

"You won't crush me. Please I need you." Beth told him while her hand grabbed at his wrist by her head, pulling at him so he would lean back down. Her lips were in a pout, begging for him to kiss her as the coil of heat tightened in her lower belly with each thrust of Ian's hips. The moment Ian let his upper body lower, the two now lay chest to chest, Beth wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close.

She whispered in his ear that she loved him. She pleaded for his forgiveness that she had ever left him, telling him that it would only ever be him. Her lips brushed against his ear, providing his soft skin with kisses. She started at his ear, moving below it and traveling across his neck before she looped around the opposite side of his face. She finally made it to his lips, kissing him deeply as her hands grabbed at the sides of his face.

They were both desperate for one another. Ian was greedy, the hand on her hip slid up to massage at her breasts before slipping back down the curve of her body. Beth tilted her hips to meet every thrust, gasping his name as she felt herself at the brink of intense pleasure. She had always heard it was better with someone you truly loved. She clung to Ian as if her life depended on it, tears wetting her cheeks at the overwhelming sensation of him pumping into her, hand roaming her body to take in and memorize every inch of her, lips crashing onto hers in a passionate kiss. Ian's hips sped up as he chased his own high. The heel of her boots digging into his lower back but he ignored the pressure as he spilled his seed inside of her.

Ian let his head rest down in the crook of her neck before he eventually pulled out and tucked himself back into his trousers. As he situated himself, Beth did the same. She tossed her skirts back down, completely covering her legs now before turning her attention to Ian. Her lips twisted up into a goofy grin, arms outstretched towards him so he would lay back down with her. She didn't mind laying in the dirty longer than she already had been. The only concern she had was holding Ian close, which is exactly what she did.

She whispered to him her profession of undying love, gentle kisses littering across his face as she followed the tattoo from his time with the Cherokee. Beth turned into Ian, allowing his arms to wrap around her and hold her close against his chest. Nothing could ruin the high that they were both feeling right now.

Though someone, without the consent of the pair of paramours, had taken in the affectionate coupling between a man and woman who loved eachother beyond belief. They had seen intimate parts of both Beth and Ian and heard the noises shared between the lovers that should have only been designed for them alone. Everything was so perfect post-coitus that neither of them saw the dark eyes from behind the bush, of course. The person knew what the couple didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

Until she needed it to.