Free A Lesson in Passion by Jennifer Connors

burned his soul beyond
repair. All he wanted was what time he had left, since his wife
seemed content to give up and die.
    Ian had set up the other tent for Ginny, so he
went to pick her up and put her in it. Right before he could lift
her, Ian's voice, menacing though just a whisper, came from behind.
“What are ya doing with her?”
    Alec turned around to look at Ian. “I was
going to carry her to her own tent. I mean to sleep next to my wife
tonight.”
    “Aye, I will do it. Be with yar
wife.”
    Ian walked over and gently lifted the sleeping
form from the ground. She weighed little more than a feather. When
he had her securely in his arms, Ginny turned to him and began to
cuddle closer to his body. Ian nearly dropped her. The wave of
passion hit him so hard, he hardly recognized it for what it was.
Lust, pure and simple.
    He walked to the other tent and put
her down on the makeshift bed. He found a blanket to cover her
with, but soon she was shivering. Perplexed, he watched her try to
get comfortable. Soon the shivering got worse and she looked as
though she would wake up, so Ian did the only thing he could... he
warmed her up. He laid down next to her and threw his enormous arm
over her body. Still wrapped in the blanket, he hauled her body as
close to his as he could without waking her. In her sleep, Ginny
let out a small sigh of relief and fell back into a deep sleep.
Ian, on the other hand, got more uncomfortable, due to his
increasing erection. He had never slept this close to a woman who
he didn't have sex with first. This will
be a long night , he thought glumly, trying
without success to get some sleep.
     
    * * *
     
    The next morning Ginny woke up with that
uncomfortable feeling of wondering where she was. In this case, it
was also when she was, but first things first. It was still dark,
she was having a wonderful dream about being warm on the beach,
when she was shaken awake. Opening her eyes, she immediately went
on the defensive and started to yell. A giant hand covered her
mouth and a disembodied voice stated, “Calm down, it is just me.”
The Scottish burr reminded her of all that had transpired in the
less than twenty-four hours since she arrived here.
    It was cold and damp outside as she slid from
the tent. Her eyes could barely make out anything, since the
moonlight was now covered over with clouds and there was a light
drizzle coming down. It was a miserable feeling being cold and wet
and half asleep. Add to that the fact that she was in a different
time and strange place, and it was nearly unbearable. Ginny kept
her hopes up for a better day.
    “Ian, where can I... uh...” Ginny
was at a loss for words. Obviously, there were no bathrooms, but as
far as she could see, there wasn't anywhere she could go to be
private. Although she barely drank anything, she needed to go
badly.
    “What is it?” Ian asked with no
shortage of contempt.
    “Where might I relieve myself?” she
asked, embarrassment forgotten, when she heard his tone.
    Suddenly, Ian felt bad. He knew he sounded
surly, but after spending a sleepless night, frustrated and denied,
he was bad company for anyone. Obviously, Lady Chatham was
desperate. He endeavored to be more kind.
    “Ya may go behind the tent. I will
make sure that no one disturbs ya,” he said as gently as
possible.
    Ginny sensed the change and was immediately
leery. Ian had been almost entirely grumpy to her and now he
sounded nice. She knew she shouldn't look a gift horse in the
mouth, but she had to wonder what he was up to. Trying to remember
the romance novel rules, she considered that maybe he was just in a
bad mood, just like she was, and he was trying to behave better. Of
course, she wouldn't take it that way, as the heroine, and it would
lead to some misunderstanding. Better to just take it for what it
was, a kindness.
    “Thank you, Laird. I'll only be a
few minutes.” Ginny ducked behind the tent and went about trying to
urinate while squatting on open