Charming the Chieftain (12 page)

Stretched, filled and in pain, she forced herself lie still in the cradle of his arms. She gripped his shoulders, her fingernails digging into the unyielding muscle and welcomed his soothing kiss, the probing surety of his tongue and drew it into her mouth. His low sound of surprise urged her to bolder action and she sucked on it. His sex jerked powerfully inside her in a succession of spasms. A deep-seated moan reverberated in his chest as an explosion of warmth flowed into her.

Uncertain what just happened, she slid her hands down his chest, the rigid planes smooth beneath her palms. Still joined together, he stilled beneath her curious fingers. She explored his tapered waist sliding around to his back and traced the velvety line down his spine though she stopped at the top of his lower back.

His sleepy eyes widened in surprise, and then he dropped his head next to hers, shocked when his arousal sprang to life causing him to thrust deep one more time, helpless as his body wracked with new tremors of ecstasy. He levered upward to insinuate his hand between them and slid his thumb into her wet hair. He glided it across the hardened bud nested there and an ‘O’ of wonder formed on her lips as he awakened a deep need inside her. Instinctively, she arched into his hand and pushed. Her breasts tingled as a strange heaviness began to build. A throaty moan escaped her lips.

“I … I want — ”

In truth, she had no notion what she wanted, except to release the wall of pressure pulsing in her womb.

“Aeden?” Fear tinged her voice.

He bent over, kissed her mouth, and smiled into her glazed eyes. “Shh, it’s all right, love, ’tis only your body wanting to come for me.”

She drew her brows together. “But how — ?”

Her question turned to a moan as his tongue explored the rosy peaks of her breasts and just when she thought she couldn’t stand the intensity, he removed his hand and replaced it with his sex. In a raw act of possession, he plunged forward and imbedded himself within her. Her eyes opened wide and she cried out in ecstasy as an explosion of sensation erupted. He withdrew and slid home again and, as he watched her slide into another orgasm, her body clamped onto his erection and forced another climax. Spent, he collapsed to the side of her and threw an arm over his eyes.

“Good Christ,” he whispered stunned.

Shaken by the violence of his orgasms, he lay there trying to wrap his mind around the fact he held nothing of himself back. He had surrendered the one thing he thought was impossible to yield, his self-control. A corner of his mind always remained detached during sex regardless of the woman’s charms. Foolishly, he believed bedding his wife would prove the same outcome as with any other women when, in fact, being with Elisande only awakened a fierce craving for more of her.

Why her? Why now?

He focused on her face in the dying firelight. Her eyes were closed. He supposed she might be too shy to face him. He assured her no one could hear them, yet, he was certain even a deaf man heard her lusty cries of satisfaction. He smiled when he thought how she possessed a surprising stubborn streak when it came to what she would and wouldn’t do. On closer inspection, it dawned on him that she wasn’t avoiding him, she had fallen asleep. He should probably leave her to sleep. Lord knows he was far from sleepy. Amazed, he realized he didn’t want to vacate their bed. Instead, he placed a tender kiss on her forehead, rolled to his side, and secured Elisande in his arms. Trying to rest proved a problem as well. Something hard jabbed his shoulder. After a fast search, he located the item and snatched it up. It was Elisande’s river stone.

• • •

The next day she awoke wrapped in Aeden’s plaid alone in the center of the bed. A blush crawled up her face when she relived the night’s events. The things he had done with his mouth had been sinful. Surely she must add an extra novena and light a few candles at her morning prayer. Aeden interrupted her pious contemplations when he moved into her line of sight, body gleaming with water from his recent bath. To her fascination, he dried off in front of the fire and she could not refrain from curling her toes into the quilt. The magnificent splendor of his powerful form befuddled her overwhelmed senses. Still, she never thought to turn away and her greedy eyes followed the line of his spine, down to the firm curve of his backside, and across his wide back where she noted with horror the red lines she had inflicted.

The rough linen cloth did not seem to pain the scratches, indeed he scrubbed the towel with equal vigor over his mending wound. She returned her gaze to the flowing lines of sinew and muscle and recalled kissing him there. The carnal images of last evening’s bed play caused moisture to pool between her thighs. Shamed by her body’s response, she jammed her eyes shut willing the lustful images away.

• • •

Aeden crouched to stir up the logs in the hearth. His early bath in the frigid river had done nothing to diminish his hunger. Nothing less than bedding his wife would slake the craving. However, she remained abed. Although satisfied by the idea he had exhausted the woman with his prowess, he wished to see the proof of her satisfaction shining from her beautiful golden eyes. The rustle of the straw mattress drew his attention to the bed where he assumed she laid deep in sleep. Immediately, he noticed a tell-tale blush stain her cheeks. On stealthy feet, he moved to stand over her and studied her expression. Her eyes were closed so tight, he’d not be surprised if one of them popped through a lid. A roguish grin spread across his features and he knew then his shy wife had been watching him. He decided a bit of teasing was in order. Under the guise of tucking the bedclothes around her, he brushed his knuckles in a deliberate way across her nipples. Once, twice and they pebbled against the blanket. He repeated the experiment and noticed the rapid rise and fall of her bountiful breasts.

On bended knee, he thumbed open an eyelid. With laughter lurking in his voice, he whispered, “Good morn, wife.”

• • •

She mustered what little dignity that remained and ignored his playful look.

“Good morn, husband.”

Startled, he reared back a bit to stare at her as he she had grown an extra ear overnight.

Worried, she scrambled to her knees and surveyed the tidy room in search of danger. Everything seemed in order. The only window was shuttered, the door still bolted. No rodents scurried about the floor and nothing had caught fire. She brought her eyes back to his stunned expression.

“Have you seen a ghost?”

It was the only explanation left. Not that she’d ever encountered one.

Clearly her words jarred him and he came back to himself.

“Aeden?”

He forced a smile. “’Tis naught, lass.”

She scooted over to the edge of the bed, clenched the covers to her breasts and laid a tentative hand on his forearm. A flush of desire washed through her as he eyed her with a cagy expression.

“Please, something is obviously troubling you. We are married now, you may tell me anything.”

Clearly uncomfortable, he fidgeted, and scanned the room as if the answers were carved in the walls. Finally, he settled on her face, and the hard glint of moments ago softened. He plucked at her fingers still holding his forearm.

“You called me, husband.”

“If this bothers you, than I will refrain from using the address.” Her heart sunk at the thought.

“No, don’t do that. Truth told, I like hearing you say it,” he admitted gruffly.

She raised her hand and cupped his unscarred cheek. “That’s good to know, because I like saying it, husband.”

His eyes devoured her and her breath hitched as he bore her backwards to the mattress. A devilish grin transformed his face.

“I know something else you may like … wife.”

Aeden enjoyed the sight of his wife trailing the damp cloth over her shoulders and the swell of her breasts. He could not fathom why he had been hell bent to avoid an entanglement with her. Fully clothed and ready to begin the day, he had not the slightest inclination to go about his duties. Elisande fascinated him. He could watch her graceful movements all day.

That sudden realization brought him up short. He should have been out the door hours ago, not lingering over his wife like a lovesick boy. If after one evening and a morning buried between her thighs, how in the hell would he act in a month? Staring up at the ceiling, he ran a hand down his bewhiskered jaw. Damn. If he were honest, he would admit the first time he kissed the woman he was enchanted. Unsettled by the revelation, he walked over to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and captured her lips with primal need meant to assert his dominance. Although he caught her unawares, Elisande held nothing back and responded to his possession with sweet surrender. He heard the bucket hit the dirt first followed by the soggy linen. Her obvious enjoyment gentled his mouth. Out of breath, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

“Aeden?”

He waved her off, unwilling to voice his thoughts. She caressed a finger down his cheek, and he opened his eyes to her passion-glazed eyes, knowing it mirrored his own. He couldn’t allow her that far into his heart — wouldn’t allow, he qualified. It gave his enemies a bargaining chip. Even as the last sentence formed in his mind, he knew he only deceived himself. He already cared too much for Elisande, and it scared the hell out of him.

“Husband?”

Abruptly, he seized her shoulders, and pulled her flat against his body. Groaning he buried his face in her hair. “Damn you,” he whispered. “Damn you for making me need you like this!”

His mouth came down hard and demanding on hers, his tongue thrust deep. She matched his urgency kiss for kiss, molded her body to his, wanting to quell the unrest within him. With a sob, she trailed hungry, wet kisses from his jaw to his throat and back. She dug her fingers into his plaid, her need every bit desperate as his.

His breathing accelerated, ready to explode from her touch alone. He tumbled them to the bed where they fell to the mattress in a tangle of arms and legs. He stared into her misty eyes drinking in her beauty, and just like that, the savagery of the moment gave way to tenderness. Drawing her close, he opened his mouth over her bared breast sucking hard, his teeth skimming along the nipple before releasing it.

“Do you ken how much I want to brand you so every man will know you are mine?”

In answer she tugged his head down to hers for another searing kiss. She savored the closeness of their bodies, and let go of her inhibitions. Drawing her knees up she made no secret of what she wanted from him. In one swift motion, he drove into her, filling her. Cupping her bottom in his large hands, he plunged deep, encouraging her to take all of him. She came apart in his arms, and the strength of his release warmed her insides. Afterwards, they lay together until sleep claimed him.

A little while later, Elisande watched him sleep, stroked his hair and marveled at the fiercely passionate nature of their union. She never imagined bed play would be so much to her liking. The aggressiveness of the act should repulse her, a gentlewoman, but it had the opposite effect. She reveled in it, as the marriage bed proved to be the one place desire triumphed over dedication to duty, and rigid decorum. Nevertheless, the knowledge he cared for her against his will wounded her. Yet, that he struggled with his feelings provided a slim ray of hope. Over the past eleven days, she learned his accent thickened in times of elevated emotion. Therefore, she took it as a positive sign that he converted to his native tongue when his appetites were aroused. She sighed. Her thoughts jumbled, though she remained absolutely certain of one thing. It would take perseverance, and patience to make Aeden understand that caring for someone wasn’t a burden, but a blessing. Fortunately for her, living behind the walls of Cadby Hall had perfected her determination.

• • •

The farther north they traveled, the colder the air, the more severe his demeanor. He ignored her upon waking and continued in silence throughout the day, beginning with the morning meal. She tried not to be distressed by his indifference, yet the passionate lover of last evening, and the teasing husband of the previous morning had vanished, leaving a steely eyed warrior in his place. He quit their bed at dawn, as if his backside was afire. When she emerged from the cottage, he stalked over to her and settled her atop a Highland gray procured from the village days earlier. Although he wouldn’t address her directly, his eyes consumed her.

Throughout the day, he kept her in his sight. She refused to acknowledge him, pointedly looking away whenever he glanced back at her. Two could play at that game. She stared daggers at his back and decided she would not bother to fall in love with him and amused herself by ticking off a list of reasons why, starting with his arrogant, taciturn nature. However, it backfired as she realized her inconsistent feelings for her husband. He possessed a teasing side that she found pleasing when abed. More than once during their travels he made sure of her comfort. He showed compassion and a keen understanding when he sent Mrs. Kirkwall to her, and the most surprising by far was his tenderness toward her on their wedding night. Still, she would not discount a few of his less than stellar qualities.

Her inner grievances were disrupted when Aeden signaled for her with all the arrogance of their first meeting, and she decided this unlikeable trait held firm at the head of her imaginary list.

Fergal came up on her and slowed his mount alongside hers to escort her to her husband. She inhaled a lungful of clean air and ticked off yet another trait — expecting her to eat trail dust for miles without reprieve. As she passed the rank and file, one glimpse at their serious expressions wiped the petty grievances from her mind. As soon as she rode abreast of Aeden, his men tightened the side and rear gaps to create a protective barrier for her.

“Is danger afoot?” she whispered, unable to keep the concern from her voice.

Her question brought a few startled glances from the men nearest her and ignited a firestorm of comments.