The Legend (26 page)

Alec lapped the sweetness of her
breasts, his passion and lust growing by leaps and bounds. His great hand moved
down the curve of her torso, delighting in the silk skin. She had the most
incredible skin, silky and smooth and flawless.

When his hand reached the
softness of her tender inner thighs, she reflexively startled and he caressed
her soothingly, whispering comforting words in between scalding kisses.

Peyton heard the words, calmed by
his gentle manner and tender touch. But she couldn't help but stiffen when he
fingered the red curls between her legs. Even with her natural fear, Alec was
pleased to discover that she was slick with moisture and he plunged his tongue
into her navel with relish.

Peyton gasped with surprise and
he laughed low, bringing himself up to face her as the straw beneath them
crackled and scratched. He gazed deeply into her eyes, emotions such as he had
never known running rampant. He would be her first and, barring his death, her
last lover. And the same would be said for him.

He was so excited that he was
trembling as he slanted over her lips once again, with less force and far more
emotion. His movements were slow and erotic, all-consuming and bold as his big
legs parted her thighs gently but firmly. She opened her legs to him, her
passion keeping rein on her maiden's apprehension. She knew she should be
terrified of what they were about to do, but she found that she wanted him to
touch her, to teach her the heights of passion he had promised within his
feverish kisses and tender touch. Aye, she should very well be scared witless.
But within the warm folds of his massive embrace, she could only want for more
to satisfy the raging desire that surged within her.

Her mind was completely void of
any feelings or thoughts other than those of Alec and his magic. When his
fingers danced delicately over the thick lips of her private core, she gasped
with excitement. A touch she should have shied from, she wanted desperately.

James had never worked such
miracles within her soul and she should have felt guilty for giving herself so
freely to another man, but she found she wasn't guilty in the least. With each
touch, with each kiss, Alec buried James deeper and deeper within the recesses
of her mind.

He removed his fingers and Peyton
felt his arousal pushing at her, seeking her promised treasure. She was
desperate to feel him inside her, wondering if she would seek the relief she
sought the moment he entered her. Would her passion be sated? Would her desire
crest, leaving her weak and satisfied? She truly wasn't sure what to expect, of
what sort of pleasure lay in store as he entered her slowly. She only knew for
certain that she needed him within her.

Alec tried to bank his frenzy,
God only knew, but when she awkwardly pushed forward with her hips, his control
slipped and he drove hard. Peyton gasped loudly into his mouth and he drove
again, and again, and she cried out softly with the pain of possession. His
passionate kisses drowned out her moans, acutely aware of her tightness around
his enormous manhood and he knew he had to be hurting her terribly. But his own
ecstasy was so tremendous that he almost did not care.  He'd found Heaven.

She shifted underneath him in an
attempt to move away, but he held her tightly and thrust one last time, seating
himself to the hilt. Never had he experienced anything more magnificent. 
Peyton tore her mouth away from his raiding lips and drew in a long, ragged
gasp. The hot, stinging pain radiated throughout her groin and into her legs
and she was positive that he had injured her, yet in the same breath, she had
never felt anything so incredibly private or wonderful.

It was a peculiar delirium she
struggled with as he held her tightly, not moving as they both became accustom
to the very new experience. She could feel his massive root throbbing inside of
her, anxiously awaiting the opportunity for release. But Alec held still,
clutching her tightly.

Her nails had dug bloody
crescents into his shoulders as she held onto him, waiting for the pain to
subside. Her rapid breathing filled the dim stable and she was highly aware of
his tremendous weight and size upon her. He lay so still that she would have
wondered if he was even alive but for his heavy breathing. When she opened her
mouth to speak, he suddenly raised his head and his lips claimed her once
again.

Peyton forgot the pain. Alec
began to stroke in and out of her, a bit unskillfully and on more than one
occasion dislodged himself completely, but the more he practiced, the better he
became. She began to meet his thrusts, their bodies clashing with fired
intensity so hot that she was sure their passion would ignite the straw beneath
them.

And as her pain faded, another
heat took hold and began to build. Every time their bodies met, it was as if
the heat increased and she began to live for each successive. She was seeking
what only Alec could satisfy, although she had no idea what that might be,
until he suddenly thrust so firmly that her teeth rattled and she heard him
moan her name softly. She felt him pulsing within her and suddenly she was
plummeted over the threshold of passion, her first climax coming so hard that
she began to sob.  Wave after delicious wave swept her, slowly fading away
until she was only aware of her pounding heart.

 The straw softened Alec’s
enormous weight on her and he was thankful. Lying atop her glorious body, he
couldn't have moved if God himself had demanded it. But his lethargy was more
than simply his need being satisfied; it was equally due to his emotional
shock.

He was imminently grateful that
he had never seen his way to bed another woman; it made coupling with Peyton
all the more magnificent. He could not imagine the words that would adequately
describe what he was feeling, so many emotions swirling within the warm-hazed
field of his mind that he couldn't grasp a single one. He was feeling more than
he ever had about anything in his entire life.

"Are you well,
sweetheart?" he asked softly.

Jolted from her dozing state,
Peyton opened her eyes slowly to stare at the rafters of the stable. Alec's
great head lay near her shoulder, pillowed by the straw.

"Aye," she whispered.

His hand came up to stroke her
cheek and she turned slightly to see him gazing at her tenderly.

"But I hurt you," he
said quietly.

"The rapture outweighed the
discomfort," she assured him.

He smiled, fingering her red
hair. "You are entirely brave, my lady. Your courage awes me."

She returned his smile, moving to
touch his clefted chin and square jaw. "And your strength and power amazes
me, my Alec. 'Twas the most magical moment of my life, I think. "

He kissed her hand as it brushed
by his lips. "And mine. How fortunate I am to have you."

She shifted slightly, crunching
the straw, and put an arm behind her head. "I wonder if it will always be
like this for us. Has it always been as wonderful for you, every time?"

He gazed at her a moment.
"Nay. Just this once."

"It has only been wonderful
this one time with me? You have never before achieved such bliss?"

"Nay," he shook his
head, his voice a whisper. "I have never done this before."

Her eyes widened and she suddenly
attempted to sit up. Alec was forced to roll off of her delicious body as she
propped herself up on an elbow. "You have never.... Alec, do you mean to
tell me that you have never had a woman before?"

"Never in the literal
sense."

Her mouth opened in surprise.
"How old are you?"

"Thirty-two years."

"And you have never bedded a
woman?"

He shook his head faintly.
"I have done everything to a woman that can be done except penetrate her,
and I have had everything done to me as well. I have probably done some things
that even seasoned men have never heard of but I have never entered a woman as
I entered you. I have never made love before."

Peyton stared at him in
disbelief, shocked at his confession. But as her shock settled, a most
wonderful sense of euphoria filled her to think that she had been the very
first woman he had made love to. An amazing smile graced her lips, one of utter
happiness and astonishment.

"Alec, you are a
virgin?"

"Not anymore."

She laughed. "Nor am I. Alec....
I am speechless. I thought certain you had.... well, you certainly knew what
you were doing."

He kissed her, hard, cutting off
her words. Properly silenced, he grinned and brushed bits of red hair out of
her face.

"Now, my lady, it would
appear that we have a bit of a problem. It is usual to consummate the marriage
after the ceremony, and it would seem that we have completed events out of
order. 'Tis most logical that we dress and ride for Ely immediately to correct
the situation."

Her smile faded. "I should
have stopped you as I have done before, but I couldn't seem to.... I did not
want to," she flushed slightly, lowering her gaze from him. "Will
your father be terribly angry that you have disobeyed him and married me?"

 He kissed her again, twice, and
sat up in search of his clothing. "Most likely. But He shall overcome his
fury. Moreover, when I tell him that you seduced me, He shall quite agree to
our union."

"Seduced you?" she
repeated with outrage, sitting up next to him. "Why, you practically
ripped my clothes off of me, you brute. How dare you say that I seduced you."

He grinned at her, turning to
kiss her soundly as he snatched his tunic. "Lady, you seduce me simply by
your presence. I am a weak man at the sight of you."

She blushed at his compliment,
averting her gaze again. As she turned her downcast eyes to the straw, her gaze
came to rest on her blood-smeared thighs and she gasped. Concerned, he looked
to the source of her distress.

"I shall get you some water
to wash that off," he said softly.

"But...." she wiped at
the spots with her hand.  "You hurt me, Alec. I am bleeding!"

He stood up, pulling up his hose.
"Sweetheart, I did not hurt you and 'tis completely natural for you to
bleed a little during the loss of your innocence."

She glared at him doubtfully.
"I realize that, only I did not expect to see quite so much.... blood. You
did not bleed as well, did you?"

He laughed low in his throat.
"Nay, love. Men do not bleed when they lose their virginity. Just
women."

She closed her thighs and hugged
her legs, watching him pull his tunic over his head. "Alec?"

"What, sweet?"

She did not answer for a moment
and he looked at her expectantly as he straightened his tunic. Seeing his
attention, she blushed and lowered her gaze. "I.... thank you."

He half-grinned, snatching his
leather over tunic from the dirt floor. "For what?"

"For waiting."

He stopped his movements, leather
tunic half-way to his head. After a moment's contemplation of what she meant by
her short answer, he continued to pull the tunic over his head.

“You are welcome.”

She lifted her gaze again,
watching him dress. "I suppose what I mean to say is that I am glad you
waited for me. Sometimes I think it is rather unfair that the woman is expected
to remain a virgin until marriage and not the man. I feel better knowing that
no woman has marked you before."

"Lady, not only have you
marked my heart, you have tattooed yourself onto my body," he touched his
shoulders with a grin. "I am verily proud of my battle wounds."

Her eyes widened with
astonishment. "I have marked your heart?"

His humor faded and she could see
his confusion as he reached for his studded leather belt. "Of course you
have," he said softly. "Why do you think I am willing to defy my
father to marry you?"

He was being completely honest in
spite of his confusion and she felt a surge of courage. As puzzled as she was
by her conflicting feelings and her love of James, deep down, she knew the
truth.

"I think you have marked me,
too," she whispered.

He looked at her, the porcelain
face and incredible hair, and felt a rush of joy at her admission. But he was
still frightened and confused; this woman had power over him and that scared
the wits from him. It frightened him that his heart could so easily control his
head.

A tin cistern of water was a few
feet away. He retrieved a handkerchief from his traveling satchel and dipped it
in the water, bringing it to Peyton. He turned away as she quickly washed away
her blood, and then moved to the stable door to watch the activity of the
castle as she dressed privately.

It was still quiet on the grounds
as the sun set and his mind moved ahead quickly to the journey that await.
Peyton approached him, shaking the straw from her hair and he smiled at her,
picking out bits of chaff from the golden-red tresses.

"I shall saddle Midas and we
will be on our way," he said quietly. "There should be a comb in my
satchel for your hair."