Chapter Six #2
At the end of a vestibule, he stopped at a door. “Your chamber, Milady.” He motioned to her to enter and turned away.
Eva pushed open the door and stepped inside.
She set her satchel next to the entrance, closed the door, and stood there in a mesh of quivering nerves.
Every part of her shook with apprehension at the thought of what she’d do this night with her so-called husband.
She wasn’t completely ignorant of what a man and woman did in bed and had witnessed some of the servants in precarious situations.
Still, she never dreamed she would do such things, and with a man like Breckin.
Breckin stood by the window casement with his chin leaning on his fist. He turned and lowered his arms. He didn’t smile, but then she surmised he never did. Or, at least, she’d never seen him do so. Was he always so severe?
“Laird Buchanan… Ah, I mean, Breckin, I am here as you requested.”
He twitched a finger at her and his lips broadened in what she might consider a grin.
Sweet Mary, he was handsome even with the set of his brows.
The thought that she was now married to him instilled even more apprehension within her.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of him but more that she didn’t know how to be.
Should she try to appease him? Should she object if he insisted on taking his husbandly rights?
Such matters caused her heart to thrum in her chest and ears.
Eva walked with slow steps toward him. When she reached him, she stopped in front of him and folded her hands. “We should probably talk about what is expected…”
“What I expect, lass, is a wife who obeys me. I will try to be a good husband to ye. We should take this night to… Ye are afeared,” he said when he took her hands. “Ye tremble. I do not intend to harm ye. There is no need to be afraid.”
“There is every reason to be. I have never been with a man and I expect that I…” Eva felt heat flushing her cheeks at her admission. “I will be inept at this.”
“I should hope ye have not been with another, lass. Worry not, because I will try to be gentle.” He set his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward.
When his lips touched hers, Eva’s first instinct was to pull away but she stayed still and allowed him to kiss her.
He brushed his mouth against hers; his harsh scruff scratched against her soft skin like nothing she’d ever experienced.
Then he used his warm tongue to get her to respond to the desirous way he kissed her.
Timidly, she touched her own tongue to his but then something overcame her, urging her to do more, experience more.
She stepped into his embrace and he put his arms around her body, pulling her close.
Her breasts pressed against his chest and something instigated her to want and need more.
She wrapped her arms around his hard body and moaned softly at the fervent kiss they shared.
Breckin pulled back and his breath was raspy from their desirous kiss. “Lass, I…we should probably get ready for bed.”
Eva nodded absently and turned away from him.
Her nerves jumped to her throat. She couldn’t voice her fear but stood facing the bed.
He approached from behind her and set his hands on her shoulders.
Breckin placed his lips on her neck and kissed her as his hands worked to remove her gown.
When he pressed the garment down her arms, the chilled air in the chamber caused her to tremble from cold and the night to come.
She stood in her undergarments, a thin chemise that ended above her knees. Never had she felt so exposed. Breckin continued to stand behind her and pulled her back against him. The heat of his chest warmed her as his large hand pressed against the flesh of her stomach and he caressed her.
“I desire ye, lass.” The passionate way he spoke sent heat through her.
Eva closed her eyes and felt his desire pressing against her buttocks. As she waited to see what he’d do, he turned her around.
“Will ye disrobe me?” he asked huskily.
“I am astounded that you were able to wear this within the castle,” she said, as she took hold of the strap that held his sword on his back.
“The king knows better than to take my weapon away, and if he wants the use of it, he wouldst not offend me.”
“The king wants you to use your sword for him…to war?”
“Aye, in the future, lass, not this night.”
She sighed at that and wished for the reprieve, even if it meant war, but it wasn’t to be.
With shaky hands, she unfastened the scabbard across his chest and set it on a nearby chair.
The sword was heavy and large. It was a hefty war instrument; broad and unembellished by any ornament.
Afterward, she returned to him and removed his layers of tartans, and finally his tunic.
He wore absolutely nothing beneath his lower tartan and the sight of his manhood forced a light gasp from her.
Eva wanted to avert her eyes but was intrigued by his body, and she stared at him until he cleared his throat.
She fixed her gaze on his naked chest. The expanse had no hair but was smooth and muscular.
If she had any brazenness within her, she’d reach out and touch him but she wouldn’t be so forward.
He must’ve read her mind because he took her hands and set them on his chest. Eva drew in a breath at the sensation of his hot, hard skin.
She raised her chin and found him watching her.
Breckin dipped his head and set his mouth back on hers.
Never had she expected to be moved by a man’s touch but her body reacted to his caresses.
She was uncertain what was happening to her but she enjoyed the sensations.
Breckin lifted her in his arms and carried her to the side of the bed.
He gently set her on the bedding and watched her with hooded eyes.
Even in the dimly-lit bed chamber, she could see the greenness of his eyes.
His gaze captivated her and somehow alleviated the need to panic.
Then he caressed her thighs and shifted them upward until he reached the top of her chemise.
He settled his head next to hers and whispered, “I want to see ye, your bonny body.” Breckin hurriedly yanked her chemise down her body until he was able to remove it completely.
Eva lay back and covered her breasts with her hands. She’d never been on display before and tried to shift away from him. He took her hands in his and pushed them to the sides of her body. His gaze lingered on her and she shivered from the intensity of his beautiful eyes.
“Ye are bonny, aye, and should not hide yourself, lass.” He pressed his hands upward on her arms until he cuddled her face in his palms. Breckin set his mouth back on hers and kissed her passionately but gently.
Eva tried to respond in kind but was overwhelmed by his desire. His hands seemed to be everywhere on her body and then she felt his fingers at her womanhood. She yanked her head back and gasped. “I am not sure I like this.”
“Ye will, lass, I vow ye will. We will go slow and easy.”
He returned his hand to her center and pressed his fingers inside her.
She tried to focus on what he was doing but something within her twinged like a small pulse that reverberated through her.
Eva closed her eyes, abashed at what he was doing.
With a light sigh, she tried to focus on his touch and to find pleasure in it and being with him.
The bed shifted and he lay beside her. Breckin kept up the pleasurable torment with his hands and mouth on her neck and shoulder and sent her reeling with desire.
Eva’s body stiffened when he moved atop her and she felt his need at the core of her womanhood.
She gasped and tried to push him away but he was too solid to move.
“Easy, lass. Relax and accept me,” he said gruffly.
As he entered her, Eva scrunched her eyes closed and kept herself from crying out. She huffed at his invasion and wanted to enjoy it but couldn’t. The unfamiliar sensations heightened her fear and prevented her from giving herself to the sensuality.
“Please, cease… I do not like this.”
Breckin moaned and leaned his head against hers. His breath rasped against her cheek. “I would stop, but cannot, lass. We should get it done.” With a thrust of his body, he fully entered her. It was as if she was being invaded, somehow. He tried to kiss her but she turned her head.
She didn’t want to be humiliated but felt on the verge of tears. Eva refused to be a coward and she grabbed hold of his arms, hoping to endure the act without crying. “Hasten then and be done with it.”
As he moved within her, Eva’s body gave over to the pleasurable torment.
A twinge began in the center of her being and spread outwardly as if it would completely overtake her.
She kept hold of his muscular arms as he thrust against her.
The way his body moved against hers spurred her to meet him.
The sounds from his throat gave her the realization that he was tormented too.
After a long moment and a final, deep plunge, he finally ceased moving.
Breckin trembled and gasped, and then fell against her.
She lay back and was completely amazed at what happened between them.
Eva had to wonder if that was how it would be—what couples experienced together.
If so, she wasn’t sure she wanted to perform her wifely duty.
Yet there had been moments of possible pleasure and she’d hoped he would prove her wrong.
“Are ye all right, lass? Did I hurt ye?” He shifted to her side, pressed a hand on her face, and lifted her chin so she would look at him.
Eva shook her head and grabbed the bed cover to shield herself from his view. “I am well enough, and no, you did not hurt me. I am stronger than I look.”
Breckin chuckled and raised a brow. “Good, because ye need to be strong to survive in the Highlands.” He left the bed and lit a candle on the bedside table.
Then he stoked the fire with the poker and added a log to the hearth.
When he returned to her, he sat on the side of the bed and eyed her.
“It always hurts the first time, Eva, but the next time it will not be so—”
“Next time? We have to do that again? I do not want there to be a next time,” she said, cutting him off.
“There will be a next time…plenty more times. ’Tis what husbands and wives do. And we must join so that we shall have bairns.” He snatched up her hand and clasped it. “But worry not because when we get to my land, ye will not see me often. I am rarely at home. Ye will have freedom.”
Eva tugged her hand back from his grasp and felt the pull of her brows at his words. “Freedom? So you plan to abandon me?”
“As the laird, I am often called away. Ye should understand that. Was your da not called away to handle his lordly matters? Surely ye understand.”
She pressed her lips together as she thought about his explanation. “I suppose that is true. Well, I appreciate you enlightening me. That might be a good thing since I do not think I even like you, Laird Buchanan.”
He raised his brows, then lowered them over the bridge of his nose.
She didn’t like him? Well, she had a little gumption and he was surprised by her confession.
Why that bothered him, he couldn’t reason, but he didn’t much like her either.
“Ye can dislike me all ye want, lass, but that does not change the fact that ye are my wife.” Breckin stood and rounded the bed.
He grabbed his tunic from the floor and pulled it over his head.
“Best get rest because we leave at first light.”
Eva turned to her side and faced away from him.
Tears threatened to fall but she resisted and sniffled her heartache away.
He hadn’t hurt her, but truth be told, her heart ached with his uncaring words.
She had hoped their joining would bring them closer or at least offer her an opportunity to find something about him that she found appealing or redeeming.
She wanted to appreciate him even in an affectionate way.
Everything about him overwhelmed her: his strong body, confidence, and handsomeness.
If she was honest with herself, she might even admit that she liked being with him, and longed for his touches and kisses.
She drew a deep breath and decided that she would suffer through the ordeal when she needed to.
Since she’d rarely be in his company, Eva suspected that it wouldn’t be too difficult to feign acceptance.
And perhaps one day, she might even hold the tiniest bit of fondness for him—when she was long in the tooth and grayer than a wild hare.
On the morrow, they would take her father home which would give her time to come up with an excuse to stay at her father’s manor. Breckin certainly didn’t want a wife and somehow, she had to convince him that he’d be better off without her.