Chapter Eight #4
It was a peculiar delirium she struggled with as he held her tightly, not moving as they both became accustomed 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 thrust. 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 amaze 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.”
She cocked an eyebrow, eyeing the large bag on the floor near the wall. “You were certainly confident that I would agree to your proposal. Pray, what else is packed for me?”
“I do not know,” he replied, moving to Midas with a bridle. “Ali packed the bag.”
“Good lord,” she muttered, digging through the bag. Tunics for Alec, some sort of rough garments for her, soap, a heavy cloak, a battered metal mirror and a tortoise shell comb. “Where did he get this clothing? ’Tis nothing of mine.”
“He made do with what he could collect.” Bridled, Midas stood still as Alec swung a heavy woolen saddle blanket onto his silver back.
Peyton continued to dig about in the bag and finally stood up, brushing off her hands. “Unacceptable. I would gather my own things.”