Chapter 5
Finlay lit a few candles. He gestured for Elspeth to take a seat on the bed. The mattress was far softer than the one she had been used to, and the blankets were made of a fine material. Her heart thrummed in her chest.
“Are ye nae gaeing tae take yer dress off?” he asked as he unfastened his tunic and threw his clothes on the floor.
His body was muscular, and the hard angles were illuminated by the flickering candlelight.
A bed of hair rested on his chest that narrowed into a line and led down to his hips.
Elspeth turned her head away as she caught the shadow of his manhood in her eyes.
A hot flush ran down the middle of her body and something churned inside her.
She slowly slipped off her dress, turning her back to him as she had never shown anyone this side of her before.
“I thought ye might want tae talk a wee bit first. Get tae know each other, aye?” she said in a soft voice. She turned her head and caught sight of him coming up behind her.
“What dae we hae tae talk about? There’s only one thing we need tae dae on a wedding night,” he said.
The bed creaked under his weight. She could feel the warmth of his body emanating, making the air sizzle.
His hand caressed the small of her back and reached around to her thigh.
He leaned his lips against her shoulder and kissed.
She closed her eyes, bracing herself against these new and unfamiliar sensations.
She didn’t know whether to be excited or afraid.
“I prefer yer hair down when we’re taegether like this,” he said, releasing her hair from the ponytail.
It splayed out around her shoulders and swung across her back.
He breathed deeply, and it tickled the nape of her neck.
He pressed his body against hers. He seemed so big and strong.
She could feel the drumbeat of his heart and the intention behind every touch.
“I just thought ye might…I dinnae…we dinnae know anything about each other,” she said nervously.
“Ye are my wife, and I am yer husband. That is all ye need tae know,” he said.
He took her clothes and pushed them to the floor.
He gently pulled her around, and she opened her arms to him.
Breath rushed out of her throat, and she turned her eyes away, almost ashamed of her body.
The natural desire that bloomed within her felt warm and raw, but she was fighting with herself inside.
Even though he was her husband, there was something about this that seemed wrong.
It wasn’t how she had ever imagined it. He didn’t seem to care about her at all, and she didn’t think this was how it was supposed to be between a husband and a wife.
But, then again, how was she supposed to know what it was supposed to be like?
She only had her fantasies and her speculation, nothing more.
She opened her lips to his ardent kiss and felt the warmth spread through her.
He was still a man of mystery, a stoic man who shared little of himself, and yet they shared so much with each other in that bed.
He lay her on her back and touched her in places she had never been touched before.
Hot breath rushed over her skin, and she felt a tingling sensation coursing through her.
In between kisses, he murmured that soon they would have an heir.
The thought paralyzed Elspeth for a few moments as she thought about the bloodstained bed, but Finlay’s kisses drowned the thoughts in her mind.
His hands moved expertly between her body, finding the warmth that nestled in between her legs.
Soft moans and whimpers escaped her lips, and her shuddering body trembled in his arms. He was so big and powerful, and every inch of him was rigid with desire.
Her eyes widened as she felt him. Pain and pleasure burned in a sweet dance, pressing against her, before suddenly filling her with something extraordinary.
Her nails dug into his back as she clung to him.
He panted and moaned, his body writhing as he thrust into her.
The bed creaked, and for a moment, she thought it might break underneath them.
Sweat sizzled on her skin, and the air became musky.
His arms wrapped her up in a warm cocoon, and for the first time since they had been married, she felt as though he was really seeing her, that she really mattered to him.
She told herself that it was her duty, that this was what married life was like.
There were moments of tenderness amongst the hot blaze.
There were moments when their eyes met, and she saw genuine emotion in his face.
There were moments when she felt love when his affection and passion plunged through the gloomy despair that existed in her heart and made her tingle.
And then, with a blaze of heat, it was all over.
The shuddering tension vanished, and her husband rolled away from her.
He pulled the blanket over himself, and within moments he was asleep, snoring softly.
Elspeth had to remain there for some time as her body trembled from all the new sensations she had been bombarded with.
Pain twitched deep inside her, but eventually, she managed to move, sleeping beside her husband.
She took up only a small area of the bed compared to him.
He spread out his limbs while she curled up into a tiny ball.
She looked up to the stars, although she hoped that on this occasion, Eoin wasn’t looking up at them, for she didn’t want him to know how she felt.
It seemed clear to her that, for whatever reason, Finlay didn’t feel the same desire that she felt.
She couldn’t help but wonder if this was all his uncle’s fault.
If things had been done correctly, she might have met Finlay a few times before they were married, but as it was, she had been sent here abruptly, and he no doubt had orders to marry her.
If men were anything like boys, then they hated being told what to do, so he might have been distant with her purely through stubbornness.
It was a shame, though; she had hoped that he might share her feelings.
She clung to the spark of desire that burned within her breast and wished that it might blossom into something more.
If she could never inspire such a feeling in him, then it was going to be a long life indeed.
She reached her hand down and caressed her stomach, wondering if he had made her with child.
Fear clutched at her heart, and she found herself wishing that it wasn’t so, even though she hated herself for it because it was entirely selfish of her.
But she couldn’t forget about her mother or the fear that had been with her since she was twelve.
It wasn’t as though she could explain things to Finlay either.
She glanced across at his sleeping form.
He looked so peaceful, and she found herself wondering what he dreamed about.
She reached out to caress his face, but he stirred for a moment and batted her away.
She turned back and breathed deeply until she slept, dreaming of a better life.
If her father hadn’t died, she would have been sleeping in her own bed, thinking of going through the same daily routine that had always been a comfort to her.
Now she was plagued by uncertainty, and it was unclear how long the feeling was going to last.