Chapter 24 #3
“Absolutely not. Not to any of that shite, Cairren. We are not returning to how things were before. You and I share a chamber now, and I will not agree to any other arrangement. I am not courting Myrna, and I intend to send her home without me as an escort. And you absolutely will not risk your life by leaving the bailey without guards. For all we know, someone may be watching you as we speak, planning to kidnap and ransom you. Or worse, rape you.”
“That’s rubbish. Anyone who’s watched me knows I don’t have a guard, and they will have figured out it’s because I’m not worth a ransom. As for molesting me, they’d have to touch me.”
“I know what you mean by that, but, dear God, Cairren, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Every mon who sees you fantasizes aboot you.
I’ve seen the looks, I’ve heard the comments.
I hate admitting to how many men would take the opportunity to force you.
You’re alluring, and while they might spew vulgarities aboot you, they’d also seize the chance to have you.
” Padraig cupped her chin and rested his forehead against hers.
His voice caught as he continued. “I can’t bear you coming to harm.
I’ll escort you myself anywhere you want to go if you won’t accept a detail.
Please, Cairren. I don’t want to lose you. ”
Padraig meant every word. Cairren had become a fixture in his life, and he didn’t want to think about life without her.
He’d grown fond of the pint-sized woman in his lap, and he realized that while she wasn’t the woman he loved, she was a better person than he imagined.
He pressed a kiss to her mouth, and she opened to him as her arms looped around his neck.
The kiss grew heated, and Cairren moaned with need.
Padraig eased her onto the ground before bunching her skirts around her knees.
She pulled his plaid up and wrapped her hands around his length.
He’d taught her how he liked her to stroke him, and now she moved her hand along his length, twisting her wrist the way she knew made him impatient to sink inside her.
She opened her legs to him as his fingers slid along her seam.
“You’re wet for me,” Padraig murmured.
“Always. Don’t make me wait. Not this time. I need you, Padraig.”
“I need you, Ren.”
Cairren guided his length to her entrance, and he pushed inside, settling hilt-deep into her heated core.
They lay together for a long moment as they reveled in the sensation of being joined.
Each time they coupled, it was as though the world around them slipped away.
They’d learned to move together, seeking and finding pleasure not only for themselves but for each other.
The kisses were hungry, and Padraig thrust with abandonment, encouraged by Cairren’s moans and with each tilt of her hips as she met his urgency with her own.
“I don’t want to hurt you. These rocks are too rough.”
“Nay. More, Padraig. Please don’t hold back.”
Padraig growled as he surged into her, grinding his pelvis into hers as she dug her fingers into his buttocks.
They fell silent except for their pants and the sounds of their bodies slapping together.
Cairren squeezed her eyes shut, the cords in her throat straining as she threw back her head and stifled her scream of ecstasy.
Padraig didn’t hide his release, a deep groan signaling his climax.
He held Cairren against him as he struggled to catch his breath.
As always happened when he joined with Cairren, possessiveness and protectiveness made him cling to her when they were through, but a softer emotion joined the ragged and harsh ones.
He didn’t understand what was happening, but he had a sudden desire to profess his feelings.
“Ren, I—I—” Padraig froze as he realized what he was about to say.
Her soulful gray eyes opened to him, but he couldn’t say it.
He didn’t know if he would mean it if he said he loved her, he didn’t want to do it in the midst of coupling and make her think that was the reason for his feelings, and he wasn’t sure if the euphoria was to blame.
He had to think of something to say though before she realized what he was avoiding.
“I think we should head back before it grows too cold for you.”
Cairren’s gaze shuttered, but she nodded.
Padraig wanted to kick himself for ruining the moment.
When Cairren lifted her head, her detached expression made him feel even worse.
It was as though she was telling him that she accepted that she only served one purpose in his life, and now that they were through, he could move on.
He held out his hand, a peace offering, and she took it as she scrambled down from the rocks, but once her feet were on the ground, she let go.
Padraig wasn’t ready for this distance between them, physically and emotionally.
He wrapped her arm around his as they returned to the Great Hall.