Chapter 37
She looked so beautiful, sitting there on the bed with a nervous, hopeful expression on her face. Her green eyes shone in the low light of the bedchamber, and she pressed her lips together as if to plump them for a kiss.
It was perhaps the first time in his life that Gordon felt the faintest tremor of nerves. Not for himself, but for her, hoping that she would not feel too much pain or discomfort.
“I love ye,” he told her, still reveling in the joy of being able to say those words at last.
She smiled up at him. “I love you too.”
Coming around to her side of the bed, he sat down and reached for her, his arm sliding around her waist to pull her in. She laughed as she was swept across the bed and into his arms, and as he bent his head to kiss her, he felt her smile against his lips.
He kissed her slowly at first, not wanting to rush it. Agnes melted into his embrace, kissing him back in kind, her fingertips trailing lazily through his hair.
They kissed as if they had forever, taking their time, wrapped up in each other’s arms. Feeling she wasn’t close enough, he lifted her into his lap so that she sat astride him. A delicious torment, to feel the heat of her but to bide his time.
“I truly am sorry,” he murmured, kissing away from her lips, along her jaw, and down the curve of her neck.
“I forgive you,” she whispered, her neck arching.
He kissed his way up the column of her throat and caught her mouth with his once more, harder this time, loosening the leash on the feral passion that prowled within him.
She smiled and kissed him fiercely, her hips subtly rocking back and forth, stirring his loins until there was no hiding her effect on him. His cock ached to feel her hot, silken depths, straining toward satisfaction.
Nae yet.
As their tongues danced together and her hands smoothed up his chest and over his shoulders, exploring the muscles of his arms and back, he slowly began to unwrap her.
He unfastened the buttons at the back of her dress and lifted it over her head, pausing the kiss only when the fabric briefly covered her face. When she was revealed to him again, he kissed her all the harder for the fleeting absence while he dropped the dress to the floor.
Her stays and her shift followed soon after as her hands moved to pull his shirt off him. Next, she unbuckled his belt, her breath hitching into a gasp as she tentatively pulled the tartan apart.
“Oh…” she murmured, her eyes wide.
He cradled her cheek in his hand, tilting her head slightly until she met his gaze. “There might be some pain, love, but all ye need to do is say stop and I will.”
“I don’t want you to stop,” she urged, cupping his face in her hands.
“And I daenae want to hurt ye,” he replied, smiling. “If it’s too much, we can try again another time. We have forever, love. Daenae forget that.”
Her eyes gleamed with love as she leaned in and kissed him slowly, sensually.
“Make love to me,” she whispered, then kissed him harder.
Agnes already felt like she was soaring on a wave of pure bliss as she sat in her husband’s lap, running her hands over his smooth skin, feeling the lines of his many scars, exploring the contours of his muscular form.
Clinging to him, she couldn’t help but tilt her hips back and forth, rocking gently to chase the friction that had sent her into a frenzy the night before their wedding.
“Oh… oh, my love,” she moaned, his hard length gliding through her slick folds, brushing over her bundle of nerves.
Just then, his hand slipped between her thighs, his fingertips finding that same exquisite spot.
“Yes… Oh, goodness, yes…” She bit her lip as he began to strum her pulsing bud in a slow rhythm, each touch igniting a fresh spark that tingled through her body.
She still didn’t understand how everything could be so connected, and she no longer cared to know. It had to be magic, plain and simple, and she relished being under its spell.
As he rubbed her bud, he kissed down her throat, his other hand sliding into her hair. Back arching, she closed her eyes, letting herself feel every delicious moment, picturing the journey of his soft lips instead of seeing it.
Her hips bucked as his tongue flicked against her nipple, her fingernails digging into his shoulders as a bolt of bliss splintered through her. And when his mouth closed over the sensitive flesh, she couldn’t help but cry out, needing more.
“Yes, my love,” she moaned. “Like that… Yes…”
She could feel her climax rising with every strum of his talented fingers. Holding tightly to him, anchoring herself against the wave that would soon come, she caught his mouth with hers and kissed him with everything she had.
“I love you,” she murmured between kisses. “Gordon, I love you.”
“As I love ye,” he rasped, his voice thick with emotion.
Soon enough, release crashed over her, pleasure coursing through every vein and nerve, a potent force that swept her up in its magic.
Crying out, she clung to him even tighter, raking her nails across his back until his guttural growl brought on a fresh burst of bliss.
This, being with him, learning about herself, discovering what no tutor or book could teach, was a power unlike anything she had ever known.
Love was a power she had never known, though she had always hoped that she might. And this handsome, gentle, wondrous man had been the one to make her dreams come true, loving her in a way she had not thought possible.
As ecstasy thundered through her, holding every muscle tight, making her head swim, and her lungs burn, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Even if it meant giving up breathing for a moment, she just wanted to feel his lips on hers as she rode the surging waves of her climax.
A short while later, she collapsed against him and buried her face in his neck, kissing the spot where his pulse fluttered.
“Daenae tell me ye’re tired already?” he murmured teasingly.
She shook her head and smiled against his skin. “Not in the slightest, my love. I am just… so happy.”
“As am I, love,” he said softly, running his hands through her hair, dipping his head to kiss her shoulder.
They stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying their closeness. Indeed, it was only when she felt the brush of his manhood against her entrance that heat flared within her once more, eager to discover what came next.
She pulled back and looked deeply into his eyes. “You won’t hurt me, my love.”
“I’ll be gentle, Sunshine,” he promised, brushing his thumb across the apple of her cheek. “We can go as slowly as ye like.”
Flashing him a mischievous grin, she murmured, “I rather like the sound of that.”
Yet she couldn’t deny the faint flutter of nerves as he took himself in hand and notched his swollen tip against her entrance. She held her breath as she felt the pressure of him, the promise of him, her hands gripping his shoulders tightly.
It was another mystery she didn’t yet dare to question: how on earth was he supposed to fit inside her?
She wasn’t even sure it was possible, but she trusted him.
If he truly thought he would hurt her, he would have pulled her down onto the bed, wrapped his arms around her, and forced her to go to sleep.
Just then, he released himself, giving her control.
“Take yer time,” he said, his eyes ablaze with desire.
It took her a second to understand what he meant, but then her instincts kicked in. Slowly, she began to sink down onto him, feeling her entrance give and draw him inside.
“Oh my God,” she gasped, finally remembering to breathe. “Oh…”
“Are ye well?” he asked thickly.
She nodded, unable to speak as she sank lower, feeling every inch of him as he filled her up. There was a faint sting at first, tempered by a pulsing rush of pleasure that thrummed into the very center of her being, into the very center of her soul.
She did not stop until there was no more of him to take. Sitting astride him, she took a moment to adjust to the new sensation, every breath helping her to relax until, to her surprise, she no longer felt the pain at all.
“I love you,” she said, her heart swelling with happiness.
“I love ye too,” he replied huskily. “Nay, I love ye more.”
He kissed her before she could protest, his arms wrapped tight around her. She kissed him back with equal fervor, and as she did, she slowly lifted up, guided by some ancient instinct.
Gordon moaned in the back of his throat as she eased herself up, a sound that poured fuel on the fire of her ecstasy, that seemed to attune them even more to one another, a language that only their bodies could speak.
His hands grasped at the soft flesh of her buttocks, and before she could sink down onto him again, he slowly thrust upwards, a purr of satisfaction rumbling in his chest.
“Oh God!” she cried out, breathless between kisses. “Oh God, yes. Yes!”
Spurred on by her cries, Gordon pulled her closer and flipped her onto her back.
With one arm around her and one braced against the mattress, he teasingly tilted his hips back, withdrawing from her, conjuring a delicious, slick friction that had her writhing on the bed.
Then, he pushed back into her, inch by tempting inch, until he was buried to the hilt.
“Yes,” she panted. “God, yes.”
As he withdrew once more, she let her hands explore him, feeling the ripple of his back and the tight muscles of his backside; the strength of his arms and the soft skin at the nape of his neck; enjoying every part of him, delirious with the knowledge that this was her husband and this was only the start of their life together.
He sank back into her depths with a low growl, rocking his hips at the last moment, brushing against her bundle of nerves. She gripped his arms, her neck arching as she cried out in pleasure.
As they moved together on the bed, united in body, heart, and soul, Agnes grew in confidence, giving in to her body’s instincts, letting them guide her.
Entangled with her husband, she tilted her hips to meet his every thrust, the two of them colliding in the most glorious way, attuned in a manner that she couldn’t begin to describe.
All the while, each grind of him against her swollen bud stoked a smoldering inferno of bliss, the flames of ecstasy rising higher and higher with every new sear of friction.
Before long, she felt herself rushing toward the brink of another climax… and soaring right into that blissful peak of absolute pleasure.
It was more than anything that had come before.
It was not just ecstasy, but pure bliss, her entire being ablaze with the thundering rush of her conclusion.
Indeed, she felt as if she were aglow, her whole body singing, every part of her in harmony, a heavenly orchestra of euphoria playing together to create a masterpiece.
“Oh, my love… my love… yes… yes… yes, my love,” she babbled as her back arched off the mattress and she felt each driving thrust that little bit deeper, igniting a new blaze that scorched through her.
She trembled from head to toe, her legs shaking as they welcomed the force of her orgasm. Her head felt delightfully fuzzy, her eyes squeezing shut, her lungs forgetting to breathe while her heart pounded wildly in her chest.
She didn’t want the feeling to end.
Just as she was beginning to feel the pleasure ebb, chasing the last few sparks to see if they might erupt into a new wildfire of bliss, Gordon quickened his thrusts.
She welcomed his ardor, holding onto him as he plunged into her again and again…
and then stilled, a guttural growl slipping past his lips.
“Fuck,” he moaned as he thrust into her once more.
Deep inside her, she felt the pulse of his manhood, the sensation igniting one last shudder of pleasure through her veins, as if her body had just been waiting for that moment to finally conclude her conclusion.
A moment later, Gordon all but collapsed on top of her, his lips finding the curve of her neck, where she felt the tickle of his ragged breaths. She smiled, savoring the weight of him and the feel of him still inside her, wishing they could stay like that for a long, long time.
“I’m sorry, love,” he murmured as he slid his arms around her and rolled onto his side, bringing her with him.
She frowned up at him. “Sorry? What on earth for?”
“I wanted ye to come at least three or four times first,” he explained with a chuckle. “But I couldnae help meself. ”
She raised an eyebrow. “Three or four times?”
“Och aye.” He grinned. “I suppose I keep forgettin’ that we have the rest of our lives… and the rest of the night.”
He kissed her then, a slow, almost lazy kiss that made her heart swell.
“We do, my love,” she murmured. “We do have the rest of our lives. We have forever.”
He smiled against her mouth. “I love ye, Sunshine.”
She pulled back for just a moment. “I love you too, Gloomy.”
“Gloomy?” He barked a laugh.
“You’ll have to earn a different nickname,” she teased, enjoying his laughter as much as she enjoyed his kiss, his embrace.
“That’s fair,” he relented, his hand cupping her cheek, his thumb brushing across her skin. “As me first bit of penance, I think I ought to see what I can do about that third conclusion.”
He kissed her neck and began to move down the length of her body, his lips tracing a map over her breasts, her stomach, when indignant scratching and yelping brought him to a sudden halt. A moment later, Lizzy began to cry.
Lifting his head, Gordon exchanged an amused look with Agnes, the two of them pulling apart and scrambling out of the bed together. Agnes grabbed her nightrobe—Gordon didn’t even bother to cover himself—and the happy couple went straight to the nursery.
“I’ll see to the cub,” Gordon said.
“I’ll see to my niece,” Agnes laughed softly.
It was perhaps not the most conventional start to a marriage, but as she lifted Lizzy out of her cradle and rocked her gently, she glanced over at her husband, chuckling as she watched him do the same to the fox cub, swaying the disgruntled creature in the crook of his arm.
Conventional or not, she knew she would not have had it any other way.
This was her family. And this was exactly how it was supposed to be, for here was the man who had vowed to protect her, the man who had her heart, and the man who had promised to treat Lizzy as his own.
Indeed, as he met her eyes and grinned, she was more certain than ever that choosing him from her almanac of Scottish Lairds was the luckiest thing she had ever done.
I love ye, he mouthed.
Smiling so wide her cheeks ached, she mouthed back, I love you more.