Branded by a Warrior (20 page)

Walking down the aisle she was so thankful for Kendrix’s steady presence beside her, she was unprepared for the onslaught of raw emotions that crashed into her as she walked towards
Broderick
. Knowing her father was with her in her heart she took comfort knowing her family would be please
d
with her choice for a husband, especially Duncan.

In a happy blur, their vows had been said; with their rings blessed
Broderick had slipped a beautiful golden band
with a brilliant emerald
on her ring finger
.
Moments later the
priest declared them husband and wife before the
entire
MacMillan clan
.

Looking up at her husbands eyes, she grinned as he picked her up and kissed her senseless in front of his people.
Whistles,
cheers an
d applause filled the chapel as Elisabeth let the world around her disappear, she was married to Broderick Ian MacMillan, the most powerful Laird and most feared warrior the Highlands had ever seen.
He was her destiny, her husband and her lover. She was finally complete.
Wrapped in his strong arms she closed her eyes and sunk into his embrace as they sealed their marriage with a passionate kiss.

She had a
husband
.

Letting that comforting fact wash over her
,
she sighed as Broderick gently sat her
back
on her feet and clasped hands with her, bringing her back to reality.

Turning to face their people, Elisabeth smiled brightly upon the hundreds and hundreds of clans members before her. Looking out into the sea of people she saw familiar faces aplenty, the crowd before her cheered in celebration as she and Broderick stood before their people.

Beside her she felt Broderick squeeze her hand, turning to look at her handsome husband
,
she watched as he bowed his head to her
,
and held it. Seconds
later the sea of MacMillan clan
members
bowed
in unison to her as well.

Elisabeth stood in awe, tears brimmed her eyes as she looked out upon the c
rowd of men, woman and children who all were bowing to her, showing their undying allegiance to her. She felt Broderick gently squeeze her hand in reassurance.

It
was well known Broderick never bowed to anyone, save the King. Lifting her hand to cover her heart, she melted inside. With a simple gesture, Broderick had secured her position
beside him in name
,
and respect for the entire clan to see.
With the majestic grace
her mother had taught her
, Elisabeth swept into a low curtsey, bowing
first
to Broderick
,
and
then
her people.

Feeling Broderick’s warm hand circle around her waist, she rose up and bestowed a heartwarming smile upon the cheering crowd.

She had a home again. She had a husband, and she had love. She had never
known such contentment
.
Leaning into Broderick’s chest
they paused for a moment before linking hands and
descended
the stairs down the alta
r
. Elisabeth waved as
they walked
past the happy faces that lined the pews of the
candlelit
chapel.

Tightening his hold on his wife’s hip, he pulled her even closer as they walked out of the chapel and into the dimly lit corridor that connect
ed the chapel to the main keep.
Behind them Broderick heard the
large doors close, allowing
him
and his new wife the opportunity to steal a moment for themselves before the mass of MacMillan people moved to the keep for the celebration.

S
nagging his chance, he
quickly scooped up his beautiful wife into his arm
s
and looked into her enchanting green eyes. Capturing her soft lips he kiss
ed her as he walked towards their tower.
The sight of her walking down the aisle in his mother’s jewelry and escorted by his brother made his heart ache. Elisabeth had been everything he thought women weren’t; she was kind and loyal, charming and fierce. She wore his gifts with pride; she glowed with love this evening as they took their vows. The sincerity and commitment in her voice was evident for all to hear.
She was
balm to his tormented soul.

He knew he wouldn’t have a long time before the banquet celebration would start, but he couldn’t resist stea
ling her away for a few moments.
Sitting her back upon her feet, they walked up the
winding staircase to their tower
holding hands. Broderick
looked
down at his bride, he saw a flash of mischief in her eyes as she reached
up to take a torch off the wall.

“Catch me my
husband
, I have something for you
.
”

“Run little
wife
, I’ll give you a lead
.
” Broderick watched as Elisabeth giggled in delight as she ran ahead of him up the ancient stone stairs to his
chamber
above.
Allowing her a
good lead, he saw the
torchlight
disappear around the spiral stairs, and with it the sound of her small feet running up the stairs.

“Here I come
wife
,
” he shouted up the stairs with a smile upon his face as he took the stairs two at a time, turning up the winding stairs he entered the room and saw Elisabeth standing before the fire with the torch still
in her hands, smiling brightly.
Tossing the torch into the fire, the fireplace took off into a glowing blaze illuminating the room within
seconds;
looking across the
room at her husband she crooked her finger at him, beckoning him to her.

Elisabeth watched as Broderick walked across the vast room and stood before her and the roaring fire, his dark hair falling to his shoulder and his tanned skin made her weak in the knees. He was all hers.

“I have a wedding present for you Husband, close your eyes please
.
”

“You are all I need Elisabeth
.
”

Shaking her head, smiling up at her handsome warrior, “You’ve gifted me with so many things Broderick, allow me to give you something on our wedding day my love. I worked very hard on it, now, close your eyes stubborn man
.
”

Crossing his arms and sighing with a smile upon his face, she waited until his eyes were closed before lifting up her skirt to untie the shortsword attached to her thigh.
She had worn it throughout the entire wedding
ceremony;
it had made her feel
aroused
knowing his present was concealed against her warm thigh.
Looking up at Broderick to make sure he wasn’t peeking, she untied the weapon and let her
g
old
silk skirt fall back around her legs.

Laying it flat in her palms, she held in front of her, and
whispered, “Open your eyes my love
.
”

Broderick opened his eyes, and looked down at his redheaded wife to see a magnificent sword perched in her small hands, the detail on the hilt and blade were incredible. Carved into the handle were an intertwined E and B
, the sword gleamed in the fire lit
room.

“
For you my husband
.
”

Reaching down, he took the blade out of her hands
in awe
and twirled it in his palm
, the weight was perfect, it was expertly balanced and the detailing on the blade was breathtaking. He had never seen such detail on a blade; Celtic knots ran up the length of the blade on both sides.

“
Did you
make
this Elisabeth?”

“Aye, do you like it Broderick?”

Looking down, he leaned down and captured her lips, wrapping his other arm around her slim waist pulling her in close, “
Aye, I will cherish this sword forever my love, you once again impress me with your skills. Your craftsmanship
is flawless Elisabeth, who taught you skill like this?”

“Duncan. The year I gave up my blade, he taught me all he knew of forging weapons. For a year he worked with me relentlessly in our armory, I think he felt guilty for accepting my weapon that day
.
”

“He always was one of the
most skilled
weapon makers I’ve ever known
, he had immense skill and
patience
. H
e’d be please with your work Elisabeth, tis
’
one of the finest blades I’
ve ever seen,
the detailing on the blade is incredible
.
”

Shifting his broadsword, he sheathed it beside his war sword and looked back at his lovely bride and wrapped his arms around her slim figure, bringing her chest against his. Looking down at her glowing face, “You’
re amazing Elisabeth, you took my breath away when you walked down the aisle tonight, seeing Kendrix walk you down to me warmed my cold heart lass. You’ve
filled a place in my heart,
my family and clan that I didn’t know was empty, I love
you Elisabeth Rosslyn MacMillan
.
”

“
Oh Broderick, I love you
more than you’ll ever know
!
”

They
took their time walking back to the main
hall;
hand in hand they found their wolfhounds waiting
at the base of the
tower patiently waiting for them.
Scottish drums announced their arrival as they entered the great hall; all in attendance stood and joined in cheering for the newly married couple.

Hand in hand Broderick and Elisabeth walked through the sea of happy faces to the head table where Kendrix and Isobel sat.
Taking their places at the head table, Broderick signaled for his clan to be seated. Pulling out Elisabeth’s chair, he watched her gracefully sink into the chair as he tucked it in. Casting his gaze down his table, and over the countless tables before him he nodded to his
clan
, “
Tonight we celebrate, we celebrate life and family. We celebrate the bond of marriage and the start of a new era for our
clan.
”
R
aising his goblet high
,
“to Elisabeth, and to our clan
, may God
cont
inue to smile upon our people, let us celebrate my friends!”

Lifting their goblets, every person in the room lifted their goblets and cheered loudly in
merriment;
celebrations like this were rare in the Highlands. The MacMillan clan took nothing for granted, life was fickle and precious in this troubled time.

Tra
y upon tray of savory foods was
delivered, tankards and goblets were filled with ale and mead, food and drink flowed from the kitchens.

Laughter and music, clanking tankards and voiced filled the hall. The large hearth easily warmed the
large hall as the winter snow lightly fell outside in the dark night.

Broderick and Elisabeth ate their fill, chatting with Kendrix and Isobel throughout the dinner. Couple by couple, clan members took to the floor and danced as the
musicians
struck up a lilting tune, with the drums keeping beat it wasn’t long before the floor filled with kilted warriors and their women.

Casting his eyes over his wife, he smiled as he watched her bounce her foot to the beat of the drums; it w
as easy to see she loved music, unlike the last wedding, he knew to ask her to dance before his brother did.

“Would you like to dance
Wife
?” he asked, grinning at how her face lit up when he called her wife.

“Oh yes, I would love to!” Smiling Elisabeth’s eyes dazzled in the candlelight.

Taking
her
hand, he led her out to the floor so they could join in the merriment with their people.
His chest burst with pride as he watched his wife tonight, she was a goddess. She had touched his heart when he saw her walking down the aisle with his brother; she knew how much family meant to her.

Twirling her
effortlessly
into the dance, he wrapped his arm around her slim waist
and brought her up close to him.
Her smile radiated to his soul, with her in his arms, he felt complete. All around them his friends, his brother and fellow warriors and their wives joined them on the danc
e floor. E
njoying every moment of the night he twirled his bride into a series of tight turns and kissed her forehead as be brought her back into his chest.
He knew many others would want to dance with his fair wife tonight, as he was obligated to dance with a few others as well. Handing her off to Kendrix soon after their dance was completed, he went in search of Old Rhona; he owed the cheerful woman a dance or two.

After hours of dancing and celebrating,
Broderick seized his chance and sna
tched
Elisabeth
out of the great hall
during a break in the music
. H
and in hand, budding sexual desire ripped through them as they walked towards their bedroom.
He was sure his little wife was a tad intoxicated, her face was flushed and he heard her giggle all night.

Dancing with the
buxom
redhead Broderick had found himself staring at her tits more than a few times tonight, she
ensnared
his senses in every way. Her smell, the sound of her laughter, her touch, every
thing she did pulled at him.

More than once Elisabeth had whispered naughty things into his ear as they
danced;
he had found great de
light in building anticipation and his wife’s playfulness.

Next to him he heard her giggle
once again
as
she tripped on
her gown,
tipsy from all
the mead she had drank tonight, Broderick chuckled as he watched her laugh.
Shaking his head, he scooped
her up into his arms and took the stairs two at a time.
He couldn’t wait to pull her gown off, and make her his wife in everyway possible.
 

Ordering the hounds to lay in the hallway, he easily opened the door with her in his arms. Crossing the threshold he claimed her mouth as he kicke
d the door closed behind them.
Sitting her down gently, he watched as her green eyes sparkled as she walked over the fire, slowing removing the pins from her beautiful hair. Curl
af
ter glorious red curl fell over her shoulders as she removed the gold circlet from the top of her head.

Walking around the room he extinguished all the candles one by one, the fireplace was the only source of light.
Watching her every move, he wanted nothing more in his life than this moment. She was his
wife
,
she was everything he ever wanted and more, all night he had been waiting for this moment, she had captured his soul.

Joining her by the fire he slid a hand over her hip and brought her body up against his
. Slowly
he bent down and kissed her wounded shoulder, the scar had been visible all night. He was proud she wasn’t ashamed of her battle wound; he had felt such immense pride today as he watched he
r.
She was the woman meant to stand beside him for the rest of his days; she was soft and kind, but fierce and loyal. Her intuition and int
elligence was a welcome asset as
his partner, he couldn’t imagine being saddled with a flighty woman.

Working his way up her neck he slowly pulled off her gold cuffs and threw them into the chair. Unpinning her broach he discarded that
as well,
kissing her ear he nibbled on her lobe as
he ran his hands over her sensual curves.

Capturing her mouth he gently pulled her laces and the dress fell from his glorious wife in
soft pile at her feet.

Elisabeth stood in his arms,
naked before the fire
. Biting her lip as
she pulled his shirt off his back
,
tossing it aside
,
she placed
hot searing kisses on his chest
.
She felt herself growing wet as she felt his warm hand run over her naked ass and squeeze.

Tugging at his leather kilt belt, she pulled if off with ease
,
letting it
fall to the floor wit
h the rest of their belongings. Her eyes grew wide as she eyed her warrior husband, his muscles rippled beneath her hands as she ran her breasts across his hard chest.
She had never met a man who made her weak in the knees as
Broderick
did.

Hearing him
growl with desire she leaned on her tiptoes and gave him a searing kiss before slowly kneeling before him. The warm firelight bounce
d
off Broderick’s rock hard cock as she ran her tongue down the length of him.
Her hands traced his hips and strong thighs as she explored her husband’s body. Slowly t
aking his velvet shaft in her mouth she heard him moan as she sucked on this thick cock
.
It felt incredible to kneel before her warrior, to please him in such a way. She had never done this before.

Feeling
his
hands sink into her long hair,
she worked her mouth up and down his
throbbing cock
; it felt amazing to have such power over a man like him. She had been waiting
for days to do this
; she wanted Broderick to feel how much she worshipped him. Never had a man held such control over her, vulnerable to her core for opening her heart, she would go to the end of the world for this man.
Today he had showered her with touching gifts, married her and told her he loved her, today he had handed his heart to her.

“Elisabeth, Jesu woman,” Broderick
moaned as he looked down and saw his queen kneeling before him like the goddess she was. The sight of her sucking on his member made him even harder, the sig
ht was intoxicating, erotic.
She made him feel like a king.

Although he’d love to come in her mouth, he had
other plans for their night together.
Pulling out of h
er mouth slowly, he pulled her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a conquering warrior. Hearing her giggle at being handled roughly made him want her even more. He loved how he could toss her around without fear of
hurting her. She liked it rough. R
unning his hand over her bare ass
,
he gave her a little spank before
slowly lowering her down. S
he wrapped her lovely legs around his waist,
his rock hard cock nudged her core as she kissed his neck. S
inking into her he brought her up and down as he held her hips. Elisabeth dug into his back as he flexed his spin
e
sending himself deeper and deeper inside of her.

A storm of ecstasy brewed between them as he backed her into a wall, capturing her mouth, their tongues danced as he pulled out slowly and tortured her into sweet moans.

“Do you like that my queen?” he purred into her ear as he buried himself to the hilt inside of her.

Throwing her head back she teetered on the edge of ecstasy a
s she whispered, “Mmmmmm, yes
husband
”

“Say it again Lis
”
he
demanded
, tilting into her even deeper.

Opening her eyes she ran her hands up into his glorious dark hair and grabbed tight as wicked smile curled on her rosy lips, “
Do you want me
husband?
” she asked in a sultry voice as she rotated her hips in a circular motion on his cock.

Pulling away from the wall Broderick carried her over to the large bed and slowly pulled out of his wife before playfully tossing her open their bed.

Sliding in beside her he grabbed her slim waist and pulled her upon him once more, he loved the sight of her in all her glory riding his cock.

Looking up at his bride, he saw desire in her eyes as he lifted her up and impaled her upon his thick cock “I will always want you
wife
,” he replied as he rolled his hips
with he movement.

Her long hair fel
l to her waist as she rode him into a earth shattering climax, screaming Broderick’s name she felt herself pulsing, wave upon wave, milking Broderick’s velvet shaft as he set a deliberate pace for the both of them.

Joining her in ecstasy moments later Broderick flipped her back over and pounded into her as she wrapped her legs around him before burying himself one last powerful time. Collapsing together in a pile of sweat and skin, the two tangled together in perfect peace as they fell asleep
in each other’s arms
.

Waking first, pointed her toes under the covers and stretched as she felt her husband sleeping peacefully beside her. She loved how warm he kept her, there were benefits sleeping next to a man, she had never been more comfortable and warm in her life. Overly
parched and in need of a drink,
she gently slipped out of bed and
walked across the room to the pitche
r. Pouring a cup of water, she heard movement
behind her. Looking over her shoulder
,
her extremely handsome husband was
watching her with
a smile up
on his face, the sheets crumpled around his waist, his hair a glorious mess.

“Good morning wife
.
”

Smiling brightly, she replied, “G
ood morning husband
” crinkling her nose as raised her glass to him an
d winked at
him. Taking
a l
ong drink of water she sat the cup down
and started to walk back towards her lover
.

Almost instantly the
room started to spin. Stumbling she grabbed for the chair as
she fell to the ground, in the background of her haze she could hear Broderick screaming her name as her world went black.