She struggled to calm her heavy breathing so
that she could tell him, “I have never known—”
His finger silenced her. “From this day on
you will know what it truly means to be loved.”
Her mind and body rejoiced at his words.
Love.
She had truly found love.
He pressed his cheek to hers. “Now feel the
magic.”
His fingers moved over her body, touching
her ever so lightly, a faint brush of flesh against flesh. Her skin
felt alive and sensitive to every stroke of his fingers. Her body
warmed, her breathing grew heavy, and she grew moist between her
legs. He was exciting her beyond reason.
He lingered over her flat stomach, purposely
prolonging his descent, adding to the anticipation, the passion,
the need to be touched. She moved almost to a rhythmic beat beneath
his hand. Her body seemed to understand what he asked of her, and
she responded accordingly. She herself did not understand the ache
that throbbed deep inside her, but she did not fear it nor fight
it, she simply savored it.
When she thought he would settle his touch
between her legs, he surprised her by sitting up and running his
feather touch down over her thighs, along her calves and her feet.
He did the same to her other leg, but this time when his fingers
drifted to between her legs, he gently and slowly parted them.
Then he touched; a whispered touch that sent
a wave of pleasure so potent that her moan echoed throughout the
small cottage.
“You like that?” he asked, though he sounded
like he knew the answer.
Her moan faded faintly in the room. “Very
much.”
“Then you will like this even more.” He
moved down between her legs and began to stroke her with his
tongue.
She was lost. The world no longer existed.
Nothing mattered but this moment, his touch, and his love. She had
not known that making love could be so beautiful, so satisfying,
and so unselfish.
His finger found her wet flesh and slowly
stroked her before slipping gently deep inside her. With each
penetrating stroke her moans grew louder and louder, and she was
certain that in no time she would climax and the exquisite beauty
they shared would end.
“You must stop,” she pleaded, “or I will
proceed you.”
“I want to taste your climax.”
His words excited her, but memories invaded
her passion, and she remembered how her husband’s temper would
flare if she should receive pleasure before him.
“And besides, I will make you come again and
again before we finish.”
“Nay, that is not possible.”
He laughed. “I am going to show you just how
possible that is.”
His tongue licked, his finger worked magic,
and she screamed with the pleasure of her first true climax.
She could not believe the earth-shattering
sensation that shook her body then faded into a ripple but refused
to entirely die, and it was on that ripple that he stirred her
passion once again. And she could not believe that she responded
eagerly.
When she thought she had experienced all the
pleasure that was possible, he entered her. His strong arms wrapped
around her, bringing her up against his chest, her own arms going
around his broad back, and they moved together like a perfectly
matched pair, exploding together in a powerful climax.
She called out his name, he moaned, resting
his face to hers, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye,
for she realized that she had finally found a love that was
real.
“Are you all right?” he asked anxiously as
he moved off her and saw the single tear. “I have not hurt you,
have I?”
“Nay, nay, you have made me feel like—” She
was at a loss for words. “I never imagined it to be so
wonderful.”
“It is wonderful when two people love and
share in the lovemaking.”
“Aye,” she agreed with a smile. “It makes
all the difference.”
Her stomach rumbled in hunger and she
blushed.
He laughed and hugged her to him. “I am as
hungry as you, only my stomach does not protest loudly.”
She sat up with excitement. “Let us make a
grand meal to celebrate.”
“Aye,” he said, running his hand up her arm.
“Our love is something that should be celebrated.”
She felt no shyness with him. How could she
when he had touched her in all ways possible? She leaned down and
kissed his cheek, then tenderly kissed his lips.
In a soft yet strong voice she said, “I love
you.”
~ ~ ~
Brianna grew stronger every day and found
joy in every moment she spent with Royce. They laughed often and
loved just as often. She sometimes wondered if perhaps it was all a
dream and that she would wake to find herself recovering from her
accident. She would pinch herself time and again to make certain
she was awake and then laugh at her own foolishness.
Then she would worry that she had unwisely
fallen in love and then admonish herself for being foolhardy with
her own worrisome thoughts.
Royce was the complete opposite of her. He
simply accepted how he felt and insisted that she felt the same
way, so, therefore, there was no problem.
“Your brother will clearly see how much we
love each other and consent to our union,” he said to her one
morning when they had taken but a few steps outside the
cottage.
The weather had calmed, her pain had
subsided, and he had taken her outside once before since she had
complained about needing fresh air. It was now a daily occurrence
for them to walk near the cottage each day, weather permitting.
Today the sun was strong, white clouds
floated in a brilliant blue sky, the air was crisp, and she stood
beside him, stunned.
“Our union?” she repeated.
He seemed to think nothing of his remark and
adjusted his fur around her. “Aye, we will wed soon after our
return.”
“You have decided this?” she asked with a
hint of annoyance.
He grinned, shook his head, then leaned down
and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “I have handled this
poorly and without thought. My love for you blinds me to proper
manners, though if I was to do this properly, then it is your
brother I should approach and request permission to take you as my
wife.”
Brianna had to smile. “I will be the one who
decides whom I wed, and how can I decide that when I have not been
asked?”
He laughed and the strong sound echoed in
the stillness of the surrounding woods. “We will wed, of that I am
certain, but I will appease your romantic side and properly request
your hand in marriage.”
If she had not been aware of his tender
side, she would have taken affront to his arrogant proposal that
they would wed merely because he was certain of it. But she could
not be angry with him, for she understood that he spoke from his
heart and in his own way. She waited patiently for him to ask.
After he made certain his fur was secure
around her, he took her hand and made ready to walk with her.
She stood firm where she was and asked, “Do
you not intend to ask me?”
“Aye, in time.”
“In time? Why not at this moment?”
“It will not do.”
Her eyes rounded. “Will not do? And why
not?”
“You expect it.”
If her eyes could have widened further, they
would have. “You confuse me. You tell me we will wed, you tell me
you will ask me, and now you tell me I expect it.” She shook her
head.
He took her in his arms. “I am not your
common man. I am strong in my thought and opinion, and when I make
a decision, there is no changing it. I am used to following my own
way of things and having my own way.”
“I have become accustomed to the same
luxury.”
He smiled. “Then we will match wits
often.”
“You do not mind defeat, then?” she asked
with a serious tone, though there was a twinkle in her eyes. His
grin portrayed his confidence. “I have known only victory.”
“Then prepare for your first defeat,” she
challenged with her own confidence.
His laugh was hardy and he threw his arms
wide. “Do I look as though you can defeat me?”
She looked him over and with an arrogant
confidence wiggled her pinky in front of his face.
He smiled and shook his head in disbelief.
“Are you brave or foolish?”
“Foolishly brave.”
He gave her a quick kiss. “I love you.”
Her heart skipped several beats and she
sighed. “I still cannot believe that I have fallen so very much in
love with you.”
“It was my good looks that won you.”
She laughed this time. “Aye, your looks
certainly captured me when first we met.”
He leaned his forehead to hers. “And now do
my looks capture you?”
She brushed his lips with hers and cupped
his cheek with her hand. “Aye, you are my handsome hero.”
“Hero? I am your hero?” He looked
startled.
She seemed as surprised as he. “Why would
you not be my hero? You rescued me from death and tended me back to
health with a tender hand and heart. You are a true hero.”
He appeared to drift off in thought as he
spoke. “Heroes often spill blood.”
She knew his thoughts were elsewhere in a
place that brought him pain. She wished to ease his suffering.
“Come walk with me.”
He did so, taking her hand in his as they
strolled slowly away from the cottage.
Silence followed their trail, their leather
boots leaving imprints in the snow that remained on the ground. It
had been a week since the last snow, which had been but a
sprinkling, and the ground had remained untouched except for their
recent footprints. They walked on the carpet of white hand in
hand.
“I have spilled much blood, Brianna,” Royce
said, feeling she was owed some truth about him.
“You are a warrior; like most it could not
be helped.”
“I will spill more. The Highlands are in
turmoil and the fighting will continue until we are left in
peace.”
She feared the fighting would never end, for
those who led would always be hungry for more power and wealth.
“I wonder if peace will ever be found for
the Highlands.”
“We will not know if we do not try, and if I
do not try, my children will also bear arms, and I would prefer
them to live in peace.”
She stopped abruptly and looked up at him
with round sad eyes. “I cannot give you children. You know
this.”
It seemed not to bother him. He simply said,
“We will see.
She remained insistent. “Nay, Royce, I can
bear you no sons or daughters.”
His badly bruised and battered eye was
healing nicely, and she could now see the vibrant darkness in both
his eyes. And she could understand how the intense dark color could
intimidate.
“My seed is potent.”
“Aye, I am sure it is.” Reluctantly she
added, “But I am not fertile, so your seed falls on barren
soil.”
He smiled with his next remark. “I repeat. I
have known no defeat.”
She did not smile. “And I do not wish for
your first defeat to be so disappointing.” She waited a moment
before she expressed a concern that tore at her heart. “If it is
children you hope for, perhaps you should think twice before
wedding me.”
His tongue was sharp and quick. “Perhaps you
should think twice before speaking foolishly.”
She took an abrupt step away from him. “You
are being foolish to think I can give you something I cannot.”
“You are being foolish if you think that it
matters.”
She grew annoyed. “Your own words tell me
this.”
“I want children and I feel we will have
children, but if I am wrong—and I know that I am not—it makes no
difference. I love you and I will wed you.”
Sadness filled her eyes along with a
glistening of tears. “You say this now, but what happens if no
children come along? Will you not be disappointed with me? Will
your love for me fade? Will you—”
“Stop!” His powerful shout echoed through
the woods.
She stood as still and straight as the trees
that surrounded them.
He grabbed hold of her shoulders and fixed
his eyes on hers. “Listen well to me. I am twenty and eight, long
past the age most men take a wife. I have waited to wed, for I
wished to find a special woman to love. I swore when I found her
that I would make her mine forever and that I would love her
forever. The love I have for her and she for me will be the most
important thing in my life, and with the passing years it will
deepen and grow. Nothing matters but that love.”
He took a breath and his dark eyes softened
along with his voice. “I have found that love in you, Brianna. I
want nothing more but for us to love. What follows I will accept as
long as you remain by my side and love me forever.”
Tears trickled down her face. Words failed
her. Actions did not. She wrapped her arms around him and laid her
head on his chest. She listened to the hard, steady beating of his
heart, felt his warmth seep into her, and knew then what to
say.
She looked up at him. “I will take your seed
often and pray for a miracle.”
He smiled and cupped her face in his large
hands.
“This you promise me?”
“Aye, I promise you.” Her own smile was
wide.
“And if I suggest that we return to the
cottage and start on that promise?”
A teasing twinkle replaced her tears. “I
would suggest that you carry me, for it would make for a quicker
return to the cottage.”
He roared with laughter and swung her up
into his arms, his hasty retreat leaving heavy footprints in the
snow.
Brianna lay beside Royce, her head resting
on his shoulder. It was near dawn and she woke with a strange
feeling. Royce slept quietly, no worrisome thoughts disturbing him.
She could not do the same. She felt uneasy, as though something was
about to happen.
What it was she did not know, but it
disturbed her.