Ewan clenched his eyes shut and shook his head with such regret Allyson feared he might cry. “You said yourself that the church might overturn a handfast during Lent. I will marry you, and there is naught anyone can do to stop me, but I won’t destroy your reputation in the process. You will enter our marriage just as everyone intended.”
“And if I don’t want to wait? If I want to make this choice myself?”
“Ally, I’m not trying to take it away from you. I’m scared.”
“Scared? Of what? That I might bite?”
Ewan’s nose flared, and Allyson realized her comment was more potent than she realized. She patted the water in front of her, but Ewan shook his head again.
“Allyson, the greatest revelation to come out of this, besides your affection, is rediscovering my honor. You made me confront my self-centeredness and how it affects others, particularly you. I can’t go back on it. I can’t fail you.”
“Your honor is becoming overrated. I doubt you gave your coupling this much consideration in the past,” Allyson grumbled.
“Because that was fucking, and I want to make love to you.” Ewan’s frustration got the better of him, and the moment the vulgar word left his mouth, shame filled him. Allyson was a lady, not a tavern wench. Ewan turned his head away, too ashamed to look at Allyson. He’d been trying to be a gentleman and instead sounded little better than a dockhand.
“Do you believe I’ve never heard that word before?”
“Mayhap you have, but not directed at you.”
Allyson’s laughter filled the chamber, and Ewan glared at her. “What do you think men at court offered? Some might have attempted to seduce me with flowery words, but most were forthright in what they wanted. That word is rather versatile. It encompasses a great deal.”
“Allyson, it doesn’t mean I should use it around you. So much for honorable behavior.”
Once more Allyson laughed. “Are you worried you’ll corrupt me? Teach me naughty habits? I’m two-and-twenty. You’re not suddenly going to lead me astray. I survived hearing it before, and I haven’t dissolved into tears because of it.” Allyson reached for the soap and lathered it between her hands, then began to wash her hair but paused. “I’d hoped you’d help me with this.”
Ewan pulled the lone stool in the chamber to the side of the tub and ran his hands through her hair, taking over the task of washing the long blond locks.
“Allyson, you are a test of my patience and willpower.” Ewan dropped a kiss where Allyson’s shoulder met her neck. “You made me want to become a better mon, one I can respect. Even if you’re the one to try to knock me off the straight and narrow path, I want to show you I can withstand temptation. I want you to respect me for that too.”
“I suppose I’d be rather horrid if I kept pushing you. But to be clear, I respect you and trust you, Ewan. I’ve seen the changes in you. You were prepared to fight my brother to defend my honor. A lesser man would have skirted the issue. A lesser man wouldn’t have accepted sleeping alongside me on the cold floor night after night without coupling when you have a bed,” Allyson waved toward his cot. “Or found enjoyment in another woman’s arms. But you didn’t. You’re the one who wants to wait, and I don’t think you’re urging us to wait because you’re easing your need elsewhere. I think you’re sacrificing for me.”
“Ally, there is no enjoyment to be found in another woman’s arms. And it’s not a sacrifice to wait if it means I’ll be your husband.”
“Ew, you are a test of my patience and willpower.” Allyson turned his words around on him as she leaned her head back into his hands as he continued to scrub her hair. Her eyes drifted closed as she marveled at his gentle touch. He cradled her scalp as he poured fresh water over her hair, then lathered soap on a linen square. He ran the cloth over her neck and shoulders before sweeping it up and down each arm. When he moved to Allyson’s breasts, he abandoned the cloth and lathered the soap onto his hands before kneading the mounds. It was the first time he held them unencumbered by clothing. They were small but high, making it easy to reach as Allyson’s head rested back on his chest. He circled her nipples with his thumbs until they tightened into pebbles he rolled between his fingers, tugging and lengthening before repeating his movements.
Allyson’s moan had his bollocks aching for release. His cock throbbed as he drove himself toward madness, touching and feasting his eyes on a body he longed to join his with. Allyson shifted restlessly in the water, sloshing it against the sides. She reached back and pulled his head close enough to press her mouth to his, her tongue demanding entry into his mouth. Ewan shifted around the side of the tub, making it easier for Allyson to deepen the kiss. One hand cupped her head while the other wandered between her breasts, down her belly, until it reached the thatch of hair that covered her mound. Allyson let her knees drop wide, pushing her hips up to meet Ewan’s questing fingers. When he slid a digit into her entrance, she drew his tongue into her mouth, mimicking an action she’d heard of at court. Each time they’d been alone, Ewan had been attentive to her needs and pleasure, and Allyson not only felt guilty but grew impatient to lavish the same attention on Ewan.
“Ew, I want to touch you and taste you,” Allyson panted. “I need to know what you feel like in my hand, against me. Please.” She wasn’t above begging.
“Let me tend to you first then you may do as you like to me.” When Ewan caught the mischievous gleam in Allyson’s eyes, he added a caveat. “Except taking me into you.”
“That assumes I’m only thinking of your cock in my quim. I’m aware I can take you into my mouth,” Allyson purred. Ewan jerked back and nearly fell over, he was so stunned by her comment. “I heard Lady Bevan, Lady MacAdams, and your aunt talking about it one day. I was on a walk with the queen and the other ladies, but I stopped because my hem snagged a nettle. While I attempted to untangle it without touching the itchy plant, I heard the three of them speaking on the other side of a hedge. I admit I listened. I’d never imagined such a thing, and I couldn’t help my curiosity. Until now, I never thought I’d want to do something that seemed so—so—indelicate, but—” Allyson trailed off as her eyes lowered to where Ewan’s sporran hid his painful arousal. “I want you to teach me. If it’s aught as good as what you’ve done with your mouth, I desperately want to give you that pleasure.”
Allyson didn’t wait for Ewan’s response. She stood and wrapped a drying linen around her before grabbing one to wrap around her hair. Ewan’s hands went around her waist as he lifted her out of the tub. He pulled the linen from her body and hurriedly ran it over her, rubbing her skin until it was a rosy red. As Allyson toweled her hair, Ewan rushed to stoke the fire, adding a cheery heat to the usually draughty chamber. She stood aside as he pulled the bed before the fire. Leaving the linens on the stool, Allyson floated across the chamber until she stood beside Ewan and the bed. She dropped to her knees and unlaced the boots that encased his calves. He toed them off before she rolled down his stocking, marveling at the feel of the muscles in his calves as she ran her hands over them. When she reached for the hem of his plaid, he scooped her up and laid her on the bed.
She had no time to object before Ewan settled between her legs, his thumbs separating her nether lips. His tongue delved into her like a thirsty man searching for succor. Allyson could do little more than grip the bedsheets as her hips undulated to the rhythm Ewan created as he sucked on her bud. Need drove them both. Allyson recognized the muscles in her core drawing tight as the wave of release built, then crashed over her. Need drove Ewan to push Allyson over the edge as he continued his onslaught, never taking his eyes off Allyson as he watched her expressions shift with each sensation he built within her.
Ewan was unprepared for how quickly Allyson would pounce once he raised his body over hers. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and twisted, throwing all of her weight onto him. She lay stretched on top of him, and his hands flew to her backside, cupping and squeezing the bare flesh. She shifted to straddle him as she unbuckled his belt, pulling it from under him.
“Take off,” she demanded as she flung the belt and sporran to the floor. She slowed her movements when she unfastened the broach that held the long swatch of plaid to Ewan’s leine. He sat up as she pushed and tugged until he was free of the shirt, and her hands caressed his suntanned skin. “Do you train often without your leine?”
“Aye. While I believe it’s important to train with it on, despite how tight and cumbersome it can become when it’s plastered to me with sweat, at times, it is too annoying to ignore.”
Allyson ran her hands through the golden curls that covered the deep valley between his chest muscles. She’d seen men training shirtless both at Redheugh and Stirling, but no man had resembled Ewan. His broad shoulders nearly stretched the width of the bed. The chiseled muscles of his abdomen flexed and rippled with each breath, and she’d nearly drooled when they bunched together as he pulled his leine over his head. An idea flashed into her mind. She leaned forward and ran the flat of her tongue over his nipple, eliciting a laugh that morphed into a deep groan when she bit it. She was careful not to make it painful, but Ewan’s reaction was immediate. He rolled them until Allyson lay beneath him, his strength proving that he’d allowed her to position them with her on top. Her fingers traced the dips and sinews of his shoulders as they strained while Ewan held his body away from Allyson’s.
“I believe I like this view the best,” Allyson murmured.
“View?”
