“Can you believe I feel the same way about you?” Allyson cupped Ewan jaw in her small hands as she gazed into his emerald orbs.
“I can. If ye feel for me what I feel for ye, then aye.” Ewan kissed her cheek before lowering her to the ground. “Ally, our conversation has jumped aboot quite a bit. I want to be sure ye understand the most important thing. I willna ever force ye. Never.”
“I know, mo chridhe. You’ve never struck me as the type who would. Before, it was because I assumed no woman would ever turn you away.That still crosses my mind, but now I understand it’s not in your nature to abuse women.”
“Do ye ken that aught we do, alone or together, isnae an egregious sin? What happens between a mon and a woman is between them and God’s eyes. If He doesnae smite them, then there is naught to confess. I amnae going to allow a mon who’s never been with a woman to condemn me for something he has nay knowledge of.”
“Shh. First, you tell me you talk to God directly. Now you’re rejecting God’s emissaries on earth. Perhaps I shouldn’t stand too close, or His lightning bolt might strike me, too.” Allyson grinned before kissing Ewan playfully on the tip of his nose.
“Ally, on our ride home and this evening in ma chamber, I gave a lot of consideration to how things stand. We dinna have to handfast or have a wedding at the kirk to be married.”
“How can--” Allyson’s eyes widened before a smile emerged. “Consummation would make the betrothal binding. It would mean we are wed regardless of any ceremonies.”
“Mo aingeal, our situation keeps changing so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up. I meant what I said this afternoon, that I wouldnae make love to ye until ye’re ma wife. But all that yer mother said and what Eoin told us, changes things yet again. I want to be sure ye have the protection of ma name nae just ma sword.”
“Are you saying that we make our betrothal a real marriage?”
“I think we ken it’s inevitable. But I dinna want ye to fear I’m suggesting this as a practicality. I love ye, Allyson, and I want to make love to ye. I want ye to be my wife in all ways.”
“You know I already welcome the idea of coupling, but it does mean more that we’ve confessed our feelings are stronger than just fondness. Whether or not joining with you provides me security as your wife, I want to show you how I feel, Ewan.”
“I want the same, Ally. I want ye to ken just how deeply I care aboot ye.”
Ewan met Allyson halfway as their mouths fused together, their kiss passionate and urgent. Allyson fumbled to unpin the broach at Ewan’s shoulder, forcing them to pull apart long enough for Ewan to drop the pin into his sporran before unfastening his belt. His plaid fell away as Allyson shed her robe. Her mouth fell open at the sight of Ewan’s bare body once he stripped off his leine.
“I thought—I mean, I imagined—I—holy Mary, Mother of God, you are like a Greek statue,” Allyson babbled. She reached out her hands and ran them over the expanse of his chest, and when she finished exploring, Ewan untied the ribbons of her chemise. It was his turn to ogle.
“Ye are a goddess come to life, Allyson. I should have said so earlier. I promise to make love to ye all night, but I fear ye may nae enjoy the moment our bodies join. I will do all that I can to make it good for ye.” Ewan’s concern made Allyson’s heart melt. She pressed her much smaller body against his, enjoying the feeling she’d discovered earlier that day.
“I know you’ll be gentle. I don’t want to keep waiting. Not now that there’s no reason.”
Ewan eased Allyson onto the tapestry and came down beside her. He caressed the valley between her breasts before brushing his fingers over her nipples. When he took one into his mouth, Allyson couldn’t contain her moan. Her hand sought Ewan’s length, and when she found it, she wrapped her hand around it, stroking until Ewan released his own growl. Ewan alternated breasts, licking, sucking, and nipping as Allyson arched her back in offering. His hand skimmed over her belly until his finger delved into her entrance. He marveled at how wet she already was, her dew soaking her nether lips and the inside of her thighs.
“Yer body is telling me it’s ready for mine, but nae yet.” Ewan whispered as he sank two fingers into Allyson’s sheath. The sensation only made her ache for more, knowing that his cock was far thicker and longer than his fingers. He inched his way down her body, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake until his mouth fastened on her bud. He worked the bundle of nerves until Allyson was overwhelmed with need, her mewling cries telling him she drew closer to release. When her muscles clenched and spasmed around his fingers, he shifted his body over hers and lined up his cock with her entrance. The moment he saw her relax, but before the euphoria wore off, he plunged into her. Allyson gasped, her muscles tensing around Ewan’s rod. He feared he would spill himself with how tight her sheath was around his rod. If he’d thought her mouth on him earlier had been divine, he had no words to express the feeling of being inside his bride. She whimpered as she adjusted to the receding pain and the invasion.
“Mo ghaol, breathe. I will wait until the pain fades.”Even if it kills me.
“It’s fading. It just feels odd, or I should say different. You being inside me somehow soothes one need while inflaming another. I don’t ache as I did while you readied me, but now I need to move, to feel you move. Is that what’s supposed to happen?”
“Aye,” Ewan panted. Allyson’s comments were testing the last shreds of his restraint. And when Allyson shifted, raising her hips and flexing, Ewan looked to her for permission. She nodded once and Ewan began to move. He rocked his hips, giving her a chance to become accustomed to the sensation. When she gripped his backside, pulling him toward her, he withdrew most of the way and surged into her.
“Yes,” she murmured. “I want you so damn much.”
“Ye have me. All of me, Ally. I’m all yers forever.”
They moved together over and over, thrusting and rocking as they found a rhythm that drove them both over the edge. They stifled their screams of ecstasy with a deep kiss before Ewan settled his weight onto his forearms, fearing he would squash Allyson if he pressed all his weight against her. But Allyson wanted no space between them, wrapping her arms and legs around him, encouraging him to rest against him. When he relented, Allyson knew he still bore much of his weight, but their bodies melded together from stem to stern. They lay like that until Ewan noticed Allyson’s breathing became more labored. He rolled them, so he was on the bottom and Allyson lay strewn across his chest. Her hair tumbling over her shoulders and his chest. His hand stroked her backside as they exchanged small kisses.
“That was different, wasn’t it?” Allyson whispered. She’d heard the matrons and widows who took lovers talk about coupling, and nothing they’d described resembled anything Allyson just experienced.
“It was. I never guessed aught would be so intimate as what I shared with ye.” Ewan glanced down at Allyson, who looked up at him. “I gave ye a piece of ma soul.”
“In exchange for a piece of mine.”
“Ally, I love ye. There can be nay doubt in ma mind now. Nae after that. I never imagined a physical act would have such a cataclysmic effect on ma emotions. I’m yer husband now, and I have never been happier.”
“I love you, too, Ewan. And I assumed it would be good after the other things we’ve done, but I hadn’t a clue it would be like that. I understand why they keep virgins ignorant, or at least try to. Can we do it again?”
Ewan chuckled as he kissed the top of her head. “Aye. Many, many times.”
