“Emelie, I love ye. I will always fight for ye. I am a better mon than I was before I met ye. Ye’ve made me learn a great deal aboot maself, nae all of which I’ve always liked. But I needed to see it. I want to be a husband ye can always rely on and trust. I canna promise that I will always be able to put ye and our bairns ahead of duty, but ye will always come first in ma heart.”
“Dominic, you’ve been exactly the mon I’ve needed through all of this. My protector, my friend, my confidant, my lover. Our lives together might have started as a solution to our own problems, but all I can see down the road is a life built with you. I knew people married for love, but until I married you, I didn’t understand what that meant. I might never have known what I was missing if I’d married someone else. But I will be grateful to my last breath that you stumbled upon me in that garden and took an enormous risk with me. I love you more fiercely than I could have imagined.”
Someone knocking at the door interrupted their heartfelt moment, but they both sighed when they discovered servants waited with the tub and buckets. Dominic wasted no time diving into the tub and scrubbing himself clean. Emelie teased, pointing out spots he missed that required him to twist and turn as his muscles flexed to avoid getting his stitches wet. He came to stand beside her, and she kneeled as she helped dry him. Dominic was clear when he refused the servants when they returned to get the tub. He would have no more interruptions. He climbed into bed, helping Emelie remove her clothes and turn to her side. Her hands explored his body, feather-soft touches combined with more demanding kisses.
When her hand brushed his rod, they both moaned. She wrapped her hand around his length, stroking him. Dominic’s mouth sought her breast, his tongue flicking her nipple over and over as Emelie arched toward him. He drew her into his mouth, swirling his tongue over the puckered flesh before suckling. Emelie’s grip tightened as she continued to fist him, but she was determined to do all that she promised. While it was somewhat awkward, she positioned herself between Dominic’s legs while he propped himself up with pillows. The most erotic sights he’d ever seen were when his wife’s mouth pleasured him, though he thought watching her ride him and watching his cock slide into her from behind were top contenders for the designation.
Emelie bent over Dominic, her tongue sweeping the broad head of his cock before flicking the tip. She slid her tongue down the length, cupping and rolling his bollocks as she went. She tantalized and teased, moving in no hurry until Dominic shifted, restless and eager. Her mouth consumed his length until it pressed against the back of her throat. Reminding herself to relax and breathe through her nose, she worked his rod until she felt him twitch and his bollocks contracted. She withdrew her mouth and stroked him until his seed splattered her chest. She swiped a finger through the viscous cream and licked it clean.
Dominic reached between Emelie’s legs, finding her pearl. Careful not to press within her entrance, he worked the aroused nerves until Emelie rocked against his hand. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, as she tried to keep her balance when her eyes drifted shut. While they hadn’t coupled since Emelie’s injuries, they’d fondled and pleasured one another over and over. Despite their limitations, neither was dissatisfied with the situation. It had only made them more creative.
“Dom,” Emelie panted. “Nora came to see me today to make certain I fared well through all of this upset. I know we weren’t supposed to let anyone in, but it was Nora. We talked quietly, so the men couldn’t hear. I asked her—” Emelie swallowed as she tried to concentrate on her words, but it was a struggle as her body hurtled toward release. “—if we could couple again. She still isn’t convinced we should. But she suggested we—” Emelie moaned as her core tightened. She abandoned trying to speak as pleasure crashed over her and swept her away in ecstasy. Her mouth sought Dominic’s, suddenly starving for his kiss. While they’d both found release, neither was sated.
“What did she suggest?” Dominic asked.
“She was rather blunt.” Emelie blushed but pushed on since she’d brought it up. “She made it clear that my hand and my mouth aren’t the only places you could be, even if you can’t be in my quim.” Emelie prayed Dominic understood her meaning. The shocked look on his face told her he did.
“Nora suggested yer arse?” Dominic guffawed. “She’s been a widow for years, but I remember she was a wild one when I was a wean. It shouldnae surprise me.”
“You’re not disgusted that I brought it up?”
“I wouldnae have because I didna want to insult ye or make ye fear I expected it,” Dominic shrugged. Emelie’s eyes narrowed.
“It doesn’t sound like such a foreign idea to you.” Emelie tried not to sound accusatory, but she suspected she failed.
“Em, I’m several years aulder than ye. Even if I hadnae been married before—and nay to that,” Dominic said pointedly. He would end her curiosity about Colina without mentioning the woman’s name. “I was with other women before. I never wanted to sire a bastard, and I dinna trust whores nae to spread something.”
“So it’s something only whores do?” Emelie asked, utterly humiliated that she brought it up, and annoyed Nora would mention it.
“I didna say that. I said I already kenned it was an option. And aye, I ken from experience. But I have never thought of ye as a whore. Ye are a woman I’m attracted to beyond reason, but ye’re also nae in a position to couple with me right now. I’ve thought aboot having ye just aboot everywhere and in every way, but this wasna something I would suggest. And coupling will never be more important than yer health and wellbeing, sparrow. Never,” Dominic insisted before he kissed her cheek. “If ye wish to explore, then I will because I wish to pleasure ye and to share all intimacies with ye. But I will think nay less of ye if we do or if we dinna.”
“Can it be pleasurable for us both? I can only imagine it being good for the mon. I don’t mind that,” Emelie rushed to add. “I want to be intimate with you the way we were before. I want us to join not just to climax, but to be one. That sounds ridiculously naive.” Emelie shook her head, embarrassed by what sounded lame to her own ears.
“It is neither ridiculous nor naive. I miss being one with ye, but I still feel connected to ye in other ways. Em, we can go slowly. If ye dinna like it or it scares ye, we stop immediately.” Dominic’s final words weren’t offered as a compromise or platitude so much as a command. Emelie nodded and looked at a vial of oil that sat on her bedside table.
“Nora said the oil would help,” Emelie whispered. Dominic followed her gaze and realized she was right. He hadn’t considered such an aid before because the women in his past were far more experienced than he’d been as a curious, callow man. He’d never worried about them as he did Emelie.
“Do ye wish to try now, or do ye need to rest? It’s been a long morning for ye.” Dominic realized he might be pushing Emelie too much. They’d been awake for hours, and normally Emelie would be napping after so much activity.
“I think I shall sleep soundly after this.” Emelie winked and nudged Dominic to get the vial. Moving slowly, Dominic positioned Emelie onto her hands and knees. Their height difference and her belly necessitated the position. He readied his body and hers with the oil before he pressed against her rosebud.
“Relax,mo ghaol. I will go slowly. I can only imagine how odd it will feel at first. Tell me immediately if ye wish me to stop.”
“I will.”
Emelie pressed her hips back as the tip of Dominic’s cock eased into her rear passage. She flinched and gripped the bedding, blowing air out through her nose. She told herself to relax as Dominic waited for her. She nodded, and he pulled back on her hips, gradually allowing her body to take more of him. His hand slid around to her mons, his fingers slipping through the dew between her legs. With his fingers damp, he sought her pearl once more. He rocked his hips as he worked her nub. His other hand sought her breast, kneading it before tugging and pinching her nipple.
“Dom,” Emelie moaned. Dominic froze, not knowing what to make of the sound. “I didn’t believe I would enjoy it, but holy mother and all the saints. Or rather the devil and all the demons.”
“Do ye want me to keep going?” Dominic needed to hear her say it because he would never forgive himself if he misunderstood.
“Och, aye,” Emelie mumbled, the first hints of a genuine Highland brogue slipping into her speech. She wiggled her hips, making Dominic groan and grasp them.
“Dinna do that, sparrow. Ye push me to the edge of control. Ma body wants to fuck ye, while ma heart wants to make love to ye. And ma mind is telling me I’m a wretched husband for bedding ma pregnant wife when ye’re on bedrest.”
“I like your body. Your heart is already in the right place. And your mind can haud its wheesht.” Emelie wiggled her hips again, turning Dominic’s chuckle into a groan. He pressed slightly deeper, then rocked his hips as his hands continued to work Emelie’s body. It wasn’t long before they both catapulted into their climax, their bodies trembling together as they spasmed. Dominic eased away from Emelie, helping her trembling body behind the screen to give her a moment of privacy. When she was through, she sagged against him still breathless. “I can only imagine what that’ll be like when I’m not with child. Jesus and all the angels, I had no idea.”
“Ye didna mind it?” Dominic whispered as he carried her to bed and arranged them against the pillow.
