“Just the one, m’lady.” His kisses burned a trail along her neck and behind her ear, sealing the promise like a searing brand. He scooped her up into his arms and cradled her like a babe. “That doorway?” He turned toward the arched portal, the one painted a deep red because that was her favorite color.
“Aye, but take care.” She tucked her face into the curve of his throat, her courage and the rightness of this brave decision making her heart pound until it rendered her breathless. “Dullis’s room is to the right as soon as ye enter.” She lifted her head and gave him a warning look. “She said she chose it to better guard me.”
“Then we must take care not to disturb her.” The subdued rumbling of his quiet amusement tickled against her. “I am sure yer Dullis is verra fierce.”
“She is indeed.”
With every step closer to her bedchamber, her heart beat faster until she thought she would surely swoon. It had been so very long, and she was no longer a shy, bumbling young lass. She was a woman and knew what she needed. “There. That door is mine.”
He crossed the cozy expanse of her small solar in naught but three strides, shouldered open the door, and stepped inside. Just past the threshold he eased her down to her feet and took hold of both her hands. “Ye are certain of this, m’lady?”
“Elspet,” she gently corrected. “And yes. I am certain. One night.” Nervousness tickled the corners of her mouth upward into a weak smile. “One night is to be my boon, ye ken?”
“So be it.” He closed the door and lowered the wooden bar across it. With a glance back at her, he gave a slow, reassuring wink. “To protect me from Dullis, aye?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, went to the hearth, stirred the banked coals, and added a stick of wood. More for light than warmth, since the lone candle flickering on the mantel did little else than mark the hours. The notched wax above the nail waiting to melt free and hit the metal plate on the hour before sunrise reassured her that a generous span of time was left to be enjoyed.
“I have naught but wine here in my room. Would ye care for a glass?” She gripped the edge of the small sideboard beside the bed. A churning mix of nervousness, yearning, and anticipation toyed with her balance. “I wish I had thought to bring the whisky,” she added, cursing her mindless blethering. She stared at the lone glass beside the bottle of wine. There wasn’t even a second glass. What could she do? Another trip past Dullis’s doorway risked waking the slumbering beast.
“I need ye, Elspet. Nothing more.”
She sensed him behind her, standing so close she tingled with the wanting of his touch. With a slow turn, she faced him and slid her hands up his hard ridges of muscle. “Such a broad chest,” she whispered, not meaning to say the words aloud. A nervous gasp escaped her as she looked up at him, needing to explain. “It has been a verra long time since…” The ability to speak left her.
With a tender, leisurely caress, he combed her hair back from her face, then allowed the heavy tresses to slide through his fingers. “We will take our time with the ancient dance.” He kissed her forehead, then her mouth, then brushed a whisper across her lips. “We will savor every sensation, every touch, every pleasure.”
“Aye,” she agreed with a hitching breath. Trapped within his gaze, she tugged free the strapping that kept the thick casing of her leather armor in place.
“Allow me to help.” He lifted it over her head, leaving her in nothing but her linen tunic and the snug protective leggings she had reinforced with leather patching.
Before she lost her nerve, she untied the flap of her trews and slipped them off, leaving her in nothing but her liéne. The sudden memory of the faded, shimmering scars that rippled on either side of her taut belly made her hesitate. What if he had never been with a woman who had borne a child? Would the marks repulse him?
She bunched the hem of her shirt in her hands and ripped it off over her head. “My body isna perfect, ye ken?” She swallowed hard and lifted her chin. “But I proudly bear the scars of motherhood.”
His expression unreadable, he dropped to his knees, took hold of her buttocks, and pulled her close enough to flick the tip of his tongue across her stomach. “As I said before—twice even,” he murmured between nibbling kisses. “Ye are a rare and beautiful woman, Elspet.”
Unable to respond as he inched the heated trail of his tasting lower, she buried her hands in his hair and held on tight to keep from collapsing. Never had she imagined such sensations. When he slid his fingers up her inner thigh and then teased them across the slippery wetness of her opening, her knees buckled.
Somehow, he swept her up before she hit the floor and laid her across the bed. Either that or she floated on the pure bliss crashing through her body. The delicious waves hit harder as he lowered his mouth and sucked on her most sensitive part while churning his fingers inside her. She cried out, knotting the bedclothes in both fists, bucking beneath his ministrations.
“Shh…lass.” He rose and swallowed her moans with a kiss. “Dullis will break down yer door,” he whispered.
“I dinna care,” she gasped, clamping her thighs around his narrow hips. “More, my fine warrior. Make haste and rid yerself of those trews. Yer expertise has made me greedy for more.”
He flashed a smile down at her, his teeth a brilliant white even in the dimly lit room. Then he did as she bade and slid in deep and hard, pounding with a rhythm that made her arch and meet him thrust for thrust. Never had she enjoyed such mindless ecstasy. They moved faster, hotter, wetter. The delicious union melded them into one.
His deep, rumbling growl vibrated between them, starting low as if rooted in his belly rather than his throat. Elspet arched and threw back her head, calling out, “Valan!” again and again as wondrous spasms took control.
Arms locked, Valan plunged in and held fast. A roaring groan escaped him, tensing him hard as stone. A shaking overtook him until the joints of the bed rattled. Then he collapsed. “Forgive me,” he gasped, struggling to roll to one side.
“Nay!” She pulled him back, hugging him close with her arms and legs. “The weight of ye warms me. Warmer than this cold bed has ever been.” His hot flesh felt a part of her when pressed this close. She missed the feel of him as soon as he shifted away.
He settled back down and apologized with long tender kisses. Then he lifted his head and playfully touched the tip of his nose to hers. “Next time will be longer. Yer bed will nay grow cold this night. We are just getting started.”
Chapter Three
“Stay and sleep.”Valan tried to pull her back into his arms, but she slipped free. “Elspet—ye closed yer eyes less than a moment ago.”
“’Tis but an hour before dawn.” Silhouetted by the soft glow of the dwindling hearth fire and the night candle burning low, she hurriedly donned her trews and cinched them at the waist. “The alarm nail melted free and hit the plate moments ago. I must prepare for whatever the day holds.” She yanked her tunic over her head and shook it down in place. After a kiss that ended much too soon, she pulled free of him again and returned to gathering her scattered garments. “Our night is at an end, my fine warrior. Our boons are paid.”
