He rolled to the side and pulled her alongside him. She drew in a sharp breath and opened her mouth in protest. He pressed a finger to her tempting lips as he cupped her face in his hand. “Shh . . . ye have never known a man before. I must ready ye first.”
Her knotted brow smoothed as she pulled herself closer and hooked a leg over his flank. The tip of her tongue tickled its way up his throat as she trailed her hand down between them and took hold of him.
Colum hissed in a sharp groan. Lore a’mighty.The silk of her hand around his cock nearly undid him. He had given up hope of ever feeling that touch. Greedily, he covered her mouth with his and slid a finger up into the heated wetness of the pleasure between her thighs.
She gasped and squirmed beneath his touch, whimpering against his mouth as she ground herself hard into the heel of his hand. She deepened her kisses and suckled his tongue as he slid another finger inside her.
“Oh. My… ” She broke the kiss and groaned as she shuddered beneath his gyrating touch. “Oh, oh Colum.” She bucked hard against his hand.
Her gushing wetness filled his palm while she panted and moaned against him. He ached to bury himself inside her. Now. Now that the way was well warmed and wet. Now he could open her to the most ancient of pleasures.
He rolled over her, edged his way between her thighs, and slid no more than the barest tip of his cock inside her burning wetness. While nuzzling the crook of her throat, he concentrated on gentling his way in deeper. Lore a’mighty. Let the pain not be too great for her.
She arched upward. “More,” she whispered. “Please . . . more.”
“Slow,mo chridhe.I dinna wish to hurt ye.”
He slid in deeper still. Her wet heat tightened around him, urging him to throw caution to the wind and bury himself inside her. Nay. Slow for her sake.But heaven help him, the exquisite burning tightness would surely be the end of him.
She bucked beneath him, raking her hands down his back and mewling wet kisses onto his chest.
He could take no more. Hovering over her, he shook with the barely contained need to pound into her depths. “Open yer eyes, Kenna. Look at me.”
Her eyes fluttered open. She cupped his face between her hands and arched harder up against him.
He lost himself in her trusting gaze as he shoved through the taut membrane and sank deep into her pleasure. She tensed for a moment, her eyes wide and unblinking. He steeled himself to remain still as he mouthed gentle kisses across her forehead and down to her mouth. “Breathe now, lass. The worst is over.”
She opened wider to his kiss and tightened her embrace around him. Slowly, matching the rhythm of her movements to his, she rocked up against him as he slid in and out. Her breathing quickened, and she moaned as all reason left him. He closed his eyes and gave himself to the delirium of finally possessing her and all the pleasure she held.
He caught a fold of the pallet between his teeth and bit down hard as he rocked faster into her. His muffled roar filled the stable as everything else ceased to exist but the ecstasy of spilling himself inside her. Lore a’mercy. Even Paradise itself could not compare with this.
CHAPTER38
Inch by inch, Kenna slowly eased out from under Colum’s arm. She froze as he shifted in his sleep and rolled over to his side. He mumbled something unintelligible and rootled his head deeper into the blankets of the pallet. The scowl smoothed from his forehead as he settled into the hissing click of a soft rhythmic snoring.
Good. He needed to sleep so she could sort through the craziness clouding her mind. Soundlessly, she rose and retrieved the heavy velvet cloak she had worn earlier. A smear of dried blood across her upper thigh caught her attention. Well, if she needed it, there was the proof. She had finally divested herself of her virginity. Merciful heavens, she hoped it hadn’t been in vain.
She watched the slow rise and fall of his side as she donned the cloak and wrapped it tightly around her. What would he say when he woke up and remembered what they had done?
The dark whisky skin over by the bench caught her attention. Hefting the leather bag in one hand, she guessed it to be nearly empty. Vividly, she remembered Colum’s whisky-flavored kisses.
She pulled the cloak closer and eased out into the main aisle of the stable. Surely, she had done the right thing last night. Publicly claimed him to be her husband and then sealed the deal with her virginal stamp of approval. Surely, he would finally realize it was time to trim down his pride to a realistic level and settle into the role of husband.
The dried hay covering the ground crunched beneath her doeskin slippers as she hurried around to the back of the keep and slipped into the kitchen gardens. The cool breeze of the early morning combed welcoming fingers through her curls. A familiar woof rumbled from behind a cluster of dew-coated hawthorns, followed by the soft singsong murmur of the dog’s favorite Sinclair sister.
“I’ve been looking for you. You have Granny in a real snit.” Trulie snuggled the folds of her wrap closer as she followed Karma. “Are you all right?”
Kenna rubbed Karma’s broad velvety head as he greeted her with a huggingleanagainst her legs that nearly staggered her. She ignored Trulie’s question. To be completely honest, she didn’t know if she was all right or not. “Where is my favorite niece?”
“Keeping Granny occupied so I can help you sort through whatever it is you’re currently plotting or trying to figure out.”
Trulie always did know how to cut to the chase.
“I don’t know what I’m plotting. I may have overloaded my plate this time. Things just aren’t going as I planned.” Kenna slid one of Karma’s soft black ears through her fingers like a fold of heavy velvet. “Last night . . . wasn’t . . . ” She stopped. How could she possibly vocalize the confused mess whirling through her mind?
“Last night wasn’t what?” Trulie wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave an encouraging squeeze.
Kenna shrugged. “Well. It just wasn’t exactly the way I thought it was going to be, and now I’m wondering if I should’ve waited.”
