She was just relieved to have Conal home safe, and his brothers with him. Her happiness was infectious, and the sorrow over her daughter’s loss had greatly dissipated. She had come to understand that Conal simply wasn’t a man for pretty speeches. He was not like any of the men previously in her life, who knew how to weave an enchantment around a woman with words. He was a rough border lord. Her husband. And she did love him.
Perhaps it had been the loss of wee Jane that had made her realize that the life she was now living was the life she was going to continue to live. England was a memory, and Stanton was gone. When she thought back on the last two years, Adair understood how fortunate she was to have been brought to Cleit. Her fate could have been so much worse. Her child’s death had brought Adair to the truth that she did want children.
She wanted Conal Bruce’s children. He had been patient with her, and now she meant to repay his unspoken love in a way that would be most pleasing to both of them. She intended to seduce her husband.
They had not coupled since Jane’s birth. The laird was eager for the pleasure of his wife’s body. The night of his return she had left the high board, murmuring an invitation in his ear before she departed the hall. Duncan, far quicker than young Murdoc, had waited a short while and then stood up.
“The lad and I are going to visit Agnes,” he said, pulling his sibling up from his chair. “We’ll not be back until morning, so lock up, Conal.”
“I had heard that Agnes has not been satisfied with any lover since the prince,” the laird remarked. “Jamie has ruined her for the rest, I fear.”
Duncan chuckled. “That is why we are going together,” he explained. “It takes two men to please the wicked wench now, and Murdoc is not averse to sharing; nor am I. We’ll keep her busy the night long, and have her exhausted by the dawn. She has a particular fondness for our little brother. What he lacks in finesse hemakes up for in his youthful exuberance and enthusiasm. I’ve seen him fuck her for almost an hour without flagging,” Duncan said with a broad grin. “A bit dull for me after a while, but I must admit to standing in awe of his endurance.”
Conal Bruce laughed aloud and, standing, ruffled Murdoc’s dark hair. “Our father, God assoil him, would be proud of you,” he told his younger brother. “Go along then. I will see you both in the morning. We must continue to drill our men, for this business with the king isn’t over yet. By summer it will surely be settled one way or the other.”
“Which way?” Murdoc asked.
“The king’s way, but which king is the question,” the laird said. “I think the sitting king too weak to withstand his son’s ambitions.”
“But the Highlands will rally to the king,” Duncan noted. “Their forces are great in comparison to Prince James’s.”
“The Highlands will rally,” Conal Bruce agreed, “but will they stay the course and fight? That, brothers, is the question that needs answering, and so we will not know until the day of that future battle in which we shall either live or die.”
“Good night,” said Duncan, deciding he was not of a mind to debate the issue tonight. Conal did not often think deeply, but recent events had brought him to a more thoughtful state of mind. Duncan strolled from his brother’s hall with Murdoc by his side. An evening tumbling Agnes Carr was a more pleasant subject to dwell upon than the future, their possible deaths, and the fate of Scotland.
When they had gone the laird made the last rounds about the keep, making certain the fires were banked, the candles and lamps snuffed out, the door barred.
Then he climbed the stairs to the bedchamber he shared with his wife. As he entered the room he smelled flowers. No, lavender. And there before the fire was a greattall tub such as he had never seen. Steam was rising from the large vessel. He could just make out the top of Adair’s head below the rim of the tub.
Hearing him, she called out in the most dulcet tones,
“Come and join me, my lord. You will need a bath after your long trip and before you get into my bed. Take off your clothes. You will find the steps to the tub on the side.”
“Where the hell did this great thing come from?” he demanded to know as he eagerly pulled his garments off, impatient to join her.
“Grizel told me that there was a cooper in the village over the hill. I sent for him, explained to him what I wanted, and behold! We now have a tub large enough for us both. Won’t it be nice to be able to bathe together, Conal?”
He practically fell over his big feet as he reached the steps to the tub. Climbing up them, he lowered himself into the water, groaning with pleasure as the heat seeped into his aching muscles. “Jesu, woman, you are bringing civilization to our house.” Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms, and their lips met.
She nibbled at his mouth teasingly. “I think you are going to like getting clean from now on,” she teased him. “Did you miss me, my lord?”
He didn’t know what had brought about this change in her, but he had to admit that he liked it very much.
He began to fondle a plump breast. “I missed you,” he admitted, and was rewarded for his admission with another kiss. “Did you miss me?”
“I did,” she allowed, and began to tickle his balls with her fingertips.
Conal Bruce swallowed hard. “Wife, you are going to get fucked,” he growled in her ear. “I don’t know if it can be done in a tub, but I will surely try.”
“Ohh, I hope so,” Adair purred against his lips, looking up at him, a naughty smile upon her face. Sliding her arms about his neck, she let him back her against thewall of the tub. She could feel his manhood had grown hard, and was ready to sport with her.
His hand cupped the twin mounds of her buttocks and lifted her up so that she could wrap her legs about him as he slid his lance between her nether lips to im-pale her. He sighed loudly as he did so. She was tight, hot, and soft all at the same time. It took every bit of discipline that he had to refrain from pouring his seed into her in that moment. Her plump breasts against his chest felt wonderful.
Her nipples were being irritated by his furred chest.
She wiggled her bottom against his hands, and tightened her legs about his torso. It was an unspoken signal between them. Conal began to move within her. Slowly, slowly, slowly, with long strokes of his manhood, until the stars behind her closed eyes began to explode, and Adair began to whimper with the pleasure he was giving her. And from the sounds coming from deep in his throat she knew he was being pleasured too.
He could not help himself. His juices erupted and filled her. She collapsed weakly against him, arms still about his neck. When he was able to speak he murmured against her dark hair, “You seduced me, you witch. You deliberately seduced me.”
