“You already are,” she whispered. She pushed away his tunic, caressing his warm male skin. Lowering her mouth to his pectoral muscles, she kissed him gently. “You’re all that I need.”
He pressed her down onto the bed, fully aroused. She welcomed the thick feel of his erection against her softer flesh.
He removed her clothing, then his own, before lying down beside her. She took him into her arms, shivering when his mouth covered hers.
“I have years to make up for, Nairna. If you’ll allow it.”
She opened her arms to him, and with his hands and mouth he caressed her skin. Her nipples puckered, and he kissed each of them, cupping her breasts as his mouth moved lower.
“When you touched yourself the other night,” he murmured, dropping a kiss upon her stomach, “I was watching you. I wonder if I’ve learned how.”
With his fingers, he entered her womanhood, caressing the secret flesh that was already moist for him. Nairna gasped, lifting her hips as he withdrew his fingers.
“I’m not going to use my hands, though.” He sent her a wicked smile, raising his hips to hers. With a shallow penetration, he entered her, coating his shaft with her arousal. Then he took his length and used it to rub against her hooded flesh. The thick pressure made her grow swollen, sensitive to every stroke. He teased her, moving in a slow rotation that made her arch against him.
He ground himself against her, with both hands upon her bottom, until she hooked her leg around his waist and guided him deep inside.
“I haven’t finished with you,” he said, moving slowly.
“Haven’t you?” She kissed him, taking his tongue into her mouth while he penetrated her fully in slow strokes.
In answer, Bram stopped moving. He withdrew, leaving only an inch of his manhood inside her, while his thumb moved up to touch her hooded flesh. He used a soft rhythm to caress her, and she grew wetter as he quickened the pace in a circular motion.
“I love you, Nairna,” he said, his eyes locked upon her. She cried out as he intensified the pressure, guiding her toward the shimmering pleasure she needed so desperately.
“And I love you,” she whispered, arching her back and shuddering as the first swollen wave broke through her. As she started to tremble, he drove inside, and she gripped his length, letting him feel her release as she climaxed.
She saw his own pleasure tightening, and he took her body in swift strokes. “I’ll never leave you again, Nairna. You’re mine, for always.”
The intensity of his lovemaking and the way he held her made her lose control of her own body. She stopped thinking about what was happening and simply let herself go.
When another storm of release overtook her, she took his mouth in a kiss. Bram ravaged her mouth until he let out a groan, losing himself in his own fulfillment.
“I love you,” she breathed. “Now even more than I did then.”
Her husband rested against her, their breathing growing steady. “It will take time before I can be the man you want.”
“You’re already the man I want,” she said. “And what you’ve endured has only made you stronger.”
Bram’s answer was to take her in his arms and love her again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Winter came and went, and although there was still unrest in Scotland, the clans were united by a common enemy in King Edward Longshanks. Bram and Alex had supported Robert the Bruce, and that spring they saw him crowned king of Scotland. The fight for Scotland’s freedom had not ended, but it had taken a turn for the better.
When Bram returned from Scone, he noticed a transformation in his wife. Laren had given Nairna free rein to handle the household, and she’d spent the past few months sorting through the accounts, selling unneeded items and trading with the merchants.
His wife indeed had a talent for making money, just as she’d once told him. Because of her efforts, they were starting to rebuild Glen Arrin. With nothing remaining of the original keep, his brother Alex had redesigned the structure into a true castle.
Bram shielded his eyes from the morning sunlight, watching his kinsmen and his brother Callum as they lifted stones, laying mortar to hold them steady. His mother Grizel was ordering her grandchildren around, using a wet thumb to wipe a smudge from Mairin’s face.
Although she had never once apologized to any of them, Grizel had made herself useful in the household, assigning tasks to everyone until it ran smoothly. Nairna had found a way to manage his mother by letting her believe that she had control.
Despite the way things were improving at Glen Arrin, Bram hadn’t seen any improvement in his younger brother. Ever since Lady Marguerite had left, Callum had grown morose, his silence continuing. He spent his time either rebuilding the walls of the keep or practicing with his bow and arrows. Sometimes he disappeared for days on end.
Although Bram held out hope that one day his brother would fully heal, he wasn’t certain it would happen. Time would tell.
In the meantime, he had brought a gift for Nairna back from Scone, one that had been given by the new Scottish king. Robert the Bruce had given many tokens to the chiefs who had offered their support.
