He kept his eyes on her lips, his voice low and pleasant to her ears.
“I must beg yer forgiveness then, since ’tis clearly an untruth.”
When he lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, she was surprised at their sudden darkness. A heated expression.
“Ye are forgiven,” he answered in the same low tone.
She had difficulty swallowing. She had difficulty breathing. She had difficulty. Snatching the goblet back to her lips, she choked down the remaining liquid.
“Is it the heat that makes ye so parched?” He shifted closer. “For me as well.”
No one watched this time. The guests were too deep in their own conversations, having been drinking for hours now. It was a celebration after all. His hand dropped to her thigh, the material so thin it seemed more like skin-too-skin contact, nearly burning her.
“I look forward to our joining, Brighit. We may leave at yer pleasure.”
She glanced at him, taking a shaky breath, but said nothing. His hand gripped her thigh, a gentle pressure.
“We can sneak away even now. Unnoticed.”
She realized that was true enough. No one would notice them sneaking down the hall to his left. Climbing the stairs to his bedchamber.
“We can see this done now, Brighit.”
“But—but we’ve not eaten yet.”
He quirked a brow and grinned. “I will start with my dessert.”
“Ye have sweets in yer chamber? How indulgent. This castle reminds me of the great kings before us and how pampered they must have been.”
Darragh looked out across the expanse of the great hall, the crumbling stone and drafty arrow slits along each wall. An expression she could not read passed over his face. Moving close enough that his expanding chest nudged her elbow, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Ye will be my sweet, wife.”
Her body shifted toward him, unbidden, before she could check the movement, but he merely smiled, staying near to her. A glance around confirmed they were no longer the focus of anyone’s attention.
“If we could do it unobserved.” She matched her tone to his.
He beamed.
Darragh leaned away and she shivered as cold air filled in the gap where he’d been. His gaze went to the three men standing off to the side of the hall. She recognized only his friend Terrence. They all appeared quite drunk, but at the lift of Darragh’s chin, they moved with purpose, filling in the space in front of them, effectively blocking the new couple from the rest of the hall. They hunkered down behind the men and Darragh took her hand in a tight grip to lead her to the stairs. She giggled at their escape and he held a finger to his lips. That made her giggle even harder.
His wide-eyed, exasperated look of warning made it even worst. Before she could break into a full guffaw, he scooped her into his arms as if she weighed nothing at all and bounded up the steps, two at a time. They were both laughing by the time he opened the door and he set her on her feet. She gawked, suddenly quiet, struck by the overwhelming manliness of the room. Dark wood lined two walls. A huge four-post bed set upon a raised dais in the middle of the room. Heavy brown linens hung at every corner, tied back to reveal a matching coverlet on the bed, embroidered with a slightly lighter brown and blue field flowers.
Darragh closed the door behind them. Glad for the amount of wine she’d been able to consume, Brighit gulped at the suddenly intimate scene, keeping her back to him. He dragged her hair aside and pressed his lips to the nape of her now-exposed neck, sending shivers down her back. She closed her eyes when he kissed her sensitive skin again, his arm wrapping around her waist to pull her against his solid length. He was quite a bit taller than her, but somehow she fit against him perfectly.
With his hot hand, he stroked over her belly and she tensed, so afraid she would wince in pain at the tender area there. But he quickly moved up to cup her breast at the same time that his teeth grazed her shoulder. All thought of possible pain faded. Despite the material covering her, his mouth was hot on her skin.
“Ye smell of roses.” He rubbed his nose at her nape, his voice husky.
“They bathed me with rose petals, then rubbed my skin in an oil of the same.” Her response sounded like it came from outside her body.
“Mmm. They prepared ye for me.”
Sothatwas the reason for the endless ablutions? She had been so afraid they would notice the bruises from her assault, but no one had said anything. The bruises on her face were hidden beneath the powder she’d applied that morning.
Darragh nipped her ear and she was again focused on his touch.
“I wish to unwrap my rose-drenched bride.” His breath against her skin sent another shiver much lower. Somewhere in her mind, she knew he was unlacing the ties of her wedding gown, sliding it down her arms, leaving her top bare since she wore nothing beneath it. Now, he stood before her and she was deliciously attuned to the sensations rushing through her. His mouth and hands touching her. His palm, surprisingly smooth as he gripped her naked breast, bringing the hardened nipple into his moist mouth. That was when she opened her eyes to see him there, suckling her, his hands dragging her gown along as they slipped up her bare legs.
Darragh pulled back and shoved the last of the material over her hips to a puddle at her feet. She watched him, mesmerized when he smiled in pleasure, his gaze roaming over her.
