“Nay,” she said. “My mother is known for her cooking, but her sister is known for her ale.” She laughed then, the sound of it warming his heart. “Now that she is widowed, the earl has offered to buy a place for her in the burgh of Glasgow or in Aberdeen to set up her own business. They would be partners.”
“‘Tis a good thing to know, Elizabeth. At least my wife might have employment.” She watched him with widened eyes then, as though divining his meaning.
“Is that what you think will happen after—” she waved her hand between them “—this?” When he hesitated, she slid down to her knees, bringing her with reach before him. “Please, I pray you, tell me.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed her arms, gently easing up and down in an effort to offer comfort after he’d upset her. Insulting a man like Connor and breaking faith with him was more dangerous than he wanted to dwell upon. With the earl’s allies and connections across the kingdom and beyond, the Murray name would be deemed dishonored by his actions now—if the MacLerie wished it so.
“I do not know what to expect. Although I spoke with the MacLerie, I do not expect him to be happy with the choice I made. But you are his kin and I don’t think he will take action against you.” That was why James’s note spoke of his abduction of Elizabeth rather than making it seem that she was a willing partner in this. It might protect her from Connor’s wrath.
“What would he do to you?” she whispered, her gaze filled with worry. Though he would rather not think on these matters now, they must discuss it.
“I understood when I asked you to marry me that it would violate the contracts negotiated by my father. Not just the marriage contract, but trade arrangements as well. And the MacLerie does not like to be defied,” he said. She nodded, knowing the earl better than he did and knowing the truth of the rumors and tales of his harsh actions and past sins. “I think it just depends on how angry my father is and how much damage the earl wants to inflict.”
She paled then, losing the color in her cheeks until he thought she might faint. Drawing her closer, he held her against him. “Once our marriage is a fact he cannot argue with, we will return and face him. Face my father also. But, first I think we should let the anger cool.”
“Better to face them with the deed done then?” she asked, lifting her face until it was but a scant inch from his own. Deed done? Aye, he wanted a certain deed to be done at this moment!
“Aye. Better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission, I think,” he said, surprised at how rough his voice sounded as he spoke. Thick. It was thick with the rising desire he felt for her.
He could resist no more. Her rosy lips, parted slightly in invitation, called to him. James gave in, taking her mouth with his even as he grabbed the blanket she wore around her to hold her where he wanted her. If they would be together, he wanted it to begin now. Now, before anything or anyone came between them.
“Elizabeth, be mine? Now?” he whispered against her lips.
She answered without words. He felt her hands release the blanket and creep up around his neck to embrace him. As her bare skin touched his wet clothing, she shivered even as the heat of her mouth burned his.
“Here, let me,” he said, drawing back a few inches.
He tugged the wet shirt off—as he’d wanted to do before—and then loosened his belt and pushed his trews down, kicking them aside. James took hold of the blanket’s edges once more and brought Elizabeth back to him. He watched her face for any sign of fear or dismay or hesitation and saw none. But for a quick glance down as he faced her, she met his gaze and then accepted his embrace.
His cock rose against his groin and the softness of her bare skin against it simply made him want her more. Her tightened nipples pressed against his chest, and his blood caught fire and raced through his veins.
Elizabeth did not want to breathe. She did not want to see. She simply wanted to feel, to feel all the sensations as Jamie claimed her body as he had her heart. Only nervous about his reaction to her impure condition, she did not hesitate when he tugged her to him. Leaning against the hard ridge of flesh that showed he desired her, she rubbed her belly against him.
And felt his reaction.
Her breasts lay heavy against his muscular chest, the sprinkling of curly hair that was shades darker than the pale brown hair on his head,teasing the now-sensitive tips and making her gasp with each movement. An aching heat began to throb in the center of her.
Was it sinful, as her mother had said, to want to lay with him? To be his even before their vows were spoken? He had taken such risks to marry her—alienating his family, angering one of the most powerful and most dangerous men in the kingdom, risking everything to be with her. Her indecision lasted a brief moment as she understood that he was worth risking what she could give him—her heart, her body, her love and her support as his wife.
She slid her fingers into his hair, entangling them as he moved his hands over her skin, caressing her until she reached up and offered her mouth to him. He teased her skin and her mouth with light, feathery touches until she wanted to scream out in pleasure and frustration. He laughed then and met her gaze for a moment before tilting his head and taking her mouth...and her very breath!
Now, his fingers kneaded the muscles of her back as he used his tongue to taste her mouth deeply. Then, his strong hands grasped her buttocks and pulled her up and against his erection. When her legs spread open to encircle his hips, she moaned as the hard flesh rubbed against that heated, aching place. Without clothing between them, this was almost too pleasurable to bear. Elizabeth clenched her knees tightly to hold him close and then arched against him.
His reaction was swift. Jamie lifted his mouth from hers and trailed kisses—hungry, ravenous kisses—down her neck. Lifting her higher, he used his teeth against her breasts until he took one of her nipples fully into his mouth. Her body arched without thought, as though there was a string being pulled through her with each touch. His teeth teased the tip until she did scream out. His caress turned into a gentle suckling, but her body was like a wild thing of its own against him. His hands moved but did not release her and she could do nothing but enjoy his attentions.
With her hands tangled in his hair, she did not know if she held him in place or urged him on. She did not care. When his mouth took the other breast and his tongue relentlessly laved its tip, her head dropped back and she panted as everything within her tightened to an almost-unbearable tension. She sought the release she knew waited for her by rubbing harder and faster against him, but it remained just out of her reach.
Finally, Jamie held her as he knelt down on the blanket she now realized he’d tossed aside some time before. With his body pressing hers to the floor of the croft, she waited for him to seek his release within her. Only by clenching her teeth together did she prevent the begging words from being keened out to him. It would take little action on his part to lift himself and plunge within her, and she urged him to do so with her hips and that hot, wet place between her legs.
He laughed then, a deep-throated sound that came out hoarse with passion and lust. It was time. It was time. It had to be...
She almost yelled at him when he eased to his side, but the touch of his hand between her legs made it impossible to speak. He stared at her, watching her as he pressed down with the heel of his hand and slipped a finger into her. It both eased the tension and spurred it on and made it worse. The second finger moved along with the first and she dropped her knees open so he could touch her more fully.
“Elizabeth,” he whispered, as those two fingers became implements of a sensuous torture. “Open for me, lass,” he urged. When he kissed her breasts and began to suckle one and then the other, in a pace matching his fingers, she knew she would fall apart soon.
Jamie moved his hand and used his thumb, finding at last that small nub that ached the most. One flick was all it took to send her screaming into release. But he did not stop, he stroked her over and over as her muscles tightened throughout her body and then everything broke free within her. Pleasure and heat flowed deep inside of her as she spasmed in time with his caresses. Her mind wandered as her body shivered and shook.
Elizabeth had barely come back to herself when Jamie lifted himself between her legs. Even as pleasure yet pulsed through her, she knew it would happen again when he filled her. Reaching down to touch his flesh, she held her breath as he began to lower his body to hers.
