Sigimor felt her open to him as he caressed her, and he slowly eased a finger inside her. It was almost his undoing. The hot, wet feel of her nearly caused him to spend himself on the sheets like some untried boy. He tightly grasped the fraying ends of his control and kissed her as he plied her with his fingers, seeking to prepare her for him as quickly as possible. He thanked God yet again that his wife was proving to be a very passionate woman.
Praying that he had judged her readiness correctly, Sigimor slowly began to join their bodies. He gritted his teeth as he fought against the painful need to just thrust himself deep inside her. The way she wrapped her lithe body around his was swiftly rending his control. He felt her maidenhead give before him and held himself still, allowing her body to adjust to his intrusion. So consumed was he by the need to restrain himself, it took him a moment to realize that her body had yielded its innocence rather easily, that she had only gasped softly and barely flinched.
"Are we done?” asked Jolene, sincerely hoping there was more for the ache in her body, that strange craving, was still there. “You said it would hurt, but I only felt a small pinch."
If he had the strength, he would have laughed. “Nay, not done yet. Ye are fortunate, wife. Your body's gates of innocence werenae locked verra tightly."
He began to move inside her and Jolene lost all urge and ability to talk. She clung to him, quickly catching his rhythm. Jolene felt all those aches and cravings he had stirred up inside her begin to twist themselves into a tight knot at the place where their bodies joined. Just as she was about to demand he do something about that, the knot snapped, sending waves of blinding pleasure throughout her body. She was vaguely aware of Sigimor pounding into her a few times, then bellowing out her name as he stiffened, shuddered, and bathed her womb with heat. Blindly she held him close as he slumped against her, his body trembling almost as badly as hers was.
She was still so dazed, she barely flinched when, several minutes later, he rose from her arms and then returned to bathe her nether regions with a cool, damp cloth. When he climbed back into bed and pulled her into his arms, she snuggled up against him. The way he stroked her back made her sigh with sleepy pleasure.
"Consummation was not the ordeal I thought it would be,” she murmured as she felt the need to sleep creep over her.
Sigimor grinned and kissed the top of her head as he felt her body go limp against him. He was pleased beyond words that he had brought her such pleasure at her first bedding, but, not an ordeal? Breaching his little wife had been the most arduous, most exhausting thing he had ever done. It had also provided him with the greatest pleasure he had ever known. As he joined her in sleep's embrace, he prayed she healed quickly. His wife was soon to discover that he was going to prove to be a very greedy husband indeed.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Nine
Jolene woke up alone. She glanced around the bedchamber, but saw no sign of Sigimor. For a brief moment she wondered if she had dreamed the events of the day before, and the night. Then, as the last wisps of sleep's fog cleared away, she almost smiled at her own foolishness. A faint ache in her body was proof enough that not only was she really married to Sigimor, but she was well and truly his wife.
And, she should have awakened to her new husband's kisses instead of a cold bed, she thought a little crossly as she slipped out of bed and donned her shift. It was a fleeting annoyance, however. Good sense returned as she stepped behind a battered privacy screen to relieve herself and have a thorough wash. With Harold chasing them down, there was no time for whatever little niceties or coddling a husband might offer his new bride. Allowing her to sleep past dawn was gift enough, especially when she knew how determined Sigimor was to get them all safe behind the walls of Dubheidland.
Picking up her shift, she wrinkled her nose as she caught the faint scent of horse on it, and decided she could not put it back onto her newly washed body. She quickly rinsed it out in the large bowl of water she had used to wash herself, then draped it over a small stool before the fire. Just as she started to pull a clean shift from her bag, she heard the latch on the door move and dived into bed, yanking the sheet up to her neck as Sigimor stepped in carrying a tray of food and drink.
"Ah, now that is what a husband likes to see,” Sigimor said as he shut the door behind him and moved to place the tray on a rough, scarred table near the bed. “It pleases him to find his wife naked and waiting in bed for him."
A hint of anger stirred to life in Jolene, but was quickly banished. She was learning to look for that certain gleam in his eye when he said such outrageous things. It was certainly there now. She suspected there was a lot of truth behind his words, but she knew he said them to goad her and was waiting to see what she would do.
"Well, this particular naked wife is more interested in that bread and cheese you have brought her,” she said.
"Aye, ‘tis best if ye eat something. Ye need your strength.” He set the tray on her lap.
So much for trying to best him at his own game, she mused as she helped herself to some bread, then nearly choked on it as he started to undress. “What are you doing?"
"Getting naked, too."
She took a deep drink of cider to wash down the bread that seemed to be lodged in her throat as she watched him shed his clothes. “You have no modesty at all, do you?"
"Verra little. Weel, enough so that I dinnae flaunt meself afore the world and its saintly mother. Ye did notice that I dressed ere I left our bedchamber, didnae ye?"
"Very considerate of you. Of course, I suspect the women of the village are disappointed by your restraint."
It was difficult not to smile when she saw the faint hint of color on his cheeks. Sigimor's lack of modesty was obviously not due to vanity. He should be vain, she thought as she looked him over, ignoring the blush that burned her cheeks as she did so. Sigimor was a fine figure of a man. Fixing her gaze on his groin as he tossed aside the last of his clothes, she decided even that was not so shocking as it had seemed to be last night. This morning it was just slumped there, resting she supposed. Jolene was just deciding that nerves must have made her see it as far more imposing than it really was when it began to grow. Her eyes widened as it quickly reasserted itself, returning to the size that had both alarmed her and intrigued her last night.
Sigimor bit back a laugh at the look on her face as he hardened beneath her gaze. “Hold the tray steady, wife."
Shaking free of her fascination with his body, Jolene grabbed the tray as he climbed into bed. The linen sheet she had so carefully tucked up under her arms was yanked away as Sigimor arranged his share of the bedcovers over his lower body. Jolene was sure he had done this on purpose, but she felt her long hair provided her some measure of covering and fought back her sense of embarrassment. The crooked smile he gave her as he helped himself to some bread and cheese earned him as severe a frown as she could muster. He might not suffer from the pinch of modesty, but she could not easily cast aside the teachings of a lifetime. Jolene suspected many people would be shocked by the fact that she and Sigimor were naked in bed together, even if they were properly married. She began to think it was probably for the best that she had not been given advice by some matron before her wedding.
"When do we leave?” she asked.
"Later. After the noon hour,” he replied. “I sent the lads out to see if they can find where Harold is lurking now."
Jolene had to smile over the way Sigimor referred to the tall, strong Camerons aslads, but then she began to worry about her nephew. “Where is Reynard?"
"With the innkeeper's bairns and David to keep a watch o'er him, and our backs as weel. David isnae as good at tracking as the others, but he has a fine eye as a guard. Tis oft said he can scent danger on the wind."
Sigimor rested on his side, propped up on one elbow, and slowly ran his finger down Jolene's spine. He smiled when she shivered and little bumps appeared upon her soft skin as if she was chilled. Moving to sit behind her, he grasped the hair trailing down her back and draped it over her shoulders. He kissed the back of her neck as he stroked her sides, pausing briefly to test the smallness of her waist. As he spread his kisses over her back and shoulders, savoring the taste of her smooth skin, he slipped his hands beneath her hair and ever so gently kneaded her breasts. Using his fingers and palms, he toyed with her breasts until the tips were hard and pressing against his hands, something that happened with a gratifying swiftness.
