As much as he seemed to enjoy the touch of her hand, Caillen knew he must do more to prepare Emer for her first night of ardor. He moved his kisses down to where her breasts presented themselves to his mouth. His lips caressed her tight, pert nipples and his tongue darted provocatively around the deep rose parts at the top of her soft, thrusting breasts.
She sighed and shuddered with every sensual action he did. Her eyes were closed in concentration, and her hands fluttered as though she wanted to pull him even closer. Caillen ran his strong fingers over her waist and hips, reveling in the gorgeous sweeping curves and smooth, soft skin. As his mouth moved downward, from her breasts to her stomach and hips, Emer grasped his hair as though she wanted to guide him, but she did not yet know where she wanted him to go.
Her body was writhing, ready for the ingress that would relieve that place between her thighs of its desperate craving. Caillen, knowing he could not hold out for much longer, gave Emer what her body, heart, and mind had been thinking and dreaming about for so long. They were locked in the most sensual movement for what seemed like seconds, minutes, or hours – time had no meaning.
For Emer, it was agony and ecstasy at the same time. At that moment, even though he felt like her master, Emer knew she held all the power. He was enslaved by what her body could do to him. It was uncomfortable at first, but the urgent yearning inside her would not relinquish - no matter how much she tried. The mounting excitement made her overlook the pain and stay eager for more.
Caillen, spent, could feel Emer’s insistent movements, even after he had finished and collapsed on top of her, breathing hard and nestling his head into her neck.
“Do ye want me to scratch that itch for ye, darling?” he asked her.
Emer was unsure what he meant, so she stayed silent. Caillen found her innocence diverting and charming, both at the same time.
“Let me show ye what I mean when I say that,” he said, and Caillen began to stroke Emer where he knew she would love it. It seemed to Emer as though everywhere he touched her was lit up by a deliciously tingling sensation. It built up very quickly to an urgent insistent desire. Her loins felt as though they were melting and warming at the same time. She knew if Caillen were to take his hand away and stop doing what he was doing to her with his fingers, she would most probably cry out in frustration.
Every time she thought her peak had been reached, Caillen made his strokes gentler and more delicate. Emer bit her lips to stifle her moans, her way to express the sweetest ecstasy she felt between her legs. It grew too strong for him to control anymore; rampant with feverish longing, Emer grabbed his hands so he could not stop. She wanted him to know the teasing, and tantalizing must climb the summit. She held her breath, her neck arched back, and her eyes clenched tightly shut. It was there, the perfect and golden moment.
Afterward, Emer was as replete with satisfaction as she could have ever dreamed.
“Oh, Caillen,” she murmured, “I never ken I could be so happy.”
He laughed softly, “And I never kenIcould be so happy, Em,” he said. Then, turning onto his side to stare at her perfect profile, he asked her, “did ye mean what ye said?”
Emer, nearly asleep, said, “Did I mean what I said? What did I say?”
Caillen lifted up her head, slipping his arm behind it so he could pull her closer, “What ye said now when ye were screaming fit to raise the roof – dinnae worry about doin’ that by the way – ‘tis only natural to make a bit of a noise when it’s yer first time.”
Thoroughly awake now, Emer asked, “Cai, what did I say? I cannae concentrate on two things at the same time. The past few hours have been like a dream, all me dreams coming true at once. Maybe what I said has more in common with someone who talks in their sleep!”
Caillen grunted, “Oh, well...when ye put it that way, I understand.”
Emer pinched his hand in exasperation, “Nay, Cai, please tell me what I said.”
He hugged her a little closer and said, “Ye yelled out at the top o’ yer voice, ‘Caillen, I love ye, I love ye,’ – that’s what ye said. That’s what made me so happy, Emer, because...ye see, I love ye too.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emer lay in Caillen’s arms and knew she had spoken the truth. If she had ever been in love before, she would have been able to recognize the emotion. But she had not, so the warm, aching, ever-so-slightly anxious, happiness that was the dominant feeling whenever she thought about Caillen had not been easy to identify. It was love. She loved him and had probably done so even before she knew it was he who made her heart jump whenever she thought of the kiss in the tower.
In Emer’s estimation, Caillen had made it very difficult for her not to fall in love with him. He was debonair, carefree, funny, kind, thoughtful, and devastatingly handsome, but in a masculine, rugged, dangerous way, just enough to make a woman dream of lying in his arms.
She had no regrets about how she had spent the last few hours, but she deeply regretted not being able to control her feelings about Caillen. The physical part of love was wonderful and addictively satisfying. Still, it worried Emer that her heart might be harder to control. Being with a man in bed was lovely, but Emer knew there were forces that could come between Caillen and her, and that might not impact their physical intimacy as much as it could break her heart.
She gnawed her nail in the dark, a frown on her face. Being in love was not as easy as she thought it would be.
“Why do ye love me, Cai?” Emer wanted to know, “I have nothing to offer ye, and I’m sure yer clan will have a collective fit if they were to ken.”
Caillen gave a sleepy chuckle at the thought of his entire clan falling down in mass hysteria.
“I have nae idea what made me fall in love with ye, Em. It feels as though it were destined,” he gave her shoulder a squeeze and turned so he could watch her face in the light of the dying fire embers.
“On the night of the feast, if ye had nae pushed me away, I would have taken ye then and there. The feel of ye in me arms – ye have the most delightfully tight waist and curved hips - the way yer lips clamped closed and then slowly opened to accept me kiss, the touch of yer skin, the smell of yer perfume; I loved it. Then I went downstairs and heard ye addressing the staff with yer opinion of me, that tickled me sense of humor enough to make me chuckle for days. The more contact I had with ye, the more I loved ye. When ye wouldnae talk to me after I gave ye those petticoats and then disappeared from the keep, I was ready to drink meself into a stupor, ask Gilby if ye dinnae believe me.”
The worry inside Emer’s heart died down when she heard Caillen’s words. If that was truly how he felt about her, then his love matched her own. Together, their love could fight anything anyone tried to throw in their way.
She snuggled into his arms, and they fell into a deep sleep together—love and happiness lying side by side.
When Gilby woke up the next morning to find his master’s bed unslept in, he gave a satisfied smile and turned over to have a bit of a late morning lie-in.
