Blair didn’t correct them — after all, Reade had commanded her thoughts! — and instead blushed heatedly to the roots of her hair.
When Reade returnedthat night, he was only mildly filthy. Blair raised an eyebrow at him.
“I wiped down at the barn,” he explained, but she held up a hand at him, quieting him. Truthfully, Blair didn’t mind the dirt. ‘Twas fresh dirt from the day’s ride, and it mixed with the aromas of damp wool and Reade’s own musk and created a scent that was fully male and distinctly Reade. She had come to crave that smell, because it meant he was close.
Blair leaned in and sniffed at his neck, and he reached his arms around to embrace her. She slipped under his arm and gave him what she hoped was a lustful look. Standing in the middle of their chambers, she leveled her eyes at him. Her heart throbbed under her breast at what she was about to do. What if he took it the wrong way? What if it brought back uncomfortable reminders? Reade inhaled his chest up and returned her narrow gaze, waiting for her to speak.
“This time I want ye to take me from behind, bent over the bed. I offered it on our wedding night,” Blair told him without pause. Best to let the words out in a rush — they’d sound tactless, regardless.
Reade’s gentle hands and satisfying cock had shown her how amazing coupling with a man, withthisman, could be. But he had never taken her wildly, half-dressed, as if their coupling was as necessary as breathing. Did he not because he had his different preferences? Or had he avoided the more taboo coupling because it might remind her of her dead husband?
And that was the point. Blair wanted to know if she might find satisfaction in that position, if Reade might do what he’d done in every other part of her life — rub out the painful memories with his kisses, his caresses, and his cock.
His eyes widened briefly before narrowing at her again. “And it took everything inside me to turn ye down that night.” Reade’s sultry grin widened, and he stroked his throbbing manhood through the folds of his kilt. “Are ye sure ye want to make that same offer tonight?”
Blair didn’t answer. She sashayed over to the bed and with a curl of her lip, she bent over onto the coverlet and flipped her plaid skirts over her buttocks and spread her legs slightly, just enough for him to see the treasure between her thighs. No craving kisses, no soft caresses, only a raw union.
Reade must have seen it, because his eyes flared with intensity and the relaxed expression on his face grew sharp. He didn’t hesitate at her invitation. He reached the bed in two long steps, flipped up the front of his plaid, and impaled his raging erection between her thighs. He slid in to the hilt and fell forward, gasping at the squeezing surge her tight sheath gave him. He caught himself one-handed on the embroidered brocade as she arched her head and shoulders up at his invasion, the sensation of being filled, of being complete, adding to the pleasure she had from the act of joining with Reade, of being one with him.
“I’m no’ the fool to reject this offer twice,” he groaned as his hips began their slow tempo.
He moved his hand to press her shoulder down into the bed and gripped her hip with his other hand hard enough to leave bruises. Then he found his pace, thrusting in and out. They were singularly focused on the exquisite, frantic union of their bodies and the only sounds in the chambers were of their panting and the slapping of skin on skin each time he sunk deep inside her.
Blair curled her fingers into the coverlet, holding on as he rode her hard and fast, striking something deep inside her sheath that sent tingles to every appendage. He did it over and over, her excitment rising until it flooded her entire being and she cried out. Reader’s fingertip dug into her skin as his hips increased their tempo, his panting becoming raspy against her back as he found his own ecstasy. He slammed into her one last time, clutching her as his hot seed exploded inside her.
Then he collapsed against her back, trapping her on the bedding. Not that she was in a rush to leave it. She was as drained as Reade sounded. She smiled to herself as she tried to calm her quivering body. He had managed to claim her, making her forget herself, even in that position. Did he understand what he did to her? For her?
“I dinna know what has happened,” he drawled in her ear as he tried to catch his breath. “But I canna deny ye now that I’ve had ye. Had we lain together before our wedding night, I never would have been able to say nay to what ye presented then. I feel like everything in my being has been united with ye, and no matter what happens, I could no’ turn ye away. ‘Tis like ye are a part of me, and ‘twould be like tearing out a part of my soul to deny ye.”
His words were like a fire inside her body, burning her with excitement, but an excitement tinged with fear. His proclamation was heavy with emotion, and though she didn’t admit it aloud, her heart felt the same. They spoke their love with their bodies, not with words.
Yet she feared that with the chaos in the Glen Coe lands, something might still drive a wedge between them, and what would happen to their union of body and souls then?
The morning rain hadstopped, yet the misty air had persisted, and the prospect of riding in the cool, refreshing weather had lifted Blair’s spirits. Early that morning, she had told Reade about her plans to go riding with Adaira, her nerves making her voice waver. He’d reacted so badly last time that she had expected the same response as they dressed for the day.
Reade had surprised her. Instead of his face growing dark and fearsome, his visage remained clear, and he had embraced her and kissed the top of her head.Be safe,he’d said.Dinna go far from the manse. Come back to me.Then he departed to see to his own tasks for the morning. She understood his caution — they were searching the lands for Campbells, after all. But this deep in the MacDonald Glen Coe lands, they were insulated, and no one seemed overly worried. Anyone who didn’t belong would have surely been discovered already.
Reade’s words echoed in her mind throughout the morning, making her shiver with delight.Come back to me.How different he was with her compared to her first few days at the keep! She recalled his words from the night prior —a union of souls,indeed. So this was what it was to care for, to love someone?
It must be.
She had to tell him how she felt. She needed the right words.
Her lofty thoughts and excitement at riding with Adaira came crashing down when Sorcha called Adaira away at the midday meal, so Blair had resigned herself to staying inside. She had barely puffed out a disappointed breath when she turned to Blair before she left with Sorcha and rested her hand on Blair’s arm.
“Dinna tarry here for me. The kitchens yet need the supplies, even if I canna ride with ye. ‘Twould do ye well to get some fresh air. We know where ye shall be if ye decide to ride, and ye’ll be secure on MacDonald lands. ‘Tis safe enough for a lass, and ye have a good eye for plants. Mairi has a satchel for ye, and Flint can help ye with your mount. Ye can even ask him to escort ye if ye dinna wish to ride alone.”
Then Adaira gave her a full-lipped smile, patted her upper arm, and swirled around to follow her mother to her solar.
Blair paused in the hall to collect her thoughts. A ride alone? When was the last time she’d experienced such independent luxury? So many clansmen and women came and went from the keep and worked the nearby lands, it seemed Blair was never truly alone. While having the company of the MacDonalds was pleasant — Reade’s family fended off any loneliness she might have — having peaceful time to oneself would be a welcome change.
And if Adaira said ‘twas acceptable and safe enough for her to ride alone . . .
Blair tapped a slender fingertip against her chin as her thoughts whirled in her head. She hadn’t told Reade about her encounter with Paden — she hadn’t really thought about that lecher much — and certainly hadn’t mentioned the possibility of meeting him today. Paden was full of boasts and pride and not much else. She hadn’t heard anything about any Gordons or Campbells causing problems, so Paden’s threats probably held no weight.
So much in Blair’s life had changed, become exciting, passionate, and worth living, that she disregarded the idea that anything could put a chink in her happiness. Even weak-chinned Paden.
And, ‘twas likely Reade and his men had driven away the Campbells they had been searching for, meaning she had naught to worry about.
