Page 55 of A Bride for the Kilted Beast

By this time they were sitting side by side at the edge of the loch. Diarmaid was sitting propped up on his elbows, his legs stretched out before him. Lillie was dangling her naked feet in the water, apparently idly, but in truth, her thoughts were totally centered on him.

However, the cold water was doing nothing to cool the inner heat that sitting so close to her husband was causing her to feel. It was as if every fiber of her being was slowly being pulled towards him.

She could feel Diarmaid watching her. It was silent for a while but for the lapping water and the cries of waterfowl, so when he suddenly spoke, it instantly commanded her attention.

“Ye ken, Lillie, ye said before that ye want me tae treat ye more like a wife. Well, ye’re nae me wife, are ye? Nae according tae tradition at least.”

“Why are ye bringin’ that up?” she asked, looking at him accusingly, needled by his words. “’T’is nae fair!”

“Nay, ye misunderstand me,” he said. “I mean I’m worried if Odhrán comes tae take ye and finds the marriage is nae consummated, he could have our vows annulled and take ye from me fair and square. So, in that sense, ye’re nae me wife yet.”

“Oh.” She felt herself blushing and hid her face, shivering a little as tension mounted between them.

“And as much as the council is trying tae make me, as ye ken, I cannae face forcing mesel’ on ye.”

“I thank ye fer it,” she said softly, embarrassed by the way she was feeling. Fragments of the times when he had shown her some of the secrets of what true pleasure could be between a man and a woman flickered through her head. A wave of heat passed up from her toes to her cheeks just thinking about it.

“But I desire ye so much, Lillie,” Diarmaid said, suddenly at her side, “and ’tis really difficult sharing a bed and nae wanting tae be with ye.”

“I-I dinnae what tae say tae ye…” With a flood of warmth, her heart went out to him, and the flame of desire inside her burst into life. She instinctively put her hand on his wrist in comfort, and a tingle shot up her arm. Her whole body was suddenly almost vibrating with anticipation.

And when he put his hand on hers, she thought she might even swoon, she felt so dizzy.

“I’ve been doin’ a lot of thinkin’ lately,” he said, taking her hand and kissing the palm gently, his green-eyed gaze mesmerizing her.

“Aye?” she breathed, caught in his spell.

“And I realized… I have feelins’ fer ye, Lillie. Ye might nae think so, but I care fer ye.” He leaned forward, tilted her chin up gently, and whispered, “I am falling in love with ye, bonny lass.”

It took a few moments for the words to sink in. But when they did, Lillie experienced a strange, heady, rushing sensation which rapidly turned into a feeling of total elation. She flung her arms around Diarmaid’s shoulders and hugged him tightly, with her feet still in the water.

“Ouch, that hurts,” he complained with a crooked smile as she planted a big kiss on his sore lips.

“Ye are falling in love with me?” she asked, happily gazing into his eyes. “Truly?”

“Aye, lass, I am.”

Lillie could not stop smiling, joy pouring out of her.

“Me too, Diarmaid,” she confessed, resting her forehead against his. “When they brought ye back yesterday and I thought I’d lost ye, I-I was devastated. I couldnae think of bein’ without ye. ’Twas then I knew… it was happenin’.”

“’Tis a miracle! After all I’ve done tae ye?” He looked so hopeful yet disbelieving, she laughed at him and stroked his swollen lips softly with her fingertip.

“Aye.”

They hugged each other more closely then, giggling together, which soon turned to kissing, and a certain amount of fondling.

“Diarmaid,” Lillie said breathily after a while, breaking off from a particularly passionate kiss and feeling she could hardly wait a moment longer to feel his touch upon her. “D’ye think we could maybe go indoors and… consummate our marriage now?”

“Are ye sure?” he asked, his face serious but his eyes hungry when they met hers.

“Very sure. Positive. Certain.” Smiling, she wound her arms more tightly around his neck, and he lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to the castle, with rivulets of water dripping from her feet.

“Alone at last,” Diarmaid murmured in Lillie’s ear as he carried her into their chambers and kicked the door shut behind him. He crossed quickly to the bed and laid her gently down. She pinned him in an embrace.

“Kiss me,” she whispered, pulling him down on top of her, wanting to feel his strength against her, for the power in his flexing muscles excited her beyond words.

“Och, I’ll be kissing ye all over, me bonny lass, ye need nae doubt it,” he told her hoarsely, brushing her hair back from her face and gazing intently into her eyes as his mouth met hers. She answered, her lips equally hungry for him. “And every night from now on, if I get me way,” he murmured against her lips, his promise setting her body quivering with lust. She felt the sudden urge to be free of her clothes.