Page 56 of Married to her Kilted Enemy

“Nay, ’tis the cold water makin’ him shy, is all. He’ll soon come out of his shell when we get warm again, ye’ll see,” Odhrán explained gently, his moving fingers already driving her to the edge of distraction.

“Then let’s go and get warm. I need ye,” she gasped, her fingers twining in his soaking hair.

“That’s funny because that’s just what I was hopin’ ye’d say,” he murmured, grinning as he cupped her behind and carried her all the way out of the water, over the gravely strand, and on to the soft grass, her legs still about his waist. There, he laid her down and knelt between her thighs. In one swift movement, he pulled off his shirt.

Maddison smiled, filled with lust to see his body revealed in the sunlight. She ran her hands teasingly over the rippling muscles of his shoulders and arms, over his back and buttocks, kissing him all the while.

“Och, Odhrán, ye’re so braw! I’m so lucky tae have such a husband,” she breathed, meaning every word as she looked into his eyes, dazzled afresh by the beauty and power of his body and the things he could make her feel. His eyes darkened to a stormy gray, the intensity of his gaze on her, stoking her passion.

“Wheesht, woman. Now, feel,” he told her huskily, taking her hand and placing it on his shaft, while he ravaged her breasts with his mouth, hungrily sucking and nipping at the rock-hard peaks.

Her body quivering with bliss, Maddison gasped and gripped him harder, working her hand up and down his shaft. He groaned deep in his throat, and she thrilled at the sound, feeling the hot slickness running between her thighs as his fingers sought her core once more and tantalized her now burning folds.

“I need ye now, Odhrán, now,” she begged, unable to wait any longer to have him inside her.

“Mmm, say it again,” he murmured, his words muffled by her breasts, his fingers spearing into her once more. She mewled in pleasure, throwing her head back, and opening herself wider to his explorations.

“Odhrán, I need, ye, I want ye, all of ye, inside me right now,” she panted, bucking against his fingers while her hand worked the hardening length of his shaft that, to her amazement and satisfaction, continued to grow.

“I cannae refuse ye, me lady,” he whispered hoarsely, pulling his fingers away and lowering himself to hang suspended above her, kissing her hungrily as he looked into her eyes. She let out a low scream and clutched at his shoulders convulsively, winding her legs around his waist as he pushed into her, his entire length filling her to the brim with a single thrust of his hips.

“Och, Maddy, I needed ye so much. Ye feel so good,” he groaned, wrapping her tightly in his arms as he moved inside her, the fingers of one hand tangling in her hair and cradling her head, the better to pin her in place and return her kisses searchingly.

“Mmmm, ye feel good tae me too, Odhrán, better than anything, ever,” she breathed against his lips, her nails raking his back and buttocks, already gripped by the mounting pleasure he always seemed able to elicit from her. “I cannae get enough of ye.”

“That must be because ye were made fer me, Maddy,” he panted, speeding up.

“Aye, I think that must be so,” she murmured, gripping him with her legs as they moved together in perfect unison, their passion rising equally as they bucked against one another on the soft grass, their kisses becoming more frantic as they finally reached a shuddering climax together.

In the afterglow, they stayed like that, with the sun beating down on them, laughing against each other’s damp, hot skin, their breathing ragged as they recovered from the ecstatic moment. After a while, Odhrán rolled to the side, his arm around her, while she flung her leg over his waist and her arm across his chest, allowing the hairs on his chest to tickle her nose as she lay her head there.

“I can feel yer heart beatin’,” she told him, stroking his chest gently, finding the strong, steady thump, thump, thump by her ear strangely comforting

“It only does that fer ye, Maddy. When ye’re nae around, ’tis just a useless lump, good for cheming’,” he answered with a small chuckle that reverberated against her head. “Och, I think I must have died and gone tae heaven. Lyin’ here like this, in the sun, with ye by me side, I feel so… free, like all the rest of the world has disappeared,” he went on, hugging her to him and kissing her damp, tangled hair.

“Aye,” she agreed with a contented sigh, understanding exactly what he meant. “’Tis like a wonderful dream, and I never want tae wake up.”

“D’ye really mean that?” he asked, tilting his head to look into her eyes as if to verify her words. Filled with a deep tenderness, she smiled up at him and gently brushed strands of hair form his forehead.

“Aye, I dae. I’ve never been so happy in me life as I am at this moment.”

“Does that mean ye’re glad we’re wed now?” he asked. The tenderness almost overwhelmed her when she heard the scintilla of doubt in his voice. The urge to banish all his doubts about how she felt about him was too strong to resist any longer. She leaned up on her elbow and looked into his eyes intently, tracing the line of his lips with her finger.

“I’m much more than glad, Odhrán. I’m over the moon. How could I nae be when I have such a wonderful man tae call me husband? I’m a lucky woman indeed,” she whispered. Inside, she was summoning up the courage to finally admit the truth she had been holding back for so long for reasons that no longer seemed important. But before she could speak the words, he pulled her into a hug and showered her face with small kisses.

“Och, ye say such nice things about me! I dinnae ken if I’ll ever get used tae it. I’ve nae been a good man in the past, and I’ve done many bad things, things I’m ashamed of. When ye hated me at first, I understood it. It was nae more than I expected since most of me life had been like that. Except for Liam and Tadgh, naebody has ever cared about me, but that’s nae the same thing at all as havin’ a woman who cares about ye. ’Tis all new tae me.

“When ye were so worried fer me when I fought with Rollo, and then the way ye looked after me when I was hurt, and… the passion between us… well, I started tae hope ye might have come tae care fer me a little after all. I would have been content with that.” He a paused, giving a small sigh that tugged at Maddison’s heartstrings. She listened attentively as he went on.

“But then, when ye kissed me when I went off tae fight the battle, it was as if all the angels in heaven were chemin’ down on me at last, showin’ me what true happiness was. I felt ten feet tall, ready tae take on any army. Sometimes, I cannae help wonderin’ what I’ve done tae deserve ye. I get scared that ye’ll be taken away from me, as a punishment for the things I’ve done. It would break me heart tae loose ye.”

“Odhrán, dinnae say so!” she gently chided him, wanting to comfort him at the same time. “Aye, ye did bad things, but that was because ye were forced tae live in yer faither’s shadow and obey his commands. He was yer example, and there was nae one tae teach ye any different.”

“Ye say that, Maddy, but I’m a grown man. I cannae just keep blamin’ everythin’ on him like a child.” He looked at her appealingly. “How can a man who secretly plotted his own faither’s death so he could be the laird and then ended up killing him truly be a good man? ’Tis nae a good feelin’ tae be such a man. ’Tis like a black shadow on me soul that I’ll never be rid of.”

Alarmed by the turn of the conversation, Maddison sat up, the better to see him.

“Odhrán, listen tae me because I ken what I’m talkin’ about,” she said vehemently. “Yer faither was a cruel, unfeeling brute, a murderous monster who never showed ye a whit of love or respect, nae even as a wee bairn, and he maligned yer poor dead cheming tae yer face. He was a coward who used ye, his only son, tae dae his dirty work, all the time danglin’ the future of the lairdship over yer head like a threat. He taunted ye and made ye feel less of a man tae keep control of ye because he was weak and kent nay other way but threats and violence tae keep his wee bit of power.