But now she considered that her life here would not only be dreadfully boring, but also extremely unproductive were she not to do anything more than trail around all day with Rorie or take an occasional swim in the river. It was a matter she’d have to take up with Graeme.
She needed a purpose. If she was going to gain her new clan’s acceptance, then it stood to reason she’d need to do something to earn it.
Her father had always said that respect was earned, not given. The Montgomerys weren’t giving her anything. But there was nothing to say she could not secure it for herself.
Aye, she’d discuss it with Graeme. She would even approach Nora herself. She hadn’t been one to malign Eveline, at least not to her face. She seemed kindly enough, even if she was a little wary around Eveline.
She blinked when she became aware of everyone standing around her. Graeme’s brothers had risen and loomed over the table, making her feel very small and insignificant in comparison.
Graeme was every bit as large and fearsome as his brothers, but he didn’t frighten or intimidate her. Bowen and Teague had been nice enough and even respectful, but she still wasn’t sure where she stood with them.
After glancing warily in their direction, she also rose and moved instinctively toward Graeme. He tucked her in close to his side, putting his arm around her side. His hand rested possessively on her hip and she was shocked that he was holding her so in front of the entire clan.
As she glanced up, she saw him talking to his brothers.
“… bid you a good night. Eveline and I are retiring.”
She stopped breathing a moment as she processed what she’d seen on his lips. Her heart fluttered and dropped into her stomach as he urged her forward, still holding her against his side.
She offered Rorie a smile and only briefly made eye contact with Bowen and Teague. She was too embarrassed to look any longer because she had a firm idea that they knew why Graeme was taking her above stairs.
There was the fact that she didn’t know for sure herself, however, he’d made himself perfectly clear earlier. He’d left her with no doubt as to what his intentions were, and he didn’t seem a patient sort of man.
He would take her to bed tonight and he’d make her his. Their marriage would be consummated, effectively sealing their union.
The kissing part she was more than ready for. The rest was what she wasn’t overly certain of.
As soon as they left the hall, Graeme swept her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. Surprised by the sudden action, she looped her arms around his neck and hung on. His expression was intense. Focused.
He shouldered his way into the chamber and then walked to the bed and gently laid her down in the middle. Her dress spread out, the green and white vivid against the furs draped over the mattress.
He stood over her, merely staring down at her, his gaze taking in every inch of her.
She cocked her head to the side. “Why do you stare at me so?”
“Because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of looking upon.”
“Oh.”
She was breathless. “Oh” was all she could muster. It didn’t make for scintillating conversation, but what could she possibly say in response to words such as those?
“I do not even know what to do first, so tempted I am by you.”
“Kiss me.”
“Oh aye, I can do that,” he said as he lowered himself over her.
His body pressed to hers, bore her farther into the mattress. His heat surrounded her, his scent. She inhaled as he kissed her. Deep. Searching. His tongue slid over hers, licking, advancing, and then retreating in slow, measured motions.
He pulled his head up and away from her and stared down, his eyes simmering in the low light. Leveraging his weight on one arm, he reached with his free hand and stroked through her hair, pushing it away from her face, touching her cheek, and then he caressed her jaw.
She’d thought that he wasn’t a patient man, but now that they were here, he seemed only too willing to take his time, a fact she wasn’t sure she liked or not.
Edgy impatience tugged at her. Deep inside, beneath her skin, it was as if something came alive and took over. She was restless, suddenly flushed with heat. The blood in her veins seemed ready to boil.
Her br**sts were heavy, her ni**les painfully erect. And lower, in her most private regions, need pooled, making it impossible for her to remain still.
Was this what desire felt like? Was this what it was like to want someone so badly that it hurt?
Each touch, each caress, she soaked up greedily, wanting and needing more. She craved his hands upon her. She wanted his tenderness and caring. She needed him to look upon her as he’d never looked upon another woman.
And then he pushed himself upward and moved back until he was off the bed, leaving her bereft of his warmth. She raised her head, ready to protest, but something in his eyes stopped her.
His gaze had darkened, sending shivers racing across her skin. There was something intensely predatory about his stare, and it awakened a keen sense of aching vulnerability within her.
He simply held out his hand and she didn’t hesitate a moment reaching for it. His fingers closed around her palm and he pulled her upward until she sat on the edge of the bed.
Lowering his body, he knelt before her, palming her face so she had no choice but to see what it was he said.
“I’m going to light more candles. There’s nothing I want more than to be able to look upon your beauty and miss nothing to the darkness. And then, when the room is sufficiently illuminated, I’m going to play lady’s maid and undress you, piece by piece until you stand before me without the barrier of clothing.”
She sucked in her breath and swallowed hard. Her pulse raced until she felt precariously light-headed.
He smiled and kissed her, moving those firm, warm lips over hers. When he drew away, he said, “Worry not, Eveline. I’ll not do anything to harm or frighten you. ’Tis all night we have, and all night I plan to enjoy. There is no rush in our first time as man and wife. I would have you remember this occasion just as I will long commit it to memory.”
With that, he stood once more and began lighting other candles, placing them strategically around the room until the entire chamber was aglow with warm candlelight. He took a moment to tend the fire, adding wood until the flames licked high.
Then he returned to the bed where she sat and once again offered his hand. He pulled her upward to stand beside him and he took her place, sitting on the edge of the bed with her standing before him.
With gentle hands, he began to peel away the overtunic, leaving her in the green underdress. She trembled, but she realized that it wasn’t in fear. Nay, it was anticipation that had overtaken her and had left her shaking like a leaf in front of her husband.
He didn’t just rip her clothing from her. He seemed quite content to slowly rid her of the dress she’d so painstakingly fretted over just hours before.
She sucked in a breath when he began to ease it down her body and then he let it go, allowing it to fall at her feet. In a few more moments, he’d divested her of her undergarments and she stood completely nude as he leaned back to gaze upon her body.
“Beautiful.”
The one word said so much more. His gaze, the way he looked at her, the appreciation in his eyes and the way the muscles in his arms tightened. She was suddenly impatient to see him and to look upon him as he was looking upon her.
“Come to me.”
She took a nervous step forward, and then his arms came around her, pulling her between his legs. He pressed his lips between the valley of her br**sts and kissed right over her heart.
His hands smoothed down her bare back and down to her bu**ocks and then back up again. He turned his face up to capture her gaze, and then his hands tangled in her hair, pulling her down so she met his lips once more.
The kisses were less patient this time. Hot and demanding. Breathless. He was more forceful, his body tense against hers. She could feel the power emanating from him, knew that he could crush her with the slightest effort.
But he was exquisitely gentle with her. He treated her like she was a precious object he was afraid to break. She moaned softly into his mouth and relaxed against him, allowing some of the coiled tension to leave her body.
After a moment he broke from her mouth, but kept his lips on her flesh as he kissed a line down her neck and then to her br**sts. When his mouth closed around one nipple, her knees buckled and he caught her to him to prevent her from falling.
It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. It was frightening for its sheer intensity. Streaks of pleasure bolted through her body. Her br**sts throbbed and ached. Her groin ached.
A pulse began between her legs that was uncomfortable because she didn’t know how to assuage it. She twisted restlessly, becoming more agitated by the moment.
He gave her other breast equal measure, lapping the tip with his rough tongue and then suckling it into his mouth. All the while, his hands roamed over her body, caressing, petting, becoming more intimate.
Palm down, he pressed his hand flat against her belly and then glided lower to her pelvis. Shocked at his daring, but eagerly anticipating the results of his bold touches, she held her breath when his fingers carefully delved into the nest of hair at her apex.
When his fingers stroked over the part of her that was throbbing, she flinched, not because he’d brought her displeasure, but because her reaction was uncontrollable.
He sucked strongly at her nipple as his fingers grew bolder, sliding deeper into sensitive flesh. She gasped as her sense of urgency mounted. Her body began to tighten unbearably. Pleasure built and built until she was baffled as to what she should do.
Her toes curled against the hard floor. Her hands flew to his shoulders, seeking purchase, something to hold on to before she lost all strength in her legs.
And then his finger slid inside her body, carefully probing as his thumb worked over the aching flesh above her entrance. It was too much for her to bear.
She closed her eyes as the chamber began to swirl around her. Spots flashed in her vision and she let out a cry that vibrated up her throat. She thought it must be loud because of the sensation it caused her.
The next thing she knew she was cuddled on Graeme’s lap and he was stroking her body as he kissed her forehead. He was still fully clothed, which she thought was vastly unfair, and she was completely limp, no strength left in her shaking limbs.
She moved, tilting her head up so she could see his face. “What happened?”
He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “You found your woman’s release.”
It seemed such a nondescript term for what she’d experienced.
“It felt more like heaven,” she breathed.
His smile broadened. Then she glanced down and frowned, her nose wrinkling. “You still have all your clothing on.”
His eyebrows went up. “You object?”
“Aye, I do. I’d like to sit on the bed as you did and watch as you disrobe.”
His eyes blazed and she found herself abruptly put aside as he stood. She stared up at him openmouthed as he loomed over the bed.
“Then, my lady, I’ll certainly grant your wish.”
CHAPTER 26
Graeme could barely contain his eagerness as he stood before Eveline, preparing to disrobe. God’s teeth, but he didn’t want to frighten the lass and it was taking all his restraint not to tear off his clothing and then slide between her legs.
His c**k was nigh to bursting. Every ounce of his blood was pooled in his groin, engorging his manhood until he was grinding his teeth against the discomfort.
As he divested himself of his tunic and leggings, he was well aware of her curious gaze on his body. It only made him more desirous to take her long and hard. Those innocent eyes, so wide, as she took her first look at her husband without his clothing.
But then her gaze fell on his distended c**k and they widened. She looked up to his face, then dropped her gaze back down and then back up again, almost as if she were asking him a thousand questions with that one look.
“Do you like what you see, wife?” he asked when her gaze returned to his face.
She licked her lips, the movement so sensuous and erotic that he groaned.
“Aye,” she finally whispered. “ ’Tis a beautiful sight, your body.”
Beautiful? It didn’t seem appropriate that she used the same language to describe him as he’d used in describing her. He was nothing like her. He was hard where she was soft. Rough where she was smooth. Scarred where she had no marks to mar her lovely flesh.
He stalked forward and then tipped her back, tumbling her onto the bed as he loomed over her. He crawled between her splayed thighs and rubbed his body up hers until his lips hovered just over her mouth.
He rocked his body, mimicking the motions of being inside her though he rubbed over her soft, feminine flesh. He enjoyed the feel of her against his erection. He knew she wasn’t yet prepared for him, not so soon after finding her own release. It would take time to make her ready, but he would enjoy every moment of it.
He dragged himself down and then back up her body, locking his mouth to hers. Their tongues clashed and tangled. Hot, breathless kisses. He swallowed her soft moans, knew she likely wasn’t even aware of making the low sounds.
It had been a long while since he’d last given in to his baser urges. And yet he hadn’t missed it. What he missed was what he’d never had. Intimacy. The feeling of closeness. The knowledge that he truly liked the woman he was coupling with.
He was well aware of the differences between him and other men, and even his own brothers. He’d never been one to throw his seed far and wide. Even as a youth, he hadn’t been fast to lose his virginity. It had been even beyond when his younger brothers had enjoyed their first woman that Graeme had given in, and his first experience hadn’t been particularly fantastic. In fact, it had been some time after that before he’d decided to indulge again.