In Bed With A Stranger(25)

“Unless I frighten ye too badly.”

She lay back, shutting her eyes to ignore him. He chuckled at her and the sound ruffled her pride. She lost her will to keep her eyes closed.

“You think too much of yourself, my lord. You are but a man, no different from many, many others.”

She kept her voice low but he heard her. Instead of taking offense at her insult, he grinned. He reached across her body, keeping her shoulders pinned to the ground as he leaned close to her face, hovering above her lips. Tense anticipation tightened around her as she felt the brush of his breath on the delicate skin of her lips.

“It will be my pleasure to introduce ye to the differences, lass.” He pressed a firm kiss against her mouth. It was hard and inescapable, his chest keeping her in place as his mouth took what he wanted from her.

But it felt good. The kiss blew against the coals of the passion he’d sparked in her by the river. When he lifted his lips away, her breath was uneven.

“I’m looking forward to being in a more private place tomorrow night. There be a world o’ difference between knowing the men around ye and knowing a husband.”

He lay down beside her but remained on his side. She felt his stare on her as she tried to banish the feel of his kiss from her lips.

She forgot to pray as her body tingled and longed for more kisses.

Along with ones applied to her nipples.

Her thoughts made her sleep restless, and she turned and twisted on the hard ground. She opened her eyes half a dozen times during the night, staring at the shapes of the men around her. Her mind tossed about the idea of escape but she conquered that weakness by thinking of her family. If she ran away, she was abandoning them to Philipa’s wrath.

A soft grunt filled her ear as Brodick shifted. He reached across her body and hooked her around the waist. Pulling her snug against him, he kept her still as she wiggled in his embrace.

“You need some rest and so do I,” he whispered into her ear as his front pressed against her back. She was a great deal warmer with his body sharing his heat with her. But she also caught his scent and it awakened the need that had been so hard to resist while he kissed her. She shifted, trying to find some way to escape the smell of his warm skin.

“Keep rubbing against my cock and ye’ll have to live without that inspection.”

She gasped, looking around them, but his men had lay down several paces from them. His lips grazed her neck. His hand slid down to her belly, keeping her still as his lower body remained in firm contact with her bottom. Even through all the layers of her skirt and cloak, there was the unmistakable bulge of his cock. It was hard and her passage suddenly felt empty as though she would enjoy having it invade her sheath.

“Ye see how well suited we are.”

“Lust does not prove compatibility.”

He raised his head so that their eyes met in the dark. “It is a fine place to start.” He rubbed her mons, boldly touching it for the first time.

“Stop that.”

“Ye’re my wife, mine to touch by blessing of the church and yer family. Why would I stop doing something that yer face tells me ye’re enjoying?”

Pleasure burned up her passage as his hand moved. His eyes glittered as his lips thinned. There was no mercy on his face as his hand remained over her mons, moving in a steady motion.

“Close yer eyes and sleep or I’m going to take ye back to the riverbank to settle this question. Keep waking me up and it will be yer duty to entertain me, Wife.”

She closed her eyes in spite of her temper. Several retorts formed in her mind and she bit them back. A soft kiss landed on one cheek before he pulled his hand away from her mons. He settled it around her waist, clamping her against him from toes to chin.

“I’m nae a brute, Mary. But avoiding me will nae make this adjustment any easier. Some things are best done quickly. That way ye nae have time to dread them.”

She scoffed at him, the sound leaving her lips without thought. He chuckled, nuzzling against her neck for a long moment before settling back behind her, his scent keeping her passion alive and hot. She tried to sleep once more but her body wasn’t interested in rest. It longed for more touches, more pleasure. Her clitoris was pulsing softly with need as her passage craved penetration. There was no escape from the lust as long as Brodick held her tight against him. Her body wanted his and she couldn’t escape thinking about him while he held her. Time stretched, the night longer than any she had ever endured.





Chapter Five


Brodick rose before the sun. He huffed as he got to his feet, his expression disgruntled. With one hooded-eye look, the earl walked away to rub the neck of his horse.