In Bed With A Stranger(58)

Her face flooded with heat, her eyelashes fluttering. His eyes glittered as they noticed the telltale movement. With a shaky breath, she tried to leave. His arms tightened to keep her in place. His head tilted and she watched him open his lips. He closed them gently around the lobe of her ear, sucking it into his mouth.

“Brodick…”

“Aye, Wife?” He locked stares with her in the reflection. “What is wrong with enjoying yer gift? I bought it to give ye pleasure. Do ye deny that ye’re quivering with enjoyment?”

Her lips rounded with a little sound of confusion, all other words failing her. He chuckled near her ear, his chest shaking against her back. It was decadent. All of the sensations and sights combining into a mixture that intoxicated her senses. His fingers reached the tie holding the front of her stays closed. With a quick jerk he pulled it loose. Hooking the first crossing of laces with a crooked finger, he tugged the lace out of the eyelets. Her breasts felt heavier, almost swollen. He hooked the next crossing of laces and then the next. The stays lost their supporting hold on her, the stiff garment falling open now that it wasn’t held in place by the strong cord.

“I think there is something very right about this moment.”

He pulled her corset free, dropping it carelessly onto the floor. Her chemise was thin, made of fine cotton, the darkness of her nipples showing through it. Another gasp left her lips. This time Brodick echoed the sound with a swift intake of his own breath. His hands hovered over her breasts, only two fingertips pressing against her chemise to stroke her nipples. A deep shudder sent gooseflesh down her arms. She could actually see the tiny bumps decorating her forearms. Behind the fabric, her nipples drew taut, the hard tips visible in the mirror.

“Now there’s a sight I’m sure I dinnae want to miss. Yer nipples are very pretty.”

Were they? She didn’t know. Moving her gaze to his face, she witnessed the hard hunger drawing his features tight. Her waistband popped open, making her jump.

“I could get used to maiding ye with my own hands.”

“Wait.” Her skirts puddled around her ankles and shins before she spoke. The small padded roll around her hips didn’t last very long either. Brodick had untied it without hesitation. “We already…um…”

“Fucked? I remember it very well.” Amusement coated his voice.

“Why are you toying with me?”

Her chemise billowed now, falling around her body loosely. The flicker of the candle flame illuminated the curves of her body, causing her to look like some pagan offering. Heat moved through her passage, slow and deep. It wasn’t the white-hot flash of need that had assaulted her in the stable; this time it was centered in her womb.

“Who told you that a man and woman could only share intimacies once a night?” He set his hands on her hips, trapping her chemise there. The action drew the fabric tight across her breasts, showing off her hard nipples.

“Now I want to seduce ye.”

His hands smoothed over her hips, moving down her thighs to the edge of the undergarment. When his hands slid onto her bare skin, sensation ripped into her. He curled his fingers into talons, pressing each fingertip into her legs and raking his hands back up her thighs. The chemise rose and she stared in fascination as her thighs became visible. Higher, and the soft hair on her sex was revealed. Breathing became difficult as her belly was exposed. Her own hands gripped his kilt while he drew his fingertip along the sides of her breasts.

She lost the vision in the mirror as he drew the fabric over her head. Her eyelids fluttered, a soft moan crossing her lips when she gazed into the mirror again. The flickering flame illuminated her bare body. Her breasts were small, round globes that hung like tear drops, slightly fuller towards the bottom. Each one was set with a small pink nipple, the tips hard buttons.

“You’re a vision, lass. Like a siren from the Greek voyages. I’d follow ye to the rocks.”

“You shouldn’t say such things.”

He didn’t return his hands to her. He reached up to untie his sword. The dark handle was still visible above his right shoulder. The wide leather strap that held the scabbard along his back was shiny in the candlelight. He untied it with a quick, practiced motion. He set the sword down, leaning it against the wall directly next to the table. His kilt brushed against the back of her thighs when he moved back next to her.

“And ye, sweet wife, shouldnae be so quick to place borders around our union  . Our marriage is a tool for sweeping aside outdated ideas.”

His hand hovered over his belt buckle. Her gaze centered on the reflection, her breath stilling in her throat.