He gathered her in his arms and squeezed affectionately. “Nay, lass, it wasn’t a dream. ’Tis no less than you should expect from your new home and clan. You’re still finding your way. You’ll make mistakes and so will I. This is new for both of us. I propose a bargain. You be patient with me and I promise to try not to yell so much.”
She went quiet for a moment and then she turned her chin up until she looked at him again. “That seems fair. I apologize for interfering in things that were not my concern. You were right. ’Tisn’t my place.”
The hurt and defeat in her voice stirred something deep within him. “Lass, look at me,” he said gently, as he tipped her chin upward with his fingers. “This is your home and your clan. You are mistress here and as such your authority is second only to mine. I plan for you to have many years to look forward to making this your home and a place you’re comfortable with. There’s no need to have everything done in a day.”
She nodded.
“You’re cold, lass. Come back inside the keep so I can warm you properly.”
As he’d hoped, his words made her stir restlessly against him. To give her added incentive, he fused his lips to hers, his heat melting her cold mouth. Ice against fire. In moments, she was returning his kiss with lusty, hot, open-mouthed kisses of her own. Lord, but the lass was a quick study in the art of kissing and using tongues.
He’d spend a lifetime of being indecent in her eyes if she’d only continue kissing him thusly.
“Come,” he said haggardly. “Before I take you right here and now.”
“You’re a lesson in sinning, Laird,” she said in her prim, disapproving voice.
He grinned and chucked her cheek in an affectionate manner. “Aye, that may be true, lass, but you’re no saint yourself.”
Mairin watched her husband as she ate the food that Maddie delivered after Mairin and Ewan retired to their chamber. He looked deceptively lazy, sprawled on the bed, hands behind his head and legs crossed at the ankle.
He’d stripped to just his trews, and she found it hard to concentrate on her food when he was lying there looking so blasted appealing.
As she downed the last of her food, her conversation with Maddie came to mind. She ducked her head, sure that Ewan would see the blush rising on her face, and she had no desire to tell him her thoughts. Not when they were so deliciously indecent.
But now that the thought had stuck in her mind, she studied him from the corner of her eye and wondered if she had the nerve to do as Maddie had described. It stood to reason that if he could make her so mindless with his mouth, the reverse would also be true.
“Are you finished yet, wife?” Ewan drawled.
She glanced down at the empty trencher and slowly set it aside. Aye, this was indeed the perfect time to try her wiles. She nearly giggled at the idea of her having wiles. Mother Serenity would be most stern over such a thought.
Not wanting to seem too obvious, she took her time preparing for bed. She undressed with a great deal more care than she usually exerted, her every movement slow and sensual. Twice she peeked to the side to see Ewan watching her, his eyes dark and hooded.
When she was completely nude, she sashayed to the basin of water and made a great production of washing. She turned to the side to give Ewan a good view of her profile, and she heard him suck in his breath when her nipples puckered in the wake of the damp cloth.
Having worked up the sufficient courage and having had enough time to formulate her plan, she tossed aside the cloth and moved toward the bed.
“You’re still clothed, husband,” she murmured as she stood over him.
Though he still wore his trews, they did nothing to disguise the bulge between his legs. He was hard and getting harder with every passing second.
“Aye, lass, but I can remedy that.”
He started to push upward, but she reached down and pressed a hand to his chest.
“ ’Tis my duty to undress you.”
He settled back onto the bed as her fingers went to the laces of his trews. As soon as she loosened them sufficiently, his erection jutted upward. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to his size. And she couldn’t even fathom how she’d get it in her mouth, but Maddie seemed sure that it was done by plenty of women.
When she had trouble tugging the material over his hips, he lifted them and his hands covered hers as he helped push it down his legs.
When he would have sat up, she once again pushed him down, only this time she followed him down, until her lips were a mere breath from his.
She kissed him, enjoying the feel of his mouth beneath hers. Her hands wandered over his chest, and she marveled at how hard and solid he was. The roughness of his scars contrasted with the bristle of the hair underneath her palms. His nipples puckered and hardened under her touch and she went back, rubbing over them again, fascinated by the reaction that was similar to her own.