He guided her down and she removed her hand and placed both palms on his chest. She leaned forward as his fingers slid from her hips over her buttocks. He gripped her flesh and spread her wider as he slid deeper.
With one final push, her bottom met the tops of his thighs. It was an unsettling sensation, being speared, so full with no relief. Her body hummed with pleasure. Her nipples tightened into hard points, pouting and begging for his touch.
He obliged her, leaving her hips and feathering his fingers over her belly up until he cupped both breasts in his palms. Little sparks of fire sizzled through her body when he thumbed the taut buds. He teased and coaxed until they were painfully rigid.
“Ride me,” he said huskily.
The image of doing such a thing exploded in her mind. A hot flush worked through her core until she squirmed and gripped him even tighter in her sheath.
Eager to do his bidding, she began to move, tentatively at first. She felt awkward and shy but the look in Ewan’s eyes gave her all the confidence she needed to continue.
Back and forth she rocked, rising up and then easing down. They both made contented sounds that became more desperate and urgent as she picked up her pace.
Delighting in her newfound freedom, she proceeded to drive them both beyond the bounds of reason. She smiled seductively down at her husband when he pleaded with her to stop tormenting him.
With her lips fused to his as tightly as their bodies were joined, they found their release. She swallowed his cry of triumph as he swallowed her cry of ecstasy. His fingers dug into her hips and he pulled her down, holding her there as he emptied himself into her body.
With a sigh, she collapsed on top of him and burrowed into his warmth. His heart pounded frantically against hers until she wasn’t sure whose beat harder. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, Mairin.”
For a moment she didn’t think she’d heard correctly. Aye, she loved him. More than she’d imagined loving a man. But she hadn’t dreamed that he’d return her feelings. He was affectionate with her. Loving, even. But she hadn’t ever expected that he’d offer her his heart.
Tears filled her eyes as she rose up, her hair falling over his chest while she stared down at him in wonder.
“Say it again,” she said huskily.
He smiled at hearing his own words tossed back at him.
“I love you.”
“Oh, Ewan,” she whispered.
“Don’t cry, lass. I’d do just about anything to keep you from crying.”
“ ’Tis happy tears.” She sniffed. “You’ve made me so happy, Ewan. You’ve given me a home and family. A clan to call my own. And you stood behind me today when I feared you’d denounce me in front of everyone.”
He frowned and shook his head. “I always stand behind you, wife. I may not always agree with you, and there will be times that I may not make a decision you agree with, but I always stand behind you.”
She hugged him again and pressed her face into his neck. “Oh, I do love you so, Ewan.”
He rolled until they were on their sides facing each other. He touched her face, stroking the wispy tendrils of hair from her cheek. “I’ve waited a long time for you to say those words, lass. And now that I have, I’m never going to grow tired of them.”
She smiled. “ ’Tis a good thing, Laird, for I have this problem with saying the least thing that runs through my mind, and ’tis a fact I’ll be thinking of how much I love you often.”
“Perhaps you should show me,” he said in a husky, aroused voice.
Her mouth dropped open. “Again?”
He smiled and kissed her. “Aye, lass, again.”
CHAPTER 31
Mairin slowly dragged herself out of bed and headed straight for the chamber pot where she vomited what little remained in her belly from the night before.
It was a miserable occurrence and had happened like clockwork every morning for the last fortnight. Only it didn’t end there. She vomited promptly after the morning meal, then again after the noon meal, and usually at least once before bed.
She’d hidden her condition from Ewan for as long as possible, but with all the vomiting and the way she eyed food as if she were being poisoned again, it was inevitable that he found out.
She would tell him today of her suspicions. Not that they were actually suspicions because it seemed obvious to her that she was carrying his child, and God knew, Ewan had put enough effort into the task of impregnating her.
The entire clan would greet the news with joy. With her dowry to be delivered at any time, prosperity would finally visit their keep. A pregnancy and safe delivery of a child would seal the McCabe control of Neamh Álainn.