An Enemy at the Highland Court: An Enemies to Lovers Highlander Romance (The Highland Ladies Book 5)

by Celeste Barclay

  “Get out because I’m ashamed of you. I never imagined for a moment, Myrna, that you could be so disgustingly hateful. I have never been so disappointed in someone as I am in you, right now. Get out.” Padraig shocked himself as he spewed forth the truth, uncaring whether it hurt Myrna’s feelings. His duty was to protect his wife, not Myrna, no matter how much he loved her. He lowered his voice, but there was no way that Cairren didn’t hear. “I love you, Myrna, but you can’t do this. It’s not right.”

  “Right? What is right aboot this—this—” Myrna pointed toward Cairren. “That getting into the bed that should have been mine with the mon who should have mine?”

  “We can’t change any of this, so go.”

  “You want her more than you do me,” Myrna accused.

  “This has naught to do with you or me. This is my duty to my clan.” Padraig growled. Cairren moved out of the corner of his eye, and he recalled that she was hearing everything he said. He’d once more become so focused on Myrna that he forgot how his actions hurt Cairren. He looked at her as she fought back tears. Padraig looked around the room; he and Cairren stood naked, the lack of clothing obviously humiliating Cairren, with his mother and would-have-been-betrothed spewing vulgarities at her while his mother-by-marriage could do nothing to stop them. Wynda unabashedly cried, her hands covering her mouth, her eyes filled with horror. “We are done here. You will all leave. What happens now is between me and my wife.”

  “No.” Mary pointed at Cairren. “She’s not a virgin, and we shall all witness you coupling that way she can’t spill chicken’s or sheep’s blood on the sheet to fool us.”

  Cairren stepped forward. “Where the devil would I get that? I’ve never been in this chamber before. I have no clothes on, and I brought nothing with me. I am a virgin, and I will prove it.” Cairren turned to Wynda. “Would you stand outside the door until Padraig and I are—are done? He will bring you the sheet immediately. They can hang it from the railing before the night is through.”

  “That’s not good enough,” Mary argued.

  “Then you are saying you think your son is such a fool that I could trick him. You are saying that he is dishonorable and wouldn’t send out the sheet, or that he’d trick his own parents. You are saying that you don’t trust your other, Highlander, daughter-by-marriage. It’s one thing to insult me, but you needn’t drag the rest of your family into it.” Cairren crossed her arms beneath her breasts. The sight of them pushed up and together made Padraig’s cock jump. Myrna burst into tears and ran toward him. Just like her instinct had been to catch Cairren’s bouquet, his was to embrace her. He raised his arms, but at the last minute he realized what he was doing. He saw the betrayal and rejection on Cairren’s face before it turned to loathing. He’d expected the bedding ceremony to be awful, but he’d never imagined it could be so horrendous. He grasped Myrna’s upper arms and kept her away from his body.

  “Don’t do this, Myrna. Leave,” Padraig said as gently as he could. He released one arm and led her to the door. He opened it and ushered her through. Collette and Wynda hurried to leave, but Mary remained. “Get out, Mother, or I will pick you up and carry you out.”

  Mary huffed and stormed out, leaving Padraig finally alone with Cairren. He didn’t know what to do, what to say. He didn’t know if he should look at her or look away. He walked to the foot of the bed and rested his head in his hands. But he couldn’t sit still. He ran his hands through his hair as he stood and looked at Cairren. The atrocious scene had caused his arousal to wane, but the moment he looked at Cairren again, his rod lengthened and hardened. He’d never felt more of a cad than he did in that moment. His body continued to react at the most inopportune times. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. With no one else to look at, Cairren’s last words came back to him.

  “Why did you defend me? Why do you keep trying to protect me? Wynda I can understand, but why me? Why after what you heard me say?” Padraig’s voice was hoarse as he gazed at Cairren, who now wrapped her arms over her chest and waist.

  “Did I lie? What I said is what your mother’s words implied. Wynda has done naught wrong in any of this. She’s been the only kind face that I’ve seen. She seems—timid,” Cairren tried to pick the right word to say aloud, but she would have better described Wynda as skittish. “I’ve watched the stronger pick on the weak before and not spoken against it. I’m ashamed of that, and I won’t stay quiet after I watched it nearly destroy Maude Sutherland’s chance at happiness and love. If I don’t speak up, then I’m complicit and just as foul a soul as the person being cruel.”

  Padraig took a step closer but wasn’t sure if Cairren would allow him any nearer. “But why me? Why protect me?”

  “As you said. This is aboot duty. Yours and mine to our clans. Despite this mess, you strike me as honorable. To insinuate you’re aught other than that is wrong. You’re doing your—doing what you can with this.” Cairren waved her hand toward the bed, then between them. “Padraig, I’m not a child. I can take care of myself, and that means I can manage to speak out against a wrong.”

  “But you worried earlier that upsetting Myrna would cause you more problems.”

  “Oh, it will. I won’t come out of this unscathed, but that doesn’t change that I should do what’s right. Honor is important to people other than just the men in the Highlands. If I stand by and do naught when a wrong is committed, then where is my honor?” Cairren shook her head and shrugged. Padraig was in awe of the tiny woman who stood before him with more integrity than any member of his clan, including him, had shown since the Kennedys arrived. He took the last two steps until he could tuck his finger under her chin and lift her head until their eyes met.

  “I’m sorry. Those words may feel insignificant, but they are sincere. I thought earlier tonight that I wasn’t sure that I could endure what you have without breaking down and crying. Now you’ve suffered even more. Cairren, I can’t undo any of this, but I can try to make up for it. I will keep them away from you as best I can. I will make it clear I won’t tolerate any further insults to you. And—” Padraig shifted uncomfortably. “And I can at least make something aboot being here feel good.”

  Cairren’s turned a pretty shade of pink as her lips twitched. Her eyes darted down to his rod that pointed toward her. She smiled and nodded. “There is little point in pretending you’re not attracted to me, and I won’t pretend I’m not attracted to you. Our two kisses proved that.” Cairren glanced at the bed before looking back at Padraig.

  “Are you scared?”

  “A little,” Cairren admitted.

  “For all my faults and errs, what we share in this chamber will always be for your pleasure. When we are in here together, the rest of the world doesn’t exist. It’s just the two of us and what we want.” Padraig spoke without realizing that he admitted that he intended to bed Cairren more than just that night.

  “Thank you,” Cairren whispered. She lifted her chin as Padraig lowered his mouth to hers. She came onto her toes as she reached to wrap her arms around his neck. She opened to him without hesitation, welcoming the thrust and parry of their tongues in her mouth. Padraig brushed her hair away from her chest before cupping her breast. His thumb brushed back and forth over her nipple until it pebbled. His other hand skimmed down her back until he cupped her backside, pressing her hips to his. He bent to take her breast in his mouth, but their height difference made it awkward. Cairren giggled. “Apparently, I’ve found something else I’m too short for.”

  “Cheeky,” Padraig grinned as he patted her backside. “Then I shall have to solve that.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Padraig lifted Cairren into his arms and carried her to the bed. Someone had already turned down the sheets. He laid her down with such gentleness that Cairren’s heart lurched. Padraig slid onto the bed beside her. He lay on his side as his fingers grazed over her breasts. It was the barest contact, but it made Cairren shiver as an ache began low in her belly. She rolled onto her side and ten
tatively raised her hand. When Padraig nodded, she ran her hand over the bronzed skin of his chest and shoulders. It was clear that he trained outside without his leine; his torso, arms, and calves were darker than his thighs. She hadn’t anticipated how much tanner he would be without his shirt covering him. She marveled at how strong Padraig’s muscles felt under her palm. He’d carried her twice, but the moments were so brief that she hadn’t a chance to discover the power he possessed. She trailed her hand up his neck until she cupped his jaw.

  “May I kiss you?” she whispered.

  “You never need to ask, Cairren.”

  She scooted closer until she could press her lips to his. He let her control this kiss, opening to her but not thrusting forth his tongue. Hers flicked out, brushing the inside of his mouth. He groaned as the need to thrust into her sheath grew, but he kept himself still, encouraging her to explore, to gain more courage to discover what she liked. She pulled back, offering him three quick kisses before she rolled onto her back, her arms open to him.

  “There is no rush,” Padraig murmured, but Cairren’s eyes flashed to the door. “Shh. Wynda will wait. She’s on your side, Cairren. I hate saying there are sides, but we both know there are. She won’t want you to miss out on what should be special for you. I know my sister-by-marriage. Her first time was not enjoyable. I know she’d want better for you.”

  Cairren darted another glance at the door before she nodded. Padraig rested on his forearm as he leaned in for another kiss. He’d tasted nothing so sweet at Cairren, her floral scent enticing, her lips soft and plump, her mouth warm and inviting. He kissed his way down her neck, shifting down the bed to take her breast in his mouth. As the heat from his tongue swirled around her, he flicked her nipple before drawing it into a peak. Cairren couldn’t contain her moan or keep her back from arching, offering herself to him. He kneaded the supple flesh of her other breast as he continued to worship the one he suckled. He shifted again, capturing the other breast in his mouth. His hand slid along her belly until it brushed over the satiny skin of her mons. He’d felt nothing like it. As his fingers explored the bare skin, Cairren’s legs fell open, the invitation clear.

  Padraig used the hand of the arm he rested on to massage her breast as he continued to suckle the other. With no thatch of hair hiding the hood over her pearl, he found the source of her pleasure and slowly ran circles over it with the pad of his thumb. He dipped a finger into her entrance, dew coating it. She sighed at the feeling of him finally touching her where her body felt like it would go up in flames. The ache in her belly spread, making her writhe under his ministrations as her body searched for relief. As he dipped a second fingertip into her, she moaned again, and Padraig recognized the sound of frustration. He eased the fingers in until he brushed her barrier.

  He’d known all along that she was an innocent, but the unprovoked possessiveness he’d already experienced twice swept over him. He couldn’t recall every feeling this way about Myrna. He’d always assumed he would be her first and only, but the need to know, to claim what he believed was his, had never consumed him, never even entered his mind before Cairren. He pushed thoughts of Myrna away, refusing to think of another woman while he coupled with Cairren. She deserved more respect and loyalty, and he refused to risk her suspecting where his mind drifted to. He worked her sheath as her hips rocked against his hand. The women he’d bedded in the past were all experienced. The feel of his touch was nothing new to them, and he rarely paid as much attention to their responses. But watching Cairren discover the pleasure they could find with one another was captivating. Her changing expressions, the sound of her breathing, how she moved as she learned what she enjoyed. All of it mesmerized him, and his cock pulsed with unspent need. He glanced down and noticed he was leaking, but he wanted to draw out her introduction to passion before he inevitably caused her pain.

  “Padraig,” Cairren moaned. She didn’t know what to do. Her body ached, and it was so strong that the places he touched burned with the need for something more. She knew her body was begging for him to join his with her, but she didn’t know how to ask. Her heels dug into the mattress but slipped along the sheets as she tried to bring his fingers deeper.

  “Wheest, Ren. I know. You’re almost there.” Padraig circled her bud again as he added more force to both his thumb and his fingers as he worked her sheath. Her chin tilted up as her eyes squeezed shut, and he felt the spasms grip his fingers. Cairren felt breathless as pleasure spread from within her core out through her belly as though she glided along a wave. “Open for me, little one.”

  Cairren heard Padraig’s request through her haze, and she felt something thicker than his fingers pressing against her entrance. She looked down to find Padraig’s length slowly disappearing within her. There was an ache and a burn of a different sort as he pressed further into her, but she fought to remain calm and breathe. She’d heard plenty of women speak of their first time and the pain. She’d also heard plenty tell how their partner had been rough and uncaring. Padraig seemed attuned to her and how her body reacted to his.

  “Look at me, Cairren. I wish we could skip what comes next. I don’t want to hurt you, but I believe it’s inevitable. Give it a moment, and the pain will subside. But if it’s too miserable, tell me, and we will stop.”

  “Won’t that make you miserable?”

  “Not as much as knowing I’ve hurt you. I’ve done that enough already,” Padraig hung his head.

  “Padraig?” Cairren waited for him to look at her, then she cupped his jaw. “I trust you.” And she found that she did. In that moment as they lay together in bed, putting aside all that had happened and the undoubtable fallout they would face in the morning, she trusted him. “Will you kiss me while…”

  Padraig pressed his mouth to her, his tongue sweeping inside then thrusting, mimicking what he intended to do with his sword in her sheath. He drove into her, breaking her barrier and barely withdrawing his tongue before her teeth snapped shut. She whimpered as her nails dug into his upper arms where she’d wrapped her hands to brace herself.

  “Ren, look at me. Shh, it’ll pass. Lie here with me, catch your breath.” Padraig’s voice soothed her as he brushed hair back from her temple. He kissed away the stray tear that fell from each eye.

  “Will you kiss me again? I promise I didn’t mean to bite.”

  Padraig’s smile was boyish and soft. “I ken you didn’t, little one.” As their kiss deepened and Padraig felt Cairren’s body soften, he rocked his hips against her. The moan that reached his ears was once again one of passion and need. As his hips thrust forward, she raised hers and tilted to meet him. Her hands ran over his back, leaving a trail of tingling skin until she reached his buttocks. The next moan was deep and purely carnal as her hands grasped his chiseled backside. She’d never imagined a part of any person’s body could be so hard and taut. Her hands slipped into the grooves at the sides, and she found they were the perfect place to hold on.

  Padraig couldn’t slow down. He was racing toward his climax faster than he could control. His body demanded relief, but his mind demanded he ensure Cairren climaxed at least once while they were joined. He wouldn’t cheat her out of the pleasure he was on the cusp of grasping. He feared he was too rough, and his conscience screamed that he should be gentle. He recognized she was far smaller than him and this was her first time, but as she met him thrust for thrust, and her moans filled his ears, he couldn’t control himself. He panted as he tried to regain some restraint, but when he tried to slow, her fingers dug into his backside.

  “No. Don’t stop. Please,” Cairren begged.

  “Ren, I could only stop if you told me to, but I need you. Dear God, how could aught feel this good and not be a sin?”

  “You’ll keep going?” Cairren’s eyes drifted closed as her concentration centered on how their bodies moved together.

  “God, yes. Cairren, I want you more than I’ve ever wanted aught in my life. What’re you doing to me?”

  “I d
on’t know.” Cairren’s innocent response made Padraig smile. His sweet bride with the luscious body was temptation incarnate. “I feel it again, Padraig. Like before. That feeling.”

  “Good, little one. You should. I want you to.”

  “Will you? I mean, will it be that way for you?”

  “I suspect even better than ever before.” Before he could say more, he felt Cairren’s core clamp around him as her breath hitched. He let go of the restraint he’d mustered, and his climax consumed him. He’d never experienced such physical pleasure before, and as he watched Cairren with her eyes closed, he’d never felt so close to another person. Not even Myrna.

  Padraig felt as much as saw Cairren’s heaving chest, and he feared he was crushing her. When he made to roll off, her eyes sprang open and her arms and legs held him in place. He saw a flash of uncertainty in her eyes, almost fear, but she whispered. “Please, not yet.”

  He lowered himself back down to his forearms, brushing hair from her damp forehead. “I don’t want to go anywhere.” He kissed her with a tenderness he didn’t know he possessed. When they pulled apart, Cairren pushed hair away from Padraig’s eyes and caressed his cheek.

  “Thank you for being gentle with me, for making sure this was—I don’t even know how to describe it. I’m just thankful that you thought of me.” Cairren froze as her own words sunk in. He felt her tense, and he knew what she feared.

  “You fill every one of my senses, my need for you consumes me with such power that the keep could burn down around us, and I wouldn’t be able to think of aught but you.” The kiss he pressed against her mouth was passionate. The tender sentimentality was gone, replaced by hunger he thought he’d surely sated. But his need for his wife made him harden within her narrow frame. “I don’t want to hurt you any more than I have. We should stop. I should let you rest.”

  Cairren shook her head. “I need this. Padraig, I don’t understand how my body aches so much when you touch me or why it’s so strong that it hurts, but please, I don’t want to stop.”