He bowed his head as he brought her breast to his mouth. He suckled and nipped, the blood rushing to his cock and his head. He grew lightheaded from the power of his need to possess his wife again. Caragh mewled as his other hand massaged the flesh of her other breast. Rowan rolled to his side and brought her with him. He pulled her thigh over his hip as his fingers found her core. He cautiously slid one finger into her and felt her tremble with need. She pressed her lips to his as she swept her tongue against his lips. He opened to her, and she dove in, tangling and dueling with his tongue. He eased a second finger into her as his thumb grazed the sensitive flesh of her pleasure button. She shattered within his arms as her body sucked his fingers in deeper and spasmed around them. Her moan of pure ecstasy had Rowan rolling her onto her back as he watched her face. She pulled him over her and guided him to her entrance.
“No.” Rowan tried to pull away, but her nails bit into his backside, and he saw a determination in her eyes that had been missing since the early days of her time aboard his ship. He eased within her. “We stop the moment you’re uncomfortable. I don’t think we should do this.”
“Right now, I don’t give a damn what you think. I want my husband to make love to me. I want to feel you inside me.”
Rowan slowly rocked his hips forward as Caragh ground her mons against him. It took only three more thrusts, and they both tumbled over the cliff into release. Rowan rested his weight on his forearms as he looked at Caragh’s flushed cheeks and glowing eyes. They were a deep shade of moss green, like grass after a Highland storm. Her joy was evident as she wrapped her arms around his waist and held onto him.
* * *
Over the next month and a half, Rowan marveled at how Caragh grew stronger each day. Their intimacy increased as he grew more confident about her health. He wasn’t sure if she improved, making it possible for them to share more, or if being intimate improved her health. He suspected it was the latter.
They stood at the prow of the ship as Caragh leaned back against Rowan, and he stood with his hand resting on the slight bump of her belly. It wasn’t noticeable with clothes on, but he was aware it was there.
“We shall meet up with Ruairí and Senga soon. Much has happened since we last saw them. Do you feel up to telling them about it?”
“I do. I’ve been looking forward to seeing them. I’ve missed so much time with Senga over the last few years. I wish we could be together more.” Caragh turned in Rowan’s arms and rested her hands on his heart. “Have you and Ruairí not considered sailing together? Why don’t you?”
Rowan shrugged, “When Ruairí was traded to another captain, it forced us apart. How we came to captain our ships was different, and our attitudes were different. We’re still as close as brothers, but even brothers go their separate ways at some point.”
“But what about now? You both have found women to love and build lives with. You know the past isn’t what you believed. Would it not be safer and easier if you worked together?”
Caragh spoke aloud what Rowan had been thinking since the attack. If Ruairí had still been with them, the attack never would have happened. Even if it had, he and Ruairí would have been victorious. It was the number of men who launched the attack that overpowered Rowan’s crew, not their skill. However, Rowan wasn’t sure that partnering with Ruairí was what he wanted for their future.
“I’ll think about it and speak to him when we see him.”
Caragh nodded and turned to look back out at the water. They stood there until the sun began to set, and Caragh pointed to a shape in the distance.
“Doesn’t that look like the Lady Charity? Do you think it is? Or should I go below deck?”
Rowan had seen the same thing and suspected it was Ruairí, but he wouldn’t wait to send Caragh to their cabin. He wished he could see more clearly, even from their significant distance. He kissed Caragh and sent her below. He readied his men in case it was foe rather than friend, then waited. As the ship drew closer, he caught sight of the marque of Argyll on the sails and grinned. He was sure now that it was Ruairí. He sent Skinny below deck to fetch Caragh.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ruairí and Senga stepped into Rowan and Caragh’s cabin, and Caragh immediately sensed Senga’s tension. She looked at her cousin, but Senga waved her away.
“I haven’t been this close to Canna since I left with Ruairí. I’m a wee wary after the way I left. I doubt anyone other than my aunt and uncle would welcome me.”
Caragh looked between Ruairí and Rowan. “Do you plan for us to go ashore?” Caragh asked Rowan, but he deferred to Ruairí.
“No. I’m not taking Senga back there. Men attacked her twice before we left. Rowan and I can conduct business there, but neither of you are going ashore.”
The hardness Caragh witnessed when she first met Ruairí was back as he pulled Senga into a protective embrace. Caragh couldn’t help but smile as she thought about how both sets of cousins’ lives so mirrored each other. The women remained in the Lady Grace’s cabin when Rowan and Ruairí went ashore.
“How does Caragh fare? We heard about the attack, but had a run we needed to make before we could find you.”
“She grows stronger each day, and she’s felt the bairn flutter, as she calls it. She isn’t sick anymore, and there doesn’t seem to be any permanent damage from her beating.”
Ruairí looked at Rowan for a long moment as they stood near the mouth of the cave as their crews unloaded and loaded the cargo.
“Do you ever think we’re making the wrong decision, having them sail with us?” Ruairí spoke so only Rowan could hear.
“I wonder that often. After what happened to Caragh, I don’t know that I can continue on as I have. Alane wasn’t my only enemy. Even if Caragh hadn’t insulted her, I should’ve known she wouldn’t accept my marriage or the end of our business arrangement. I think she would’ve attacked regardless. The thought of more harm coming to Caragh and our bairn is too much for me to stomach.” Rowan looked back at the two ships anchored next to one another. It was a familiar scene, one he’d seen on numerous shores. The difference was knowing they both had someone they were accountable to and responsible for. “Caragh asked why we don’t sail together.”
“Senga’s asked the same.”
The cousins looked at one another and broke out into grins.
“I think it’s time for the Blond Devil and the Dark Heart to reunite,” Ruairí chuckled.
“It is. But I can’t say for how long, Ruairí. I don’t want my bairn born and raised on a pirate ship.”
“I can understand that.” Ruairí nodded. “I’ve been having the same thoughts since we learned Caragh was with child. I look at Senga and can’t imagine having her and a bairn on board during an attack.”
“So where to?”
“Barra?”
Rowan sighed, “Is it worth it? I mean, to what avail? I was the heir, but last we heard your father is the laird. You’re his oldest son and should be his heir, but I assume you’ve been disowned just as I was. If not, then the moment they know for certain we both turned pirate, then they will disinherit us.”
“Do you want to live there again? Do you want to rejoin the clan?”
“No. I never considered it.” Rowan shook his head.
“What about for Caragh?”
“I’d rather go back to England, or even find her family on Lewis. But I do feel guilty about my mother.” Rowan waved his hand towards his ship. “I never felt guilt before I met Caragh. Now it plagues me.”
Ruairí’s deep laugh made Rowan’s mouth flatten into a thin line. “I laugh because it’s the same for me. I was worse than you, but I feel like a puddle of treacle these days.”
Both men looked at the ships.
“We don’t have to stay, Rowan. But now that we’ve learned how things really happened, don’t you think your mother deserves to see you? To know you survived. I know my parents do. My father was set to meet us. We could’ve tried to find him once you we
re well, but neither of us would swallow our pride. Look where that led. We were never just merchants. We might have been, and my father could’ve helped us. Instead, we’ve spent the last half a score of years killing and stealing. It doesn’t sound like such a grand adventure anymore.”
“You sound old. Do your bones creak in the morning?” Rowan teased.
“We are getting old. Or at least older. We have more at stake than just ourselves or our pride.”
“I worry about the danger of taking Caragh there. What if they try to imprison me again?”
“You know my father wouldn’t allow that. The elders underestimated who they put in the lairdship.”
“Do you really think that’s true? Why did Uncle Angus never try to find us?”
“We haven’t exactly made ourselves easy to find. Aye, people are aware of our real names these days, but it wasn’t that long ago we hid who we are.”
Rowan nodded, since what Ruairí said was true. He rarely used his actual name; telling Caragh the truth of his identity had been the first time in years he’d said his own name out loud. People knew without them needing to voice it.
“Are we in agreement that we go to Barra?” Rowan asked as the men finished up and returned to the dinghies before pushing them back into the water.
“Aye.”
The cousins sat in a dinghy as one of Ruairí’s men rowed them to the Lady Grace.
“Do we tell them yet?”
Rowan shook his head. “Not until I’m sure it’s not too risky to take them there. I know Caragh; I don’t want her to get her hopes up.”
“Same for Senga.”
The two couples dined together, but no one broached the subject of where they would sail to next. Both women seemed in tacit agreement to follow Rowan and Ruairí’s lead, and both men became wary of the women’s silent acquiescence. Once they finished the meal, Senga and Ruairí returned to their boat, and Caragh watched as Rowan undressed. She’d started donning loose kirtles she discovered in a chest Rowan brought from the hold after the visit from Elzapeth. She found them more comfortable when she still sported bruises and now they accommodated her slightly expanding waist. They also slipped over her head in one movement, leaving her naked and waiting as she watched her husband strip down.
Once they were both tucked into bed, Caragh began tracing Rowan’s tattoo. Following the lines and curves still soothed her. “Are we going to Barra?”
Rowan knew it shouldn’t surprise him; after all, they’d spoken of it more than once. However, his apprehension grew after speaking to Ruairí. “We are. But Caragh, I’m not taking you ashore until I’m certain they won’t attack.”
“I don’t suppose sending me and Senga ahead to scout would be much better. Two MacLeods from Lewis, even if I’m only half, won’t earn us a warm welcome.”
“I wouldn’t allow you to go ahead regardless of where your people are from,” Rowan growled.
“You do that quite a lot.”
“Do what?”
“Growl. I like it at times, but you sound like a feral dog.” Caragh chuckled, but Rowan jerked back. “Don’t be insulted. I just meant that I’m used to it, but if that’s how you sound when you return to your clan for the first time, you won’t win anyone over.” Rowan laughed and nodded as he ran his hand over Caragh’s hip and backside. “Are your palms itching to spank me?”
“Yes.” Caragh wiggled her bottom. “No. Absolutely not. Not while you’re carrying.”
“Not even in play?”
Rowan contemplated that. Caragh seemed back to her old self and strength, though she tired earlier than before. He cupped her backside and squeezed until he was sure it had to be painful. He watched Caragh’s eyes darken and her pupils dilate with desire. The rest of the night passed in a haze of spankings and love play. Both were happy to be returning to how things had been.
Chapter Twenty-Five
With morning came a resolve for both Rowan and Ruairí. Skinny rowed Rowan and Caragh over to Ruairí’s ship so they could break their fast with their cousins. Senga and Caragh chatted quietly while Rowan and Ruairí stood before the porthole and discussed their plans. The women eavesdropped as best they could, but the men were purposely speaking in hushed tones. Senga grinned at Caragh and patted Caragh’s knee before walking to Ruairí. Only Caragh had a view of how Senga ran her hand over Ruairí’s backside before sliding her hand between his legs to cup his bollocks. Caragh almost giggled when Ruairí’s body jerked, and he spun around.
“Minx, I know what you’re up to.”
“I could say the same,” Senga answered saucily.
“I think I shall take a lesson from my cousin.” Ruairí pulled Senga into his embrace, and his hand rained down spanks that were more playful than punishing. “You’d like to hear our plans and hope to take advantage of me to convince me to tell you.”
“Take advantage,” Senga’s laugh was huskier than normal as she winked at Ruairí. “I rather like that idea. So, what’s the plan?”
Senga pressed her body more tightly against Ruairí as she rose on her toes to flick Ruairí’s earlobe with her tongue. Caragh had her own ideas for how to convince Rowan to share their plans. She leaned forward as though she was adjusting her shoe, but she covertly tugged the neckline of her gown lower over her fuller breasts. Her ample bosom had swelled with her pregnancy. When she rose, her cleavage was so displayed that she worried the top of her nipples might be visible to not only Rowan, but Ruairí and Senga. But she wasn’t going to adjust it. She glided toward Rowan, who kept sight of Ruairí and Senga from the corner of his eye despite watching Caragh’s approach. Caragh knew when her extra cleavage registered with Rowan, his eyes widening and nose flaring. She paused and once more bent forward as though to check her shoe. Her breasts threatened to tumble out of the gown, and she heard Rowan’s muffled curse. He pounced before she stood to her full height.
“Minx, I know what you’re up to,” Rowan repeated his cousin’s words. He kneaded the breast that was out-of-view of their cousins, then tweaked the sensitive nipple as hard as he knew Caragh could bear. “This just earned you a trip over my knee. No one feasts their eyes on your breasts but me.”
Rowan, Caragh, and Ruairí seemed to have moved past the embarrassing memory of the hideous night in Rowan and Caragh’s cabin. Caragh no longer felt the stinging humiliation when she understood Ruairí’s eyes were only for Senga.
Rowan tweaked the nipple again at Caragh’s hitched breath. It was her turn for her pupils to dilate with desire, her lips parted as she panted. Rowan rocked his hips forward, his hardened rod brushing her mons. He lowered his mouth to hers and swept his tongue across her lips before sliding into the warm recesses of her mouth. The kiss burst into a blaze of need as Caragh clung to Rowan’s leine. They pulled apart, Rowan looking over his shoulder and Caragh leaning to look around his chest. They found Ruairí and Senga matching their gaze. Caragh and Senga grinned as the men nodded their heads.
Both women dropped to their knees as they pulled the laces to their men’s leather pants. Caragh stroked Rowan and watched the tip of his cock leak before her tongue flicked across it, lapping up the viscous dew and humming. Her mouth slid down his length and worked his swollen flesh. Rowan threw back his head as he reveled in the pleasure Caragh brought him. When he could stand little more, he lifted her to her feet, spun her around, and lifted her skirts. His hand rained down several sharp spanks until he was sure there was an echo in the cabin. He peered over his shoulder to see his cousin in a similar position. Ruairí’s broad frame blocked any view of Senga, but the way in which his arm moved, the ring of his palm on her flesh, and the responding moan of pleasure told him Ruairí had adopted Rowan’s methods. He returned his attention to Caragh and landed five more spanks before his fingers slipped into her soaking sheath.
“Impatient, aren’t you? Eager even.” Rowan murmured against Caragh’s ear. “We were prepared to share our thoughts and ask your opinions before we decided together, but you bo
th are too nosy for your own good. Then you thought to seduce me into telling you what I was already going to say. I shall find my release inside your tight cunny, but you won’t until we return to our cabin, and I can properly reward your meddlesomeness.”
“Yes, Rowan,” Caragh panted, whimpering, knowing her core would ache to the point of burning until Rowan decided her punishment was over. It both excited and frustrated her, creating an overwhelming need. A need Rowan understood and appreciated, one that he would surely relieve with pleasure beyond any Caragh could conceive. It still shocked her how much she delighted in submitting to Rowan, both in the reward her body received and the way Rowan looked when he dominated her.
Rowan turned Caragh around and locked his gaze with hers as he lifted her and carried her to the table. With Caragh’s swelling belly, he was now careful when he took her, making sure she had the support of a surface beneath her rather than clinging to him. He watched Ruairí lift Senga as her legs wrapped around him. His cousin stepped over to the wall and pressed Senga against it. Rowan looked down at Caragh as she grasped his cock and positioned it at her entrance. Rowan thrust into her; his hips pounded into her.
“Dead God in heaven, Caragh. I’ll never stop needing to sink into you. The mere feel of your sheath around me makes me want to spill. I meant to tease you, but I won’t last long enough. Don’t you dare climax. I still intend to finish your punishment.”
“Yes, Rowan.” It was the only phrase her mind could muster. She pulled the laces to her gown loose and pushed the fabric over her breasts. She offered them to Rowan, and he once more twisted her nipple before biting the other nipple. “You’re teasing me, Rowan. I’m too close. I don’t know that I can stop it. I’m try--”
Caragh’s moan signaled her release as her inner muscle squeezed the seed from Rowan’s rod. She pressed her forehead against his shoulder, and Rowan felt her tremble, but it wasn’t the type from exhaustion and satisfaction. He tilted her head back and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.
The Blond Devil of the Sea: The Highland Ladies Book Three Page 17
