When he leaned back, he sighed aloud. He stood and she copied him. His arms wrapped her and crushed her to him and the kiss he planted on her lips was heavy and passionate. He tasted like marzipan – sweet and rich – and Bernadette liked the taste on him. She let him kiss her and wrapped her own arms close around him.
Together, arm in arm, they headed out of the solar and down to their chamber.
Bernadette paused at the threshold and he smiled, and then gently lifted her in his arms. They both shivered. She leaned against him, her body pressed tight to his, feet no longer touching ground. He kissed her and swung her lightly into the room.
“For good luck,” he said.
She laughed.
They kissed again, hungrily. Bernadette shivered. She knew very little of these matters, for all that she had been Claudine's maidservant for years before this time and the lady had relied on her for knowledge of these things. She had no idea about what happened between a man and woman, beyond the strange, disjointed parcels of information she'd garnered in the kitchens, in conversations barely overheard.
I don't know why I feel this excited.
She was shivering. She put a hand on his chest and could feel a tremor in his body too.
“I want you,” Fraser whispered.
She felt the desire crash through her like a wave as he pushed her back onto the bed. His hands slid down her shoulders and she sighed as he leaned against her, his hard, muscled body pushing her down beneath him. His body was pressing on hers even as his hands worked fitfully and quickly to undo her clothing.
She gasped as he drew the dress down her body, surprised at how quickly he had managed to tear it away. She felt the cooler air of the room on her skin and felt a little shy as he pressed her back and sat up, staring at her.
Dressed in her petticoat and stockings, she felt his eyes devour her. His gaze moved from the low neck of the petticoat, where her bosom glistened in the firelight, to her toes. She shivered. She expected to feel discomforted by that gaze, but instead it excited her.
He sighed, and then he was upon her again. This time he went slowly, undoing the button at the neck of her petticoat and sliding it down inch by inch, as if teasing himself. Bernadette felt her stomach clench with excitement, his delay of pleasure teasing her as much as himself. His hands stroked her arms and over the place where the gown concealed her belly, questing lower. When he stroked the parting of her thighs, she cried out.
He smiled and drew the dress sharply down. He let out a ragged exhale in wonderment. “You are so beautiful,” he breathed.
She felt her face blush red. “Oh, Fraser.”
“No, you are,” he insisted. “Really and truly.”
Bernadette felt slow warmth spread through her body, from her belly to her toes, as he stared at her.
When he leaned forward and touched her breast, pinching the nipple gently, she felt liquid fire race through her limbs. When he bent down and sampled it with his lips, she thought she would actually die of pleasure. His mouth clung to it and she moaned with longing as he teased the other with his fingers while sucking.
She was slowly drowning in longing when he finished and, shifting, went to kneel between her thighs.
Fraser stared down at Bernadette. She was everything he had imagined, and more. With her full bosom, narrow waist and molded hips, that gentle rounding of her thighs and the sweet paleness of her skin, she was so beautiful. He felt his loins stir and bit his lip to control his urges.
He wanted this to be perfect for her.
With trembling hands, he gently parted her thighs. She obediently allowed them to move apart and he felt his loins tug painfully.
He knelt between them and looked into her trusting gaze. “Yes?” he whispered.
She looked at him, eyes wide, just the faintest apprehension on her face. She nodded. “Yes.”
Fraser closed his eyes. He would give anything not to hurt her! He gently slid himself into her.
She cried out, her teeth clamped on her plump lip, and Fraser winced as his loins flooded with sensation. It was hard not to fill her completely, but he wished to go slow, not to hurt her.
She grimaced as he pushed right in, and he guessed the worst was over when the expression on her face changed to one of sweet pleasure. He smiled. Now he could relax.
He pulled out and plunged in, pulled out and plunged in. She felt heavenly and he could barely control himself, barely ride the crests of longing that were crashing through him and into him and within him.
She cried out, sobbing in pleasure, beneath him. He cried out too, a second later.
His body moved in hers and he collapsed on her chest, breathing heavily. He held her close, breathing in the sweet scent of her. He could barely believe he was here, resting on her chest, his arms around her. When her arms enfolded him, he knew his heart would break. This was the woman he would love his whole life.
EPILOGUE
EPILOGUE
Bernadette drowsed in bed. She opened her eyes and looked at the person beside her. Fraser was sleeping. His eyes shut, that soft brown hair tousled in sleep, he looked at least a decade younger than he was. His chest rose and fell with his breathing.
“Fraser,” she whispered. She hadn't meant to speak it aloud, but his name escaped her lips. She moved closer to him and saw his eyelids flutter.
He smiled. “Good morning, wife.”
Bernadette felt the word rock through her, making her smile. They had been married for almost two months now, but the word hadn't ceased to make her grin each time that she heard it or he used it. “Good morning, husband mine.”
“Mm,” he smiled. He drew her into a sleepy embrace and they lay side by side, just enjoying the moment. Bernadette could feel her arousal starting deep within her. She knew he was aroused too, but they had all morning for that.
“You know,” he said in a soft voice. “I like it here.”
“Good,” Bernadette said sleepily. They were at her estate of Evreux. They planned to spend the autumn there and go north for the winter, to his estate. He’d declared he was still having it fixed so that it would meet with her approval. She had laughed. He seemed serious.
“I believe it will be ready by the first day of November,” he said. “The estate, I mean.”
She laughed. “Fraser! You know I don't mind what your house looks like. It's you that matters.”
He smiled. She leaned up on one elbow and looked down into that happy, content face.
“I know,” he said at length, opening one eye and looking teasingly up at her. “But I can't help it. I worry about what you will think of it.”
Bernadette laughed. She leaned down and kissed his lips, knowing he liked her bold side. He opened his eyes and smiled, drawing her down to lie beside him. She laid close, her arms wrapped round him.
“You needn't worry,” Bernadette said. “I'll be quite content where you are.”
He rolled over and looked down into her eyes. “You mean it?” he asked. He sounded genuinely surprised, not like the hardened, sure count she'd met, but like a boy almost, seeking approval. She laughed.
“Of course I do. How can you doubt it? You would make me happy if we lived in the woods, under the starlight.”
He smiled. “I could almost be content with that,” he agreed. “Though it would be nice to have a blanket or two to keep us warm. Especially since, when I'm with you, I prefer not to have the impediment of clothes.”
She giggled. His hands were exploring her body and starting to make her longing rise. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on what she wanted to say. She coughed with hesitant shyness.
“What?” he asked.
“I just thought...” Her voice trailed off shyly.
“What,” he asked. He bent down and kissed her cheek, lightly, breathing whispers into her ears seductively. “What?”
“I'm trying to think,” she chuckled, mildly-protesting as his hands explored her.
“I'm trying to think too,” h
e said. “Though perhaps about something else.”
She glared at him, and then laughed. “Quite.”
“Well?” he asked, leaning back to look down at her. “What is it you wanted to say, my dearest? I'm all ears.”
She sighed. “Well, I don't know how to say it. But in November...”
“Yes..?” he asked. He stroked her again and she opened one eye, protesting. He laughed. Lay down.
She gathered her thoughts. Started again. “In November, I will be several months with child.”
“You think you...what?” The words caught up with him and he vaulted upright in the bed. He stared down at her. “You...my dearest! Are you serious?”
She laughed. His expression was so comical that she couldn't help it. He was incredulous.
“Of course I'm serious,” she teased gently. “Why would I jest?”
“I don't know,” he said, trying to wipe the astonished look off his face and failing hopelessly. His mouth worked as he swallowed. He cleared his throat. “I just...this is all so...so remarkable.”
Bernadette chuckled and smiled up at him. “It is what usually happens,” she said, cheeks suffusing with a blush. “I mean...since we...” She felt her throat tighten with the naughtiness of what she was about to say and couldn't force it out.
He laughed. “Yes. I suppose that's true,” he said. “But...my dear! So soon! This is remarkable.”
Bernadette giggled. “It's not soon! It's been two months since we wed, dearest. I suppose, in the way of these things, it is neither too soon nor too long,” she added, blushing afresh.
He laughed. “It's the best news ever! I still can't quite...Bernadette! I'm so lucky.”
Bernadette felt her heart fill with warmth. She sat up and as he took her in his arms, she held him close. They were lying back against the end of the bed, her head beside his on the pillows. She looked into his eyes and felt as if her heart was filling with love for him, filling and expanding as if it would burst.
“I am the lucky one,” she said.
He laughed. “Well, that makes two lucky ones,” he whispered. He kissed her.
She closed her eyes and let the feeling of that kiss flow through her, calling up fresh longing from deep within her belly, suffusing her with warmth.
He leaned back and looked down into her eyes. “I never thought things would turn out like this,” he said softly. “I am so lucky.”
She giggled. “Nor did I, my dearest. Nor did I. Though I must admit I wanted it from the first, if I'm honest.”
He looked incredulous again. “Really?”
She giggled. “Yes, really.”
“Me too.”
It was her turn to be astonished. “Really?”
“Yes.”
They laughed. They kissed again. Outside, the sun rose on another warm and summery day, filling the chamber, already full of love, with warmth and light.
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Lairds of Dunkeld Series
Book 1 Link -> Heart Of A Highlander
Book 2 Link -> The Highlander’s Challenge
Book 3 Link -> The Highland Hero
Book 4 Link - > The Cursed Highlander
Book 5 Link - > The Highlander’s Dilemma
Book 6 Link -> The Highlander’s Awakening
Book 7 Link -> The Highland Secret Agent
Book 8 Link -> A Highlander’s Terror
Book 9 Link -> Soul Of A Highlander
Acknowledgement
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Publisher’s Notes
Copyright © 2017 & 2018 by EMILIA FERGUSON & MOUNTAINSKY HOUSE PUBLISHING CO.
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real or dead people, places, or events are not intentional and are the result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author/publisher. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Soul Of A Highlander (Lairds of Dunkeld Series) (A Medieval Scottish Romance Story) Page 31
