He reached back and unhooked her legs. She stilled and looked up at him perplexed. He gave her a soft kiss on her lips and then eased himself back. Her chemise was still bunched up around her legs, but it was almost to her hips. He ran his fingers over her mound and then brushed them along the seam of her nether lips. She was wet, and he knew it had nothing to do with the loch. She desired him as much as he desired her. He was sure of it. He plunged two fingers into her, and she moaned as her hips arched off the ground. He quickly pushed her chemise out of the way and grasped her hip with his free hand. He worked his fingers in and out of her as his thumb rubbed her nub. He bent over and inhaled her sweet scent. He could feel his cock pulse as he drew his tongue along her flesh for the first time.
Siùsan was shocked to feel his tongue on her, there of all places. She had heard servants talk about doing such things, but she had never considered that a man might one day do it to her. She attempted to sit up, so she could see, but Callum’s hand pressed her back into the sand. She looked down to see his dark head between her legs. She let her knees fall open as she pulled her feet closer to her. The sight of him between her legs was the most erotic thing she could think of. He laved her from top to bottom and back up again. He swirled his tongue along her nether lips and then delved into her depths. He moved his fingers out of the way and began to suck on her nub. Sparks of fire shot through Siùsan. She began to writhe on the sand as the sensations overwhelmed her. She could hear moans. It was several moments before she realized they were coming from her and were quite loud. She bit her lower lip to try to silence herself. Callum’s head jerked up when she went quiet. He saw her trying to keep quiet.
“Dinna hold back. I want to hear yer moans. I want to hear ma name on yer lips again. I want to make ye scream it as ye come.” He went back to work. His cock throbbed for release. He could not hold back as he listened to Siùsan and tasted her. He reached down and fisted himself. He began to fiercely stroke himself as he felt the shudders and spasms begin within Siùsan.
Siùsan looked down again but could only see one of Callum’s arms. She leaned to the side and saw that he was holding his rod in his hand and doing exactly what she had done for him earlier. As she watched him pleasure himself as he pleasured her, she felt two very differing emotions. She was even more aroused by how sinful the entire scene was, but she also felt slightly cheated as she longed to be the one who gave him such pleasure. Only moments later, all thoughts fled as she felt her release wash over her.
“Callum!” Siùsan screamed his name.
Callum began to stroke himself at a furious pace. He was so very close. He had hoped that they could climax together, but he was not quite ready. Before he knew what was happening, he felt two small hands shove hard against his shoulders. As he was supporting his entire weight on one forearm, he lost his balance. Just as he felt he was falling, he was flipped onto his back. Siùsan scrambled to move over him and then slide down the length of his body. She wrapped both of her hands around his length as she contemplated how to proceed. Callum watched in awe as she licked her lips as she stroked him. Then she did the unthinkable. She looked up at him for only a moment and then, grasping her hair in one hand and stroking him with the other, she lowered her mouth onto him.
It took only the feel of her warm mouth on his sensitive skin for him to erupt. He tried to push her away, but she clamped down onto him. She sucked with a fierceness that might have hurt if he was not already so overwhelmed with the need to spend himself. He felt his seed shoot into her mouth in hot squirts, one after another. He fell back onto the sand. He could not believe his little bride to be had pushed him off her and turned him over. He could not believe she had taken him into her mouth. And he absolutely could not believe he had just spent himself so completely into her mouth.
She crawled up his body and laid herself alongside of him. He pulled her tight to him and lifted her leg over his hips. He pulled one of her arms to drape across her chest. He wrapped her in his embrace and never wanted to let go.
“I just couldnae let ye cheat me out of bringing ye the same pleasure that ye brought me.” She whispered as she closed her eyes. He looked over at her as her breathing softened and deepened.
What manner of woman have I been blessed with? She truly will be the death of me one of these day. She is most certainly ma bonnie temptation. With that, he closed his eyes too and allowed himself to doze lightly. He could not let himself fall into a deep sleep as he was ever aware of his overwhelming need to protect her. He remained alert just in case.
Chapter Ten
Callum awoke from his light sleep when he felt Siùsan shift in her sleep. He looked overhead and saw that the sun had moved further than he realized. It was now midafternoon, and his stomach was growling. He looked over at the woman who slept curled up at his side. He had always tried to avoid falling asleep next to a woman unless he was passed out drunk. He did not like the discomfort of trying to leave with pleasantries and noncommittal goodbyes. He had certainly regretted waking to find Elizabeth in his bed. He realized that was only yesterday. It stunned him to realize that so little time had passed, and yet, it seemed like a lifetime ago. Much had shifted in the space of a day and a half. As Siùsan continued to sleep next to him, Callum reflected upon just how selfish he had been the last few months. He had put his physical desires ahead of his family and their wishes. He wished he could go back in time and heed their warnings. He had brushed them off at the time and made light of them as he enjoyed the pleasure he sought with Elizabeth. He had refused to heed their warnings about her true nature. He had even gone so far as to wonder if his brothers were secretly jealous of his relationship with the stunning and talented blonde. As he reflected on the conversations and thoughts that he had had over the last few months, he realized that he had been a genuine arse to those who cared about him the most. As he looked at Siùsan, he knew the difference was that no one had attempted to harm his brothers because of his relationship, so he had not felt any reason to change.
He was plagued with worry as his mind returned to the events of that morning. He thought about the sight of the dead rat in the puddle of porridge by Siùsan’s feet. It was not some mere coincidence that the rat drowned in the porridge. The frothing around the rat’s mouth and its rigid body were sure signs that the rat had been poisoned. It was even more obvious that the poison had been meant for Siùsan. As he thought more and more about little things that he had noticed in passing about Elizabeth, they began to take shape in his mind as he realized that the delightfully entertaining woman was really a very calculating and cunning seductress. She was after the title of lady of the keep and was clearly bound and determined to either gain it through marriage or by default as his leman. While he had no proof, therefore, he could not imprison her, Callum knew he could waste no time making arrangements for Elizabeth’s departure. He also knew it could be several weeks before he had a response from court as to whether she could return. He knew that she had few friends there. She had claimed that the women were jealous of her and bitter. Now he suspected that they had been wise to her real nature.
Callum decided that Elizabeth would need to be moved out of the keep and away from Siùsan. There was a vacant croft within the bailey walls. He could have her moved there. She would not feel completely shunned as she would if he banished her to the village. This should be a happy medium. Bah! Who am I kidding? She is going to be furious. Unless she thinks that I am doing this to create a hideaway for us. Damn. I dinna want her thinking that. Perhaps, I should have Alexander make the arrangements and help her settle. Her charms are completely lost upon him. It’s as though he has ice in his veins when it comes to her.
With his mind made up, he leaned over and kissed Siùsan’s forehead and gave her a little nudge.
“Siùsan, ye must wake up. We need to make our way back to the keep before ma kin sends out a search party. I dinna think ye want them to find ye in yer shift.” Siùsan awoke to his voice and stretched as he talke
d. His last comment caught her attention. She looked down to see that she really was only in her chemise. It had dried and was no longer transparent, but that did not stop her from remembering that there was very little left to hide from Callum after what they had done earlier. Twice.
She looked over at Callum and saw that he was still naked. She quickly averted her eyes and turned bright red.
“It is a bit late to be timid, little one. Ye have seen me in all ma glory.” Callum’s deep laugh filled the air.
“That may be, but ye dinna need to flaunt it. People will talk if they find out what we have done. They’ll say I’m loose. I’m wanton. What if someone saw us?”
“Nay body has seen us. This part of the loch is very secluded. Ye canna easily access it without coming all the way aroundfrom the other side and from a distance, nay one can make out any details other than seeing two people across the loch. We can either walk back around or swim.”
Siùsan looked at the path they would have to take if they walked. It was not terribly far, but it was farther than she could manage with Callum completely naked. She looked at the loch and knew that her chemise would be soaked when she climbed out. She would either have to carry her dripping chemise or put on her dry clothes only to get them wet too. While she did not relish any part of the latter option, she knew it was the only one she could manage.
She stood up and brushed the sand from her back and hair as best she could. She gave Callum only a passing glance before she ran into the loch and dove under the water. She kicked hard as she rubbed her head to try to knock loose and flush out the rest of the sand. When she surfaced, she took long, strong strokes that had her crossing the loch quickly. She could hear Callum following her. When she reached the shore, she did not bother to look behind her. She scrambled up the shore and behind the bush where she had left her clothes earlier. She pulled off her wet chemise and tugged on her kirtle. It was extremely difficult to pull it down over her wet body and to fit her arms into the tight sleeves, but she managed. Once it was on, she realized that it had been far easier to unlace the ties at the back when she was dry than it would be to redo them while she was wet. She listened for Callum and when she no longer heard him moving about, she called out to him and turned away.
“I canna do the laces maself. Will ye please help me?”
“Ma pleasure.” The voice beside her made her jumped.
“I didna hear ye approach.”
“Ye shouldnae have. I am a warrior. Stealth keeps me alive.”
“It also nearly scared the life out of me.”
“Hmmm. Now ye ken how I’ve felt thrice today.” He leaned over and nipped her ear playfully as he quickly pulled her laces tight. She tried not to think about how skillfully he served as a lady’s maid. She did not want to know how many times he had done this before or with how many women.
As though he sensed her line of thought, he kissed her cheek again and whispered, “I used to help ma sister. When we would all go swimming together, she needed help with her laces too.”
Siùsan could only nod her head. She appreciated him trying to distract her and shift her thoughts away from his past, but they both knew it was not going to work. She turned towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. His hands rested on her trim waist.
“Callum, I clearly ken ye have a past. I canna change that. And if I am to be totally honest, I have already benefited from it twice today alone. But I just hope that it truly is in the past.”
“Siùsan, I told ye yesterday, but I ken it bears repeating often. I will always be faithful to ye. The men of ma clan do not dally once they are married. Our betrothal is all but an official marriage. I willna stray. I give ye ma word as a mon, a warrior, and a Sinclair.”
Siùsan looked up at him and nodded. She believed him for the most part but a small, niggling voice in the back of her head warned her that this was all too good to be true.
Callum and Siùsan returned to the keep. Hagatha took one look at them as they walked into the keep and immediately called for tubs to be taken to their chambers. They each retired to their respective chambers for a soak in the warm water. Callum made his bath a short one though as he needed to find his brother, Alexander. He had a task for him and knew that he was in for a battle.
~~~
“Ye canna be serious. I amnae telling yer mistress that ye want her to move into a croft so ye dinna have to deal with her.”
“If I tell her and see to the move, she will believe that I am simply trying to arrange a trysting place for us. I dinna want her thinking that it will be some type of love nest for us. I want her away from Siùsan before the evening meal is served. I dinna trust her and want Siùsan safe. Tell Elizabeth that she may take her meals in the keep, otherwise she is to occupy herself elsewhere.
“In the meantime, I must draft a letter to the First Lady of the Bedchamber to see if Elizabeth can be reinstated to her position as a lady in waiting. I ken she didna serve the queen, but I suspect that even if the lady she did serve agreed, there may be some discord if I dinna get permission for her return.”
“Ye finally ken what we have all been trying to tell ye for months. Ye didna believe us. Ye had to wait until she almost killed someone.” Alexander crossed his arms over his massive chest and looked at his brother.
“Ye can relax, Alex. Ye ken that stance doesnae intimidate me. I do it just as well as ye. I amnae asking ye to take her as yer own leman. I simply need ye to help me. We dinna ken for certain that she is responsible but I, too, suspect she is. If ye willna do it for ma sake, please do it for Siùsan’s. I am honestly worried. I want Elizabeth as far from Siùsan as is reasonably possible.”
At the mention of Siùsan, Alexander relaxed and nodded his hear. “I am only doing it for the lass. She is innocent in all of this. It isnae her fault that our fathers agreed to marry her to an arse.”
With that, Alexander turned and left Callum’s chambers. He ran his hand through his freshly washed hair. He looked over at his bed and felt disgusted. He looked around the chamber and felt taint of Elizabeth’s presence. She had been in his chamber before, but nothing intimate had ever occurred. It was usually when he changed or was gathering something before descending to the Great Hall. It had never bothered him before. Now he felt stinging regret that she had ever crossed the threshold. He was sure that he could never bring Siùsan to this chamber. He would explain everything to his father and ask that he move to Mairghread’s now empty chamber. The sooner the better. With that, he sat down at this desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment. He dipped a quill into his ink pot and began the arduous task of crafting a letter that would carefully request Elizabeth’s reinstatement without giving away the details of why she could no longer remain. He focused on his upcoming marriage as his rationale for his request. Once he was finished, he brushed sand over the ink and let it dry. He folded the parchment and warmed a small amount of wax with the candle he lit from his chamber’s fireplace. He placed the wax where the seams of the parchment met and then pressed his signet ring into place. He waited for the wax to dry and harden before he left his chamber to find one of his best and fastest messengers to carry this missive with haste to court.
Chapter Eleven
Over the next three weeks, Callum and Siùsan settled into a routine of sorts. They would meet to break their fast and then go their separate ways. Callum generally went to the lists to train unless there was something with which his father needed assistance. Siùsan became more familiar with the kitchens and the servants. She felt comfortable with them and proved herself more than capable of one day taking on the role of lady of the keep by demonstrating she had plenty of firsthand knowledge of how to serve within a keep so large. She raised more than one eyebrow when she rolled up her sleeves and carried fresh sheets to her own chamber where she stripped the bed and remade it. She then proceeded outside and dumped the linens into the boiling cauldron and began to help the laundresses. She surprised all the women in the kitchen with ho
w quickly she could pluck a fowl and chop vegetables. She made loaves upon loaves of bread while chattering away with the women about their families and their lives. She was always very careful to steer the conversation away from her own family and past. She explained away her experience as a need to understand how a keep is run so that she might one day do so efficiently for her future husband and his family. Not everyone believed that to be the whole truth, but since Siùsan was always kind and willing to help in any way needed, no one ever pressed her.
Callum knew that she found things to do around the keep as she often came to the noon meal with flushed cheeks and a glistening forehead. When he asked what she had been up to, she would tell him she was learning this or that around the keep. He was satisfied with her answers as he was always happy to be in her presence. Their noon meal conversations usually turned quickly to how they would spend their afternoon together. They set aside their afternoons for each other. Twice they went out riding and Callum took her to the village to meet the crofters who lived outside the walls. He bought her a ribbon for her hair as one of the afternoons was market day. He was surprised that her eyes watered. She was speechless for a couple of minutes when he gave her the trinket. He watched her swallow several times before she was able to thank him. He once again wondered just what her life must have been like before coming to the Sinclairs if something as simple as a hair ribbon almost moved her to tears. He had not thought much of it as he admitted to himself that he had given countless women such a trivial gift. He looked about at the different stalls. He wanted to find a gift that would be uniquely hers. She may not have known that she was not the first or not the only woman he had given a hair ribbon to, but he did. He wanted to make her smile more as he had noticed that she was often very serious when they were together in the Great Hall. He knew it was because it was the one place they could not avoid Elizabeth. Since Elizabeth took all her meals in the keep, she was a thunderous weight upon their shoulders. She was still shamelessly flaunting herself at the table in front of the dais but now she had a murderous scowl whenever she looked at Siùsan. At first, Elizabeth had tried to hide her malice from Callum, but when he caught her starring at Siùsan more than once, she gave up all pretenses and was openly hostile.
His Bonnie Highland Temptation (The Clan Sinclair Book 2) Page 8
