by Dare, Lydia
Elspeth couldn't hide her smile. "Aye, I'd like that."
Behind her, Sorcha gasped. "Today? The vicar?"
Elspeth glanced over her shoulder. "Ye're welcome ta join us."
When her friend's gaze fell to the ground and her shoulders slumped forward, Elspeth draped her arm around Sorcha. "I wish ye'd come with us."
"Cait'll kill me one way or the other. So I might as well."
Elspeth patted her arm, then looked up to Alec MacQuarrie. "Did ye see Caitrin? How is she?"
He frowned, as though trying to sort out a puzzle. "You'd never know anything had ever happened to her. She looks perfect. Of course, Mr. Macleod won't let her out of bed. That's why I came to check on you. She's worried about you."
Elspeth moved from her spot to slide her arm around Ben's waist. "Well, as ye can see, there's no need ta worry."
They found Mr. Crawford sitting at his desk at the back of the vicarage, flipping through his Bible. His balding pate was tilted down, and he hummed a hymn to himself. How the man failed to notice a hoard of people standing in his doorway, Ben would never know. To get the man's attention, he rapped loudly on the door.
The vicar looked up and smiled at the four of them, but his eyes landed on Elspeth. "Ah, Miss Campbell, are ye here ta settle yer account?"
Before she could reply, Ben drew her close to his side with an arm around her waist. "I'll be taking care of Miss Campbell's accounts, Mr. Crawford." The man's eyes widened at the pronouncement, so Ben stepped forward. "We have another matter that needs your attention, sir."
"Oh?" the vicar asked, rising from his seat. "How can I help you today, my lord?"
Ben smiled at Elspeth, glad she returned the gesture. "I came to visit my dear friend Alec and found something here in Scotland I can't live without."
The vicar inclined his head, waiting patiently.
"I'd like for you to marry—that is, Miss Campbell and I would like for you to marry
us
."
"Indeed?"
Ben nodded. "Can you do so today?"
"I—um—Well, it would be an irregular marriage."
"As long as it's legal," Ben shrugged, "that's all we care about."
The vicar looked from Ben to Elspeth and back again. "I supposed I have the time, but I'm a bit unprepared for such an endeavor. Can ye wait in the church while I gather my things?"
"We'll be happy to."
"Oh!" The vicar's voice stopped them. "Sign my registry first so I have yer names."
Ben watched as Elspeth's hand shakily filled in the vicar's book, then he took the quill from her and did the same. This was one of the ways Scotland was more advanced than England; it might be the only way, now that he thought about it. No waiting three weeks for the banns to post. No spending a small fortune on a special license. Just whisk your intended down to the church, sign your names in a book, and marry her. No need for all the fuss.
As soon as they entered the church, Ben led Elspeth to a pew in the front row and they were quickly followed by Alec and Sorcha.
Thunder clapped overhead and Sorcha gasped. Elspeth turned her head to face her friend.
"Rhiannon," she whispered. "Cait must've seen this."
Elspeth glanced up to meet Ben's gaze. "Doona worry. I'm sure she'd never hit the church."
"Hit the church with what?" Ben asked, looking around the chapel. As if to answer his question, lightning lit up the sky, the flash filtering through the stained-glass windows. "She can make it storm?" he whispered.
"Or stop," Elspeth replied quietly.
Good God! The faster he got her away from these harridans, the better.
Mr. Crawford entered from a door at the front of the chapel. "
Havers!
It looks bad out there. All right, Lord Benjamin, Miss Campbell, are ye ready?"
Ben squeezed Elspeth's arm. "After you, lass."
She stumbled to her feet and met the vicar at the altar, Ben right behind her the whole way. He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips. Desire raced through his body. It wouldn't be long before she'd be his.
"
Slainte mhor agus a h-uile beannachd duibh
," Mr. Crawford called over the thunder that continued to boom above them.
"It's just a blessin'," Elspeth whispered, loud enough for only him to hear.
"Have ye got a ring, my lord?"
Ben pulled his pinkie ring from his waistcoat pocket. "Yes, sir."
"Then we'll begin." He read a bit from Galatians, then looked at Ben. "Repeat after me, my lord. I, Benjamin Farrell Jonathan Westfield, take ye, Elspeth Muriel Campbell, ta be my wife before God and these witnesses."
Ben repeated the words, staring into Elspeth's eyes. She was perfect in every way. He couldn't wait to get her back inside her little cottage. They might not come out for days.
Mr. Crawford turned his attention to Elspeth, "And now it's yer turn. I, Elspeth Muriel Campbell, take ye, Benjamin Farrell Jonathan Westfield, ta be my husband before God and these witnesses."
Elspeth swallowed, and Ben squeezed her fingers. Thunder cracked over head, but she ignored it. "I, Elspeth Muriel Campbell, take ye, Benjamin Farrell Jonathan Westfield, ta be my husband before God and these witnesses."
The vicar smiled. "Well, then, my lord, ye may kiss yer bride."
Ben didn't waste one moment doing so. He slid his arm around Elspeth, pulled her against him, and lowered his lips to hers. She giggled against his mouth, "Ye're crushin' me."
"Sorry," he whispered before releasing her.
Ben looked behind them. Alec's mouth hung open, as though he hadn't really thought they'd go through with it, and Sorcha blew her nose, loudly, in a handkerchief.
Twenty-eight
"If he looks at ye like that for one more minute, I'll expect ye ta go up in a puff of smoke," Sorcha mumbled quietly from Elspeth's side, where they stood together in the kitchen.
Elspeth glanced at Ben, who leaned casually against the doorjamb, talking with Alec MacQuarrie. But beneath Ben's outside veneer of calm, there was a storm brewing behind his eyes. He caught her gaze before allowing his eyes to linger slowly over her body.
"What did ye say?" Elspeth asked, fighting the flush of warmth that crept up her cheeks at his gaze.
"Yer new husband," Sorcha said, nodding her head toward Ben. "He looks like he wants ta have ye for dinner."
Elspeth giggled lightly. He did look like he would consume her at any moment. "I suppose it would be terribly offensive ta send everyone home?" Elspeth whispered back.
"Aye, but it would be worse if he lost control and stripped ye down before we're all gone." Sorcha giggled. The hair on Elspeth's arms stood up. What a lovely thought.
She forced herself to stop looking in his direction. "How long do ye think everyone will stay?" she asked as she fought to keep from glancing back in his direction.
"Surely ye can control yerself long enough ta celebrate yer weddin' with friends?" Sorcha gasped, slightly affronted. "We took the time ta be with ye durin' yer nuptials."
"Like ye would have stayed away," Elspeth snorted. Then she bumped Sorcha's shoulder with her own.
Rhiannon, Blaire, and a few friends from town had found their way to Elspeth's cottage as the news had spread. El was sorry to say she wanted nothing more than for them all to leave.
She raised her teacup to her lips and glanced at Ben over the rim. He still leaned against the threshold, talking with Alec. But his regard was completely for her. His eyes narrowed as he took a deep breath, his chest expanding slowly. "You want me," he mouthed in her direction.
Elspeth sputtered in her teacup.
"Are ye all right?" Sorcha asked, clapping her on the back.
She gasped out, "Fine, Sorcha. Ye can stop beatin' me, now."
Sorcha's clapping slowed and came to a stop. Elspeth turned to take a towel from the rack behind her and found Ben blocking her path. How had he moved so fast?
"Speed," he whispered before his
lips pressed to her temple. "It's one of our traits."
"Do ye do everythin' that fast?" she asked.
One eyebrow lifted. He smiled as he brushed a lock of hair from her face. "No. There are some things that should be done slowly."
"I've half a mind ta throw a bucket of cold water on the both of ye," Sorcha mumbled as she stepped away. "Pure nauseatin' how much ye want each other."
"She knows nothin' of want," Elspeth said quietly.
"And you do?" Ben asked as he rolled the lock of her hair between his fingertips. "Tell me what you know of it?"
A challenge lit her eyes. "I know I want ye, Lord Benjamin," she said as she lifted on her tiptoes and kissed his chin. The light tickle of her lips along his jaw nearly drove him mad.
"Not nearly as much as I want you, Lady Elspeth." He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "I'm glad no other Lycans are here. The scent of you when you are aroused is enough to drive a man to distraction."
"What does desire smell like, Ben?"
"It smells like you, but stronger. Your body warms up and heat radiates from you. The perfume I know you apply between your breasts and behind your ears gets stronger." He wondered how much he should tell her. She was an innocent after all. "And the
other
perfumes get stronger, too."
She colored under his gaze. She did know what he meant. His heart warmed.
"I need to be alone with you."
"We canna ask them ta leave," she whispered back, her brow knit with concern.
"They can stay," he chuckled as he tugged her fingers, pulling her toward the door. "Let's sneak away."
"But they'll know what we're doin'."
Ben really didn't care at that point. He simply wanted to get her beneath him. He could pick her up and carry her from the room. Or he could persuade her. He very lightly brushed across the mark on his lower belly.
Elspeth gasped, her gaze immediately rising to meet his. "Ye doona play fair."
"All's fair in love and war," he chuckled. He tugged her fingertips again. When she didn't follow, he reached to brush his mark. But she deflected his hand from his body and clutched it tightly in hers.
"I'll go with ye. Ye doona have ta tease me." Her eyes glanced around the room. Indeed, everyone was deep in conversation. He pulled her through the doorway and into the night. But they had taken only two steps when he felt her brush across her own mark.
If Ben truly thought she would be an unwary foe, he'd been sorely misled. His jaw clenched before he grabbed her tightly to him. He took her hand in his and pressed it against his hardness.
"I do not need any help becoming aroused by you, Ellie."
"Yet ye thought ta torment me when we were inside," she laughed against his lips.
"You play with fire." His head tilted as he deepened the kiss and grabbed her bottom, pulling her against him. She gasped. Every part of him was hard, from his chest to… everything else.
"Perhaps I want ta be burned." He began to gather her skirts in his hands, inching them up bit by bit. "Come, I ken a place ta go," she said, tapping his chest to get his attention.
"I know where I want to go," he said as he massaged her bottom.
"Ben," she hissed.
He heaved a great sigh when he finally raised his head. "Lead the way, wife." Then he swatted her bottom so hard it stung.
"Ye may regret that," she tossed over her shoulder.
"I doubt it," he joked in response.
His hand engulfed hers as she led the way into the forest. A slow mist began to fall.
Elspeth raised a hand to catch a drop of water. "Rhiannon is sad." Maybe they should go back to the others.
"You are mine," he said softly. He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "Your coven sisters will have to accept me. To accept us."
She nodded briefly before she continued into the forest. They finally came to a clearing. This was one of her favorite places. No one knew of it, aside from her mother.
"I should have brought a blanket," Ben said quietly as he watched her.
Before their eyes, the vines on the forest floor mingled with the moss, making a soft mat upon which they could lie.
Ben raised one eyebrow at her. "I suppose we can thank Sorcha for the gift?"
Elspeth couldn't contain her grin. At least one friend wasn't angry at her. Elspeth looked up at the night sky. The clouds moved away, a waxing moon taking their place. The temperature went from frigid to comfortable.
"And Rhiannon?" Ben asked.
"Yes. It appears as though we have their blessin'."
"I need no blessing, lass, aside from yours," he growled as he pulled her into his arms.
She fit against him like she was made to be there. Ben turned her in his arms so that he could untie the laces of her dress. His lips pressed against her shoulder, tasting her skin as he slowly undressed her. She clutched her gown to her breasts when it would have fallen.
"You will hide from me?" he asked, instantly worried for her.
She let the dress fall and stood still and proud under the light of the moon, wearing nothing but her chemise. She tugged it over her own head and shed it, along with her drawers. Then she held out her hands to Ben.
"I hide nothin'," she said, smiling confidently. And she didn't. The dusky rose color of her nipples, the same color as her beautiful lips, taunted him. He quickly peeled off his own clothes and lowered her to the soft earthen mattress.
Ben allowed his gaze to drift over her unhurriedly. He wanted nothing more than to throw her legs over his shoulders and be inside her. But he tempered his lust; she was brand-new to this. She deserved the slow seduction that he wasn't sure he was capable of.
He bent his head and traced his tongue slowly around her nipple, which already stood, turgid and receptive, under the cool night air. Her hands threaded into his hair, her nails raking his scalp as he licked and suckled her nipple. With his free hand, he gently tormented her senses, drawing his fingertips over her skin slowly, until he reached her other nipple. She moved beneath him, gasping and arching into him.
"If you don't stop responding so readily, I'll be done before we get started," he mumbled.
"I'm no' supposed ta make noises?" she asked incredulously, raising her head to look at him.
He laughed against her belly, where he teased her skin before coming up to kiss her softly.
"You know I love the noises you make," he said quietly. "But I'm afraid I'll hurt you. I wanted to pleasure you before I am inside you."
She shook her head wildly. "That's no' what I want," she said, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "I want ta share the pleasure with ye. Can we no' do it that way?"
"Yes, we can do it that way," he said, breathing deeply. He would spill himself long before he got to be inside her if she kept moving around him.
"Do ye want me ta do it?" she asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
