Pledged to a Highlander

by Donna Fletcher

  “Never!” he said, his arms tightening around her.

  He had woken to her thrashing around beside him, her face a mask of fear, and whimpering like a wounded animal, then crying out, “I must find you. I must.” He had grabbed her to wake her, but she had fought him. He was never more relieved when she woke, though she had yet to calm. Her body trembled against him and he held her so tight that he could feel her heart thumping madly against his bare chest.

  “I couldn’t find you,” she whispered, though it sounded more like a gasp, her breathing still labored.

  “I’m right here, mo ghaol, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said, giving her a squeeze to confirm it.

  Oria wanted to believe him, but the past warned that what we want isn’t always what we get. Fate had a way of robbing you of things and leaving you to deal with the consequences. She was tired not only of others ruling her life, but Fate as well. It was time she took control.

  Oria’s cheek rested against, Royden’s and she moved her head slowly so her lips brushed across his, then whispered, “We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s not waste anymore.”

  A hundred reasons ran through his head why it was a bad idea, but no longer did any make sense and without hesitation his lips came down on hers in a crushing kiss.

  He warned himself to go slow and easy that there was no reason to rush. It wasn’t like after battle when sensations overwhelmed and he’d been desperate for relief. And yet he felt that desperation building in him now. He’d had a need for Oria that had never been satisfied and it had grown over the years. He had wanted her then and he wanted her even more now.

  He moved his lips off hers, breathing deeply as he rested his cheek against her flushed one, needing to keep control. He jumped when he felt her hand take hold of his shaft and innocently run her hand along it, then grip it tight. He feared he’d explode there and then.

  “Let go, Oria,” he warned gruffly.

  “I want him inside me,” she whispered and nipped at his neck.

  He felt his control slip a notch and he couldn’t let that happen. He stiffened when she began to caress his shaft and continued to warn himself to hold on, keep control.

  She breathed softly near his ear. “He’s eager to finally settle where he belongs—inside me.”

  His control slipped another notch. One more and he feared the savage would break free.

  Oria thought she would go mad with how badly she desired him, how badly her most intimate parts throbbed uncontrollably for him, and how wet she had grown in anticipation of him finally slipping inside her. He couldn’t deny her. He couldn’t. She wouldn’t let him.

  She slowly ran her fingers along his thick, wide shaft, admiring its size and anticipating the pleasure it would bring her, bring them both. Her finger caught a drop of wetness off the tip and pure desire and a dash of instinct had her bringing her finger to her mouth and licking it.

  That was it.

  Royden’s control shattered and a deep growl rumbled in his chest. He rose up off her and with a forceful grip tore her nightdress off her, pulling it out from under her to fling off the bed.

  Oria had waited forever for this moment to share with Royden, dreamt about, had been eager for it and yet there was something different—unfamiliar—in his dark eyes. It was as though she stared into the eyes of a stranger.

  “Royden,” she whispered suddenly, oddly needing to make sure it was him.

  He straddled her waist and leaned down over. “Change your mind, wife.”

  Was that a rumbling growl she heard? And what was it in his dark eyes she failed to see?

  His nose almost touched hers as he said, “Too late. I’ll have you here and now and not just once.”

  Now she knew where she had seen that look in his eyes before—in the savage warriors the day the clan had been attacked.

  Fear shivered her.

  “Afraid, wife?” he asked, sitting up. “You should be.”

  “Royden,” she said again softly hoping to calm the savage that had surfaced and reached out to touch him, her hand falling on his stump.

  He swung her hand off him, his nostrils flaring in anger and the rumble in his chest growing. He shook his head and hurried off her and the bed, going to stand in front of the hearth, his back to her.

  Oria hurried after him.

  “Don’t!” he commanded, swinging his arm out to the side, warning her away.

  His powerful voice froze her and though he had spoken only one word, she could see he struggled to keep control of the untamed emotion that had risen inside him.

  “Royden,” she said softly, hoping by hearing his name again and again, he’d break free of whatever held him prisoner.

  “Stay away,” he ordered.

  There was no mistaking the sneering growl in his voice, but she heard something else as well, just a hint, but she heard it. There was heartbreak there and it hurt her heart to hear it, to see him warn her away when it wasn’t what he truly wanted. But he did it to protect her.

  She didn’t need courage to respond. She responded out of love. “No!”

  He swerved around and Oria gathered her courage then, needing it when seeing the intense feral look in his dark eyes. She thought any moment that he’d reach out and—

  She jumped and winced when his hand grabbed her arm, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

  “You’ll do as I say, wife,” he commanded and shoved her away from him. “Get out of here now.”

  She stumbled but remained on her feet and her chin went up defiantly. “I’m not leaving you. Not now. Not ever.” She kept her defiant pose as his eyes roamed over her with a look so hungry she thoughts he’d—

  He scooped her up so fast, her gasp got caught in her throat and for a moment she lost all breath. He carried her to the bed and dropped her down on it and she scrambled to right herself. She didn’t even see his hand reach for her waist, though she felt his fingers dig into her and the next thing she knew she was on her stomach. She felt him straddle her and before she could turn her head to the side, she felt his teeth at her neck.

  Her shoulders shot up as he bit along it, not harshly, but enough for her to feel the tug. It was what the she had seen the cats do time again and Purity had told her it was the way the male cat showed his love and dominance over his mate. A feral action for sure, but still a sign of love and she wondered if he realized that. At least she did and that made a difference to her.

  It didn’t take long for his nips to follow down along her shoulders and back. She pulled away when he nipped at her side, it tickling her, and he stopped.

  “Spread your legs,” he ordered.

  She didn’t have the will or wont to deny him, besides, her desire to make love with him hadn’t wavered. It had heightened, realizing just how much Royden needed her, needed to be loved. She jumped when his fingers found their way inside her, igniting her passion, while his teeth returned to nip along her neck.

  She wasn’t surprised that her passion continued to mount. The combination of his loving nips and the teasing nature of his fingers made it impossible for her desire to do anything but grow, and in leaps and bounds. She only wanted to make sure that this time his seed was left inside her to grow.

  She said his name repeatedly and softly like the purr of a kitten who enjoyed being stroked. It wasn’t a savage who caressed her but a husband who loved her.

  “Good Lord, Royden, I want you. I want you so badly.”

  Her eyes went wide when she suddenly found herself on her back staring up at her husband.

  He shook his head and opened his mouth but no words fell from his lips. It was almost as if he’d awakened from a dream and was seeing that it wasn’t a dream at all—it was real.

  Oria hoped passion shined in her eyes and could be heard in her words. “Please don’t stop, Royden. I love you and I so want to make love with you.”

  He brought his brow down to rest against hers. And when he went to speak, she captured his words with a kiss. It was
what he needed and what she needed and while it was a tender kiss, it soon turned more urgent.

  She almost cried out in protest when his lips left hers, but it turned to a passionate moan when his mouth captured one of her nipples. He suckled it, teased it with his tongue, and nipped at it with his teeth, and she relished every minute of the tormenting pleasure.

  He couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to taste all of her, every inch of her. When he finished with each breast, he kissed and nipped down along her body. It was as if he needed to leave his mark everywhere on her, to claim every part of her, to know every part of her now belonged to him and him alone.

  He looked up at her. “You’re mine, Oria.”

  “Aye, always,” she barely whispered, his dark eyes intense with such passion that it fired her own even more.

  The need to warn her rose up in him and he brought his face close to hers. “You see the savage in me. He can’t be tamed and he’s never satisfied. His hunger is endless.”

  “Then I will make sure to keep him fed,” Oria said and spread her legs farther apart inviting him before she kissed him.

  Her unselfish response and loving kiss was like a beacon in the dark to him and he rushed toward the distant light, anxious to free himself of the empty darkness.

  He returned her kiss, hungrier for her more than ever before. He covered her with his body, bracing himself to rest just above her and settling his shaft to rub between her legs.

  She smiled softly when she saw a hesitation in his eyes. “I love you, Royden, and nothing on earth or in the heavens will ever change that. You’re mine and always have been and will be.”

  “Hold on to me,” he said thinking he didn’t deserve her, but not able to let her go. “And let me know if I hurt you.”

  “You could never hurt me. You don’t have it in your heart to hurt me.”

  “Damn, Oria,” he said, resting his brow to hers, her words stinging his heart.

  She gripped his arms. “I need you inside me. I want you inside me.”

  Royden wanted that just as badly as she did and he didn’t waste another minute, since he was already close to climax. He rose up a bit higher off her and he warned himself to go slow. She was a virgin and he could hurt her. But when he felt how wet and ready she was for him and with how much he’d been delaying his own release, his passion having surged so quickly, he found himself rushing into her.

  She cried out and he stopped, silently cursing himself.

  “No! No! Don’t stop,” she pleaded.

  And he didn’t. His need, his love for her overwhelmed, and all he could think about was burying himself deeper and deeper inside her, going farther toward that light that teased him in the distance.

  She moved along with him, her passion building as it had been doing, slow at first. Now it was hurtling so rapidly she couldn’t control it, didn’t want to. She had waited far too long to share this moment with Royden and she didn’t want to wait another minute.

  Royden groaned deep as he drove in and out of her. “Oria,” he growled, sounding like the savage he had thought he’d become.

  “Aye. Aye, Royden,” she said, her breathing growing more rapid.

  He pounded into her, though he warned himself to go easy, be careful not to hurt her, but it was Oria who urged him on, thrusting her hips up and demanding he go deeper. And he did.

  He took her soaring to unimaginable heights of passion that it almost brought her to tears. God, how she loved this man, her husband.

  He brought his face down close to hers and urged, “Now, Oria, now.”

  She nodded and screamed out as she splintered into a thousand pieces of pure pleasure.

  Royden let go with a roar that exploded in the room as he burst with such an intense satisfaction that it shattered the darkness and a brilliant light consumed him, filling him with a pleasure he had never known.

  When it finally faded, he collapsed over her barely able to breathe and though he didn’t want to move off her, he feared his weight too much for her and rolled off her onto his back. He felt her hand slip around his and he squeezed it tight.

  “I didn’t know it could feel that wonderful,” she said, her breath still a bit labored.

  “Either did I,” he said and he did something that he didn’t think he’d ever do again—he smiled.

  Oria released his hand and turned to snuggle against him and her heart swelled with joy when she saw the smile on his face. The smile she had put there.

  “Truly?” she asked, though his smile said it all.

  “Aye, wife, truly,” he said. “I’ve never known it to feel this satisfying.” Worry suddenly creased his brow. “Oria, if I did anything that yo—”

  She smiled. “I enjoyed everything you did to me. You made our first time together a beautiful memory I will forever cherish.” She poked him in the chest. “Though you must promise me it won’t be the last time we do it.”

  “I know now why I fell in love with you. You have the kindest, most unselfish, and loving heart I have ever known.” He rolled her onto her back. “And you’re mine, all mine, and I’ll never let you go, not ever.” He kissed her gently and he wrapped himself around her, something he’d been longing to do.

  It wasn’t long before she fell asleep and he laid there thinking how he’d protect her if they ever suffered another attack like the one that had separated them. It stirred in him again—the savage that lurked in the darkness—and he was glad to feel him. He’d never go away and oddly enough he didn’t want him to. He’d let him loose when necessary and never again would anyone harm Oria or take her from him.

  He fell asleep, glad the savage still lived.

  Chapter 14

  Royden woke with his wife tucked snugly against him. He kept his eyes on her, thinking if he looked away he’d wake and find it all had been a dream. Given time, he knew he’d accept the fact that he was truly home and that Oria was his wife, truly his wife now.

  He smiled and almost touched his face to feel it. His wife had been the one to make him truly smile again and it was another debt of gratitude he owed her.

  She stirred beside him, her leg moving over his to rest near his groin and since he’d woken already aroused it didn’t help any.

  He had been woken in the middle of the night when Oria had stirred restlessly in her sleep. Fearing it was the beginning of another nightmare for her, he had stroked her gently and whispered reassuring words. The next thing he knew they were making love again and it had been more than amazing. It made him realize that the many women he had been with through the past years had soothed a need, but never had he known true satisfaction until Oria.

  Thinking on that flared his desire for her. He told himself to leave her be. She had to be tired and possibly sore since this was new to her. Then he felt her hand on his shaft and he smiled again.

  He turned his smile on her. “Can’t keep your hands off me, wife?”

  She was already smiling broadly. “Do you want me to?”

  “No. Never,” he said with a light laugh. “I’m glad you like to touch me, but you know what will happen if you keep touching me.”

  “Why do you think I’m touching you, husband?” she said with a light laugh of her own.

  Royden rolled over her, pinning her on her back with his body. “You’re sure about this? You’re not too uncomfortable?”

  “If you’re asking me if you’ve left me worn out and sore from last night, the answer is no. And you should be aware that I’m no delicate flower you need to treat carefully.”

  “So I’m beginning to realize,” he said.

  Oria ran her hand gently over his shoulder and down along his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You may have changed some, but you’re no savage I need to fear. There are new things we need to learn about each other and we have the time to do so. One thing that hasn’t changed about either of us is that we still love each other and that—dear husband—is all that matters and is something I’ll keep reminding you abou
t.”

  He kissed her. “I do love you, wife.”

  She ran a finger faintly over his lips. “Show me.”

  And he did.

  A cart meandered through the village later that day, Penn waving a welcome to the man holding the reins.

  “Who is he?” Royden asked, brushing his hands free of debris after placing another stone on the hut. It was almost finished and would soon be ready to use. He had wanted it done, that and the fields ready for planting, so that his clan would see that winter would pose no problem for them.

  “Clive. He’s a merchant of sorts. He comes through here every now and again. Sometimes he has things of interest, other times not so much,” Penn explained.

  “Where does he get his wares?” Royden asked.

  “He tells tall tales of knowing wealthy merchants and such, but I think he gets them whatever way he can.”

  “You mean he’s a thief,” Angus said.

  “I’d be careful calling him that in front of Bethany,” Penn warned. “Clive always has something for her when he shows up.”

  “Of course she’d be appreciative of cooking ware,” Angus said.

  Penn shook his head and grinned. “It’s ribbons and babbles he brings her. Last time it was a fine wine he brought her and they shared the bottle together before he left the next day.”

  Angus glared at Penn. “Go on with you, Bethany didn’t do that.”

  “She did, and if you truly favor Bethany you’d best watch out. Clive has an eye for her and he keeps saying he’s getting old and needs himself a good woman to settle down with.,” Penn said.

  “You better watch it, Angus,” John said with a chuckle. “Old Clive there will snatch her right away from you.”

  “The devil he will,” Angus said, straightening tall and drawing his shoulders back as the cart got closer.

  “I tell you, Penn, I’m getting too old for this endless traveling. I need to find a good woman and settle down,” Clive said as he pulled to a stop by the stone hut.

  Penn smiled, the old man confirming his words.

  Royden turned a curious eye on the man. If his white and gray beard and his hair the same color, though sparse, was any indication of his age you’d say the man was old, but there was a spryness to his blue eyes that told a different story. Though the wrinkles around them begged a different tale as well as did his body that had barely a belly to it. He appeared right fit.