by Eliza Knight
Greer sat back, took another small sip of wine, and waited for the scene to unfold, for certainly at any moment, their plan would come barreling into action.
And it did just as they hoped. All Eva had to do was whisper to Jewel, “Cat! Get it!” and her hound went on a tear through the great hall. One minute the men were dancing, the ladies clapping, and the next thing everyone knew, a massive blur of black fur was racing through the great hall on a mission to catch an imaginary cat. Of course, every other dog in the vicinity wanted in on the action.
Greer smiled, finding Roderick’s face in the chaotic crowd, each of them with satisfied grins in place.
They met halfway. Roderick swept her up in his arms, and they disappeared into the kitchen and took the servants’ stairs two at a time. At last, they reached the level her bedchamber was on, laughing at the chaos in the great hall that echoed up through the floorboards. Once they were in her chamber, he set her down, shut the door firmly behind him, and put the bar in place.
“I’ve a feeling ye’ve used that tactic more than once.” He eyed her. “Did ye do that on purpose at Glenn Mórinnse?”
She laughed aloud. “I didna, I swear.”
Roderick took quick strides to close the distance between them and capture her in a kiss. “I love ye.” He swept her back up in his arms and marched toward the wide oak bed with four carved posts and a floral-tapestried canopy overhead.
Greer let out a squeal when he tossed her on the center, and then teased, “Alone at last, and ye can finally ravish me.”
He chuckled and nodded toward the table before the hearth. “Seems we got lucky and they already prepared your chamber.”
Greer pushed up on her elbows to peer over the end of the bed. Settled on the table was a platter of berries, scones, sugared almonds, and wine.
“My mother knows me well. Alas, I am only hungry for one thing—my husband.” She turned her gaze back toward Roderick, letting him see in that one glance just what she wanted. “We need to finish something we started.”
Roderick’s regard darkened as he swept it over the length of her. “Aye. We’ll eat after, for I canna wait to taste every last inch of ye, mo ghràidh.”
Greer nodded, her belly fluttering and every part of her coming alive at the images he brought into her mind. With his gaze on her, he unpinned his plaid and slowly stripped out of every stitch of clothing, tossing his boots behind him. He stood gloriously nude in front of her, and her mouth went dry and then was suddenly very wet. He wasn’t the only one who wanted to taste.
Muscles rippled from his corded shoulders and down the length of his strong arms. His chest was broad and had a sprinkling of dark hair that traveled down the sinewy bands of his abdominal muscles, and then lower still, reaching a thatch of hair from which a thick staff jutted.
Greer licked her lips, studying the member, fascinating by the length and breadth, the plush head at its tip, the drop of dew that beaded there, and the way her body yearned for that particular piece to fit with her.
As much as she wanted to linger her curious gaze there, she looked lower still, catching sight of the scar on his muscled leg. It was truly a miracle he could move and fight as though the wound had never happened at all. And that was only because he was strong as steel on the inside, pushing past the pain. She admired him for that. Loved him for it, too. Admired that he’d been able to forgive her, to love her, despite her giving him a lifetime of pain.
He stalked forward then, and her gaze was drawn back to the jutting appendage that swung gently while he walked. “Undress.”
Greer flicked her gaze back up to his, and she nodded, though she didn’t move. Prickles of anticipation and a little bit of fear coursed through her. Never once had she questioned what this moment would bring. Heavens, just a week ago, she’d been ready to revel in it at the tavern. She wasn’t scared or filled with regret, but all the same, her nerves were firing.
Roderick reached out a hand to her, and with complete trust, she placed her palm against his. Gently, he tugged her from the bed, cupped her cheeks, and bent to kiss her. Within minutes, she forgot all about being nervous and wrapped her arms around his neck, fully absorbed in their kiss. Her body came alive as she vividly recalled the sensations he could give her.
It was only with the breath of cold air around her legs that she realized he’d removed her gown, and then a moment later, their kiss was broken. He knelt before her, pressing his lips to her belly covered only by the thin veil of her chemise. This time, he didn’t have to ask. She wrenched her chemise over her head and tossed it onto the pile of his clothes, wanting to feel his breath on her skin, wanting to slide together on the soft linen sheets.
What she didn’t expect was that he would put his mouth…there. Nor did she expect to like it so much.
Hot breath fanned over the thatch of hair, and then his tongue darted out to stroke the crease between her sex and her inner thigh. A moment later, he parted her folds with his thumbs and pressed his lips to the very center of her. Greer groaned, threading her fingers in his hair. She followed his lead as he pushed her back toward the bed and spread her legs wide to…feast. Oh, there was no other way to think of it other than her being the meal he craved.
But as soon as her arse hit the bed, he stood abruptly and wiggled his brows. Greer blinked up at him, her mind a fog of pleasure.
“I’ve an idea, lass.” He moved toward the table and retrieved the berries.
“Roderick…I want…” How could she say she wanted him to make love to her, not to eat? Well, eat…her, not berries.
But his wicked wink in her direction had the words dying on her tongue. Why did she have a feeling that he was still going to do just what she wanted?
He set the bowl on the table beside the bed, picked up a berry, and pressed it between her lips before he kissed her, the taste of the tart fruit between their tongues. He feasted on her lips like he was a starving man, and she was the only thing he could survive on. Dear God, would she ever be able to eat a berry again?
His mouth skimmed from her lips to her chin and down her neck. Then he grabbed another berry, dragged the fruit along the column of her neck, and licked the juicy path he created down the length of her torso. He dripped juice on her nipples and lapped it up. Then he moved lower to her belly button, until his hot breath washed over her core once more. He pressed the berry between his teeth, gaze locking on hers as he bit through the juice, and then dipped his head between her thighs. He swept his tongue in wicked long strokes between the folds of her most private place. The scent of berries mixed with something sensual and intoxicating.
Nay, never would she be able to eat a berry again without her body bowing with pleasure, she was sure of it. With every caress of his tongue, nuzzle of his lips, her body sang with rapture, and she moaned aloud to match. His fingers stroked at her breasts, massaged her buttocks, then dipped into the very center of her, stretching her wide while his tongue circled the bud of firing sensation.
The bliss surging through her entire being was so much more than what she’d imagined. It was good she hadn’t known it would feel this incredible. Because if she’d imagined it could be like this, the moment she woke up naked in his bed, she would have climbed all over him and virtue be damned.
She buried her fingers in his hair as her body spasmed and bowed with what could only be described as rapture. Pleasure even more potent than the climax she’d experienced with him before.
When the shudders had nearly died down, Roderick stood between her legs and slid his palms slowly up the length of her thighs, over the sides of her hips, and underneath her buttocks. He lifted her gently and slid her back on the bed. She gazed up at him with dilated pupils and shivered with growing anticipating at the heated look he cast her. Saints, but that gaze… It had the power to make her body weep.
Roderick climbed onto the bed like a wolf stalking his prey. The length of his hard body slid along hers, the steel of his arousal pressing hotly to the very we
t center of her. Greer lifted her legs around his hips, and he tucked them up farther, bracing himself on his elbows as he stared down.
“I love ye,” he murmured.
“I love ye, too.”
He leaned down, kissed her languidly, and rocked his body on hers until she was trembling. “Ye’re ready,” he whispered, then he took hold of his shaft and positioned the head at her entrance.
“Aye,” she agreed, stroking down the tightened muscles of his back. Boldly, she slid her palms over his buttocks and tugged.
Roderick groaned and surged forward in one swift thrust. The pain was shocking but gone as quickly as it had come, leaving her with a full, stretched, and slightly uncomfortable sensation. She wiggled, trying to get used to the feel, only to hear him hiss.
“Are ye all right?” she asked, suddenly concerned. Did it hurt him the way it had hurt her?
“I’m perfect, love, and I should be the one asking ye that.”
Greer’s lips curled along with her toes. “I’m fine. It doesna hurt.”
Roderick pressed his forehead to hers. “Good… I’ve never…taken a maiden before.”
Greer was surprised but pleased to hear that. “I’m glad to be your first.”
“And only.”
She sighed with pleasure, lifting her legs higher and nuzzling his face until his lips pressed to hers in a languid and delicious kiss. As their tongues stroked, their bodies began to move. Slowly at first, in long, sensual slides, until they were both barely able to breathe, their hearts pounding. Roderick buried his face in her neck, his thrusts growing faster, harder. Little moans and gasps escaped Greer’s throat, growing louder as the delicious sensations inside her increased. She was very close to the same place of rapture he’d brought her before.
And then it happened. Her body shattered with a euphoria that rocked her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. With her cry of passion, Roderick’s pace quickened, until he too was letting out his own moan of release, his body shuddering. He surged forward once, twice, and a third time, then he collapsed on top of her. He rolled them both to the side and remained inside her.
Their breaths slowed, as did the pounding of their hearts, and still they remained connected. Greer stroked his face, their gazes locked in wonder.
“That was unbelievable.” Roderick kissed her gently, then the kiss became more heated and she could feel him growing hard inside her again. “This has never happened. I want ye again. Right now.”
Greer rolled on top of him, her eyes widening at the delicious feel of him inside her. She turned behind her, seeing his legs outstretched behind her, the scar on his thigh just beside her buttock. She stroked the puckered skin. “Are ye all right?”
“Never been better, sweet wife of mine.”
Greer grinned. “I like the sound of that.” She shifted, a gasp of pleasure escaping her. “Can we…make love this way?”
“If ye’re not too sore.”
She rocked her hips again and gasped. “Not sore at all.”
“Thank God.” Sweat beaded on his brow, and he gazed up at her with a primal hunger.
With his hands on her hips, he showed her how to move, and when she picked up the pace, riding toward climax once more, he leaned up and flicked his tongue over her breast, capturing the pink bud with his lips. Greer couldn’t decide where to concentrate. Pleasure seemed to spark from all around her, and so she decided not to concentrate at all, but simply ride the waves as they crashed down around her.
An hour later, they found themselves in a very similar position on the floor before the hearth—and the bowl of berries completely empty, the evidence of the juice on both their skin and tongues.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Around midday the following day, Roderick and Greer finally left the chamber, pleased no one had tried to interrupt them the night before or that morning. They would have remained abed longer, but they ran out of food and drink, and with all the exercise… Well, they’d grown quite famished. They’d made love at least half a dozen times, maybe more. Who was counting? They’d been too busy learning what each of them liked, and memorizing every dip, curve, and ripple of each other’s bodies.
Between lovemaking, they shared their inner most fears and dreams. He told her about Jessica, how the guilt he felt at her death had kept him a brooding mess for years, that when she’d tossed the spear at him and he’d not died, he thought it God’s punishment for not saving his sister. Greer lay upon his chest, stroking a path up and down his ribs as he told stories about his sister. She listened intently, laughing, crying, growing sober as he did. She didn’t try to brush off what he needed to say, nor to solve the guilty emotions he struggled with. She only whispered that time and love and remembrance would aid in healing his wounds. And he loved her all the more for it.
When they reached the last stair, the sounds of the great hall a soft murmur in the background, Roderick stopped her and pulled her into an alcove just under the circular stair and away from sight.
“I’m not yet ready to share ye,” he murmured, pulling her into his embrace.
Greer snuggled against him, pressing her face to his chest. He leaned down, kissed the top of her head, and breathed in the floral scent of her hair.
“This is my new still and quiet,” she whispered, pressing her lips to the place where his heart beat, her palms flat to his back. “The place where I can be free.”
Her words struck a chord in him that left him speechless. When he’d confessed his guilt about his sister, he’d not told her about the note.
Ye are free, and so am I.
As if over the last weeks the notion of being himself with Greer wasn’t evident enough, it had been made clear last night, again in the early morning hours, and even more so now.
“And we are safe with each other,” he murmured, startling himself by saying the words. He was a warrior, a laird, and the concept of being safe never struck him before. But it wasn’t being physically safe that worried him. Nay, it was the stuff upstairs, in his mind, where the dark guilt haunted.
Greer glanced up at him, a small furrow between her brows. “Always.”
“There is something I kept from ye when I told ye about Jessica.”
There was no judgment on her face, only curiosity.
“She left a note in which she professed to be free, and to be giving me my freedom.”
Greer’s lips parted in surprise, eyes watering. “I’m sorry. I didna know…”
“Ye need not apologize, sweetheart.” He blinked, feeling a lightening in his chest. “I think I understand now.”
She waited patiently as his mind worked in slow-turning circles.
“This void I’ve felt… ’Tis not that ye filled it, but that ye allowed me to fill it myself.”
“She will always be a part of ye.”
“Aye.”
“But the guilt need not be. She didna want that.”
“She would have liked ye.”
“And I would have liked her.”
They stayed quiet, their arms wrapped around one another for a few moments longer, until boot heels on the stairs and someone shouting their names made them realize it was time to show their faces to those they’d been avoiding since the wedding feast.
In the great hall, an eruption of cheers sounded upon them stepping off the last stair, to which Greer curtsied, and Roderick bowed. The woman was a constant and pleasant surprise. She took what she was given and ran with it, making every moment interesting.
He could not have been prouder to call her his wife.
“To Laird and Lady MacCulloch!” Jon shouted, rushing forward to thrust two cups of wine at them. “Ye disappeared afore we could toast ye last night.”
The quickly growing crowd shouted their congratulations and then teased them about sneaking out during all the chaos. As if to remind them and to make them feel a bit of guilt, Jewel nudged her way forward and then between them. She leaned her head on Greer’s thigh and gazed up at
Roderick with what could be nothing other than a judgmental stare.
“I’ll let ye have her for a moment, and then she’s mine,” he said to the pup, which had Greer cracking up.
The crowd parted to allow Laird and Lady Sutherland to pass. Roderick and Sutherland eyed each other for a moment or two before the older laird stuck out his arm for Roderick, who gratefully shook it.
“Welcome to our family,” Magnus said.
“And welcome to mine.”
Magnus gave him an appreciative nod. “If ye’re ever in need of anything, ye need only ask.”
“And I offer ye the same.” Roderick pressed his hand to his heart. “Ye’ve given me a wonderful gift.”
“I’ve given ye nothing,” Magnus said. “Ye earned her.”
Greer beamed at them both before she was tugged away by her sister Bella, who whispered something that made her gasp and blush.
They mingled with those in the great hall until Lady Sutherland announced the noon meal was ready, to which he and Greer eagerly found their spots on the dais to feast. When their meal was nearly over, Magnus stood and walked to the center of the dais.
“I’ve a gift I want to give the new couple,” he announced. “Come, let me show ye.”
Roderick took Greer’s hand in his, and each of them eyed the other in confusion. Part of him wondered if this was going to be a final punishment. Sutherland led them all outside, down through the gardens and orchards at the back of the castle, and toward the shore where their pier was.
“I’ve not seen that one afore,” Greer said, nodding toward a vessel with a mast that towered over the others.
When they reached the pier, Magnus turned toward them both and took his wife’s hand in his, his gaze on Greer. “We had this ship commissioned, The Hellion. It was to be your wedding gift, and I think it no less pertinent now that ye’ve wed the man who saved ye. A man who ye once nearly killed on this verra firth.”
