Page 30 of Bride Takes a Charmer
“I want ye badly and cannot resist—”
“Take me, Shaw. I need you too.” Her words came in a sweet whisper against his mouth.
Shaw pressed his lips against hers as his erection found its way into the warmth of her being. Her heat and tightness caused him to rasp in delight. He shifted slowly at first, trying to maintain control and to give her pleasure. Her body easily accepted his and when she wrapped her legs around his thighs, he was lost in a peril of extreme infatuation. Shaw continued to propel his body and as their movements increased, so too did their surrender.
He was barely hanging on and forced himself to withhold the need to expel his seed. His wife was more important than his instinctual need and he wanted her to experience the ultimate pleasure. With effective thrusts and powerful strokes, he couldn’t withstand the impulse to delve into her sheath. She clasped him tightly and called his name in besotted shouts of sensuality. Her culmination tensed her body beneath his, and still, he waited. But his restraint was short-lived when his body deceived him and thoroughly abandoned him.
Every muscle within him clenched with the agony of his surrender. His seed gave way and his shout nearly rendered him incapable of movement. He pressed against her and drew in rasps of breath. For a long moment, he leaned his head on her shoulder and tried not to crush her. But he realized her hands were entwined within the locks of his hair. Her fingers caressed his head as if she were trying to soothe him, but she, too, seemed to have trouble catching her breath.
“Sorsha, ye are bonny and have me besotted.” He shifted back but kissed her softly before he completely withdrew.
His wife lay back with a bonny smile on her face. She pressed the tips of her fingers over her eyes and sighed. “What just happened?”
He grinned as multiple answers came to him, but when he noted the shine in her eyes, he smoothed a hand over her hair. “Are ye weeping? Did I hurt ye?” Shaw thought he might’ve been somewhat rough with her.
“Nay, it was…wonderful. Really, Shaw, I never felt anything so perfect.”
Perfect…Perfection…Transcendent.
Their encounter led Shaw to realize that he might be more than infatuated with her. He lay next to her, yanked her body closer to his, and smoothed a hand over her torso. “I cannot wait until ye are carrying my bairn. Ye want more children? I know yemust be missing your wee lass, but it got me thinking that I want bairns and soon. Do ye?”
She set her hand atop his. “I had not thought about it…until now. Aye, I do want more children, yours… And of course, I miss Gillian and pray that she is well.”
Shaw couldn’t begin to understand the woe that must be in Sorsha’s heart over being separated from her child. He intended to wait until she was ready to retrieve her daughter, but something prevented her from doing so. If they were going to collect Gillian from the Chattans, it should be soon. That decided, Shaw leaned his head against hers and sighed.
“I will be gone most of the day on the morrow but should return by nightfall.”
“I am sure I shall be well while you are gone. Where are you going?”
He cleared his throat and told a bald-faced lie. “I plan to meet with my allies.” Well, no, that wasn’t necessarily a bald-faced lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. He intended to meet with his allies in case he needed them when he confronted Geoff Chattan. Though his wife wouldn’t share her reluctance to retrieve Gillian, he intended to retrieve their wee lass as soon as possible.
For now, he was content to hold Sorsha all night if only to remind himself that she was finally his—the woman he’d been infatuated with since he’d first held her.
Chapter Eleven
In the pre-dawn,darkened morning, Shaw left his bed and hastily prepared to leave. When he picked up his belt, he remembered placing the missive he’d received from the MacPhersons in his dagger’s sheath. But after removing his dagger, he found no missive. It must have fallen out, but he couldn’t recall when or how. It mattered not because he wasn’t ready to face the MacPhersons, and currently, he was more worried about his own clan and the Chattans.
He snatched a loaf of bread on his way out of the fief and shoved it into his satchel. On the journey to Tor, he’d appease his hunger. When he reached the postern of the bridge, someone grabbed him from behind and held his head in a grip.Henny!Shaw wouldn’t be deterred and gripped the forearm of his assailant and used his foot to dislodge the man. The soldier fought to keep his balance and gripped him, and Shaw fell back against the wall before he was released.
Henny swayed on his feet but managed to remain standing. “Good morn, Laird, ye be alert this day. Are ye leaving the keep?”
“Aye, I am. Go and prepare my horse…and yours. Roust Trey if he hasn’t awakened and meet me back here shortly.”
Without a word, Henny sprinted off toward the barracks.
As Shaw stood there awaiting Trey and Henny, he whistled for Clovis. His gate watchman resided in a small cottage near the gate and within a moment, his door opened. Clovis meanderedtoward him with sleep still evident in his gaze. The man groused and rammed his spread fingers through his mangled hair. His eyes narrowed and his mouth taut in a slightly irritated pout.
“’Tis ye, Laird. I thought one of the soldiers whistled. I will have the gate opened for ye.” He motioned to two of the soldiers who approached at his signal.
“I need ye to keep our gates closed this day. Allow no one within the keep or on the island.”
Clovis flapped his hands at the guards and they shuffled back to their positions. “Ye be off, Laird? Will ye be gone long?”
“Aye, I am going to meet with Geoff Chattan and I do not want to worry about my clan whilst I am gone. None are to know my destination. Keep it to yourself.” Shaw shifted his gaze as Trey and Henny walked toward him, holding the reins of their horses and his.
“I will see to our protection, Laird, whilst ye are gone,” Clovis said and walked off toward the soldiers that guarded the gate.
When his commander-in-arms reached him, Shaw pulled him aside. “Send our fastest horsemen to our allies. Have them relate to the Campbell and the Mackenzie lairds that I might need their support. Ask them to meet me at the great glen later this morn.”