Page 32 of Bride Takes a Laird
He pressed a hand over her naked leg until he reached the hem of her chemise. His hand slid beneath the delicate fabric and eased it upward until he cupped the weighty flesh of her breast. She was endowed with ample breasts, more than enough to satisfy a man. He shifted forward and kissed a nipple through the thin material of her garment. Though he was anxious to be with her, he delighted in teasing her and reveled at the sound of her winsome murmurs.
She reached out to touch his hair and shifted her fingers to glide and take hold of the strands. With force, she pulled his head to hers.Magnus took it as her signal to want to be kissed. He set his mouth on hers and pressed his lips lightly at first. But then desire wound its way through him and he soon had her tongue responding to his. Lord, the kisses were hot and sultry. He kept up the torment of it which spurred an insatiable lust within him.
Magnus had never acted without honor with a woman and he was hard-pressed to maintain such now. Something within him turned his touches and movement to fervor. His hands roamed her skin, effectively squeezing her gently, gripping her legs, and bringing her closer to him. He pressed his length against her thigh and groaned at the hardness of his center. A throb taunted him to take her but his sweet wife shrank away from him.
At that moment, Magnus realized how forceful he was being and eased away from her. He’d forgotten how little experience she had. “I seem to be in a rush…”
“Magnus, don’t…stop.”
“Was I hurting ye?” Lord, he hoped not. “I apologize if I was.”
“Nay, I liked what you were doing. Please, kiss me again.”
“I want to do more than kiss ye. I want to hear ye shout my name when ye come undone. Say that ye will.” He pressed the row of his knuckles over her soft cheek and waited for her promise.
“I shall if it makes you happy.”
Magnus rejoined their mouths and kissed her with gentle passion. Their lips enmeshed and became torrid. He wanted to be tender but desire swarmed every part of him. The intention to take it slow was short-lived. He couldn’t wait and moved his hand to her center. The warmth of her core beckoned his fingers and he readied her. She was tight and wet, more than ready for him. He pulled away from her and shifted her legs wider so he could join with her. As he set his erection at her center, he watched as her eyes darkened with passion. With little effort, he slid the length of himself inside her and groaned at the exquisite sensation of her surrounding him.
Pulses of her desire urged him on. It took great will not to thrust madly inside her. Magnus’s legs shook with the need, but he wouldn’t allow himself the pleasure. Not yet. She needed loving, a gentleness that spurred her lust and passion. With deliberate strokes of his length, he teased her, prodding her to meet him. She lifted her body to take him in and he moaned at the exquisite trembles of his body. The pleasure was there for the taking, but still, Magnus held back. He wanted Kendra to succumb to him, to meet her end before him, and to receive the bliss he was certain that awaited her. Bliss certainly awaited him.
She thrashed about and gripped his thighs as she propelled her body toward him. Their clashes became maddened then, each taking what each wanted and needed. She gasped and called his name in a breathy whisper. Hearing his name on her lips sent his culmination to overtake him. They met their ends together, both rasping and in thorough harmony. There was no greater rapture than that.
Magnus gently eased from her and set his head near her shoulder. His lips grazed the tender skin below her ear and he tried to calm his racing heart and breath. She placed her hand on his face and eased her fingers over his cheek. Magnus shifted to his back, kept his gaze on the beamed ceiling overhead, and considered how easy it was for her to enthrall him. He wasn’t displeased by that, but he had no power to resist her or the promises made by her body.
When he peered at his wife, he found her watching him. “Have I told ye, sweetheart, how bonny ye look this day?”
She giggled lightly. “Aye, you did but you need not say such sweet words to me.”
“Every lady should be told so each day, especially by her husband. I meant to tell ye that and more when I first saw ye in the hall.” Magnus pressed a kiss on the side of her face and reached his arm across her torso.
Kendra shifted from beneath his hold, left the bed, and retrieved acloth. She used it to clean him and her and returned it to the basin. When she came back to him, she didn’t dress in a nightrail but pulled the covers over her naked body. He almost grinned thinking how easy it would be for them to join again later in the night.
“How was your trip to the village? Did you find out anything about your brother’s death?”
“I found out some information that might be useful. What about ye? How did your visit with your father go?”
“My father at first failed to recognize me. I fear one day he won’t and never shall again. That saddens me, but what can I do?”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Your father seems like a good man and ’tis disheartening to see him affected so greatly by this malady.”
She wrapped her arm around him and snuggled closer. “Your grandda gave me a brooch this day. He said it belonged to your grandmother.”
Magnus leaned upward and frowned slightly. “He did? I am surprised because he vowed that he would never part with my grandmother’s brooch. He said it beheld magic and that the wearer would receive love from the man that she admired. Many a time around the night fires, my grandda told the story of how my grandmother had an old crone cast a spell upon the brooch so she could win my grandda’s affection.”
Kendra snorted a light laugh. “I disbelieve in magical charms, Magnus, but to appease Hugh, I accepted it. He told me to wear it at the Bealtuinn festival.”
“Oh, aye, the festival approaches. I wish I could find Ned’s killer before Bealtuinn. It would help the clan accept his death and perhaps lessen their mourning. I fear they will not want to celebrate unless I fulfill my vow of vengeance.”
“You vowed to seek vengeance for his murder?” She gingerly roamed her hand over his torso and he flinched at her light touch.
“Aye, and it is a vow I take most seriously.”
“I do hope you find out who took him from you. What if you do not find his murderer? Will you go to your death, the end of your days, seeking to fulfill this vow?”
Magnus wondered that too, but he didn’t answer only grunted. “I should give the soldiers the next few days off so they can collect the wood and boughs for the great bonfire.”
“If anything the festivity might lighten everyone. It saddens me to see your people in such mourning but I will probably be in the same spirit when Papa passes.”