Page 20 of Highlander’s Captive Bride (Troubles of Highland Lasses #4)

20

“Y e came, then.”

Daisy almost jumped out of her skin when he spoke, his voice deep and hoarse. Her eyes flew to his face, to see that his eyes were wide open, pools of gray lit by the moonlight, framed by shadow.

“I-I had to,” she breathed, shivering.

“I’m glad.”

Like a god rising from the deep, Bellamy rose out of the bed in one smooth movement, his body enfolding hers, imbuing her with his delicious heat, sparking the flame inside. Their lips met hungrily, their mouths opening to each other with a passion that burned Daisy, who wrapped her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer as if she could not get her fill of him.

His hands moved to her waist, deftly untying the belt and pushing her robe off her shoulders. It pooled at her feet unnoticed as their tongues entwined and their kisses became wilder, hungrier. They only parted long enough for Bellamy to grasp the hem of Daisy’s shift and pull it over her head.

Now, they were both naked, and they leaped at each other with an urgency that spoke of a mutual thirst that could no longer be denied. Bellamy lifted her off her feet, and her legs went straight around his waist, the groans deep in his throat stoking the flames in her belly until she thought they would consume her.

“Bellamy, I have to have ye,” she murmured, her lips on his throat, his chest, his mouth, her arms clinging to him, her hands everywhere.

The feeling of his smooth, hot skin on hers was like an aphrodisiac, and when she felt his hands traveling over every inch of her, his manhood throbbing against her behind, she knew it was the same for him.

“Och, Daisy, I’ve dreamed of this moment so often,” Bellamy said thickly against her neck, raining hot kisses on her. “I’ve wanted ye so much, sometimes I dinnae ken how I’ve held meself back.”

“I dinnae want ye to hold back,” she breathed in his ear.

With another groan, he whirled her around, carrying her as if she weighed nothing. She arched her back and offered her breasts to his mouth. He ravaged them, sucking and teasing and nipping at them with his teeth like a starving man at a feast until she whimpered with desire, her whole body electrified by his touch.

Bellamy gripped her hard around the waist and lifted her higher, so her legs were on his shoulders, and then he drank from her, burying his face between her legs, his tongue teasing her bud, then slipping through the folds of her sex and flicking in and out of her.

Daisy threw back her head in delirium, mewling and moaning, tightening her thighs around his neck so he could drink more deeply of her flesh and give her more of what she craved. Bellamy needed no encouragement to go deeper into her with his tongue, devouring her as if he would drink her dry.

Daisy rode his face, chasing the unimaginable thrills he was giving her, and before long, she felt the waves of pleasure rising from where his mouth continued its hot explorations, leaving no fold of her secret place uncharted. As the waves grew stronger, she bucked against him, chasing the intoxicating bliss he seemed made to give her.

“Ah, Bellamy! Ah!” she moaned as the waves crashed over her, shaking her frame with ecstasy.

As soon as that happened, Bellamy took her to his bed and threw her down. She gazed up at him, thrilled at the sight of him coming down on top of her, his face wet, his gray eyes dazed with desire for her. It only excited her more.

She welcomed him with her arms, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck as he leaned over her, poised on his forearms.

With one easy thrust, he was inside her. She buried her face in his shoulder to stifle her scream of pleasure newly discovered.

The sensation of him moving inside her was like nothing she had ever experienced before, despite everything they had done together. The sheer strength and power of his body as he thrust into her, his hips pounding with an ever-increasing rhythm, was lifting her higher and higher, towards a kind of euphoria, a total assault on her senses.

Their kisses became more urgent, their hearts pounding in unison, the rapid beats matching the driving force pushing them towards mutual ecstasy. Daisy felt him stiffen inside her, quickening his rhythm, and it tipped her over the edge.

She screamed against his shoulder as the rapture took her, and she had not finished moaning when she felt him climax, too, with a deep, guttural sound in his throat that sparked a huge sense of satisfaction inside her, to think that she had the power to give him so much pleasure and bring him to this state, panting into her ear, chanting her name over and over again.

Sweating and panting, they lay against each other, spent, sated, complete.

“Ach, by God,” Bellamy finally whispered.

Daisy stroked his hair tenderly, her heart overflowing with love for him, still dazed by everything he had shown her, given her. She knew she would never feel anything so wonderful again in her life, not without him in it.

“Daisy, surely ye were made for me—just for me.”

Loving the sound of her name on his lips as well as the words he was saying to her, she hugged him with her whole body as hard as she could until he laughed and disentangled himself slightly to look into her eyes. They stared at each other, smiling, worrying each other’s lips with tiny kisses.

“Let’s have a drink,” he said eventually, sitting up and looking adorably dazed as he ran his hands through his hair.

He leaned over to the nightstand and poured them a whisky each from the flask there, then passed a glass to her.

“To ye and me, Daisy,” he said, raising his glass.

They clinked their glasses and toasted themselves, sealing it with a kiss. Then, Bellamy pulled the covers over them, wrapped her in his arms, and held her until they both fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

The early morning sun struck brightly through the windows of Bellamy’s chambers. It shone warmly on Daisy’s eyelids, which fluttered open.

Daisy did not move, unsure of where she was but feeling supremely relaxed and content. Then, she felt Bellamy’s strong, warm length against her, his arm cradling her, one leg thrown over hers beneath the tangled covers. Her arm was across his chest, her thighs pressed to his, her nose full of his delectable scent. She listened to his soft breathing for a few moments and smiled to herself. It was everything she had imagined and much, much more.

“Dinnae move a muscle,” came his rumbling voice, reverberating through his chest and into her ear. “I want to stay like this the whole day until we can do it all over again.”

She chuckled. “I have nae intention of moving,” she assured him, kissing the smooth side of his chest and squeezing him with her arm. “I’m quite happy where I am.”

“Good. Because ye fit here just right, like ye were made for me.”

“I think I must be,” she said, believing it entirely, for she had never felt so happy, so complete, so safe.

She could feel his heart beating beneath her ear, steady and strong. It was deeply comforting.

Somebody banged on the door. “Breakfast, M’laird!” came a loud voice.

“Leave it by the door,” Bellamy shouted back, the sound ringing in Daisy’s ears and making her laugh. “Something amusing ye, is it nae?” he asked in a lazy voice.

“Only that ye make me shake with yer shouting,” Daisy replied.

Her words turned into a loud giggle when his hand suddenly darted out and tickled her ribs.

“Och, she’s ticklish,” he murmured as if making some great discovery, and he tickled her again.

This time, Daisy shrieked, laughing helplessly as she curled into a ball, trying to protect herself from the onslaught.

“Two can play at that game,” she managed to say through her laughter, tickling him under the arm.

Bellamy let out a shout of surprise, instantly retaliating, and soon, they were giggling like children as they waged a tickling war on each other until they fell back, laughing together, side by side, onto the bed.

I love ye, Bellamy, I love ye so much!

Her heart cried out to him. But of course, she did not say it out loud. Instead, she clambered over him in her nakedness, lay full length on his chest, and showered him with tiny kisses. The tiny kisses inevitably led to his lips, and they kissed, deeply and intensely, with newly awakened passion.

She felt his manhood throbbing hotly against her thighs, and she wriggled against him wantonly. With a groan, Bellamy rolled her over, his knee sliding between her legs, entering her in one fluid motion that made her gasp and awoke all her hunger for him afresh.

They made love again, more leisurely this time, and Daisy reached her peak just seconds before she felt Bellamy’s last, powerful thrust as he reached his own.

They reveled in the aftermath for a long while.

“Och, I dinnae ken about ye, bonny lass, but I’m dying for a cuppa tea,” Bellamy declared eventually.

He yawned, stretched, got up, and stumbled over to the door. Daisy watched, admiring his magnificent, naked physique from behind. She giggled again as he made a show of opening the door and peeking out to see if anyone was looking before snatching up the tray the servant had left and bringing it back to the bed.

They shared a relaxing, naked breakfast. Daisy was surprised at how hungry she was, and at how much she ate.

“I suppose we have to get up soon,” she said reluctantly.

“Aye,” he agreed. “There’s the celebration happening today, and I have quite a few things to do that are expected of me as the Laird. But ye can stay here as long as ye like.” He stroked her hair and ran his hand down her naked flank, sending shivers up and down her spine.

“Last night was wonderful, Bellamy,” Daisy told him, meaning every word.

He looked at her with a tenderness that turned her insides to water. “Better than wonderful, me bonny lass,” he told her, kissing her hair once more. “Maybe it’ll turn out to be nae just one night, eh?”

His words sent a chill through her, for there was nothing she wanted more than to lie with him every night for the rest of her life.

But ye have to leave! There is no choice.

Daisy pushed away the chill, determined to have these last few hours with him, no matter what.

He gave her a smacking kiss on the lips and went to the washstand, where he proceeded to wash himself vigorously, amusing her by singing at the top of his lungs an old Highland song with rather bawdy lyrics.

“I’m just away to me room to change,” she shouted, rapidly pulling on her clothes.

The singing stopped. “Aye, all right. I’ll come and get ye when I’m done,” he called back.

“Aye!” she replied, smiling to herself, filled with pure love for him as he resumed the song heartily.

Daisy slipped out into the, mercifully, empty hallway and hurried to her room. After half an hour or so, Bellamy came to her room, looking splendid in the regalia of the Laird of Murdoch.

“I dinnae think ye could look any more handsome if ye tried,” Daisy teased as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror.

He nodded, coming to stand behind her and taking the brush from her hands. “I’m glad ye realize what a fine figure of a man I am,” he said, winking at her.

She laughed at his antics.

He began brushing her hair with his usual surprising delicacy, humming to himself and smiling at her in the looking glass. He even tied her hair back with the tartan scarf he had bought her in the market, which had been hanging with some other ribbons over the glass.

“There ye go, lass, as pretty as a picture,” he said, at last, planting a kiss on the top of her shining locks.

“I have to agree,” Daisy told him, inspecting her appearance. “The tartan goes perfectly with me dress.”

“Shall we fetch Elodie, M’lady?”

Bellamy gave her his arm, and they left the room together, making their way to Elodie’s chambers. She and Poppy were all ready to go, both filled with excitement for the day ahead.

With Bellamy carrying Elodie, the four of them made their way downstairs. In the great hall, Jamie was waiting for them with a cheery smile. Together, they all went outside to join the Beltane celebrations that would last all day and all night.

The mildness and beauty of the day were appropriate to mark the first day of summer, Daisy thought. They joined the rest of the throng on the fields outside the castle gates. Hundreds of folks were gathered there, all in their best clothes, most looking none the worse for the party the night before. Walking along with Bellamy was the icing on the cake for Daisy. Her heart was bursting with love and pride to be at his side.

But all the time, the clock was ticking down in her mind, telling her how many hours and minutes remained before she had to wrench herself from him and Elodie, to try to make it home to fulfill her family obligations.

Perhaps because of the pressure she was under, the time seemed to pass in a blur. She watched Bellamy make the symbolic offering to the old harvest deities to ensure a bountiful harvest for the coming year. That was followed by a blessing of the spirits for good luck.

It was an effort for Daisy to keep from crying, for she was so full of conflicting emotions by that time. But by focusing on making Elodie happy, she somehow managed to get through it.

She took the little girl to watch the maypole dancing, and they laughed when one of the tiny girls accidentally went the wrong way and got tangled up. But it was all good-natured, and she was soon put back on track, looking pleased with herself as she danced around the pole with the other maids.

Then, there came the Beltane feast, which was even bigger than the one the night before, with roasted ox, deer, pig, and sheep all on offer, along with all sorts of vegetables, not to mention enormous puddings made of pastry or suet, all plump with fresh and dried fruits and running with sweet sauces. And, of course, strong drinks flowered freely.

Daisy sat with Bellamy, Elodie, and Jamie. However, she could not help noticing that Nadia was absent. She had not seen the girl at the party the night before either and wondered where on earth she could be. She ought to have been there after all the hard work she had put in with the committee and making the decorations, surely?

But Daisy soon forgot about Nadia as the feast progressed, with vast platters of food being passed around and consumed with enjoyment. Unfortunately, she found she could hardly eat anything, for she was far too tense. All she could do was make a pretense of it and move some morsels of food around her plate. Neither did she dare to drink too much ale or wine, for fear of becoming too intoxicated for it to be safe to venture out onto the roads.

Bellamy stood up and gave a rousing speech, making many toasts to the old gods in thanks for their bounty, which everyone heartily echoed. Around that time, it was discovered that Elodie had fallen asleep, so Jamie escorted her and Poppy up to her chambers so she could be put to bed.

Everything was beautiful and joyous. But even as she joined in the toasts, Daisy knew the time was coming when she must take the opportunity to leave Castle Murdoch.

She waited until the sun sank below the horizon and darkness fell. The stars and the new moon gave out only a feeble light. The only other illumination was the orange glow from the many bonfires. It was the perfect cover for her to steal away without being seen.

When the party seemed to be in full swing, she decided to make her move.

It was easy to walk backwards from the throng and make her way unnoticed into the keep. Everything was ready—the bag containing everything she needed for her journey was safely hidden by the east gate—but there were a couple of important things she had decided she must do before leaving.