Page 10 of Highlander’s Wild Lass (Wild McLeans #1)

9

A nthony’s heart nearly burst from his chest when Celestia bounded into his study. “Good, sweet God! Celestia?” he exclaimed, taking her in. “What are ye doin’ here?”

Celestia was drenched from head to toe. Pieces of her long hair stuck to her face, dripping at the ends. Her bodice was soaked through, and her skirts hung heavy, covered with mud.

It was as if he had fallen into another one of his dreams, but her face held too much fear and sadness for this moment to be a dream. In his dreams, Celestia was always happy.

“I just told ye I’d marry ye,” she told him, her hand still on the door.

“We can discuss what ye said later, Celestia. But what is goin’ on?” Anthony stood and walked around his desk, motioning her forward with a wave of his hand. “Come stand before the fire, or ye’ll catch a chill.”

She moved slowly toward him, burdened by her wet clothes. He guided her by her shoulders closer to the fire. “Stand here. I’ll build it up a bit more.”

Anthony walked to the door to close it before kneeling before the fire. He started to carefully stack another log into the flames along with a fistful of kindling. “Ye will catch a nasty chill if ye stay in those clothes. Yer goin’ to have to take yer skirts off, ye’ll never dry all the way through.”

“My skirts…”

“Aye, Celestia. Ye daenae need to be gettin’ sick again. I cannae bear it.”

“Cannae bear it?”

“Are ye a parrot now, lass?” he said, standing before her. “Ye look more like a drowned animal than a parrot at present.”

“Nay,” she said, a bit of the old defiance creeping into her voice. “But did ye hear me?”

“Aye,” he said, gently taking hold of her head between his hands. “I heard ye well and good. But we need to get ye out of these clothes.”

“Fine,” she murmured, bringing her fingers to the front of her bodice. She pulled the soaked quilted stomacher out and dropped it to the floor. Celestia reached behind her, fumbling for the string to pull her stays loose.

“Can I help?” he asked, placing a hand on her clammy exposed forearm.

She nodded and spun around. Celestia stood very still as he undid the stays, the bodice coming undone and slackening around her shoulders. She took a deep breath and a long slow exhale as she removed the bodice fully and discarded it to the floor. Celestia turned, covering her breasts with her arms.

Anthony could just make out the outline of her breasts beneath the wet linen shift despite her attempt to cover herself.

She kept her gaze on the flames. “My skirts, next.”

He lifted her chin with his forefinger to meet his eye. “Are ye sure, lass?”

She nodded.

Anthony undid the buttons of her overskirt; the thick forest green fabric came loose, but over the petticoats, it stayed in place. “I need to pull this off overhead.”

Celestia nodded again.

Anthony bent over to grab a handful of fabric just before the mud and shimmied it up over her waist. She made it easier for him by raising her arms overhead.

Up over her head the skirt went, and Anthony’s eyes lingered on Celestia’s breasts, nearly exposed if it weren’t for the damp shift. Once the skirt was pulled from her, she hugged her arms around her chest once again.

“The petticoats,” she said, a blush creeping across her entire neck.

Anthony draped the green skirt over the metal grate near the fire and approached Celestia again. “Are ye sure?” he asked again.

She nodded.

He found the ties for the petticoats and quickly undid them, these were a bit drier than her overskirt but still damp to the touch. He pulled up the pair of petticoats and lifted them over her head.

Anthony stepped closer to her, to pull the skirts from her and to distract himself from looking at her. He draped them over the grate and returned to her. “What were ye thinkin’?” he said, brushing a finger across her damp forehead to move the hair stuck to it.

“I daenae think I was,” she said, looking down to undo the knot in her bumroll ties. “I daenae think I am or I wouldnae be undressin’ in my chief’s chambers.”

“My chief…”

“Aye, that’s what ye are to me, are ye nae?”

“Aye,” he said, quietly this time. He watched her fumble with the strings before taking them into his hands and deftly undoing the knot. He reached around her to grab the bumroll, but as he did it skated through his grasp and landed with a small thud on the carpets below.

Celestia was watching him expectantly. She just nodded and that was all he needed. He placed his hand against the small of her back and pulled her into him.

A small gasp rushed past her lips before Anthony kissed her. Whatever had happened to compel her to come to him in the middle of the night in the pouring rain must be serious, and more so than just to say she accepted his marriage proposal.

Anthony was concerned, but mostly thrilled and his senses flooded with only her. The smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, and the taste of the rain on her lips. The stress of the other chiefs pushing their daughters on him and his sister’s persistent wishes for him to wed faded away.

He felt every inch of her pressed against him and he was sure that she felt him. In one swift motion, he gently settled her among the carpet and pillows he had discarded earlier from his armchair.

The fire cast an orange glow over her, looking like the very image of what he thought Brigid, the goddess of fire, must look like from the fairytales his mother would read to him as a boy.

He leaned over her, hovering over her lips, a small grin growing between them. “Ye are a stunnin’ woman, Celestia.”

It was Celestia, this time, that surged forward to join their lips together. He wrapped a hand behind her head, holding her close, allowing his tongue to slip into her mouth.

They kissed for what felt like forever and no time at all when Celestia lowered herself back onto the pillows and he raised onto his knees, desperate to get his kilt off but wanting this moment to last as long as possible.

Celestia grasped her flimsy shift and slide it up her legs. Anthony watched in awe, a fervent ache growing within him, hoping she would pull it all the way up and reveal herself. She stopped just above her knees, uncovering her muddied stockings.

“My slippers,” she said in a breathy whisper.

Wordlessly, Anthony gently slid each slipper off. He gripped the delicate stocking, soaked through, that rested just over her knees and began to roll it downward. His hand guided the fabric down the length of her calf, and he swore he felt her shudder just as he pushed it past her ankle and tossed it closer to the fire.

“Did ye ride here?”

“I ran.”

He wanted to ask her why she ran all the way to him. But she remained silent as Anthony reached for the other stocking and repeated the measure, enjoying the feeling of her trembling beneath his touch.

He skimmed his fingertips tenderly up the length of her leg, her skin a tantalizing mix of warmth from laying near the fire and cool from being out in the rain. He leaned over, pressing his lips against her lower thigh, the soft linen shift tickling his cheek.

His mind was quiet for the first time in days and yet his body was going mad for her as he placed his hands on each of her thighs and pushed the shift even higher, revealing her.

He tipped forward, kissing the soft inner skin of her thighs, feeling her rapid pulse just beneath that matched the burning in his blood.

Slowly, Celestia’s fingers slipped through his hair, and she noiselessly summoned him to her. He continued to trail kisses, hoping his slow approach would torment her as he passed over her warm center to her hip and over her flat stomach.

Anthony glided his hands up her waist, palming each breast. Celestia moaned as he slid the fabric of her shift from side to side, the slow soft friction causing her nipples to harden.

Her hands began to explore him, coasting down his shoulders to his stomach, pulling his shirt free from his kilt.

When he looked at her, Celestia’s eyes glazed with need. He leaned back quickly to rip the shirt over his head, tossing it away from him. He loomed, lowering himself over her and kissing her with uncharacteristic savagery.

Her hands began exploring again, her fingertips finding his nipples and running small circles around them before circling around his neck.

Celestia pulled away, looking over his face, seemingly taking in every detail. A small smile flashed across her features, the shyness from earlier gone. Her hands reached down once again, finding the buckle of his belt.

“Nay,” he murmured, gently pulling her hands away. He would not take her until they were officially wed, he respected her more than the dalliances that numbered his younger years. “I told ye I’d take care of ye, let me show ye what I mean.”

Slowly, he followed a route down her bosom to her stomach, nipping and dragging his teeth, cataloging every curve and dip. He found his way to her core, rousing her swollen bud gently with the tip of his nose.

Celestia froze for a moment under his hands.

“Lay back,” he said, peering up at her. She nodded before settling into the pillows.

He returned to her, burying his mouth in her sweet heat. With a slow, soft caress of his tongue, he felt a small tremor from her unsure if was from nerves or pleasure. He continued with bold caresses of his tongue, feeling her writhe under him.

This was torturing him, a part of him selfishly wanted his own release, but he found himself only truly wanting to send her over the edge.

Her back arched as he continued to lick and glide, glancing up at her she saw that her eyes were closed in ecstasy. He was not finished with her yet, so he greedily slowed to feathery strokes of his tongue.

He dipped a finger into her inviting heat and Celestia let out the most delirious gasp. Celestia’s fingers tangled in his curls, giving a frenzied tug. “Daenae stop,” she urged.

Anthony smiled against her, returning his tongue to her swollen bud and adding a second finger. He found a dizzying rhythm between his tongue and fingers. His heart was banging against his chest, and he found himself dreaming of the moment he could finally make her his.

Then, he felt her muscles tense around his dancing fingers, and her back arched once again. He looked up at her, wanting to watch her as he coaxed her to let loose.

Celestia glowed, her eyes were shut, and one hand was still wrapped in his hair while the other rested against her heart. “Please,” she said in a low, breathless moan.

And then, she came for him in wonderful moans and trembles. Her thighs shuddered around his head, bringing a wide satisfied grin to his lips.

* * *

After they peeled away from one another, Anthony had given Celestia his linen shirt and wrapped her in his large plaid to keep her warm and to cover herself while they waited for her clothes to dry.

“A wee dram?” Anthony said, standing beside where she sat holding a glass of whisky for her. He joined her amongst the pillows on the floor.

“Thank ye,” she said, taking it from him and taking a sip. The liquid burned her tongue and throat but warmed her belly and skin. Not that she truly needed any help with the fire before her and what had just transpired between them. The powerful release she felt with him was still causing waves all throughout her body, and her legs still shuddered every now and then with the memory of it.

“Come here, lass,” he said, motioning her toward him. “Sit with me.”

Celestia hesitated for a moment but decided to go to him. She nestled herself against him, her back resting against his bare chest. While his hand held his glass of whisky, the other made a dizzying path down her shoulder to her forearm and back again.

She let out a sigh. “I’ll be honest, I wasnae expectin’ that to happen.”

A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. “It took me by surprise too.” Then he was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, “Do ye regret it?”

“Nay,” she said easily, and then, “Do ye?”

“Not even a wee bit.”

Celestia turned, draping her legs over his thigh so she could face him. She cupped the glass in her lap, tracing the rim with her finger. “Ye never answered me…” She noticed his lips were swollen and tinged a darker pink than usual. “Are we to be wed?”

An irreverent smile pulled wide on his face. “After I just ravaged ye to pieces? I must wed ye now, ye’ve forced my hand.”

She thumped him on the chest, biting back a grin before he tipped her chin up to him and kissed her.

“I’ve been askin’ ye to marry me for more than a month now. So, aye, we’ll marry. When do ye want to announce it?”

“After I tell my family.”

“I am curious to ken why ye’ve had a change of heart,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “Ye’ve been adamantly opposed to the arrangement since the beginnin’.”

She fell quiet, the image of her father struggling to breathe would forever be seared into her memories.

“It’s alright if ye daenae want to speak of it,” he murmured into her ear.

“My da had some sort of attack, he couldnae breath. I pounded and pounded on his chest until we found the box with his medicine that would help him. I had to breath smoke into his face, some sort of herb.”

Anthony was listening closely.

“I sent Chester and Hugo to get the village healer. Auralia looked horrified, she just stood cowerin’ against the wall. And I felt…” Tears had begun to blur her vision. “I felt helpless. It scared me.”

“And ye came here?” he asked.

Celestia nodded. “After everyone left and went to bed.” She furiously wiped a stray tear that had fallen. “And there’s been trouble with some of the customers, not wantin’ to buy from us ‘cause I’m a woman.”

Anthony nodded. “That shouldnae be an issue.”

“But it is, men are hard-headed dobbers,” she said gruffly. “It’s still the same whisky, nay matter if a woman or a man sells it to them.”

“It is, and they’ll eventually see that it is.”

“Perhaps,” she said. “Still, they’re angry and rude, and the amount of nay’s I received in recent days made it feel like I would never be able to provide after—”

“Ye daenae need to be sayin’ it.”

“He will though,” she said, cheeks burning with fury and sadness and passion. “He’ll die and I willnae be able to care for Auralia, Chester, and Hugo.”

“I told ye before, Celestia. I’ll take care of everythin’. The finances, the animals, yer siblings, ye.”

Celestia nodded, draining her whisky glass. Anthony grabbed it gently from her hands and placed it aside.

“I do have some conditions though,” she told him.

“Go on, tell me.”

She held up her forefinger. “We keep the house and the property; I willnae see it sold. Nor any of the animals, especially the horses.”

Anthony raked a hand through the ends of her hair, finally dry. “I wouldnae dream of sellin’ the property. I’ll have it tended to and beds ready for whenever any of ye need a reprieve from castle life. The boys can have it when they come of age.”

Celestia nodded, she stuck out another finger. “Da decides where he lives after we are officially married, but the castle healer must tend to him daily.”

Anthony nodded, an amused smile playing on his features.

“Third, ye get yer best men to train the twins in all sorts of manly endeavors and ye give them, Auralia too, the best damned tutors ye can find.”

“I already told ye I would do that for them.”

“I ken,” she said, “Finally, as yer wife I get to use yer name as influence over these men who think bein’ a woman is some sort of disease. It’s hard to believe some of them even have wives.”

Anthony laughed. “Probably nae happy ones.”

“Nay, probably nae,” she said, she felt her mouth tug at the corners. “Do ye agree to everythin’?”

“I do, Celestia,” he vowed. He tugged lightly at a tendril of her blonde hair. “But what do I get?”

“Exactly what ye said ye wanted,” she told him. “An obedient wife to quell yer sister’s complaints and to get the other chiefs and lairds to beg off. I’ll listen and obey, like the ghastly vows say. I ken how to run an estate, a castle shouldnae be much different.”

Anthony traced up her neck and took a hold of the edge of her jaw. “What if I daenae want ye to obey?”

She shivered. “Then… then,” she said, fumbling with the words in her mouth.

“And ye will perform yer marital duties. Although if the rest of our lives is anythin’ like tonight, I am nae worried too much about that.”

She felt the blush bloom red hot across her face and down her neck.