Page 12

T he fire in Ewan's chamber had burned low, casting the room in a warm, golden glow that seemed to wrap around them. When they finally broke apart from that searing kiss, both were breathing hard, and Lileas felt as if the world had shifted beneath her feet.

"Lileas," Ewan said roughly, his hands framing her face with infinite tenderness despite the urgency that thrummed between them. "Are ye certain? There's no shame in changing yer mind."

"I'm sure," she whispered, her hands fisting in the open fabric of his leine. "I dinnae want to wait anymore. I want this. I want ye."

Something wild and possessive flashed in his green eyes at her words. "Ye're sure? Because once I have ye, lass, ye'll be mine in every way possible."

The raw honesty in his voice sent heat pooling low in her belly. "And ye'll be mine," she replied, surprised by her own boldness.

That seemed to break whatever restraint he'd been maintaining. Ewan's mouth crashed down on hers again, this kiss hungrier, more demanding than the first. She could taste the whiskey on his lips, could feel the barely leashed power in his hands as they roamed over her shoulders and down her arms.

"I've wanted ye since that first day in yer workshop at the abbey," he confessed against her lips. "Watching ye move, seeing yer mind work. Ye were magnificent."

"I wanted to hate ye," she admitted breathlessly as his mouth found the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder. "But ye listened. Ye heard me, and ye saw me."

He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes dark with desire but also something deeper. "I see the most remarkable woman in Scotland. Brilliant, brave, bonnie—"

"I'm not beautiful," she protested, suddenly aware of her plain shift and unbound hair.

"Ye are to me," he said fiercely. "Especially now, standing in my chamber."

His words made her feel powerful, desired in a way she'd never imagined possible.

When he began to unlace his shirt, she found herself watching with fascination as more of his chest was revealed.

He was magnificent, lean muscle and battle scars that told the story of his life as a fierce warrior.

But it was when he removed his plaid that she felt the air leave her lungs.

Lileas traced the contours of his body with her gaze, down to the hardened length jutting out between his thighs.

She blushed as her gaze immediately whipped back to his face, noticing him grinning at her.

"Do ye like what ye see, wife?"

Lileas simply nodded, wide-eyed.

"Yer turn," Ewan said softly, his hands moving to the ties of her shift.

For a moment, nervousness fluttered in her stomach. "I dinnae ken what to do," she admitted.

"Just feel," he said, his voice gentling. "Let me love ye the way ye deserve to be loved."

Lileas nodded, then began to unfasten the laces of her shift. Ewan helped her, and soon the thin fabric pooled at her feet as she fought the urge to cover herself. But the way Ewan was looking at her as if she were something sacred and precious, banished any shame.

"Perfect," he breathed, his hands skimming reverently over her shoulders and down to her ample breasts. Ewan cupped them in the palms of his hands and began caressing her taut nipples with his thumbs as he gently kissed her.

Lileas gasped at the sensation. She felt herself trembling, struggling to remain standing, weak-kneed as her breathing became labored and his calloused fingers brushed against her heated skin relentlessly.

Ewan seemed lost in thought as he watched his wife nearly climax from nipple play alone.

He wondered what she would look like coming around his hardened length.

"Dragon's blood, ye're bonnie," he exclaimed.

He had grown incredibly aroused just gazing at every inch of her and knew it would end soon if he did not move this along.

Ewan needed to be inside his wife as soon as possible, or he would spill too soon on the linens. This woman was fire and beauty, and it heated his blood.

When he lifted Lileas in his arms as if she weighed nothing, carrying her to the large bed that dominated one side of the chamber, Lileas clung to him and felt cherished in a way she'd never experienced.

When he laid her down on the soft furs with infinite care, then covered her body with his, they were both skin to skin.

And then the real lovemaking began.

Lileas closed her eyes as Ewan kissed his way from her mouth to a stiffened nipple. She moaned when he began suckling there, swirling and lapping the peak with his tongue. Then he gently lavished the same treatment on its twin. All the while, Lileas felt his arousal resting against her thigh.

Soon he moved further down still, until he was kissing her stomach and then lower.

He spread her thighs, and then, much to her great surprise, she felt him lap at her heated pearl.

Lileas felt her body spasm, but his firm hands held her pinned to the spot.

It was then she felt a strange pressure building from her inner core to her fevered skin.

She closed her eyes, gasping for breath with the competing sensations, when suddenly Ewan was back again, hovering above her. "Open your eyes and look at me, Lil!" he growled.

She did as he kissed her with abandon, lapping her tongue with his. Then he settled his pelvis between her thighs. Ewan never took his gaze away from her. It was heated, intense, desperate.

"I'm going to make ye mine now. No one will ever come between us again. Do ye ken?"

"Aye," she gasped with a nod. And then Lileas felt it, something hard nudging against her slickened heat. She peered down to see Ewan placing his tip at her entrance.

Ewan growled, "Dinnae take yer eyes off me, wife. Just feel."

Then she groaned as Ewan slowly forged ahead. He clasped her hips to adjust the angle and used his thumb to strum against her hidden pearl. Her arousal made the entry easier. Then, as they gazed into each other's eyes, Ewan thrust his hardened length all the way inside her to the hilt.

Lileas felt a sharp sting, then it was over. Their breathing was shallow as their eyes remained locked on one another.

"You're mine, now and always!" Ewan rasped.

Then he began to move deep inside her, and with each thrust he brushed against her hooded pearl.

Soon Lileas responded in kind, lifting her hips to meet his eager thrusts as they participated in a dance as old as time, their bodies joined in perfect union.

His mouth found hers again, and this time she met his passion with her own.

"Ewan," she breathed when she felt her womb tightening. "Please..."

"I ken it, lass," Ewan replied against her heated skin. "Let go, love. Trust me."

Ewan's thrusts increased in depth and speed, sending Lileas into a shuddering climax she had never experienced before. She clung to him and shouted his name, her peak triggering his own.

Ewan was lost in the euphoria of being deep inside his new wife.

He felt her contract around him, milking him dry of his essence.

With a roaring shout, he called her name as he found completion.

Their eyes remained fixed on one another as they moaned in pleasure, thrusting and parrying until finally collapsing into each other's arms, completely spent.

Sated, complete, satisfied—united as one.

They shared an intimate kiss as they came down from their sensational high, both knowing nothing would ever be the same again.

As they lay entwined in the aftermath, Lileas felt a peace she had never known before, and Ewan felt a surging feeling in his heart. It was as if they truly belonged together.

"I love ye, wife," he whispered against her lips.

"I love ye, husband," she replied with a shy smile.

They were no longer strangers bound by convenience; they were husband and wife in every sense of the word, and nothing would tear them apart.

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