Page 16 of Love Me Forever (Highland Duo #2)

B rianna stared at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. She did not scream or turn her eyes away in fright. She did not see his horrendous wounds. Instead, she saw the depth of him. He possessed a loving heart and caring soul.

She placed her hand to his cheek. “I am not afraid.”

“Good, for I would never harm you.”

“I know that now and do not doubt it.”

“Then tell me where we take this, Brianna,” he said softly with a kiss to her palm, “for I want nothing more at this moment than to make love to you.”

He left it for her to decide; he always left her with a choice. She had made a mistake the last time she had thought she loved a man, but then her husband had hidden behind his charm. Royce hid nothing from her. He was who he was, a wounded warrior with a gentle heart.

Her choice was easy. “I would like the same.”

He went to kiss her, but she stopped him with a gentle finger to his lip. “You will disturb your wound.”

“I do not care.”

She faintly touched her lips to his. “I do.”

Her caring words heightened his passion. He had had many women over the years, and a few had expressed their feelings for him, but he never felt that any of them truly cared for him. The thought that Brianna did made him realize how very special she was to him and how very much he loved her.

He gently scooped her up into his arms. “In time you will come to know my lips on you. For now, I will show you what my hands can do.”

Gooseflesh ran over her warm skin. He had touched her so often when he tended her, now he would touch her differently. The thought excited her, and she was as eager as he to return to bed.

He removed her slippers and then eased her out of her night shift. He did not take long to shed his own garments and lay beside her on the bed. They had seen each other naked, they had slept side by side, and they had touched.

There was no unease between them, only an eager anticipation of what was to come.

She stroked his chest, loving the feel of his warm skin and the strength of his muscles. “I can kiss you,” she offered with a smile.

“Aye, you can, and I would like that, but first I wish to touch you as only a man in love can do.”

She heard him correctly, did she not? He spoke of love, loving her. She could not believe what she had heard. She had thought that he cared for her, but love? They had known each other for such a short time. Was it possible to fall in love so easily?

He tapped playfully at her nose and understood and voiced her concern. “Why question that I love you when you know you love me as well.”

“You are certain?”

“Aye, I am certain that we love each other.”

She laughed softly. “Not a doubt?”

He was serious. “Nay, not one.”

She grew serious. “Why? Why do you love me?”

With the tips of his fingers he lightly stroked her face. “Because you are you.”

She looked at him strangely, as if his words made no sense, but then his touch was doing maddening things to her senses. And she sighed with the pleasure of his fingers lightly traveling down along her neck and over her shoulders.

He attempted to answer her unasked question. “I love you for who you are, a gift that I will cherish forever.”

She felt the same of him, but she could not speak the words, for he touched her in a way she had never been touched before.

His fingers drifted with a lingering slowness along her chest and over her breast. With two fingers he teased her nipple, and when it grew taut, he brought his mouth down to lovingly stroke it with his tongue.

Her sighs grew to moans when his tongue began to flicker at the tight pink bud.

Ripple after ripple of pure passion spread over her entire body, and she moaned from the pleasure he gave her. He treated her other nipple to the same pleasure. He stopped after giving each nipple one last lingering lick, and she released a long sigh.

He rubbed his cheek next to hers. “I love the feel of you and—the taste of you.”

She struggled to calm her heavy breathing so that she could tell him, “I have never known?—”

His finger silenced her. “From this day on you will know what it truly means to be loved.”

Her mind and body rejoiced at his words.

Love.

She had truly found love.

He pressed his cheek to hers. “Now feel the magic.”

His fingers moved over her body, touching her ever so lightly, a faint brush of flesh against flesh. Her skin felt alive and sensitive to every stroke of his fingers. Her body warmed, her breathing grew heavy, and she grew moist between her legs. He was exciting her beyond reason.

He lingered over her flat stomach, purposely prolonging his descent, adding to the anticipation, the passion, the need to be touched.

She moved almost to a rhythmic beat beneath his hand.

Her body seemed to understand what he asked of her, and she responded accordingly.

She herself did not understand the ache that throbbed deep inside her, but she did not fear it nor fight it, she simply savored it.

When she thought he would settle his touch between her legs, he surprised her by sitting up and running his feather touch down over her thighs, along her calves and her feet.

He did the same to her other leg, but this time when his fingers drifted to between her legs, he gently and slowly parted them.

Then he touched; a whispered touch that sent a wave of pleasure so potent that her moan echoed throughout the small cottage.

“You like that?” he asked, though he sounded like he knew the answer.

Her moan faded faintly in the room. “Very much.”

“Then you will like this even more.” He moved down between her legs and began to stroke her with his tongue.

She was lost. The world no longer existed. Nothing mattered but this moment, his touch, and his love. She had not known that making love could be so beautiful, so satisfying, and so unselfish.

His finger found her wet flesh and slowly stroked her before slipping gently deep inside her. With each penetrating stroke her moans grew louder and louder, and she was certain that in no time she would climax and the exquisite beauty they shared would end.

“You must stop,” she pleaded, “or I will proceed you.”

“I want to taste your climax.”

His words excited her, but memories invaded her passion, and she remembered how her husband’s temper would flare if she should receive pleasure before him.

“And besides, I will make you come again and again before we finish.”

“Nay, that is not possible.”

He laughed. “I am going to show you just how possible that is.”

His tongue licked, his finger worked magic, and she screamed with the pleasure of her first true climax.

She could not believe the earth-shattering sensation that shook her body then faded into a ripple but refused to entirely die, and it was on that ripple that he stirred her passion once again. And she could not believe that she responded eagerly.

When she thought she had experienced all the pleasure that was possible, he entered her. His strong arms wrapped around her, bringing her up against his chest, her own arms going around his broad back, and they moved together like a perfectly matched pair, exploding together in a powerful climax.

She called out his name, he moaned, resting his face to hers, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye, for she realized that she had finally found a love that was real.

“Are you all right?” he asked anxiously as he moved off her and saw the single tear. “I have not hurt you, have I?”

“Nay, nay, you have made me feel like—” She was at a loss for words. “I never imagined it to be so wonderful.”

“It is wonderful when two people love and share in the lovemaking.”

“Aye,” she agreed with a smile. “It makes all the difference.”

Her stomach rumbled in hunger and she blushed.

He laughed and hugged her to him. “I am as hungry as you, only my stomach does not protest loudly.”

She sat up with excitement. “Let us make a grand meal to celebrate.”

“Aye,” he said, running his hand up her arm. “Our love is something that should be celebrated.”

She felt no shyness with him. How could she when he had touched her in all ways possible? She leaned down and kissed his cheek, then tenderly kissed his lips.

In a soft yet strong voice she said, “I love you.”

* * *

Brianna grew stronger every day and found joy in every moment she spent with Royce.

They laughed often and loved just as often.

She sometimes wondered if perhaps it was all a dream and that she would wake to find herself recovering from her accident.

She would pinch herself time and again to make certain she was awake and then laugh at her own foolishness.

Then she would worry that she had unwisely fallen in love and then admonish herself for being foolhardy with her own worrisome thoughts.

Royce was the complete opposite of her. He simply accepted how he felt and insisted that she felt the same way, so, therefore, there was no problem.

“Your brother will clearly see how much we love each other and consent to our union,” he said to her one morning when they had taken but a few steps outside the cottage.

The weather had calmed, her pain had subsided, and he had taken her outside once before since she had complained about needing fresh air. It was now a daily occurrence for them to walk near the cottage each day, weather permitting.

Today the sun was strong, white clouds floated in a brilliant blue sky, the air was crisp, and she stood beside him, stunned.

“Our union?” she repeated.

He seemed to think nothing of his remark and adjusted his fur around her. “Aye, we will wed soon after our return.”

“You have decided this?” she asked with a hint of annoyance.

He grinned, shook his head, then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

“I have handled this poorly and without thought. My love for you blinds me to proper manners, though if I was to do this properly, then it is your brother I should approach and request permission to take you as my wife.”