Page 16 of To Wed a Laird (English Brides and Highland Vows #1)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Elspeth will have the time of her life,” Rose observed as Nell helped her to don her gown. “It will be so wonderful to watch, when I think of the withdrawn little girl that she used to be.”

“That is because o’ you,” Nell said. “Now let’s get this lovely thing on ye. I cannae wait tae see ye a’ dressed up! I am no’ a ladies’ maid, mind ye, so it might take me a wee while!”

However, it took no more than a few moments for Nell to help Rose into her dress, despite its multitude of laces and buttons.

Rose sat down in front of the mirror while Nell combed her hair with long, slow strokes of the brush. “I have always wanted hair this colour,” she said enviously. “I was a redhead an’ I hated it.”

Rose laughed. “You would have been an object of great curiosity in England! I used to think all Scots were red-headed savages!”

“Then I am glad ye have changed your mind,” Nell replied, laughing.

The party was taking place in the afternoon, and Rose had spent the whole morning trying to keep Elspeth calm, since she was so excited that Rose thought she might explode!

Rose watched her now as she was surrounded by a ring of girls and a few boys who teased and slapped her playfully and then began a game of hide and seek. It was chaotic, but utterly enchanting to watch.

After a while, she saw Cormac making a formal bow to Elspeth as he asked her to dance.

He had to bend down, of course, since he was so much taller, and they looked a little comical, but they radiated happiness and love, and Rose was infinitely glad for them.

This was what a father and daughter should look like, she thought.

When the dance finished, Elspeth was ambushed by some of the other children and drawn into a dance that involved much spinning and skipping. It made Rose dizzy just to look at her, but it warmed her heart to see Elspeth behaving like a carefree little girl again.

Rose was very surprised to be asked to dance by some young men whom she presumed were firmly standing on the top rungs of the social ladder, since they all looked well-dressed and prosperous.

Did they know she was only a governess? She doubted it, since they would likely not have given her the time of day if they had.

No doubt it was the dress that deceived them.

She spent the early evening dancing with them, young handsome men who seemed not to know or care that she was English, and reflected that it had been years since she had been to such a gathering.

In fact, it had been her own eighteenth birthday, four years before, and after that, there had been no wealth to celebrate anything.

She watched as Cormac danced around the floor with other women, trying not to be jealous; after all, many of them would see him as a potential husband, since he had a lot to offer his wife.

He was handsome, wealthy, and had proved that he was capable of siring children. What else could a woman want?

After she had eaten a little food from the buffet and made sure that Elspeth was taken care of, Rose decided that it was time for her to leave. She knew no one except Cormac, and she could hardly bear to watch him dancing with so many other beautiful young ladies.

She started to walk to the door, but felt a hand close around her arm, and she turned to see Cormac looking at her with a warm smile on his face. “You are not leaving without dancing with me,” he told her.

“Of course,” Rose smiled up at him and took his arm. “Thank you for this lovely dress, Cormac, and for remembering my favourite colour. I have never had anything so lovely.”

“It was my pleasure,” he replied. “Elspeth has been a different child since you came, Rose, and I owe you far more than a dress.”

He led her onto the dance floor, then gradually she became lost in him, the touch of his body, the sky blue of his eyes, the musk of his skin. For a few moments, he was her whole world; nothing else existed but him, and it was heavenly.

There was something between them now, some magical attraction that drew them to each other even when they left the dance floor. Rose told herself she was being fanciful, however.

The danced ended, and Cormac bowed to her and smiled, then raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. At that moment, Elspeth rushed up to them and threw her arms around Cormac.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Da!” she cried. “It was the best feast ever!”

Cormac held on to her, and Rose could see that he was holding back tears, but they were happy tears, and she moved away, intending to go to her chamber and let them have a moment on their own. She was too tired for any more dancing anyway.

The space at the bottom of the servants’ stairs was dark and shadowed, but as Rose approached it, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“Rose, wait.” Cormac cut her off before she had put a foot on the first step, then drew her into his arms.

He smelled of leather and the musk that was all his own, and she could not resist him a moment longer.

He took a few seconds to gaze into her dark eyes, then lowered his lips to hers, and the first touch set her on fire. She felt her heart skip a beat as he pulled her closer, feeling his strong, unresisting body melt against hers.

Rose gave herself up to the kiss, loving the sweet pressure of Cormac’s mouth on hers, the way they caressed her so gently and sensually. When she opened up to him and felt his tongue tangling with hers, her knees weakened, and she clung to him, tightening her arms around his neck for support.

When they drew apart, Rose was almost breathless as she looked up into Cormac’s blue eyes that were now dark with desire.

“Rose,” he said huskily, “I-I want more. I cannot resist you any longer.”

“So do I,” she answered without hesitation.

Cormac said nothing more, but took her hand and led her away to his own room. They paused while he opened the door of his bedchamber, a massive room that was decorated in a plain, masculine fashion.

However, Rose had no time to look around, since Cormac had cupped her face in his hands and was looking down at her earnestly.

“Rose, have you been with a man before?” he asked gently.

“No, never,” she replied, feeling a little foolish.

“Then I am honoured and privileged,” he said softly. “I have wanted you since the first moment I saw you, but I never dreamed you would feel the same.”

Rose could have said many things at that moment, but she merely reached up to undo the first button of his shirt, and they began to undress each other.

It was slow at first, then became quite frantic as they uncovered more and more of each other until both were standing naked, gazing at the other’s body in wonder.

What Rose saw was magnificent; broad shoulders, a wide chest, a flat stomach that rippled with muscles and powerful biceps and thighs. Yet, it was what was between those thighs that fascinated her most.

Cormac saw her gaze and tilted her chin up to look at her, his expression one of concern. “Don’t be afraid, Rose,” he said softly. “Trust me. I will take care of you. How could I not, when you are so beautiful?”

His eyes roved over her, taking in the globes of her generous breasts, tipped with pink nipples that were now peaked with arousal. Her waist was tiny, flaring out to curving hips, and her legs were long shapely columns. She was perfect.

“I cannot wait a moment longer,” he said huskily, before he swept Rose off her feet and deposited her gently on the bed. He lay down beside her, then Rose knew what it felt like to be worshipped.

Once more, Cormac kissed her, then his mouth moved down over her neck, and Rose moaned at the sweet, tingling sensation of his lips against her tender skin.

Yet when he closed his lips over her sensitive nipple and began to suckle, she cried out, loving the heavenly sensation. While he was doing this, he tickled and teased her other nipple with his thumb and forefinger, and Rose arched her hips involuntarily, letting out a low moan of pleasure.

Cormac kissed his way down to her navel, pausing to tickle the sensitive little spot with his tongue, and Rose let out a sound that was half-laugh, half-gasp.

His hands were everywhere, on her breasts, stomach, even cupping the cheeks of her backside.

She plunged her fingers into his thick black hair, loving the feel of its silky texture.

Cormac smiled, then moved to her mouth again, kissing her and nibbling her bottom lip gently with his teeth. For a moment, he paused to look into her eyes and smile.

“Don’t stop, Cormac,” Rose whispered.

“I won’t,” he replied, then kissed his way back down her body again.

This time he did not stop at her navel, but moved down to the thatch of hair between her legs. He separated her folds with his thumbs and swept his tongue between them, forward and back, then once more before he looked up at her shocked expression.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered. “I would never hurt you, Rose. Trust me.”

“I do, but I never imagined anything like this,” she said, her eyes wide with wonder and a little fear.

“Did you like it?” he asked.

“Yes, very much,” she replied breathlessly. The pleasure had been incredible, but something told her there was much more to come.

Cormac gave her a mischievous smile before he dipped his head between her legs again.

This time he set to work on the sweetest, most sensitive spot on her body.

It was a little nub of flesh she had never really noticed before, but now she realised that Cormac knew exactly what to do with it.

He circled it with his tongue, then gently scraped it with his teeth, causing bolts of sheer pleasure to shoot through her body.

Rose cried out and arched her hips up involuntarily, then she felt another sensation as Cormac inserted his forefinger into her entrance, easing it in and out while he teased her bud with his thumb.

He watched the incredulity on Rose’s face as he worked his magic, and listened to her cries of pleasure, which gave him almost as much satisfaction as he was giving her.

Rose was in heaven. The sensations Cormac was arousing were like nothing she had ever felt before, and she writhed on the bed, unable to stay still.

As his thumb caressed her bud, she felt as though she was reaching for something—something wonderful, but before she could get to it, Cormac took his hands away.

Rose gave a little moan of disappointment, but Cormac was smiling. “We are nowhere near finished, Rose,” he whispered, kissing her again. “But before we go on, is this what you really want?”

“More than anything, Cormac,” she replied hoarsely, thinking that if he left her now, she would die of disappointment. “Please, make me yours.”

Cormac needed no second bidding. He positioned himself at her entrance and pushed forward inch by inch until he met resistance, then he stopped for a moment and looked down at her.

“Rose?” he asked doubtfully.

“I’m fine. Please, please go on,” she begged.

Rose felt a twinge of pain, but it was only for a moment before she lifted her hips and felt Cormac surge inside her, then she experienced a sensation of delightful fullness that felt completely right and fulfilling.

Now she was truly joined to the man she loved.

In a moment, she was moving in time with Cormac in a rhythm that came to her instinctively.

As he moved inside her, his thrusts became harder and faster, and she clung to him as a thrilling sensation began to build inside her.

At first, it was faint, like the brush of a feather, then it began to build and intensify, till at last it exploded into a sensation of complete ecstasy.

Stars sparkled before her eyes, and her body shuddered with waves of pleasure, until gradually she descended into a delicious languor.

Cormac watched her, reaching his own fierce climax. He had forgotten what it felt like to see someone reach their ultimate fulfilment, and the sensation filled him with warmth.

He rolled away from Rose and drew her into his arms, then kissed her tenderly. “Was that what you expected?” he asked softly, smiling as he looked into the eyes that had captivated him at first sight.

“No,” she answered. “I had heard that it hurt, that it was something to be endured—but I knew it could not be like that, or I would not have wanted you so much. Cormac. It-it was the most wonderful experience of my life. Thank you.”

“No, thank you, Rose… for everything.” Cormac wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even more closely against him.

Rose sighed with satisfaction. She was home, safe in the shelter of Cormac’s arms. She had no idea what the future held, but at this moment it was enough that she was beside him. It was a memory she would carry with her forever.

Gradually, her eyes drifted closed and Cormac pulled the blanket over her beautiful body. He had absolutely no intention of letting her out of his bed before morning.

No other woman had made him feel this way since Catherine died; Rose brought out a side of him he thought he had lost. He felt masculine, powerful, even sensual, and this woman in his arms was the cause of it all. He wished the night could last forever because he wanted her to stay there.

“Goodnight, love,” he murmured, kissing her forehead before closing his eyes to enjoy the best night’s sleep he had had for years.