Highland Dragon (15 page)

But Akira wanted more. She needed more and feared exploding into flames if he didn’t cease his torment.

“More,” she whispered and guided his mouth over her aching nipple. A satisfied moan escaped her throat when his warm mouth suckled her. All thoughts of protecting her heart left her as she set her body free to enjoy his touch. The sensation that had been building behind her breast plummeted into her stomach then seeped lower until a fire ignited between her legs. She wiggled in his lap and hoped this ferocity was normal.

His hands stilled the movements of her hips. “Dinnae do that.”

She studied his pained expression. “Do ye ache the same as I?”

He nodded slowly, almost cautiously. “But ’tis a good ache. One I know ye will soon remedy.”

She smiled and accepted his words as a compliment just as her hands found their way over the contours of his chest. The fresh scent of sandalwood permeated her senses while she tasted the spice of his skin—down his neck then over the breadth of his strong shoulders. She showed him the same attention only more aggressive as she bit and tugged at his small nipple.

She twitched and yearned to move faster, still Calin didn’t break his poise. He continued to titillate her breasts, until she pushed off him then stood. She wanted him—now, and he showed no signs of advancing.

After releasing her arms from the sleeves, she pushed the gown over her hips. A pool of yellow material fell in a silken whisper to her feet. She repressed the urge to cover herself when his eyes followed the contours of her body. The way he looked at her made her dizzy as if she were the most sensual creature in the world.

The sight before him made Calin’s manhood jump. Every ounce of Akira’s creamy flesh curved into the next. Her flaring hips were wide and every bit as full as her breasts. Arms and legs sculpted lightly with feminine muscle, and the small patch of dark curls only whispered at what treasures lay beneath.

A rush of excitement spiraled up his spine as he walked to her then traced the edges of those exquisite curves with one finger. Under both breasts, down the middle of her torso to her navel, then rounding out over one hip. “May God blind me now and leave your vision tattooed upon my eyes.” With his knuckle, he raised her chin to him again. “I dinnae lie when I tell ye, ye are beautiful.”

She blushed under the glow of the room, and he thought she might actually believe him this time. He hoped she did, for it was true.

He clutched her head between his hands then fiercely kissed her swollen lips before carrying her to the bed. Undeniable passion turned her sapphire eyes to near black. He proceeded to adorn her petal-soft skin with tender kisses, lingering over her hipbones until he swirled her navel with his tongue. She was exquisite. The taste of her. The smell of her. The feel of her. He’d never wanted to please anyone the way he did her. The desire he felt for her not only filled his erection to a painful size, but his chest ached with an emotion stronger than devotion. He’d never felt more alive.

He wanted her to want him. Calin MacLeod. The man. She could trust him with her heart. He would never hurt her.

He pressed a kiss over her heart and felt the vibration pounding against his lips. He splayed his palm over her breast to feel the pulse stronger. She wanted him. Her words may deny it, but her heart mocked her. The more her breathing increased, the faster he wanted to go.

She released the leather thong gathering his hair then weaved her fingers through it. She whimpered and urged his head back to her rigid nipples, all the while grinding her pelvis against the knee firmly planted between her legs.

Her heat scorched his bare thigh, and nearly stripped him of dignity. He wanted to suck harder, to bite, to taste the warm nectar between her legs with a savage ferocity that would send her screaming, yet pleading for more. As he drew her delectable skin between his lips, a fever coursed through his veins that begged him to take her. The muscles in his arms and legs tightened against his inner battle until he groaned in misery. A voice in his head reminded him,
Be gentle. She is a virgin. Ye will tear her in two.

The chamber became unbearably hot. Perspiration beaded her temple, and above her lip, then over her throat, and between her breasts. The wisps of hair falling from her headdress clung to her neck in laced swirls. He didn’t know the source of the heat. Did her body burn his hands? Or was it his hands that scorched her body?

“I dinnae know what to do. Your touch, your kiss…ye are inflicting great pain on my person. I dinnae know how, but I cannae bear it.”

Calin saw the fright wash over her face, and sought to end her torment, along with his own. “Do ye want me to touch ye?”

“Aye, please.”

Grinning with satisfaction, Calin slid his callused hand up her thigh. She sucked in air when he slowly eased her folds apart then grazed the damp frills. Akira drew a quick gasp of air at the contact. One deft finger entered her, stroking the slick walls, only penetrating the surface. She was swollen, and already quivering against the unfamiliar sensation. She panted into the sultry air. He sensed her confusion. She didn’t know whether to push against him or pull away.

She did both.

When his thumb found her hidden gem, she screamed—quick, heated squeals that vaporized into whimpers. Her arms flew to the bedding, grasping fistfuls of rose petals and silk between her fingers. Her back arched off the down-filled mattress. “Oh,
mon Dieu!
”

Her eyes flew open. “Cease!”

He did.

But within seconds she had changed her mind. She bucked against the hand lying motionless between her legs. “Och, Calin, dinnae cease.”

His arrogance swelled. Grinning, he continued his masterful touch. “Say my name, again.”

She obeyed him. Again and again.

Calin was sure he would explode beneath his plaid just watching the mixture of pleasure and pain unfold over her confused face. When her inner walls convulsed, he stepped off the edge of the bed to remove his leather belt, sending his plaid to pile beside her gown.

She was crying his name when he returned. His muscles ached from restraint, but he intended to hold a piece of her heart before he finished with her. Even if that piece were only a morsel.

Gripping her firmly by the hips, he flipped her atop him to straddle his cock. He clutched the soft flesh of her backside, sliding her up and down the length of him. He wanted to bury himself inside her, and her heat was more than he could bear. Sweat broke out in a flood over his chest. He knew she was ready, but he wanted her to say the words. “Do ye want me?”

“I am afraid.”

“I’ll not hurt ye. I’ll let ye control it.”

“But I dinnae know how. This is not the way I know.”

“Lean into me and kiss me, my sweet.”

Akira was frightened, but did as he asked. His hand reached between them to circle the nub pulsing inside her. She quit kissing him and only moaned into his mouth.

“Do ye want me?” he asked again.

“Aye.”

Calin increased the pressure and speed of his thumb then stopped all at once, removing his hand completely. “Say the words, Akira,” he demanded.

“Nay. I’ll not let ye break my heart.” She fought the urge. She would not succumb. Would not give into her body’s desires. A desire so primal it scorched her loins. “Damn ye, Calin MacLeod.”

This time when he stroked her flesh, he teased harder, with more promise. Her mouth opened and undulated whimpers that sounded like sobs.
Crivons, Akira. Control yourself. Ye are acting brazen, and a fool,
she scolded herself then a jarring ache stabbed the back of her head just before her mind clouded into a surrealistic haze. She was falling.

But, once again, he ceased.

A powerful force had been escalating inside her. It terrified her, at the same time exhilarated her. But now, only the intense craving returned. He clutched her skull between his hands then crushed her mouth with his kiss.

He pushed her back with a jerk. “I vow I will never hurt ye. Trust me with part of your heart. Submit to me. Say it. Say ye belong to me and me alone.”

The temptation was unbearable. He was her husband. She was being foolish.
Oh, damn it all to Hell!
“I want ye. My husband. My Calin. I am yours and yours alone. I want nay other.”

He raised her hips above him then guided her over the tip of his erection. With an open-mouthed groan, he released her. She placed her hands on his chest, bracing herself up above him. Her body told her what to do, still she panicked.

“Dinnae be afraid,” he whispered through a breath ripe with agony. The fan of her lashes hid her fear. “Open your eyes, my sweet. I dinnae want ye to feel alone. Look at me.”

She did and was comforted by his gentleness. She bore down onto the thin shield of her maidenhead and then pushed through it. Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, she held his gaze. She did not scream.

Calin held her hips still while she adjusted to his size. She saw the torment in his face, saw the sweat dripping down his temples, felt him throbbing inside her. She didn’t realize she wept until he wiped the tear from her cheek. A moment later, the pain passed, and he began to slide her up and down him again, showing her the rhythm. She mimicked the motion then pulled his hand to stroke the center of her.

A film clouded her mind as she was blinded by ecstasy. Digging her nails into his sweat-drenched muscles, she cried out his name and gave in to the sensation at last.

Her climax poured over him.

“Ah, sweet Akira…sweet, sweet Akira.” Calin surrendered to his own zenith with a hoarse roar. His hands shook while he held her motionless and pumped into her.

Sated, Akira collapsed against his chest, inhaling gulps of air through her mouth. His heart beat rapidly against her own. Filled with emotions and trembling, she didn’t care if she did it right. She only knew what they had just shared was beautiful and even though she felt foolish, she cried.

Calin raised her head and dabbed the tears from her lashes.

She couldn’t contain her smile. “That was divine.”

A flood of relief washed over his features. “Aye. Ye are divine. Every ounce o’ ye is sumptuous.”

Laying the side of her cheek against his chest, she straddled him for a long while, frolicking in the sensuous feel of him still inside her. Reality soon drifted back to her senses. Hidden beneath the musky smell of their lovemaking, wafted the aroma of flowers. The faint whistle of pipes were muffled by the hum of people and shrieks of children. Children. Akira’s head popped up. “Am I with child now?”

Calin laughed at her. “I hope so, but we will have to keep trying in the event my virility fails ye.” He pulled her off him then tucked her into his side.

“Keep trying. Ha! I have nay intention of doing
that
again,” she teased and circled his flat nipple with the tip of her finger.

“Ye will do
that
again, and ye will do it willingly, and ye will wear a smile.” Though his words were pretentious, he lay listless with closed lids. Had she done that to him? The only movement he seemed able to muster was to stroke her forearm draped across his chest.

She, on the other hand, erupted with energy. She welcomed the return of his arrogance and curled her toes around his beefy calves. “The next time we dinnae do it, and I dinnae do it willingly, and I dinnae wear a smile, will ye please douse the fire first?” she jested, feeling particularly feisty.

He only grinned, and nodded.

Moments later, his eyes slid open. “What did ye mean when ye said ye dinnae know that way? Ye were a virgin. What way do ye know?”

Akira couldn’t help but laugh. The way he made love to her wasn’t like Maggie had described. “My sister, Maggie, explained to me the way ’twould happen so I wouldnae be afraid. She said I’d just lay there and ye would do all the work.” Akira suckled his nipple and rubbed her leg between his. “But I fear I’ve married a lazy mon, for my husband was the one lying there with me doing all the work.”

Calin only smiled. He appeared too exhausted to laugh. “I never had a virgin in my bed, and I dinnae want to hurt ye. I thought that way might be easier for ye.”

She didn’t even try to hide the shock that lifted her brows. Though surprised he’d never had a virgin, she was more surprised he shared that information with her. Deciding to allow him to keep his oversized ego, she swallowed the retort she had already conjured for him and focused on the fact that he’d been concerned about hurting her.

“Thank ye for being gentle. Ye are a good husband, and I am glad ye chose me to be your lady wife.” She coiled into his side, wondering if every man took his wife so tenderly her first time. She considered herself fortunate, but she was also afraid. Knowing the reality of their arrangement, if she didn’t protect herself, she could easily lose her heart to her husband. She suspected part of her had already let him slip in. If he insisted she trust him with part of her heart, then she would insist he do the same.

On the morrow.

The pale light of dawn sliced through the crevices of the tapestry covering the narrow window. Akira stared blindly at a peat fire she’d saved from smoldering. Tucked inside a plaid blanket atop a cushioned bench, she was dressed in a simple sark. With eyes wide and in a trance, she stroked the etched crest of Calin’s broadsword and recollected the night she’d spent with the man who was now her husband.

“Why are ye so far away from me, wife?” She heard him ask in a deep sleepy voice.

Her lips bowed as she looked at him buried beneath the disarray of their covers. “I was too excited to sleep.”

“Aye, I am excited as weel.” Rolling to his side, he raised the fur coverlet for her to join him. “Lay with me, kitten. I want to hear ye purr for me, again.”

Crossing the chamber, she stood beside the bed and gawked at the glow of his sculpted body against the pale of sheets stained with her innocence. Her curious eyes followed the path of sparse hair which tapered into a most impressive erection. The remembrance of their union set her cheeks on fire, and she wondered how he’d actually fit inside her. The dull uncomfortable ache at her woman’s core reminded her of why she’d crawled out of his arms and dressed earlier. Peeling her stare away from him, she found his face. “M’laird, I am your wife, not your pet. Ye cannae keep me caged in your solar. I want to meet with the chaplain and the council to discuss educating the children.”

Calin’s forehead wrinkled. He dropped the covers and exhaled. “Now?”

“Aye. Ye promised me this.” Akira jutted her full bottom lip in a pout just to tempt him.

“The cock has yet to crow. The elders will be in their beds or snoring in the hall with the rest of the kin. We will not be expected to appear until well into noontide.”

“Noontide? What am I to do until then?”

Calin arched both brows and exposed broad dimples in response to her question.

Akira curled around the bedpost, snubbing his obvious attempt to bed her. “I told ye I wasnae doing
that
again.”

“Ye lied, and ye know it,” Calin accused, and watched her glide to the opposite bedpost.

She twisted a loose tendril around her finger and peeked at him from beneath her lashes. “Ye vowed ye wouldnae force me. And I dinnae want to right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am sore,” she admitted without shame, yet rubbed her knees together beneath her skirts when her body reacted to his invitation.

He winced. “I’ll give ye time to heal. For the nonce, just lay with me. I swear to Saint Jerome, I’ll be a monk.”

Akira didn’t trust him. Never had she known a monk to have such lust in his eyes. “Forgive me if I dinnae believe ye, m’laird. Furthermore, I want a bath first.”

“By the saints, woman, ye certainly like to be clean. Ye just bathed yestereve, and the day before that. And the day before that.”

“I dinnae like to smell like a goat.”

“I’ll have the maids prepare ye a bath.” Calin paused for a moment, his eyes flashed a naughty look. “Howbeit, I may have to search the bailey to find out whose bed they ended up in. I saw them sipping whisky.”

Akira hid a shamed laugh at his comment. Having maids would be an adjustment. In all actuality, her new life was going to take a great deal of adjusting. Having servants cater to her. Having people ogle over her because she was the laird’s wife. Just being the laird’s wife. But what would take the most adjustment, was sharing a bed with this man. A man who’d given her everything she’d asked—including gentleness.

Still and all, the hour was dreadfully early. Having the brook behind her cottage had always simplified tending to her ablutions. Her penchant for cleanliness would, no doubt, cause a ruckus within the keep. She didn’t want the servants to think her a nuisance already. “There’s nay need to disturb the maids.”

“Ye are not disturbing them. ’Tis their duty to tend to your needs. I suspect they will become verra strong hauling pails of water for ye every day, but the cistern is just at the end of the corridor. Ye are the Lady o’ Cànwyck Castle. If ye want a bath, they will oblige.”

“I am certain I’ll not need a maid’s services to bathe. Is there a spring within the bailey?” Akira turned to pack a satchel of toiletries, determined to rid herself of the chamber, her husband, and dutiful maids. If he simply inhaled, he would probably smell the arousal escalating between her thighs.

“Aye, but there is a better place. ’Tis outside the walls. I’ll take ye there.” Calin threw off the thick fur coverlet, and crossed the chamber to retrieve his attire. Akira grinned. The man hadn’t a modest bone in his body. And what a wonderful body he had. Chiseled muscles corded every ounce of him, and all were covered beneath bronze-colored flesh. All except his pale-white little backside and midsection, both of which held their own qualities. Qualities making her taut with desire. She hoped she healed quickly.

The thought occurred to her that he probably intended to bathe with her. “I am more certain, I’ll not need your services to bathe.”

His head snapped back, and he caught her watching him dress. He flashed a grin while tying his hair back in a thong. “And I am certain ye will.”

“And ye will be a gentleman?” She asked coyly as she flushed her back against the solidity of the bedpost when he approached her.

“Aye.”

“Ye will expect nothing from me until I have…healed?”

“Only my kiss.” Calin cupped her neck and kissed her—a simple, gentle, good-morrow kiss, without intensity. “I do have a boon of ye. I wish for ye to call me Calin. At least in the privacy of our solar.”

“As ye wish, Calin.” She liked saying his name outside the heat of anger or passion. He kissed her again and when he drew back, she asked, “Will ye always be so gentle with me?”

“I will try.” He led her to the door.

“When we return, may I meet with the council?”

He laughed at her persistence. “The games begin late today. I’ll introduce ye then, and ye may have a cordial conversation with the elders. Ye must state your reasons for wanting to school the children. But ye cannae just demand from them. They’ll not find your audacity as appealing as I do.”

Her jaw dropped at this insult. “I am not audacious.”

Calin grinned, and quietly opened the door. So as to not wake anyone, he leaned into her ear. “Ye are audacious, and bold, and reckless, and stubborn. And these, wife, are your good qualities.”

She punched him playfully in the gut, but hard enough to solicit a grunt from him. They escaped the castle walls, only disturbing two porters in the barbican to lower the iron-spiked grating of the portcullis behind them.

A powerful cascade of water roared over a cliff into an aqua-blue pool. Lush green grasses and bright pink rhododendron blanketed the embankment surrounding the lagoon. Akira gazed in awe, overwhelmed by its natural beauty. The waterfall was twice as grand as her own. Twice as beautiful. Twice as tall. Everything in Calin’s world seemed more impressive than what she was accustomed to. After dismounting, she looked up at him. “I’ll not be long. Ye may return for me shortly.”

Calin ignored her dismissal, and dismounted behind her, leaving Sirius to graze alongside the water’s edge. “I have need of a bath myself.” Without a morsel of shame, he stripped to his birthright, stepped atop a jutting rock, and then dove headlong into the depths of turquoise water. He emerged with a quick yelp and shook his hair like a hound.

Akira’s throat suddenly felt like ash. Her fingers itched to touch him. The man could tempt her to follow him into the fires of Hell. Was it wrong for her to want him so?

Leisurely, he swam to the middle of the lagoon. “Ye must not come in,” he yelled. “The water is cold enough to freeze the blood of the burliest Highlander. I fear what it might do to a woman.”

She narrowed her eyes. His statement was nothing more than a challenge. After removing the headdress, her fingers worked to detangle the braids and curls from the confinement of pins. A quick scan of the area assured her of their privacy, still, she hid behind Sirius’ massive form and nervously removed her garments. The air tickled her bare skin or mayhap it was the prospect of exposing herself to her husband in the full light of dawn that excited her. She leapt from the rock in a perfect dive just before disappearing beneath the water’s surface. Her blood crystallized to ice instantly.

She emerged with a gasp. “Crivons! ’Tis freezing.”

Swiveling, she saw him paddling in her direction. Plunging below, she escaped him, swimming to where she thought she could touch bottom.

She couldn’t. With only an arm’s length separating them, she tried to splash away from him, but the cold water made her movements sluggish. She was easily caught, for in truth, she wanted to be. “I hadnae intended to swim. The water is like ice.”

Standing chest deep, Calin lifted her up by her backside. “I’ll warm ye.”

She wiped a trickle of water from his cheek and traced his classic features. Calin MacLeod was a beautiful man. Hair dripped all around a face boned with strength and dignity. Yet his sincere eyes were what spoke to her. The promise a life she’d only dreamed of filled her with a mixture of both terror and hope.

Could their marriage ever be more than just a contract?
This question arose a hundred times since she’d awoken that morning. And she continued to count herself fortunate. He vowed to give her bairns and never strike her. She would be content with what he offered, which was far more than most women ever received. His earlobe found its way between her fingers as she drifted into her thoughts.

“What do ye think of now?” he asked.

Akira gave a shiver and found his warm gaze again. “Us.”

Calin’s brow lifted as he drew her tighter. His voice was soft, yet seductive. “I think of us as weel. Would ye like to know what we are doing behind my eyes?”

Akira nodded, and hooked her legs around his waist, no longer embarrassed by her nudity.

“There is grass on the bank.” He pointed. “Its texture, soft as silk. My lady wife is lying naked in those grasses, warming her skin beneath the sun.”

Akira laughed aloud at his vision. “And where are ye in this fantasy, husband?”

“I am trying to heal her.” Not only was his answer wicked, so were his hands. They rounded her backside to find their way into her most intimate of crevices.

She sucked in an audible breath at his swiftness and slapped him on the shoulder. “Ye promised to be a gentleman.”

“But the vision of ye brings out the devil in me.”

Crawling up his shoulders, she pushed him under with both hands. He resurfaced a few feet away. “Swim with me. I’ll resist ye for the moment,” he hollered over his shoulder, and then broke into a vigorous glide toward the pounding fall. She followed, matching him stroke for stroke. They emerged behind a curtain of white water. The waterfall created a booming echo inside the cavelike hollow. Calin stabilized his footing on a projecting rock then reached for her. When he raised her up, she stood waist deep out of the water, her erect nipples a testament to the frigid temperature. The narrow space of the rock left little distance between them.

“Ye swim like a selkie, and ye are as enchanting as a mermaid, my Akira,” he said in a husky voice then bent to suckle the fresh water from her lips. He raised her up by her bottom, forcing her legs to wrap around his waist.

The intensity of his fevered kiss contradicted the icy gooseflesh sprouting from her skin. He wove his fingers into her heavy mane and drew her back, exposing the flitting pulse in her throat. His lips grazed her flesh just before his hot mouth found her breast.

Twisting her rigid nipple between his teeth, he moaned.

“Och, Calin.” His name came out as a squeak. Though tender, the craving to have him inside her returned with a vengeance. “’Tis too soon. Ye are too much for me to take so quickly,” she whined, yet rubbed herself against him.

Calin laughed. “The water is far too brisk for me to ravish ye. I only want to bathe ye with kisses.” As he spoke, he did just that.

She dipped her head back, surrendering beneath his lips. Her body responded to him in ways that made her question her morals. “Ye make me wanton, husband. Nay mon wants this quality in a wife. I fear your clan will accuse me of behaving like a whore.”

Calin stopped abruptly and dropped her to her feet with a splash. Brown eyes darkened to burnt anger. His strong nose flared. His lips thinned. Akira confessed to not knowing all his moods, but the face he wore now was one she never cared to see again.

For the first time, she feared him.

Looking down his nose at her, he delivered his words in a harsh clipped tone. “Ye will never refer to yourself as a whore again. I dinnae lay with whores. I am faithful as my father was to my mother. Ye are my wife, and ye may act as wanton in my presence as ye desire. If anyone in my clan dares to name ye a whore, they will be exiled. Is this understood?”

Akira nodded and bowed her head like a reprimanded child. Embarrassment doused the flame inside her, causing her teeth to chatter. “Forgive me, m’laird,” she murmured and hugged herself to cover her breasts.

“Ye need not apologize. There are some matters in which I’ll not yield. This being one of them. Whores are not faithful. Ye’ve vowed faithfulness to me. Ye’ll not break the vows ye spoke before God and the kirk. Ye’ve said ye are mine and mine alone. ’Tis all I need.”

Dumbfounded by this outburst, she found herself lost for words. She’d asked him not to take a mistress until after she had borne their fifth child, but she never thought for a moment he’d think she would lay with another man. He obviously had a streak of possessiveness running through his veins. She tried to move away from him.

“Dinnae cower before me.” He raised her trembling chin and kissed her cold lips. “Ye are forgiven. Now…I believe ye were acting wanton.” The last of his words were delivered in a tone that flirted with her.

Peeking up at him, Akira watched his eyebrow arch above a wink he snapped her. Inspired by his wicked grin, she pushed him off the ledge then plunged out in front, racing him back to the water’s edge. Calin retrieved soap from his saddlebag and sprawled out beneath the rising sun on a bed of lush green grasses. “Come, lie with me. I’ll behave. I vow it.”