The Chase (21 page)

When Blake's hand slid between them and closed over one breast, a moan was surprised from
her and Seonaid did finally stretch, arching into the touch. Blake immediately caught one
hand in her hair and tugged her head back, his lips slipping away to run down her throat.
Seonaid moaned again, then closed one hand over the larger hand at her breast, urging him
to touch more firmly. She liked what he was doing and wanted more of it.

Blake gave a rough chuckle at the demanding action, but instead of giving in to it,
released her breast altogether.

Seonaid was just starting to scowl when he caught her around the waist and dragged her
over the side of the tub and onto his lap in the water, positioning her there almost
sideways. She did not squeal like a girl and thrash about. Instead she caught her hand in
his hair again and tugged his face back to hers. He immediately satisfied her by kissing
her again. Seonaid probably would have grabbed his other hand and pulled it back to her
breast, but he beat her to it, catching the breast once more and squeezing it gently, then
concentrating on the erect nipple, pinching it through the cloth and rolling it between
thumb and forefinger.

Seonaid sighed her satisfaction into his mouth, quite happy with the way things were
going. She didn't even mind when he broke the kiss and ran his lips over her cheek to her
ear. Seonaid found herself shifting and arching and twisting slightly in his lap as he
explored her ear, her throat, and then ran his tongue along her collarbone and dipped it
into the hollow there.

When his mouth suddenly dropped to catch the nipple he'd been caressing, she nearly leapt
off his lap, but then moaned and caught his head by the hair again, holding him there as
all sorts of interesting reactions flew through her body.

Dear Lord, this was good stuff. Why had no one told her about this? She suspected it might
be even better without the damp cloth of her gown between them, but as she was new to
this, she kept her mouth closed on the suggestion. Besides, Blake was distracting her,
both with his mouth and with his now wandering hands. One of his hands was around her
back, holding her in place, the other, the one that had been caressing her breast earlier,
had run down her stomach, rubbed over her hip and along her outer leg, and was now
creeping up her inner thigh.

Seonaid had never known that part of her body could be so sensitive. Skin that normally
just lay across her bones in boredom was suddenly alive and almost leaping about on her
body as his callused fingers brushed across it. She found herself spreading her legs to
allow him more room, then she turned her head and clamped her mouth to his shoulder as his
fingers brushed against the very center of her. Seonaid alternately sucked at the skin of
his shoulder and nipped at it with excitement as he touched her. She was in quite a state
of upheaval and in a quandary, wanting to demand that he stop, because a sense of
frustration was rising within her, but at the same time not wanting him to stop because it
felt so good. In point of fact, she didn't know what the hell she wanted.

Blake seemed to know, though, and for once in her life Seonaid was forced to give up the
control of events and allow him to do what he saw fit. Until he suddenly stopped touching
her and lifted his mouth from her breast too.

Seonaid released the shoulder she'd been unconsciously chewing at and blinked her eyes
open to glare at him. “What?”

Blake merely chuckled at her scowl. He was already scooping her up into his arms and
shifting to stand in the tub. Seonaid latched her arms around his neck and held her
breath. She was a large woman, tall with solid muscle. Most men could not have lifted her
so easily. Blake seemed to have no trouble, but still she held on as he stepped out of the
tub and carried her across the room to the bed.

He set her down there and made quick work of removing her gown, then gave her a gentle
push that sent her flopping onto the bed behind her.

Seonaid sat up and started to shift backward to make room for him, but she hadn't moved
far before he caught her ankle to hold her in place as he climbed onto the bed next to her.

“Stay,” he ordered, and Seonaid scowled. It sounded like an order you'd give a dog. And
Seonaid was no dog.

“Doona think yer goin' to be able to boss me around jest cause yer me husband,” she told
him firmly. “I'm no very guid at listenin' to me father and doubt I'll be any better at
listenin' to a bossy, arrogant English aiyyeeeeee!” Seonaid half sat up in shock as he
suddenly tugged the ankle he held farther away from the other and bent to place his mouth
where his hand had been but moments before. She only half sat up, because Blakewithout
even lookingcaught her with one flat hand at her chest and pushed her back down on the bed.

Seonaid was so shocked, she would have sat up again, but her body was having conflicting
reactions and her hips were suddenly thrusting upward into his caress. It was hard to sit
up with your hips thrusting that way. Besides, Seonaid was quickly losing the urge to sit
up. Now she wanted to grab something and squeeze. His behind came to mind, but it was out
of her reach. Most of him was, so Seonaid had to make do with catching the cushion on one
side of her and tangling her fingers in the linens on the other as he did things to her
that felt so good she thought she might just die from the sheer pleasure of it.

Seonaid wasn't capable of much thought for several moments, since what he was doing was
driving the thoughts right out of her. She was aware that she was moaning and panting and
making all sorts of indelicate sounds but couldn't have stopped them had she tried. All
her energy and focus was fixed on the excitement and tension he was causing inside her.
Her body was writhing and thrusting as his mouth and tongue worked their magic, her
muscles clenching harder and harder until she thought they must surely snap. At one point
it all became too much and she tried to close her legs and force him to stop, but Blake
simply caught his arms around her thighs and tugged them farmer apart, then redoubled his
efforts so that she was sobbing with desperation.

She didn't know what it was exactly he was doing, didn't know why, didn't know what she
was supposed to do. She had never felt so out of control or helpless, nor had she ever
experienced the tense pleasure-pain he was giving her. Her hips were thrusting into the
action, but her head was twisting back and forth on the bed and she could hear herself
moaning. That was when she felt something enter her. She didn't know what, because Blake
wasn't in the position to do what Lady Wildwood had said he would do, but she didn't
really care what it was; all she cared about was the sudden increased tension

and pleasure it brought her. Seonaid drove down into the caress and finally felt the
tension within her explode. Her whole body seemed to vibrate and shudder and she cried out
with the strength of it, her fingers clawing at the bedclothes so desperately, it was a
wonder she didn't rend it to bits.

She was aware of Blake straightening, but only on the periphery of her consciousness, as
he shifted to move up her body. When he moved to cover her, her hands lifted to hold him
of their own volition, just as her mouth opened beneath the demanding kiss when he claimed
her lips. Then he slid into her and Seonaid stiffened, her body arching like a bow beneath
him, and a startled cry slipped from her lips.

Blake forced himself to remain completely still. He had thought that getting the breaching
done quickly and while Seonaid was so relaxed in the aftermath of the pleasure he had
given her would be for the best. But the roar that had just ripped from her lips made him
wonder if he hadn't been wrong. Now he was encased in her warm, moist depths and his body
was eager to move. He was listening to his head instead. It was a difficult task. She was
so tight and hot around him, squeezing him, and he just wanted to

“Are you all right?” he asked breathlessly.

Seonaid tipped her head back to peer up at him, and he noted that she had the audacity to
look surprised at the question. “Aye. Why would ye ask?”

“You screamed,” he pointed out in a tone as dry as dust.

“Oh.” She shrugged beneath him. “It was surprise, and from what Lady Wildwood said I was
expectin' pain.”

Blake felt himself tense. “You mean you did not feel pain?”

She shrugged again. “No more than a pinch o' it. Nothin' worth mentionin'.”

Blake narrowed his gaze on her, unsure whether to believe her or not. “Are you feeling any
pain now?”

She raised her eyebrows, then wiggled about beneath him and flexed her muscles before
shaking her head. “Nay.”

“Thank God,” Blake gasped and withdrew a little, then plunged back in again, making her
gasp. He managed to make himself stop then and asked, “Now?”

“Now what?” she murmured, her hands moving to his back and holding him as she wiggled
beneath him again.

“Are you experiencing any pain, or may I proceed?” Blake truly didn't mean to sound angry,
but this was testing the limits of his control. She was so matter of fact and he just
wanted to

“Nay, no pain. It just feels a bit odd.” “Odd?” Blake asked, his eyebrows drawing
together. “What do you mean, odd?”

Seonaid shrugged again. “Odd. Just odd. 'Tis all odd to me,” she pointed out, then just
seemed to realize what he had said and asked, “Proceed? There is more?”

Blake closed his eyes and held on to his patience. “Aye, wife, there is more.”

“Lady Wildwood did no mention more,” she muttered, then shrugged beneath him and shifted
her hips, spreading her legs wider. “But then, she seems to have left out a lot.”

“Seonaid...” he said through gritted teeth.

“Aye?”

“I cannot hold on much longer; pray tell me I may continue.”

“Hold on to what?” she asked, then something in his expression must have warned that he
was not in the mood for conversation and she said, “Go on, then. Continue.”

Releasing his breath on a relieved sigh, Blake withdrew again and pressed back into her.

Seonaid lay still at first. The muscles in her legs, and everywhere in her body, really,
were still trembling from what he had done to her before taking her maidenhead. And
really, for the first few strokes she hadn't a clue what the attraction to this in and out
motion was. Then he changed position slightly and changed the rhythm of his movements, and
Seonaid began to take notice. Excitement was building within her again and her body began
to clench. Catching her fingers in his hair, she drew his head down to hers, wanting a
kiss. He answered the silent demand, fastening his mouth over hers and thrusting his
tongue into her mouth in time with his body thrusting into her.

Seonaid kissed back just as aggressively, thrusting her own tongue out to tangle with his.
She kept her hold on his hair but dug the fingers of her other hand into the flesh below
his shoulderbone, urging him on. This was like nothing she had ever experienced. Seonaid
had never realized there was anything as wonderful as this in life. Now she understood
what all the moaning was about, and it wasn't pain. Dear God, this was better than riding
a horse as fast as you could through the woods. It was better than swimming naked in a
cold loch on a warm summer day. It was... well, it was even better than battle.

That was Seonaid's last coherent thought; then her body took over, overwhelming her with
wave after wave of pleasure until she cried out with it, her muscles clenching around his
and holding him in place. She was hardly even aware of his shout as he joined her there,
then collapsed on top of her as they both lay trembling, gasping for breath. After a
moment Blake groaned low in his throat and rolled off her to lay on his back at her side.
He slid his arm under her as he went and lifted, catching her under her back and pulling
her so that she lay half on his chest, her head in the crook of his arm.

Seonaid went unprotesting, finding his masterful behavior oddly endearing. They lay like
that for several moments; then Seonaid lifted her head, peered at his supine face, and
asked, “Can we do it again?”

Blake's eyes blinked open and he turned his head to peer at her with a rather shocked
expression. Then a laugh slipped from his lips and he pressed her head back to his
shoulder. “In a minute. Give me a chance to recover.”

Seonaid woke as the sun rose. It was her usual time to wake, but she opened gritty eyes to
stare at the window and scowled at the sunlight coming through it. She was exhausted and
had no idea why until a snore sounded, drawing her attention to her other side.

There was a man in her bed. Not just any man, either. Blake Sherwell. Her husband. He lay
on his stomach beside her, his head turned in her direction. She stared at his golden hair
and sweet face in rest and felt an ache in her chest. She wanted to comb her fingers
through those golden strands. She also wanted to smooth a finger over the forehead that
was presently creased as if he dreamed of something troubling. Then she wanted to run it
down his straight nose to brush it lightly over the lips that had given her so much
pleasure.

She also really, really wanted to squeeze his bum.

Seonaid grinned at the thought. His behind had fascinated her since first seeing it. It
was so round and cute. She was dying of curiosity to know if it was soft or hard. Every
other part of his body was solid as a rock. Except for his lips, she acknowledgedthey
could go soft when kissing her. But she wanted to know if his behind was as hard as the
rest of him, or if it really was a cushion for his seat.

Seonaid would have been embarrassed had anyone known of her sudden fascination with the
male behind. But as no one did, and as he was now her husband, and as he was splayed out
on his chest with his butt in the air, just begging to be touched

Seonaid sat up and gently tugged away the linen covering his lower body until the two
round globes were revealed. She then glanced quickly up at his face to be sure the action
hadn't awakened him. Satisfied that he still slept, she leaned a little closer to the
exposed area and tentatively reached out to place one finger lightly on the nearest cheek.
The skin gave way slightly beneath her touch. It was not hard like the rest of him.
Grinning, she allowed the rest of her hand to take position on the round surface, then
gently squeezed.

Blake immediately murmured something in his sleep and rolled away onto his back. Seonaid
was now faced with a frontal view of her nude husband. Much to her amazement, while he
slept, his staff didn't. It stood as stiff as the king's flag. It still looked monstrous
huge to her, but Seonaid was no longer afraid of its size. Much to her pleasure, Blake had
proven time and again through the night that she could accommodate him. He had not needed
long to recover from their first bout before proving ready for a second, and Seonaid had
found that time equally pleasing. Afterward, she had drifted off to sleep with a smile on
her face, only to be awoken hours later to Blake's lazy caresses and passionate kisses.

Seonaid glanced at his face and wondered if he might pleasure her again were he to wake
up. The erection he was sporting seemed to indicate that it was a good chance. Perhaps if
she lay down and pretended to be sleeping, then made some sort of sound to wake him...

Blake snuffled in his sleep and Seonaid almost laughed aloud; then her gaze dropped to his
manhood again. They had bathed in the tepid bathwater after the first time he'd awakened
her, and she had awoken the second time in the throes of a passionate dream where he was
bent between her legs, pleasuring her with his mouth as he had before taking her
maidenhead, only to open her eyes to find that he was kneeling between her legs actually
doing so.

Seonaid was not completely ignorant, but she hadn't realized a man might do that to a
woman. Shehad once come across one of the servants on her knees doing something similar to
a man. It was impossible not to witness such things when you lived in a castle and the
servants all slept in the great hall at night.

Seonaid distinctly recalled the bewilderment she had experienced at the time. She hadn't
been at all sure what she had interrupted. She thought she knew now and understood why the
man had been moaning like a cow about to give birth. And she had the sudden thought that
it might be interesting to wake Blake so. She had certainly enjoyed the experience
herself, and perhaps then he might not be grumpy with her for disturbing his rest, which
might help induce him to pleasure her again.

The only problem was, she wasn't exactly sure how to go about it. She had a basic idea,
but...

Seonaid had never let lack of knowledge stop her attempting something before this, and she
had no intention of doing so now. Shifting closer to him, she contemplated the matter
briefly, trying to decide how to start; then she reached out and ran one finger lightly
from the base of his shaft to the tip, her gaze sliding back and forth between his manhood
and his face, noting his expression as she did. It didn't change much. He murmured in his
sleep and turned his head, but no more. Seonaid pursed her lips and wrapped her hand
around him next, running it lightly up his length again. This time he gave a small moan
and twisted his head the other way.

Shrugging, Seonaid bent forward, hesitated, then began to press little kisses along his
shaft. She heard Blake moan and felt him shift slightly but didn't think he was awake yet.
Probably a good thing, she decided, because she didn't think she was doing it right. Mary,
the servant she had stumbled upon who had been on her knees servicing one of the visiting
men, had had the whole thing in her mouth, her head bobbing forward and back as if she
were greasing it.

She tried that next, taking him into her mouth and sliding it slowly up and down his shaft
as far as she could. That seemed to get a reaction out of Blake; he moaned loudly, his
hand moving to clench in her hair, his body stiffening with tension, but she still didn't
think he was awake. Seonaid raised and lowered her head several times, but he was so
large, she could not go far down the shaft before the tip touched the back of her throat
and she had the instinct to gag. Frustrated, she closed her hand around the base of him
and then began to move it with her mouth, hoping that would make up for the fact that she
couldn't take him all in.

“Seonaid,” he growled several moments later, and the hand in her hair began to tug
lightly, urging her head up and forcing her to stop.

Pausing, she lifted her head and glanced at him. “Am I doin' it wrong?”

“Nay, you were doing very well,” he said between clenched teeth.

“Good.” She lowered her head again, and Blake groaned as she continued what he had
interrupted. After several more moments he pulled at her hair again, and Seonaid sighed
and lifted her head to glance at him curiously. “What? Is there something else I should be
doin' too?”

“Nay, but”

“Well, then, stop interruptin' and let me continue,” she ordered, and lowered her head
again.

She was concentrating on what she was doing, experimentally changing her speed and the
pressure she was applying to see what worked best, but the man was silent as stone now
that he was awake and she could not tell if he liked any of it. Except he did seem to be
getting a bit harder and seemed a little larger too, if that were possible, and a glance
at his feet showed his toes curling. She thought that might be a good sign. Then he began
to touch her.

Seonaid stiffened, her rhythm thrown off by her surprise when he slid a hand along her
hips, then around and between her legs. She tried to get her rhythm back, but the man was
proving a great distraction, to the point that Seonaid actually cursed around the member
in her mouth. Straightening, she turned to glare at him.

“Stop that. I am pleasin' you now,” she growled.

A slow smile spread across his lips at the way she was glowering at him; then he half sat
up to catch her by the arms and tugged her on top of his chest as he lay back down.

“Hey!” Seonaid protested, pushing at his chest and trying to lever herself up. “I am”

Blake silenced her with a kiss, claiming her lips, then thrusting his tongue in to keep
her from talking. It was most effective, she admitted to herself, giving up trying to push
herself back up for the moment. She would let him kiss her a bit, then go back to it, she
told herself, letting her hands slide up his chest and into his hair.

He was a terribly good kisser. At least, it seemed to her that he was, though Seonaid
didn't have anyone to compare his kissing skills to. But, comparisons or not, she
suspected he was probably a master at everything to do with carnal knowledge. From what
she'd heard, the man had got enough practice at it. And Seonaid couldn't help but be
grateful for it, because it seemed to her that she was reaping the benefits.

She moaned a protest as he broke their kiss, then sighed as he moved his lips across her
face. She felt and reacted like a cat beneath its master's caress, tilting and pushing her
face into his hand, until he caught her firmly by the hair and turned her head so that his
tongue could explore her ear.

Seonaid gasped and shuddered atop him, then became aware that his hands had not been
still. They had started out holding her in place, but once she'd stopped resisting had
turned from holding to caressing, moving over her back and arms. Now they slid down to her
bottom and cupped her there, urging her tighter against his hardness. Seonaid turned her
head and caught his lips again at the intimate caress, her legs slipping apart to increase
the intimacy as he rubbed against her. Whenafter a few moments of thisit no longer seemed
satisfying, she levered herself upward to sit on him, managing the task only because she
took him by surprise.