Page 84 of The Groom Wore Plaid
“Such a ringing, romantic endorsement of your own wedding,” he said dryly.
Her face only reddened more before she sighed. “I’m sorry, Owen. Nothing has ever been easy for us. How can ye expect me to proceed with joyous abandon? I’ve never had a dream that didn’t come true. I’m frightened for ye. But there’s a child coming, and I have to trust that I’ve been shown one path for ye, with thechance to change it. I hope we have. I pray we have,” she added fervently.
He cupped her face with both hands. “I may not have said it before, but your concern for me moves me. Ye don’t care about my title or my lands—”
“Of course I do—they’re what will help bring peace to both our clans.”
He grimaced. “Ye know what I mean, lass. From the beginning of our betrothal, ye’ve been worried for me.”
He brushed his thumb along her lower lip. He would marry this woman; she’d share his bed and his life. It was daunting and overwhelming and he couldn’t think about how he’d changed because of her. But he knew he wanted her. She carried their future within her. He leaned down and kissed her. She seemed stiff for a long moment, until with a low moan she sighed and leaned into him, sliding her arms about his waist.
CHAPTER19
Inside her heart, Maggie knew she’d surrendered to her love of Owen weeks ago, and now she surrendered her very life to him. She would be his. If she’d hoped for an impassioned declaration of love, it had been within only a little corner of herself, a sad little corner that had to accept the fact that with an arranged marriage to a man like Owen, she had to take her blessings where she found them. She would never have a great love, but he wanted her, and she would learn to be content with that.
Because she wanted him, with a desperation that frightened her. She wanted the impossible—she wanted his love, she wanted a future with him, and she didn’t know if she could have those things.
But oh, when his kiss deepened into one of hunger, when he pulled her so close to his body that she could feel the pounding of his heart near to hers—she simply melted. Her flesh burned to experience the pleasure he’d given her just two days ago. She reveled in the feelof his hands sliding down her back, cupping her backside, pulling her firmly against him. They kissed for a long, sweet moment, exploring and tasting. He would be her husband, the father of her child. He would have a powerful, important place in her life. She would just have to find a way to accept him for who he was, even if he couldn’t accept her the same way.
She shivered when he parted her dressing gown and it fell from her shoulders. He didn’t touch, just looked at the way the fabric skimmed her body. He lifted the nightshift over her head, leaving her bare to him in the morning light, then he put his hand on her flat belly and stared into her eyes. Was he looking for the truth? Or could he simply believe her? Her eyes misted as she prayed they would find happiness as parents.
And then he pulled off his own garments so quickly it made her smile.
“I like that smile,” he murmured. “It is all too rare.”
But her smile faded when she looked down his body, admiring the way his broad chest tapered into narrow hips. She let herself touch him, skimming her hands over smooth, hard muscles, brushing his nipples as he’d done to her. She could feel his flesh shiver as if her touch excited him. And that excited her. She let her caresses move lower, across the ridges of his stomach. As his breathing increased, she felt a powerful sense of wonder that she could affect him so. And then she clasped his erection in her hand and he shuddered. It was hard and thick and smooth, and she explored it with great interest.
“Though I’m enjoying this, lass, I won’t be able to stand it for long,” he said hoarsely. “Your touch is far too—”
Then he broke off with a gasp as she reached lower, to caress the round sacs below. He liked that, too, she realized. She would have a lifetime to learn everything about him.
She hoped. Oh, she hated that little voice of worry deep in her mind that wouldn’t leave her.
But she forgot all of that as Owen’s hands began to caress her at the same time, one hand lingered at her nipples, the other moving between her legs to slide along her newly moist flesh. As they touched each other, neither looked away, and it was incredibly moving to know unabashedly what they could make each other feel, to acknowledge, if only with their eyes, the power of their connection.
And then with a groan, Owen moved backward, pulling her with him as he sat upon the bed. He lifted her onto his lap to straddle him.
He leaned back on his elbows, his expression eager. “Guide me inside of you.”
This new position intrigued her, and though she felt awkward about how to accomplish it, she came up on her knees, took him into her hand, and slid him along the depth of her. It made her shudder, and when he suddenly took her hips in his big hands and pulled down, sheathing himself deep inside her, she gasped.
“Am I hurting ye?” he asked, his body frozen in place, but with a restrained sense of urgency as if he really wanted to be moving.
She shook her head, her awareness centered inward, on how good he felt filling her. “Can I move?”
“Please God, aye,” he ground out.
She braced her hands on his chest and leaned over to say, “I’ll conduct my own little experiment and ye can analyze the results.”
His chuckle was mixed with a groan as she lifted herself up a bit, then sank back. The friction felt so good she did it again, and soon she was enthusiastically riding him, striving to find what felt best. He caressed her breasts, and slid his fingers wickedly between her thighs, and soon she was panting, her head thrown back with exaltation as she found her ultimate pleasure. As if he’d been waiting just for her, Owen took her hips in his hands and arched to thrust himself inside her and join her in fulfillment.
Maggie collapsed forward to rest her head on his chest. She could hear the thundering of his heart gradually slow down, feeling a sense of peace steal over her as he ran his fingers gently through her hair.
“So you’re truly my betrothed now,” he murmured.
She nodded, and let her breath out on a long sigh. Silently, she sent forth another prayer that she was making the right decision, that in her selfish need to have her child legitimate, she wasn’t somehow sending Owen to his death.
Suddenly her world turned upside down as he rolled her onto her back. And then he was thrusting inside her again, a slow buildup into speed, and all she could do was go along for the ride and let him take her over the edge.
