Page 113 of In Search of a Husband
“Say it again, darling,” she whispered, her eyes heavy-lidded.
“What?”
“That you love me. That you wish for me to be your bride.”
The air charged between them, only the sound of the firewood snapping and cracking in the fireplace to the wild drum of his heartbeat in his ears.
“Ye’re to be my wife, Kate.Mine. And I will love ye each and every day. I will see yer belly round with children to fill up this castle anddance with ye in the kitchen while ye bake. And turn a blind eye when ye bring home another lonely heart because…”
He reached out and brushed back the hair falling around her face, then reclined back onto the floor, and drew her down to straddle him.
There were worse things that could happen—this moment between them never taking place. To never watch the golden light dancing wildly from the fire over her long limbs. The way her pulse beat delicately at the base of her throat, or how the freckle marking the soft flesh between her breasts beckoned him, calling him to press his lips there.
“I need ye. Christ, forgive me, and I’ll spend each day loving ye and treating ye like the gift ye are.”
Kate grinned, her legs straddling his waist and her eyes watery.
“I only ever wish to have a choice.” She raked her hand back into his hair. A soft touch that was an undoing, stripping him from what he knew of the world as if she were Delilah herself bringing down the giant. “To be your wife, I mean. I would have agreed at the inn. I could see it in your eyes…”
Her voice trailed off, and her hand came to rest on his chest, above his heart, her brows drawn in concentration.
“I forgive you, Gabe. And I love you, even when you are so…”
She pulled her gaze away and peered at the fire. His hands reached up her body, skimming up her hips and waist to rest at her ribs. He could feel the delicate bones beneath his touch and see the first bloom of a bruise.
“I’m what?”
Kate leaned down and pressed a kiss against his forehead, her breasts brushing against his chest. Sweet torture.
“I think you might be the only person who knows me, truly. We are not perfect, you and I. And Lord knows we are both headstrong, but…” She drew up and kissed his cheeks, then his lips for a moment, running her tongue along the seam of his mouth. “I came to Scotland looking to run away because I feared there was nothing left for me, and I found a home instead. Leaving was the hardest thing I’ve had to do, and I never wish to be parted from you again.”
“Then dinna.”
“There you go, attempting to be charming.”
“Would you rather me growl?”
“I’ve a fondness for it.”
Gabriel did so, half in jest, until her quim pressed against his cock, and then he did so in earnest, pulling her onto his lap. “Wrap yer legs around me, lass.”
His cock pressed against her entrance, and she issued the softest sigh. “There now.” Her long legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer to her. He lifted her chin and kissed her, softly, tenderly.
“Are ye sure ye’re well? I can have the surgeon examine you again.”
Kate reached between them, guiding his cock to her entrance. “I am many things, darling, and he assured us both earlier that I will heal. But I’m not strong enough to resist you any longer, please. Don’t make me wait.”
“Ye wish to feel me inside of ye, moving inside of ye?”
She reached back into his hair and tugged, moaning as she tilted her hips. His cock slipped against that sensitive bud between her legs.
“Do ye feel me now,mo leannan?Do ye feel what ye do to me?”
She tilted her hips as he pressed against her entrance, slowly, until she opened to him, and he slid into her warm heat.
Gabriel groaned, cradling her against him as she seated herself fully.
“Shh, now.” He brushed back her hair and kissed her shoulder, grazing his teeth over her skin. “Gentle, now.”
