Page 78 of Highland Jewel
Maisie stared, not understanding the impact of what she was about to feel. He moved down her body and her hands threaded into his hair, guiding him to her breasts. The scrape of his teeth against her flesh made her raise her back again and moan with pleasure.
But he moved lower. Lower still. His mouth pressed kisses on her stomach, tasting the hollow of her navel. She raised her head and watched in wonder as he lifted her legs and draped them over his shoulders. His hands slid under her buttocks and he lifted her. Their eyes met. Maisie thought the anticipation was about to kill her.
The first touch of his tongue nearly undid her. Shefisted the bedclothes in both hands and arched upward for more. All thought emptied from her mind. This moment, the pleasure of his mouth ruled her very existence. A rhythm set in, and her body took over until she thrashed against him.
Her release was exquisite, thrilling, and the waves of pleasure had not yet subsided when she realized she wanted him inside of her.
She raised his face and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips.
“Take me,” she whispered as he positioned himself over her.
She gasped as he embedded himself in her. Deeply, fully, completely.
He held her still, and she felt the strain in his muscles as he waited for her. Then, as if guided by some primal force, she began to move. He began to stir and then slide within her. Slowly, at first, and then faster. Maisie gripped his back, his shoulders, his hair. Together they moved, two bodies as one, giving without a thought of giving, sharing without a thought of sharing, but loving with every fiber of their existence as their bodies pulsed to the throbbing measure of the love dance.
That night, as the hours tumbled by, they found their rhythm again and again. Together, each time, they reached the shuddering ecstasy, the enveloping light, and the illuminating sense of being alight, aloft, alive.
This was a night they each could count on, for tomorrow was unknown.
CHAPTER30
Months ago, in order to save his sister, Niall had sacrificed his honor when Sir Rupert Burney trapped him into coming to the Highlands to kill Cinaed Mackintosh. He’d known from the start it was a mission that would almost certainly cost him his life. But he would do it again for Fiona.
In his own mind, he’d salvaged his honor when he’d decided to take a different course. Forged his own plans. The villainous dogs who made and used laws to benefit themselves couldn’t be trusted, regardless of what he did, how far he went. One job would only lead to another, and he’d be forever their indentured servant. His sister would never be free of their grasp.
The new plans were as dangerous as the old. And his survival? Still doubtful. But dying was a necessary risk in his profession. Early, sudden death was woven into the fabric of every soldier’s fate. The only thing he’d ever truly regretted was losing the future he planned with Maisie.
And yet, here they were. Regardless of the odds, destiny had brought them together at Dalmigavie Castle.
Maisie, his wife. She challenged him, body and soul. She was the air, the water, the food that sustained him. They were lovers and friends. She made him want to live, to be a better man, to dream, to imagine that they could stretch the happiness of today into an infinity of tomorrows.
The days following the wedding melded into each other. They’d been left to themselves, and they spent the hours in bed, making love, and he encouraged her to talk of everything that had happened since they left Edinburgh. She and her family had been through so much.
She had many questions about him—the months that they’d lost in between. It was difficult to lie, so instead he changed the topic at every turn. He distracted her. He engaged her by asking about the articles she’d been writing. His interest in her politics was the best diversion.
Once they came out of their chambers and rejoined the world, Niall realized his family had expanded. Isabella and Cinaed took Morrigan and Niall and Maisie out riding. Together, they walked along the river. They visited the village and on market day, spent time going through the tents and stalls of vendors who had come up from Inverness. But they also stayed close enough that no danger could touch them. And all the while, Blair and a handful of his men hovered nearby.
During these jaunts, Niall could see that the relationship Maisie had with Isabella and Morrigan had changed dramatically from the time they were in Edinburgh. He recognized the new bond they all shared.
For all the time they spent together, Niall and Cinaed also began to know each other. The Highlander had many stories to tell about his time onHighland Crown,the ship he’d lost in a storm along the coast not too many months ago. His life before coming here had been a constant series of adventures.
It was also fascinating to learn how distant Cinaed was from all the glory that people attached to the “son of Scotland.” He loved the Highland people. He’d smuggled arms to rebels and borne the cost—and the risk—of transporting outlaws and displaced families to Canada. He’d been fighting for Scotland in one way or another for most of his life, and he was ready to shed his own blood to end the repressive occupation of the British military forces. But Cinaed was hesitant and distrustful of the pomp and glory of monarchy. And he didn’t believe he’d done enough to deserve the attention he was being showered with. Even if the royal bloodline was true, it wasn’t enough.
Niall found himself growing fonder of Cinaed for his own sake and not for how others perceived him. He’d served many commanders in his years of military campaigning, but no leader matched the quiet courage or the sure-handed confidence this man possessed. Niall didn’t know if it was Cinaed’s lineage or his maritime upbringing, but he’d never known a man better suited to leading others.
Those few short days of leisure came to an abrupt end. With little more than a week until the formal acknowledgment of Cinaed and Isabella’s marriage, riders began to show up from various Highland clan chiefs, indicating the times of their arrival.
Eight days before the ceremony, the laird called everyone involved with the queen’s visit to his study.
Niall leaned a shoulder against the wall near the door and listened. Aside from Lachlan and Searc, Woelk and Rainey were there, but Cinaed had decided not to join them.
“You’ve received no correspondence from the queen,” Searc asked Woelk. “Not once since you left the Borders.”
“Nothing. But she must be at sea right now. She’ll send an emissary when she arrives.”
An argument immediately ensued. Niall watched Woelk and Rainey.
“Move Cinaed to Inverness,” Rainey suggested. “The queen is probably there already.”
