Page 74 of The Cruel Highlander's Bride
The woman in question smiled a little at the sight, but she sighed, too, betraying her exhaustion.
The family led them to a small house on the outskirts of the village, but Magnus wouldn’t have cared if it was a barn or a roll of hay on the ground. Together, they followed the mother to a room at the back of the house. Some information was given to Ciara, but Magnus tuned it all out once he saw the bed—thegloriousbed. He could collapse and be asleep within minutes.
When the young mother left them alone, he looked at Ciara and back to the bed that took up the majority of the small room. Theonebed.
“There’s only one bed,” Magnus said, dumbly staring from the bed, back to his wife again.
She looked away, her cheeks pink, but there was no surprise on her face. He was alone in his shock, and just like that, it turned into something else entirely. He took one step towards her and pressed against her back.
“Did ye ken there was only one bed, wife?” he whispered in her ear as he ran a gentle finger down her arm. “When ye agreed to stay for the night, did ye ken that we’d be pressed against each other the whole time?”
She shivered in his hold but nodded.
“I see. And what did ye think we would be doin’ in this one wee bed?”
Because the bed wastiny, nothing like the monstrosity he had at home. Even if all they did was sleep, there would be barely any space between them. He would wake up with an erection, and there would be no hiding it from her as it pressed against her behind.
“Sleep?” she questioned, a bit of sass in her tone.
He tsked. “I’m nae feelin’ all that tired anymore, lass. Are ye?”
“Nay,” she breathed, relaxing against him.
He held her like that for a beat, enjoying the way she felt so at home in his arms. But then, he spun her around, so they stood face to face, his arms now circling her back. This close, he could see all the lovely freckles dotting her face and her bright blue eyes that begged for more.
“I’ve never had ye on a bed,” he groaned, tightening his grip on her just the slightest bit.
Their interlude on the chaise had been nothing short of heavenly, but what would he do with his lovely wife in a bed? God, he could think of so many things. But from this distance, he could still see a bit of a slump in her shoulders and the lines of exhaustion etched on her face.
He took a half step back and saw the way her face fell.
“Dinnae misunderstand me, lass, I want nothin’ more than to throw ye on that bed right now and have me way with ye,” he said closing the distance between them once more,
“but I think a bath is in order first.”
With wide pupils, Ciara let out a sigh and nodded back at him.
“Good, we’ll do it together.” He winked, and her throat bobbed.
He could accomplish a lot in a bath with his wife. He was thinking of a slow, soapy massage to start, and then he would see where that took them.
“I’m goin’ to go get us some hot water.”
With one last squeeze of her arm, Magnus turned and headed towards the door of their bedroom for the night.
One bed.
“Ye ken how to heat yer own water?” she asked with mock surprise from behind his back.
It was a beat later than normal, as if she needed the extra moment to compose herself.
Shaking his head, Magnus continued walking towards the door. When his hand was on the handle, he said softly, “I ken how to do a lot of things, lass. Quite a lot. I’m lookin’ forward to showin’ ye.”
28
Ciara blinked at the now empty room, Magnus’s words ringing in her ears.
I ken how to do a lot of things, lass.
