They remained in one another’s arms until the small hours of the night. Adeline must have fallen asleep, because she awoke when Edward was gently pulling his arm out from under her.
“Don’t go!” She was tired, now, and wanted him to stay and hold her.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but if it’s found that we have been together when we’re not married, there’ll be a scandal that neither of us need. I promise, I will see you again tomorrow at the breakfast table, and we can marry quickly once I’ve spoken to your father.”
Adeline nodded. She knew that they couldn’t be caught together but it was still difficult to watch him leave again. After all the weeks they had spent apart, she never wanted him to be away from her for even a moment.
Epilogue
The wedding was a quiet affair in the village church, followed by a formal dinner in Hathersedge Manor. Adeline and Edward went by rail to Monte Carlo for their honeymoon, where they stayed in a hotel with a sea view and its own private beach.
“A bit different to the Firth of Forth, isn’t it?” Adeline remarked, as they stared out across the bright blue sea from their hotel balcony, where they were eating a continental breakfast.
“Would you prefer to live somewhere like this?” He bit into a croissant that he’d just filled with jam.
“No. I like this, but Scotland just calls to me… I can’t explain it.” Adeline frowned as she watched a single seagull circle the shore. This was certainly more appealing for a holiday, but Edinburgh simply had a gravitas and elegance that nowhere else possessed.
They had decided that after the honeymoon Adeline would move into Moray Place with Edward.
He ate the last bite of his croissant then regarded her with a stern look.
“Do you have something to tell me?” he prompted.
She scoured her brain to think about what she might have done. “I went shopping yesterday.” She tried to remember how much money she had spent. There had been so many nice boutiques full of things she wanted, and she hadn’t really paid much attention to how much everything cost.
“You spent five thousand francs. That’s about five hundred pounds. That’s enough money to buy a small house!”
She thought about all the things she had bought and rushed to their defense. “But, it was a really nice hat. And I liked the shoes, too. The sundress was a necessity, because the sun is shining out there and I only brought three sundresses with me.”
“And the earrings?” He raised an eyebrow.
She blinked for a moment, then said, “A memento?”
“And the purse, the perfumes, the hair combs, and the curling irons?”
Why did it even matter if she had the money to spend? “I rather liked it. All of it. Anyway, you bought ten things yesterday.”
He chuckled heartily. “You mean the postcards? Half of which I gave to you because you neglected to purchase any of your own?”
“And those other things.”
“Stamps for the postcards? Or do you mean when I bought you dinner?”
“Yes.” She decided she was digging her heels in as hard as they went today.
“Adeline, I don’t really know what your usual spending habits are, but from now on, you will be getting an allowance every month, to ensure that you don’t squander your dowry on hats and silk scarves.”
She stamped her foot in outrage. “That’s not fair. You don’t have an allowance! Why should I have one? If you won’t let me spend my own money, I’ll just spend your money instead!”
“I don’t need an allowance because I’m mindful about what I buy. And I’m in charge, here, not you, because you’re impulsive.”
“How dare you? I won’t stand for it!” She glared at him. It was like trying to move a glacier.
“Fine, you can bend instead. Over my knee.”
“What? Here?” She stared at him in horror. He couldn’t seriously mean to spank her on the balcony.
“It’s early. There’s nobody else about and you need some discipline. Come here. If I have to make you, I will fetch the tawse from my suitcase.” His voice was stern and she realized she’d missed all the warning signs.
“I’ll behave.”
“Promises, promises.” He pushed his chair away from the breakfast table and pulled her over his knee. Adeline felt comforted, but also nervous, as he rearranged her bottom so it was high in the air, then he turned back her dress and slid her underwear down. His hand rubbed her cheeks lightly then he brought it down in a sharp motion. The noise startled her as much as the feeling, but before she dwelled on it, he did it again, and again, as her bottom started to get quite warm. It was so humiliating to be spanked on the balcony like this, and she wished she hadn’t been so argumentative. As he kept spanking her, a warm glow filled her womb and her nipples were sensitive against the fresh morning breeze.
Under her stomach, his hardness was obvious. She wasn’t surprised when he stopped spanking her, lifted her by the waist and carried her to the bed, where he threw her down then started undressing, discarding his pants and shirt on the floor. Her face lit up when she saw his manhood, standing to attention like it was waiting for her. He parted her legs then put his mouth to one of her breasts, licking and nibbling at the nipple as she moaned and wriggled under the intense feelings. Releasing that one, he gave the other the same attention, and soon she was sighing and writhing anew.
With a swift motion, he pushed into her and she gasped at the size. She knew his shaft always stretched her, but each time he did it, she seemed to forget quite how big he was. He took her gently at first, one hand always fondling one of her breasts. The friction of his hard body rubbing against her sex made her moan again, and she found herself quickly building up to a climax.
When she came apart under him, it felt like she had been filled with all the warmth of the sun, as she cried out and stretched and gripped his biceps with her hands. As she thought it couldn’t get any better, his movements sped up, then he filled her with his seed, drawing out her climax as he found his own. They remained together for a long moment afterwards, then Edward gently pulled out of her and they lay on the bed in a loving embrace.
Adeline decided making love was far more interesting than causing mayhem. While she seemed to fall into trouble on a regular basis, so her bottom was generally at least a little pink, she no longer sought out calamity.
“Will you still complain about having an allowance?” Edward asked her.
She shook her head. “No. As long as I can still buy nice things.”
“You know I only do these things for your own good, don’t you?” He looked at her seriously.
“Yes. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I know that asparagus is good for me, but I don’t like that, either.”
“Perhaps I should find something I can do with that noble vegetable that would make you think more favorably of it. I can think of a use or two for an asparagus spear that you would almost certainly find delightful.”
“What could you possibly do with asparagus?” She looked at him disbelievingly.
“I would cover it in butter, then slide it inside that bottom hole of yours.”
When she looked at him, she was amazed that his expression was completely serious.
“And what, exactly, would that achieve?” she asked.
“Oh, my dearest, loveliest Adeline. You have so much to learn.” He sucked one of his fingers then turned her onto her front and began to caress her sex with one hand. With the other, he pressed his wet finger into her bottom hole.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Open up for me, darling. I promise, this is going to feel wonderful.” His words calmed her slightly, but not enough to accept the situation.
“I don’t think you’re allowed to do that!” she protested, wiggling her bottom. Her rosebud tingled at the new intrusion. His finger was enormous against her rear opening and she scrunched up her face while her ring of muscle was stretched for the first time.
It seemed too big, she thought about telling him to stop, but the sparks coming from her clit were delicious, even through the ache in her least-used passage, so she didn’t fight him. Besides, she trusted him, and was intrigued by the idea that there might be another facet to sex that she didn’t know about.
She remembered how big his cock had been, the first time he slid it into her slick folds, and how it had stretched her, but then it had become blissful. Maybe this would be the same.
“You’re my wife now, I can claim any part of you I desire,” he reminded her.
His words made her melt slightly, and soon he was filling her bottom with his finger. The uncomfortable stretching sensation turned into a searing glow that made her little button ache under the attentions of his other hand.
Adeline was amazed that it felt so good, and she moaned as her sex responded to his powerful touch. He smiled triumphantly as her insides tingled and clamped down around his finger.
“See? Your husband always knows what’s best for you.” Beneath his upper-class pronunciation, the slightest trace of his Scottish accent came through as he spoke.
He moved his finger faster in her bottom, and soon she had tumbled into an intense climax like none she had ever experienced before. Strong arcs of electricity coursed through her body and she tried not to scream aloud from the unbelievable sparks filling every inch of her. When she finished, she thought he was going to pull out of her, but instead, he continued his attentions to her bottom hole and her clit, which was a little sensitive now.
“This is just a taste of how good it can feel to have something in your bottom hole,” he murmured, stroking her sex and filling her with tingles. “One day, I might even slide my cock in there.”
The thought of his huge cock, that barely fitted in her pussy, being inside her rear, was too intoxicating. She adored the idea of being able to give him that gift, of letting him claim every part of her with his hard member, and of the two of them sharing the secret knowledge that he’d claimed her bottom. They would forever be bound together after sharing such an extra-special connection.
Imagining his enormous member in her rear, she came again around his finger, biting down on a pillow to remain quiet as her bottom squeezed against him, and strong tingles tore through every part of her body.
This time, he did slide his finger out, then he kissed her left bottom cheek and they cuddled up together once more.
“I love you, Edward,” she told him, her heart overflowing with happiness.
“I love you too, Adeline,” he replied.
“Do you think the tea has gone cold?” she asked, because she was quite thirsty after all those climaxes.
He chuckled. “Probably. We can ring for a servant to fetch more, though, if you’re ready to get back out of bed and start the rest of our day?”
“Never. But I will, because otherwise I think my body might go on strike from too much vigorous activity!”
Reluctantly, Adeline rose from the bed and put some clothes on. She was looking forward to the rest of the day, with the beach and the sea beckoning to her, but more than anything, she was looking forward to the rest of her life with Edward.
The End
Bonus: Extended Preview from Protected by the Scotsman, Book Two of the Stern Scotsmen Series
A jungle, Cambodia, 1925
Bobbie had managed quite well on the unsightly motorcycle and two days ago, she had had left it safely parked in Siem Reap, where she planned to have it returned to its owner in Bangkok as soon as she was sure she didn’t need it any longer.
She was now trekking through the jungle, assisted by a couple of local men whose job was mostly to spot snakes, when her aides both stopped dead.
“What’s the matter?” she asked in French, which everyone locally spoke to varying degrees.
“We go no further,” one of the men told her.
She sighed. Clearly there was some sort of superstition or other nonsense, but Bobbie didn’t have time for it.
“Suit yourselves. I have a job to do.” She paid them then, as they hastily retreated, she pulled out her map and compass and was double-checking her route when she heard footsteps approaching.
“You’re doing a rather poor job of sneaking up on me, and there’s no need for the sword, either,” she said in exasperation. It was going to be one of those irritating times when someone wanted to speak with her, and instead of doing the decent thing and arranging an appointment, they had sent a lackey who had been hired for his size and brute force rather than his positive attitude or potential leadership skills. It was the sound of the blade being slid out of its sheath that had given it away, otherwise the footsteps might have been that dogged Scotsman trying to sneak up on her.
She turned and absolutely did not roll her eyes when the brute brandished his sword at her and said, in broken English, “You, captive.” Slightly put out by the sheer bloody nuisance of this whole thing, she gritted her teeth and allowed the man to take her prisoner. She would escape later, and anyway, it would be useful to know who else was involved and what they wanted.
* * *
The lackey with the sword had taken Bobbie to a makeshift encampment of animal-skin tents. It screamed local tribe, but Bobbie suspected that this was more than a simple village. For starters, animal skins weren’t generally used for tents in the humid jungles of this part of the world. Suspicions aroused, Bobbie was led at sword point to a big tent, where she was pushed inside.
At first, everything looked pitch black, as her eyes tried to adjust to the new lighting. Then, she saw that she was not alone.
“Why is a western woman wandering through the jungle alone?” The voice, against all probability, was speaking English. But it wasn’t Sean’s voice that cut through the darkness: the heavy accent said the man was local. Bobbie squinted then opened her eyes widely to try and pick out more detail on the man in the tent with her. He had a huge beard but otherwise she couldn’t make out a lot.
“Why did you kidnap me?” she countered.
“I asked first,” he said, and she felt her pulse quickening at the force beneath his words. If he chose, he could snap her in half.
“I’m looking for a snake cult.”
“There are better ways of achieving spiritual one-ness,” he remarked.
“I’m an antiquarian. An explorer of the past. I want to find the snake cult that was in these parts a thousand years ago and, possibly, still exists today.”
“And then what?”
“What do you mean, ‘and then what’? And then I’ve found it. I can write about it. Put this place on a map.”
“That is all?”
“Is there anything else?” She felt a little nettled at the implication that her life’s work—exploration, and subsequently sharing her findings with the world—wasn’t purposeful enough to be a legitimate reason to find a snake cult.
“You’re in the way, little girl,” he said, speaking to a part of her that she didn’t want to know existed. “I’m going to have to put you somewhere safe, until current events are over.”
“What events?” Bobbie asked, still infuriated at being referred to as a little girl. She hated this man. All she wanted to do right now was to fight him, to prove that she wasn’t helpless just because she was a woman. Subtly, she tensed her right leg. The garter where she held her revolver was reassuringly tight. She was about to reach for it when the brute with the sword burst in and started speaking in an unfamiliar language.
The tone of the conversation was hurried and tense, and eventually, the huge man growled, “On your knees, woman, and stay in that corner. Be silent, or so help me, I’ll give you to the man who’s about to arrive.”
Despite her irritation and the general feeling that she was being dismissed, Bobbie was far too interested in finding out more about what was going on, because she sensed that there was a deeper mystery here than trying to stop an Englishwoman from finding an ancient snake cult. She decided to obey, for now. Anyway, it would be
easier to escape if the redheaded chieftain was talking to someone else.
Kneeling in a corner passively, Bobbie watched a fair-haired man with blotchy pink skin enter the tent. He was flanked by two men who looked similar, but were clearly lackeys.
“Gottag, hövding Chen,” the man said. Bobbie’s brain took a moment to register that he spoke in Swedish.
“Good day, Herr Gunnarsson. How is the arms trade?” Chen ran his fingers through his beard nonchalantly. Nothing about this entire setup made any sense, and Bobbie intended to figure it all out.
“Very good. I got your message. I’m here to make my latest acquisition.” The blond man’s voice was cold and suggested that he had hurt many people in the past. The other man was going out of his way to be respectful. Bobbie wondered how people like this ever met one another in the first place. It wasn’t like the souks or bars were filled with them in the corners of the world where they all seemed to be hiding out.
“Which item were you interested in?” Chen asked.
“The Naga-Seik.”
Bobbie had heard the name before, but struggled to place it.
“The snake summoner.” Chen’s jaw clenched, and Bobbie watched him carefully arrange his countenance, but Herr Gunnarsson didn’t seem to notice.
“Indeed. There’s rumours of a snake cult around here,” the creepy Norseman remarked.
Bobbie’s heart paused for a moment as she listened intently. This sounded like the sort of thing that always seemed to find her eventually. Nine times out of ten, the legends surrounding any given artefact were poppycock, but Bobbie was fascinated that cultures grew up around even the craziest stories.
“They’ve had a revival lately.” Chen summed up everything Bobbie knew about the snake cult. She sat in silence, hoping he might give away their location.
“Indeed. According to my research, once every thousand years, a seven-headed giant snake can be summoned with the right ritual. It can be controlled by a special artefact.” Herr Gunnarsson sounded so serious that Bobbie had to try very hard not to snort with derision when she was supposed to remain unseen. She wasn’t sure why Chen was protecting her from Gunnarsson, but she had no wish to try her luck.
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