by Tessa Murran
So Hugh had been bullying her too damn him. The last thing Duncan wanted was for his new wife to be intimidated into having him. He choked down his anger and tried to be kind. ‘It’s true enough that this marriage must stand in order to unite our clans but I will not threaten you through your brother. Robert has already been set free. I sent word yesterday to Dunslair.’
Ailsa turned to face the fire clearly struggling to contain her emotions at this news.
‘Where is he?’
‘God only knows. Hugh would have given him some coin and a horse, not a good one, along with safe passage through Campbell lands. If Robert has any sense he will go south and far away from me but it’s far more likely the dog has returned to his master.’ Duncan could not see her face and somehow this made it easier for him to continue. ‘Robert is free now no matter what happens between us.’
‘But your uncle..?’
‘My uncle can go to hell,’ he replied coldly. ‘We are joined now Ailsa as husband and wife. The law would say you are mine to do with as I see fit yet it’s clear that you did not want this union so I will not have you against your will. But Ailsa you should know that I want you … very much…and I meant what I said. I will protect you and try to be a kind and dutiful husband. All I ask is that you give me a chance.’ He was met with silence.
‘I know I can make you want me Ailsa. I can give bring you pleasure. You are innocent of the marriage bed. Let me show you what it is to give yourself to another wholeheartedly. I promise I will treat you gently and if you would only trust me we can get through this night together...pleasurably.’
Though his voice was calm and quiet Ailsa thought she detected a note of frustration and even desperation in his last words. Perhaps she could try. She had nothing to lose by it and everything to gain by letting him think he was having his way. Powerfully built as he was she could not hope to fight him off; this man could do to her whatever he wanted. Better to try to hang on to some dignity and let him seduce her so that she could pretend to herself that she wanted him. The alternative was much more humiliating. She comforted herself with the thought that at least she had earned Robert’s freedom. Duncan had been true to his word in that at least.
Ailsa was no coward and did not shrink from what was necessary. It would be mortifying to her pride and would hurt but it must be done, there was no point in delaying. Duncan had to think she was obedient and she could not hold him off with excuses forever. So she turned and faced her fate, hoping it would not be too awful.
The glow of the firelight against Ailsa’s rich curtain of hair made a warm halo around her head. The pure white of her shift did nothing to disguise the outline of her long legs illuminated by the firelight from behind. The sight of them sent Duncan’s pulse racing and suddenly he wanted her so badly he could barely contain himself. His manhood throbbed with his need for her. She was biting her lip nervously, even white teeth sinking into its full, pink softness, drawing his attention to her mouth. Did she have any idea what she was doing to his self- control?
She took a deep breath. ‘Best get it over with then. Please tell me what to do, how to place myself.’
He laughed, breaking the tension between them a little. ‘That is not how this should go,’ he said. ‘If you do not have me willingly Ailsa, then there is no point in you having me at all. You don’t have to place yourself anywhere for my pleasure. Don’t you realise what you do to me, how beautiful you are? So beautiful in fact that I would be content just to stand here and stare at you all night long. And believe me, I certainly don’t relish the prospect of forcing an unwilling woman into my bed.’
‘But I thought this is what you wanted?’
‘Not like this I don’t.’ He regarded her for a moment then took hold of her hand. His eyes were warm, kind even and her heart leapt a little when she looked into them.
‘When you kissed me at Morag’s wedding. What did you feel?’
‘I’d hardly own that to you.’
‘Tell me. We are husband and wife now and there should be no secrets between us. I want the truth now Ailsa.’
‘It felt pleasant in a strange way.’
‘Did you want me to stop?’
‘No, but you took advantage of me and that was not fair and you went too far.’
‘Aye, I did lose control of myself but you would do that to any man. I don’t think you know your own beauty. It is like a siren song, luring men to their doom. Those men at your sister’s wedding saw it and I saw it too. You were so lovely and I watched you all night as you danced, taking such pleasure in it and you were so free and happy. I couldn’t take my eyes off you and I still can’t and I doubt even the most pious of men could control himself around you. That is why I followed you outside, why I took you in my arms and kissed you. It was impossible to resist you.’
‘Do not speak so.’
‘There is so much to explore beyond that kiss we shared Ailsa, a whole world of pleasure and I can go slowly and teach you what you need to know.’
‘I cannot.’
‘Cannot or will not. There is no one here to judge you. Lay down your resentment of me, your situation and all the troubles you have been through. Forget everyone and everything else. There is only you and I in this room, in this moment so if we make each other happy this night what harm can it do.’
‘You can never make me happy.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because I do not want you.’
‘Well, your conscience may tell you that you don’t want me, but I think that some hidden part of you does.’
He moved closer and put his mouth to her ear, his hand on her waist. He whispered, ‘I think there is wildness in you Ailsa, some spirit that yearns for excitement, for adventure. You won’t own to it but sometimes it comes out and I see it. Why not set it free? Come to bed with me and let us be wild together.’ His voice, thick with longing, was terribly seductive. And she was sure that whatever wildness may lie in her was more than matched in him. She tried hard to resist temptation.
‘I can’t want you, Duncan.’
‘You can and you do. I am going to kiss you now and if you want me to stop you must say it.’
Gently he pulled the plaid from her shoulders, exposing their creamy whiteness. She did not resist and emboldened he pulled her close, taking care not to alarm her. He lowered his dark head slowly to hers.
‘Say it Ailsa.’ She wanted to say it but could not, it was as if she had been struck mute by a power greater than her. And when he kissed her there was nothing to be done but allow her mouth to yield to the gentle pressure of his. He was gentle, his tongue seeking hers, as she trembled under his touch.
She shut her eyes tightly but this just seemed to intensify the sensations aroused by his kiss. She felt her lips tingle at the touch of his tongue. ‘Stop, stop, don’t kiss me’ she thought, but she didn’t say it. Her hands placed hesitantly on his hard upper arms tightened their grip involuntarily as his tongue continued its confident invasion of her mouth. The heat of the fire on her back warred in her senses with the heat of his mouth on hers. She was now at the mercy of her own desire and if she didn’t conquer it he was going to do so much more than kiss her.
He moved lower, to her neck, lightly pinching her soft skin between his teeth as he pressed her to him. ‘Say it, tell me you don’t want me,’ he murmured between kisses.
Ailsa stood passively in his arms trying to ignore the delicious sensation which followed the progress of his mouth as he placed feather light kisses along her neck and up behind her ear. His jaw was rough with stubble but it excited her as it rasped against her skin. She had never been touched like this in her life and, though it was wrong, she did not want it to stop.
‘Gods you taste good,’ he breathed against her neck. ‘I want you so much Ailsa.’ Duncan had only really intended to kiss her, to gain her trust in the hopes of going further as they got used to each other. But his senses were inflamed by the taste of her mouth and the feel of soft curves
beneath his hands and Duncan could hold back no longer. Maybe there was a devil inside crushing his conscience and maybe he was a brute after all. Duncan fought against his desire and simply lost. Firmly but gently he loosed the thin shift and slipped it over her shoulders; it fell softly to the floor revealing what he had always suspected, a lithe, graceful body of undeniable perfection which took his breath away and destroyed any last remnants of restraint and worthy intentions.
‘Tell me to stop now Ailsa.’
Burying his hand in the soft waves of her hair Duncan drew her mouth to his once more and allowed himself the luxury of slipping his other hand slowly down her elegant back. She did not resist. Her skin was warm and velvety smooth under his rough hands and he revelled in the progress of his hand down, down to the delicious curve of her firm buttocks. Feeling he might explode with desire he cupped her there and with a soft moan, pressed her firmly against him all the while kissing her hungrily.
‘If you would stop me Aisla,’ he gasped, ‘then you need to do it now for I am almost past the point of no return.’
‘No don’t stop,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Please Duncan.’
‘So he’s right,’ Ailsa thought, she did have wildness in her soul and some dark part of it selfishly wanted to feel the pleasure he was giving her, wanted to explore the delicious darkness of him. He was a devil, he was an enemy but he was also a desirable man who made her feel beautiful and who excited and aroused her.
Ailsa was lost in his kiss as shame and desire battled in her head. Humiliated by her nakedness before him she was also exhilarated at the hunger in his eyes when he looked at her. His hot hands all over her seared her skin and unable to stop herself she kissed him back and pressed herself against the inexorable pressure of his manhood pushing up against the soft secret part of her. Where his hard body connected with hers a strange throbbing need was building up, which would not be defied.
‘Say it Ailsa,’ his kiss had become harder, more urgent. ‘Say you don’t want me.’
‘I don’t want you,’ she gasped but even as she said the words, without thinking, she reached up and buried her hands in his thick black hair and held him to her, as much to stop her knees from giving way as anything else. But she could not stay a soft moan of pleasure with the contact.
‘Holy Christ woman. I’ll not last five minutes at this rate’ he said in a voice thick with lust.
Suddenly he stepped back from her and Ailsa was afraid she had offended him in some way with her wanton behaviour. He held her trembling body at arms-length and for a moment she felt the spell between them break and she was just a whore who had disgusted her master. His dark eyes were so intense, so hard that she was momentarily frightened by him. He let go of her and pulled his shirt over the smooth bulk of his shoulders. Dropping it to the floor his gaze continued to hold hers as he undid his belt and shed his kilt. He meant to have her now.
‘Duncan, you shouldn’t.’
‘Why not? You should take a good look at your husband Ailsa.’
Ailsa had never thought of men as beautiful before but there was no denying that a naked Duncan Campbell was indeed that. Tall, broad-shouldered and long- limbed, his smoothly muscled body was lean and hard from years of fighting, riding and hunting. His arms and chest showed the price he had paid for his victories in battle. Numerous thick scars bloomed like weeds over the smooth expanse of his skin and Ailsa was once again aware of his deadly power and strength. Thick hair ran like a coarse black river over his chest, narrowing to a thin line along his hard-muscled belly towards his groin, where it provided a glorious frame for his manhood. This was large and swollen with desire and Ailsa thought it shocking and tried hard to look away from it.
‘Do I disappoint you, wife?’ he asked gruffly.
‘No…I just….’
He took her hand and laid it against his chest. She could feel the beat of his heart thud steadily against her palm. ‘Are you curious Ailsa,’ he said in his dark seductive voice. He leaned towards her and smiled. ‘Explore me if you want to.’
He was right. She was utterly fascinated by him, by his size and strength. She hesitantly traced the back of her fingers across his chest. The black hair was silky under her hand and this surprised her, she had expected it to be hard like the rest of his body. He held himself still as a statue as her hand moved lower, skimming over the peaks and troughs of muscles now tensing on his stomach as she moved to his manhood. With some trepidation she let the tips of her fingers trace down its length and press against it. What a shocking contradiction, a silky smoothness with hardness beneath. Her eyes opened in wonder and she heard Duncan gasp as she encircled it with her fingers. It was exhilarating to be like this with him, to have this power to make him react, to see the desire flare in his eyes at her touch. And she didn’t want to stop touching him.
‘Ailsa if you keep doing that there will be consequences,’ he said smiling, breaking her out of her impure thoughts. There was almost a challenge there as if he were defying her to not want him.
She snatched her hand away. To cover her embarrassment she said the first thing that came into her head.
‘So many scars.’
‘Do they disgust you?’ he said frowning, with uncertainty in his voice.
‘No, no they do not but they must give you pain, surely.’
‘Aye, they did when I earned them, a great deal of pain, but that has passed now.’
He took up her hand again and placed it on a ragged patch of shiny red skin on his shoulder. ‘Musket ball,’ he said quietly. Slowly he pulled her hand down to a raised mark on his ribs. ‘A French dagger.’ Then he took her hand to his mouth, slowly placing the tips of her fingers on his sensuous upper lip and paused, breathing hard.
‘Claymore,’ he said with quiet intensity, holding her eyes prisoner with his. She moved her fingers over his firm, full mouth and an awful madness took hold of her.
‘God will punish me for this,’ she whispered.
‘Aye, maybe’ he said softly, ‘but I won’t.’
Then his mouth came down on hers and she was lost. He picked her up in his strong arms and in one swift movement crossed to the bed and deposited her gently upon it.
‘Do not be afraid. I promise I will make you ready for me.’
With that, he was suddenly next to her, face to face, his belly pressing against hers and the weight of him pushing her into the smooth furs. Ailsa was buried under a solid wall of naked muscle. He started to kiss her again, his hand moving downwards along her stomach, the arch of her hip, along her thighs and then slowly, slowly up and up until it was between her legs. Ailsa grabbed his hand. ‘No Duncan,’ she gasped mortified by him touching her so.
He removed his hand and resumed kissing her as he gently cupped and stroked her full breasts. He seemed to take great delight in them. The pad of his thumb skimmed across one of her nipples, a feather-light touch which caused it to tighten and send shivers of pleasure down her whole body.
‘These are perfect’ he whispered as his dark head moved downwards and Ailsa felt his mouth on them, soft and warm, then an exciting roughness as his stubbled face brushed against them. He started sucking and tugging ever so gently on her nipple, his tongue softly licking and stroking it until she gasped and dug her fingernails into his arms.
Ailsa felt each touch of his mouth as if it were directly between her legs, the heat growing in her face and a warm sensation all over as if her whole body was blushing. It went on a long time with his hands holding her firmly in place and she could feel his manhood hard against her belly. His hand moved down between her legs again and this time he would brook no resistance ignoring her attempts to remove him. ‘You must not…,’she began.
‘Yes I must,’ he insisted. ‘I am a big man Ailsa and you must be ready for me. Trust me, Ailsa, just trust me.’ His voice was so calm and sure that she relented and let herself be carried away by his touch. Ailsa felt his warm fingers open her like a flower and begin to circle softly against her,
drawing delicious tantalising sensations that built to something much deeper - a ripeness, a wetness, a warm swelling feeling of lust.
She looked up at the carved ceiling of her chamber trying to take her mind away from the shocking thing that he was doing but the sensation was overwhelming her. With his fingers still moving against her, he rolled on top of her and resumed his kisses. He went on a long time with this, wordlessly, keeping his weight off of her but breathing heavily and kissing her harder and more urgently. Slowly he slid his fingers into her in the most shocking way and the throbbing need became undeniable, building and building inside of her. His thumb was stroking her softly and she moaned with the ecstasy of it and pushed herself against his hand greedily. ‘Oh please, please,’ she gasped, grabbing at him.
‘Let go Ailsa, just let go,’ he whispered breathlessly. She felt desire burning her up inside and she didn’t care anymore if she acted like his whore. There was a hunger and recklessness growing in her that she was yet to understand and suddenly it burst over her leaving her breathless.
‘Oh Duncan,’ she breathed. He held her tight for a moment until she lay calm in his arms.
‘I told you I could make you happy,’ he said smiling down at her. He looked very smug and handsome and there was a fierce desire in his eyes. ‘I mean to make you mine now Ailsa and I may have to hurt you a little. I am sorry for it, truly I am.’
He spread her legs apart and cupping her bottom with a firm hand he said, ‘I will be gentle and go slowly and if it hurts hold on to me,’ he said breathlessly. ‘I cannot delay or I will burst with the need of you.’
Duncan pushed himself into her steadily, tenderly. Ailsa felt a stinging pain as his hard body invaded hers causing her to cry out and dig her fingers into his back. Ailsa could scarce believe what he was doing. She was shocked at such intimate contact and the pain it caused. Why did he have to spoil the delicious feeling and replace it with this? His head was buried in the nape of her neck, his black hair falling against her face and his breath was coming hard and fast, his intense arousal obvious.