Claimed by a Laird

by Glenn, Laura

  Anna let out a deep, contented breath as her attention drifted around the castle grounds, taking in the gentle rhythms of daily life. The ever-busy MacAirth courtyard stood in stark contrast to the quiet, emerald forests and mountains surrounding the keep and village in the distance. Never once had Anna considered such a simple life would bring her so much joy and satisfaction, but she was grateful every single day to whatever force had brought her to this place.

  It had taken quite a lot of convincing to get her father to take the amber pendant back. When she had first presented it to him, his face turned ashen as if he expected it to leap up of its own accord and pierce his heart. Anna still wasn’t certain he understood her arguments about why it shouldn’t be destroyed. As she attempted to explain how it needed to be passed down through the generations for Neil Campbell to present to her in eight hundred years so she would be able to come to the thirteenth century, Alec stared at her with glazed eyes as if his brain had difficulty wrapping itself around the idea she was simultaneously in front of him but still had yet to be born. It wasn’t until sighs of frustration escaped her lips he gave up and agreed to hide it until it was time for it to be passed on to the next generation.

  “I am going to kill your brother,” a dark, brooding voice stated behind her.

  She laughed and turned toward Galen as he threw shut the door to their chamber. “Which one this time?”

  He snorted in derision as he crossed the room. “Niall. I cannot find a moment’s peace around him any longer. Every time I turn around, he is under foot.”

  Galen slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against him, nuzzling her neck.

  “Niall looks up to you.” She rubbed his hands where they laid against her waist. “He and my father have a lot of rebuilding to do and you’re a great example for them.”

  Galen grunted and nipped her earlobe with his teeth. “I still cannot believe I allowed you to talk me into letting them stay here.”

  Anna rolled her eyes. “They’re not even here most of the time, except for Lenora. Once the castle has been rebuilt, then they will permanently move back home.”

  “Do you know how long it takes to build a castle?”

  She shrugged, determined to not allow the incredulity in his voice to prick her temper. “A few months?”

  His chest rumbled with a chuckle that contained both hints of genuine amusement and frustration. “God’s blood, woman! Try years.”

  “Years?” she repeated, drawing her brow together. “No, that can’t be. My father was just telling me he hoped to be done with the curtain wall by winter.”

  “But the keep will not be habitable until late spring at the earliest. I doubt he would ask his wife to brave the lack of a roof during winter.”

  Anna was happy at that moment she faced away from her husband, since she wasn’t certain he would take too kindly to the relief surely written on her face. She had fallen in complete love with her new extended family, including Lenora, and hated the idea of them leaving any time soon. She had spent so many years on her own it almost seemed as though the universe was just now making up for the loneliness. Not only had she been blessed with a wonderful husband and healthy baby daughter, but she had brothers and parents, not to mention two huge clans that claimed her as family.

  Together they stared down at the scene before them, watching little Izzy being doted upon by her grandparents and anyone else who happened to pass by.

  “She is beautiful,” Galen murmured into her ear. “Just like her mama.”

  Anna turned her head and kissed his scarred cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, her heart swelling with gratitude.

  “Now, what is it you wished to speak to me about?” he asked, his tone turning rather business-like as he stepped back from her. “Catriona mentioned you wished to discuss something with me, but I am expecting the Sinclair to arrive soon.”

  She pressed her lips together to stop the spread of the secretive grin threatening to split her face. She stepped back from the window and pulled the covering shut.

  “Well, now,” she swiveled around to face him, delight at finally being completely alone with him shivering in her belly, “seeing as how my husband is such a busy man I rarely get to see…”

  Anna leaned against the stone wall and allowed her gaze to roam appreciatively over his body, tracing the contours of his muscular thighs and broad shoulders with her eyes. She resisted the urge to pinch herself over the fact she had actually fallen in love with and married such a fine specimen of a man.

  “What are you talking about, woman?” Galen asked. “I just saw you this morning with Izzy and before that—”

  His voice faltered and his expression lightened. One corner of his mouth turned up in a boyish smirk and he removed his belt, tossing it onto the bed. His gray eyes turned feral and caressed her form as they slid over her possessively.

  “Tell me about this husband of yours,” he commanded as he approached her.

  “Well, he is a very important man,” Anna replied, licking her lips in anticipation.

  The magnetism of his virility reached into her core and her breath stuttered as he stopped within mere inches of her. Her eyes drawn to his, she leaned her head back against the wall and parted her lips.

  “What else?” he huskily asked, searing a path from the base of her neck to between her breasts with a light touch of his finger.

  “He is strong, handsome and very intelligent. And he absolutely adores me,” she teased, her skin tingling beneath her clothing.

  “I see,” he murmured, moving his eyes down to her breasts as his finger caressed her abdomen just above her pubic bone in provocative, feathery strokes. “And do you crave his touch like he craves yours?”

  Her chest heaved under his stare, her nipples hardening and rubbing against her leine. She swallowed hard and nodded, her senses reeling at his nearness. She grabbed his leine and drew him hard against her, tilting her face to slide her tongue along his jaw to his earlobe.

  Galen growled in her ear, pushing his erection into her abdomen. “And does this husband of yours know what a tempting little tart you are?”

  Anna giggled and nipped his earlobe with her teeth. “I think he likes me that way.”

  “Damn straight, he does.” He grabbed her skirts and dragged them up her thighs as he dropped his lips to her neck.

  Her eyes rolled back and her lids fluttered closed. His calloused palm slid against her bare legs and she parted her thighs for him as he licked and sucked her neck. His fingers caressed her folds, just barely skipping across her clit. A sharp, shooting shockwave of pleasure reverberated through her core, pulling a moan from her throat.

  “Say it again, lass,” Galen rasped against her neck. “I never tire of hearing it.”

  He flicked her clit, sending another excruciating wave through her and she dug her nails into his shoulders. “I love you,” she whispered, dragging her fingers through his hair and pressing her cheek to the side of his face.

  He drew his lips to her mouth. “I love you too, Annie. More than I ever thought I could,” he uttered, smothering the words on her lips as he slipped two fingers up to her clit.

  She groaned and pressed her open mouth over his as she arched against him. His tongue swooped in, claiming hers as his fingers began a maddening, circular dance over the sensitive nub. A heated rush vibrated through her as moisture slickened her folds.

  Her pulse pounded through her veins. She dragged her tongue against his, erratically tasting and retreating as flashes of heat followed one after the other between her thighs. Her legs were like rubber and she tore her lips from his, gasping for air.

  His hot breath quickened in her ear as she clung to him, rocking her hips against his hand. Two of his fingers dove inside her as his thumb flicked her clit in quick strokes. Her body bucked and jumped as bolts of pleasure radiated outward. She groaned his name, pumping herself up and down, frantically seeking the release she craved.

  Her core con
vulsed in jerky twitches, ripping the last ounce of strength from her. Her knees buckled. She slumped against him, allowing him to hold her up as a hot, frenzied surge rolled through her pussy.

  He gently licked and bit her neck before whispering, “Release me, love.”

  Anna shuddered as a new rush of passion coursed through her, strengthening her. She needed him inside of her. Now.

  Her hand dove into his breeches. Closing around the silken length of his hard shaft, she used her other hand to push down his pants. She whimpered as he withdrew his hand from between her thighs and shoved her skirts to her waist. Grabbing her by the hips, he lifted her off her feet and wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing his weight to hold her against the wall.

  Galen thrust the tip of his cock against her and paused. “Look at me,” he commanded.

  She lifted her eyes to his, reveling in the dark arousal sweeping across his face, and her core twitched in anticipation. In one almost violent thrust, he impaled her to the hilt.

  “Oh,” she breathed, her eyes widening as her pussy stretched to accommodate him.

  His upper lip turned up in a snarl as he regarded her with pure male satisfaction. As his features tensed, alerting her to the fact his arousal was getting the better of him, it was her turn feel smug. Her tongue darted out and traced his bottom lip as she pressed herself into him.

  A small smile played at her lips as she brushed them over his. “Fuck me hard,” she ordered in a breathless whisper.

  “As you wish, Lady MacAirth.”

  Galen partially withdrew and then furiously pounded into her. She cried out, her core throbbing with liquid fire as she wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck.

  Their ragged breathing filled the chamber. Anna’s heart pumped wildly but seemed still compared to the pulsating swells of pleasure between her thighs. She moaned loudly, thrashing against him as a blinding ache, satisfied only by his cock fully embedded in her, rushed through her. Tremors ripped through her core and she cried out as her pussy pulsated around his thick shaft.

  He pressed her against the wall, her hard nipples throbbing as his chest grazed them. Hammering into her with two long, hard strokes, he grunted and stilled. His cock twitched and throbbed within her, causing a delicious little spasm to ripple through her once again.

  Anna’s eyes fluttered closed as his face fell into the crook of her neck. Running her fingers through his hair, she planted slow, soft kisses along his neck as her heartbeat returned to normal.

  Galen’s breathing slowed and he reached behind himself, unhooking her ankles from his waist and languidly drawing her legs down to the ground.

  “Well now, lass,” he murmured against her cheek as he lifted his head from hers, “I do believe we should do that more often.”

  She laughed, allowing him to smooth her skirts down her legs before he readjusted his own clothing. “As you wish, husband.”

  A wisp of dark-brown hair fell in front of his face, giving him a wild air as a confident smirk played on his lips. “Ah, if only you were always so compliant, my love.”

  Her heart skipped a beat at those words. A slow, steady smile of joy spread across her face. “My love,” she whispered half in wonder as she reached up to caress his cheek with her fingertips.

  Galen captured her hand with his and pressed his warm lips against her palm. “Yes. My love,” he repeated, his voice husky with affection.

  Anna nodded, a new sense of life surging through her. Finally, shadows no longer stalked her heart. Peacefulness surrounded her as she turned her face up to his.

  “You are mine,” he whispered.

  She exhaled slowly and then welcomed his lips with her own.

  Yes, she was finally home.

  About Laura Glenn

  Laura Glenn, pseudonym for the feisty and imaginative, wine- and chocolate-loving romance author, is an unassuming archaeology student during the light of day. When she is not chasing after her two highly intelligent but equally mischievous children or discussing the social and political state of the world with her husband of eleven years, she can be found daydreaming.

  These daydreams are the fare from which she spins her tales of love and lust. The seed for such an impish hobby was planted at the tender age of fourteen after she read her first romance novel, much to her mother's horror. Soon thereafter, she began to weave simple romances, quickly jotted down in various notebooks during boring high school classes. Years of stories and fantasies later, she hopes that the pastime she has always enjoyed in secret might now bring others some happiness and a little bit of naughty fun.

  Laura welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

  Tell Us What You Think

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  Also by Laura Glenn

  Only You

  Print books by Laura Glenn

  Only You

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing

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  Claimed by a Laird

  ISBN 9781419946233

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Claimed by a Laird Copyright © 2013 Laura Glenn

  Edited by Elizabeth London

  Cover design by Dar Albert

  Cover photography by Rad100, Yuri Zhuravoy/Fotolia.com, Romancenovelcovers.com

  Electronic book publication August 2013

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