Stealing the Bride

by Mary Wine

  “Stop.”

  “Why?” His thumb took over where his tongue had been, pressing against her pearl and rubbing it in a slow circle. A moan crossed her lips before she realized the sound was coming. Pleasure spiked through her but it was mixed with a need so large she feared it might consume her. A soft male chuckle drew her gaze back to Hayden. She hadn’t even realized that her head had arched back.

  “That’s the pleasure that passion entices us morals with. The need that makes ye crave more, even when ye are nae sure what it is ye seek.”

  He lifted his thumb away and she whimpered. His eyes narrowed.

  “Exactly, lass. Ye don’t want me to stop. Trust me to show ye pleasure, even if the means is foreign to ye.”

  He leaned forward and licked her clitoris again. This time her hips lifted to make sure it was pressed against his touch. She needed a harder touch, something just a little bit more than she gained. Her heart was racing and she could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she became consumed by every feeling, every point of contact between them. But most of all she was focused on where he was feasting on her spread sex. His tongue lapped her from the front of her sex to the entrance of her passage. He toyed with that opening, the tip of his tongue circling it in slow motions that drew more whimpers from her. She felt too empty, the need threatening to push her over into madness. But he licked his way back up to her clitoris and sucked the little nub between his lips.

  Fire blazed through her. Pleasure and need tearing at her in equal amounts. One finger began toying with her passage and she surged against it, frantic for something she was sure she would die without.

  Hayden sent his finger deeply into her body and pleasure burst inside her belly. It was blindingly bright, like lightning splitting the sky open. Intense feeling traveled along her limbs, a pleasure so thick there was no seeing through it. There was nothing but the swirling mass of it. She strained up, trying to press herself even harder against his hand. The storm held her tight in its grasp, time frozen while it surged through her.

  “That’s the pleasure couples can have when they take the time to love instead of just use one another.”

  Hayden’s voice was sweet and soft but there was a tightly controlled edge that made her lift her eyelids and look at him. Hunger was etched into his face, a muscle twitching along the side of his jaw. When she met his gaze, his shoulders tightened, his large body jerking. He ran his hands along her spread thighs and then slowly took off each heeled shoe before rolling the stockings down her legs. But his cock was still swollen and hard and she realized that she was not completely satisfied, not yet. She wanted that flesh deep inside her.

  “Come, Hayden, show me the rest of it.”

  He rose up, looking powerful and like a legend from Druid lore. Every inch of him was hard and she reached for him, eagerly clasping his shoulders when he covered her. His wider frame completely dwarfed hers, but that too was enjoyable, her softer curves delighting in his weight. The hard touch of his staff against her soft folds drew a gasp from her, but the delicate skin was slick and wet, offering no resistance to him. Her passage didn’t receive his girth so well. Pain pinched her, stabbing into the pleasure that still pulsed through her. It became red-hot between her thighs, and her hands curled, the nails biting into the flesh of his shoulders, but he did not withdraw.

  Instead he thrust deeper, in a smooth motion that wrung a cry from her lips because her body hurt. She cried out, lacking any other outlet for the agony.

  “It gets better, lass.”

  Elspeth lifted wet eyelashes to find Hayden watching her. Satisfaction glittered in his eyes but she was more interested in the way the pain began to recede. Between her thighs, his flesh was now merely hard and filling, a source of pleasure, instead of stabbing hot with pain. He withdrew but plunged deeply back into her until his cock was fully lodged inside her. A small ripple of enjoyment went through her and she sighed with relief.

  “Aye, there’s the way, lass. Trust me a wee bit. I’ll no leave ye wanting.”

  “But you already pleasured me.” She stumbled over the last few words and Hayden snickered at her.

  “There is nothing that says ye may only be pleasured once a night, or that it must be at night, either.”

  Need began to flicker to life once more; it was deeper, and his hard flesh seemed to satisfy it in a way his mouth hadn’t. She craved friction and the motion of his flesh moving. Her hips lifted to meet his next thrust, ensuring his hard length slid deep inside her.

  “Then I will gladly take more of that delight from ye, Hayden.”

  “A gift I’ll gladly give ye, lass.”

  Her lover increased his speed as he rode her. Control vanished as pleasure attached to their joining and the pursuit of more of it became the only thought her mind could hold. There was so much feeling, so many things she enjoyed, and it all centered on the way his cock filled her, the motion of it plunging deeply into her before leaving and returning.

  The pleasure grew, filling her to the point of near madness. She wasn’t sure she would recover from it, but willingly allowed it to sweep her into another world where there was nothing but delight and her lover groaning with satisfaction. His seed was hot when it hit her womb, and even that drew another little ripple of delight from her body. Elspeth collapsed back onto the bed, panting, every muscle limp.

  Even though her partner caught his weight on his elbows, she could feel his heart beating against her chest. Her entire body was too heavy to move. Satisfaction was like the heat rising off a bed of red hot coals, just as warm as the fire had been but steady instead of flames that danced and flickered.

  Hayden moved, disturbing her bliss. He only rolled to the side and hooked his arm under her waist to pull her close. His embrace was warm enough to banish her misgivings. The night felt as if it were created just to shroud them and give them a sanctuary to make love in. For the moment it was all she needed. Her eyes fluttered shut, her body slipping into slumber.

  Hayden didn’t fall asleep so quickly. As Elspeth slept on, he trailed his fingertips along her shoulder and smiled when she nuzzled against him. Reaching up, he ran a hand along his jaw. The skin was slightly smarting from his lack of shaving but that would vanish if he kept his chin smooth.

  He heard something and turned his head. A small figure ran across the room, dressed in a white shift. It headed toward another vision, one that he blinked and still saw. The spirit picked

  up the small one and he heard his daughter laugh. She turned her head and waved her chubby little fingers at him. The spirit of his wife had her arm looped around a babe that was sucking on a fist while watching him. Hayden felt them both keenly as though all he had to do was rise and join them. But Ruth shook her head slowly and blew a kiss to him before both visions vanished. He felt them leaving more completely than the day that Ruth had died.

  Elspeth remained warm against him, her heart beating next to his, and he tightened his embrace around her before allowing himself to sleep.

  Chapter 6

  There wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t hurt. Elspeth stood in shock the next morning. She’d rolled out of bed and stood up and that was as far as she had gone before every muscle protested. From the bottom of her feet to the top of her head, everything either ached or hurt.

  “Aye, that little trip down the river is showing its damage by now.”

  Hayden groaned but rose from the bed, and Elspeth turned to stare at him in shock. The dim morning light washed over her lover and he didn’t seem intimidated by the fact that he was bare. But his face darkened when he looked at her.

  Casting her own eyes down, she gasped at the number of bruises marking her skin. There were purple ones and brown ones and a few that were both shades. She suddenly giggled and Hayden lifted one eyebrow in question. Elspeth only raised her hands and shrugged while giggling some more.

  Steps outside the hallway drew instant action from Hayden. He moved across the floor and grabbed her c
hemise, but frowned when the morning light shone through it easily. He reached down and snagged her skirts from where they still lay on the floor and dropped them over her head. The waistband caught on her shoulders allowing the fabric to drape around her like a cloak.

  “What are ye doing?”

  Hayden didn’t get the opportunity to answer. The door opened and Elspeth grabbed the edges of the skirt to keep her bare breasts from being viewed. Skene offered Hayden a tug on his knitted bonnet before clearing the doorway for the two maids who had been there last night. Another woman followed, this one older, and she carried herself in a fashion that spoke of being respected.

  “I brought the village midwife along,” said Skene. “This is Sara Parkerson.”

  The woman walked directly to the bed, leaning over it with her eyes aimed at the sheet. Elspeth felt her cheeks warming as Skene and the other maids went to peer at the bedding as well. Sara gave a short nod of her head and turned to study Elspeth. She lifted one hand and flicked her fingers at the skirts.

  “Let me see you, girl.”

  “Skene, take the sheet and go. We’ll be down as soon as the midwife is satisfied.”

  It was one of the maids who pulled the sheet free of the bed. She gave it a snap before folding it with quick efficient motions. Skene took it from her before he quit the room.

  “Go on, girl, drop that skirt. Ye have nothing that I have not seen and we needs make sure there is no whispering of ye being marked by a demon.”

  “Well, I am marked.”

  There was a soft gasp from one of the maids and a snort from Hayden.

  “She’s marked by the river that tried to kill us both yesterday.” He walked toward her and pulled the skirts away from her in spite of the way her fingers tried to grip the wool. The morning air was cool against her nude frame and Sara walked closer to peer at her.

  “Ye’re lucky all yer bones are still whole.”

  The two maids were staring at her in shocked silence, one of them covering her mouth with her hand. But the midwife slowly circled her, missing nothing with her experienced gaze.

  “Lift yer arms.”

  Elspeth did as told but chewed on her lip with frustration. She could not refuse the midwife, or rumors would begin that she had something to hide. The church took such gossip very seriously, often sending their witch hunters to investigate. All brides were inspected, most grooms too. It helped make sure the marriage contracts were solid by having someone attest to the healthiness of both. That made annulment much harder to gain now that divorce was once again becoming impossible to gain.

  The midwife reached out and cupped one of her breasts and then the other before she gave another nod of her head.

  “The lass is fine and healthy. The sheets prove her innocence and I’ll swear to that if asked.”

  Elspeth hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. Relief flooded her and she couldn’t help but look at the two maids to make sure they had heard the midwife. They both smiled and went to collect her clothing from where it was scattered about the chamber. Sara offered Hayden a quick curtsey before she left the room.

  “I’ve never seen such a shoe.”

  It was barely a whisper from one of the maids as she held up one of the heeled shoes. Her companion shook out the chemise and stared at the wispy garment in silence as well.

  “Daracha Dalry told me they were French.”

  The older of the two maids raised wide eyes toward her. “Ye’ve been up to the Dalry fortress? Well, I’ve heard a few tales of the things that go on there.”

  She pressed her lips together in a tight line and snapped her fingers at the other girl.

  “Pherson Dalry took her with intention to ransom her but she slipped away from him.”

  The older maid froze. “Well, ye be right lucky to have escaped. There are stories about that man, ones that will fill yer sleep with haunted dreams.” She picked up the green silk corset and had to swallow roughly. “I see that some of them are true.” She ran her fingers along the silk before recalling what she was doing and placing it around Elspeth.

  Elspeth fought the urge to giggle. The garments themselves were nothing more than clothing, but the way that people reacted to them was very interesting indeed.

  Especially the way Hayden had responded.

  Between the two women, Elspeth was dressed quickly. Hayden finished first though, and was just finishing tying his boots when she turned to see what he was about. She suddenly felt shy, unsure how to face the daylight now that everyone knew they had shared the bed as lovers.

  “Come, Elspeth, I’ll not rest easy again until we are on my own land.”

  “But aren’t ye taking me back to my brother?”

  He frowned at her. “Yer home is no longer there.”

  “Ye do not even plan to allow me to say farewell?” She wasn’t sure why it mattered, but it did. Tears stung her eyes before she found a way to control the emotions churning inside her. Hayden snorted.

  “That is nae fare of ye, Elspeth.”

  “What …” she sniffled, “what do ye mean?” It shamed her but she could not banish the emotional tempest.

  He shook his head and pulled her into his arms. “Crying. Ye have never shown me tears and I cannot stomach them.”

  She pushed against his embrace, wiggling free but only because he allowed her to escape. That bit of knowledge only made more tears flood her eyes. She was completely helpless now and dependent on him. She felt off balance, as though she were going to fall off a cliff any second. Everything she knew was gone, and what she felt for Hayden was so new that trusting it felt foreign.

  “I am not crying.”

  She turned her back on him and wiped her eyes. Her fingers came away wet, confirming that she was a liar.

  Hayden growled behind her. He wrapped his arms around her once again, his back solid and firm pressed against her.

  “Fine, ye are nay crying and I will take ye home to bid farewell to yer kin. But we will nae be staying long, Elspeth. Pherson is not the only man in Scotland who makes his living by stealing it from others. I need ye back at Rams Court to rest easy and secure in the thought that ye are well protected.”

  He pressed a kiss on her head before releasing her and stomping toward the door. He stopped and turned to look at her.

  “We’ll get married there, in yer family church. That will be a good use of the trip.”

  The door shut behind him and tears flowed down her cheeks. Elspeth Leask found herself sobbing like a child and the worst part of it all was that she had no idea why.

  Hayden rode next to Skene.

  “How do I talk to her?”

  Skene shrugged. “I don’t know why ye’d be asking me that.”

  Hayden snorted. His captain let out a short laugh. “Well, since ye pointed it out, I do have a way with the lasses. But I’m not a bragging man.”

  “Ye’ve been in the stocks too many times to count and all on account of the women chasing you.”

  Hayden felt his frustration growing. His captain smirked, beaming under the praise.

  “So tell me how to soothe her.”

  Skene aimed a look to where Elspeth was riding back far enough to keep her safe should anyone challenge them.

  “She looks right content, Laird.”

  “She wept this morning.” And it was eating a hole in him hours later. Hayden had spent most of the day trying to think of the reason behind the tears that had suddenly filled her eyes. “She enjoyed herself last night, so why did she cry?”

  Skene chuckled, low and deep.

  Hayden wasn’t interested in being teased over taking Elspeth to his bed. “Ye know full well what we were doing so stop yer smirking and tell me how to soothe her.”

  Skene sobered, his eyes taking on a serious cast. “Ah well, yer a good man to see that one has nothing to do with the other.” He lifted a single finger into the air. “There’s the difference between me and most of these men. The lasses, they need something
more than the tickle between the sheets. Not that I’m saying that is nae important, mind ye.”

  Hayden ground his teeth together but his captain wasn’t impressed. Skene pointed at him.

  “And there is the root of the matter that makes the lasses flock to me. Patience, Laird, ye need to do things with a gentle hand. The lasses, they tend to get a wee bit shaken if ye just drop things on them without giving them time to adjust. For all that this world tells us men that we run it, that does nae mean that the lasses like being considered property. Ye need to tell her that she rules yer heart.”

  Tell her?

  All right, he hadn’t done that, at least not in words. Hayden considered his bride and chewed on his thoughts. She’d known what his coming to Leask land was about, but now that Skene’s words were floating around in his mind, he could see how she might be fretting over what her place was in his life. The church would tell her she was his wife, his chattel, his property, but a vision of her sitting so proudly on her brother’s stallion rose up from his memory. The ideas were in conflict with the proud woman he’d first met. It was that woman who drew his attention, so it stood to reason that she would not be pleased to hear him announce his plans without asking her first.

  “Thank ye, Captain. I shall try not to be such an ass tonight.”

  Skene reached for the corner of his bonnet and gave it a tug but the man returned to smirking too.

  They didn’t reach the Leask tower until sunset. The horses had been run for two days straight, making it necessary to allow them to walk. Elspeth had never believed that a day could drag on so endlessly. Someone began ringing one of the bells that hung in one of the lookout windows. Another one answered quickly and then a third. Villagers poked their heads around open doors and through windows to see who was arriving. Excited voices began to raise above the horses’ hooves.

  Dunmore appeared on the lookout balcony. There were scores of men camping around the tower. Elspeth suddenly realized why her brother hadn’t come after her; he had been calling in all her clansmen first. She shivered, realizing how much blood might have flowed. Pherson’s castle would have been impossible for a land force to take, but she doubted that her kin would have returned home.