Mated By The Demon Collections: Paranormal Romance

by Riley Moreno

  ‘I always dreamed I would meet a man who would fall in love with me.’

  ‘And in time that could happen, lass, if you give yourselves a chance.’

  ‘So you think this is a good idea? To marry Lachlan?’

  ‘What other choice do you have? You have nothing left of your former life.’

  ‘Not all my clansmen have been killed – just my family.’

  ‘And all those who had come together that day – which includes a lot of your clansmen. But what point are you trying to make, child?’

  ‘That maybe I could marry one of my clansmen,’ Ilisa said.

  ‘You have been with us for all this time, lassie. Think. What will your clansmen say if you go back? That you have bedded the enemy and then returned. Will any of them want to wed you after that? I think not.’

  Ilisa dropped her head into her hands again. ‘Then I will wed nobody. I could work here as …as – a kitchen maid perhaps.’

  ‘Lachlan is offering you a decent life breeding his bairns and you want to work as a kitchen maid?’ Aggie said, incredulous. ‘Are you thinking at all, child?’

  ‘Why does he want to marry me?’ Ilisa asked.

  Aggie snorted. ‘Because it is the right thing to do since he has rescued you. He is a man of honor apart from having a truly soft heart.’

  When Aggie left the room Ilisa rapidly found her way to the paddock by the side of the castle. She was no stranger to horses and could ride even the most spirited stallion if she was faced with that challenge. There was a stable hand tending to the horses who looked curiously at the young girl with the raven locks. Like everyone else there, he was aware that Ilisa had been rescued from a redcoat attack and nursed back to health. Ilisa looked at the horses, assessing them, and the stable hand looked more closely at her, reading her expression.

  ‘Do you know anything about horses?’

  ‘Yes, I do indeed,’ Ilisa answered. ‘Quite a lot in fact. I’ve broken in a few as well. And I love to ride.’ She gave the boy an engaging smile. ‘You wouldn’t let me take a short ride on one of these beauties, would you?’

  The boy looked uncertain. ‘Would the laird mind? Would you be able to ride after the injury you recently suffered?’

  Ilisa gave him another charming smile. ‘I’m sure the laird wouldn’t mind. He and Aggie told me to find something to amuse myself with, and I really want to see if I can actually ride again.’ She came closer to the boy and ran her fingers down the flank of the horse closest to her.

  The boy began to saddle the horse as Ilisa continued to stroke its flank. ‘Alright then mistress, you can take the horse out, but don’t go too far, or the laird would not be pleased.’

  Ilisa needed help mounting the horse, still wincing from the shaft of pain that sliced through the healing wound on her shoulder whenever she exerted it in any way. But once she was on, she took the reins and cantered away. The stable hand watched her anxiously as she disappeared over the rim of the paddock and hoped that she would reappear quickly. Ilisa, however, had but one thought in mind – to revisit her home and see for herself the extent of damage that the redcoats had caused. The breeze in her hair gave her a sense of freedom as she rode along and she turned her face up to the sky, glad to be out on a horse again. She had no clear route to follow and cast her eyes about for some familiar landmark, seeing nothing to guide her to her desired destination. The sound of hooves behind her alerted Ilisa and she whipped about to see Lachlan, wild red curls whipped by the wind, and an angry gleam in his eyes.

  ‘And where do you think you are going?’ He asked, bringing his horse up alongside the chestnut mare that Ilisa was riding.

  ‘Nowhere in particular,’ Ilisa answered quickly. ‘I was just putting my dormant riding skills to the test.’

  ‘And you had no intention of running away from Campbell Castle in order to avoid entering into wedlock with me?’

  Ilisa feigned indignation. ‘How could you even think I would so such a thing?’ she said, and Lachlan gave her a piercing look. ‘You weren’t planning to return to your home to see if what I had told you was indeed true?’

  ‘Well,’ Ilisa said, ‘I would certainly wish to go there sometime to see for myself that none of my family remain.’

  Lachlan gave her another piercing look. ‘Well then, you shall – but tomorrow, when we can get an earlier start.’

  He was true to his word – taking Ilisa back to the ruins of her once beautiful home. Whatever hadn’t been burned down by the redcoats had been pillaged and plundered. Ilisa searched the ruins for the bodies of her family but she found no traces of them.

  ‘We need to leave now!’ Lachlan said, his voice rising on a note of urgency, and Ilisa turned around to see him draw his sword as a group of horsemen approached them.

  ‘Brice! Graeme! Magnus!’ Ilisa exclaimed joyfully, recognizing her clansmen, but their faces were grim and their hands went to their swords.

  ‘Are you looking for the bodies of your mother and father, your brother and sister?’

  ‘Aye!’ Ilisa replied, nodding her head eagerly, hoping they would tell her that all of her family had miraculously escaped the carnage.

  ‘While you ran away with the enemy, we gave them a decent burial,’ Graeme said.

  ‘And a good thing too, since you obviously didn’t care enough to come back and bury them yourself,’ Brice sneered.

  ‘She was badly injured and could not leave her bed until now,’ Lachlan said.

  ‘Do not speak out of turn, you Campbell cur! You have taken a good MacDougall lass and turned her into a whore!’ Magnus spat, and Lachlan raised his sword to strike him.

  ‘Who do you think you are, Campbell? The fair Ilisa’s protector?’ Brice snarled, charging at Lachlan. The two men locked swords and the others joined the frey, while Ilisa made a feeble attempt to stop them from fighting.

  ‘Stay back!’ Lachlan commanded her, and she reluctantly obeyed, admiring his prowess with a sword and the way he subdued all three men single handedly. After they had turned tail and fled, Lachlan swept a hand across his brow. ‘And that is why I suggested that we wed.’

  ‘Because I need protection?’ Ilisa asked.

  ‘No, because otherwise you will be called vile names by your clansmen and others,’ Lachlan replied, turning his horse about.

  Ilisa said nothing, feeling more powerless with every mile that they put between her and her past. Before they reached Campbell Castle, however, she turned to Lachlan. ‘Alright then, I will do as you suggest. I will marry you.’

  ‘You are doing the right thing,’ Lachlan said.

  CHAPTER III

  ‘But I don’t have anything to wear,’ Ilisa told Aggie.

  ‘Easily sorted, child,’ Aggie reassured her, taking her to a seamstress who measured her for a dress of white lace with panels of Campbell tartan.

  ‘How shall I pay for something so grand?’ Ilisa asked, concerned.

  ‘The laird has taken care of everything,’ Aggie replied. ‘He has paid for you to have not just your wedding dress, but other things as well – day clothes and night clothes, shoes and such.’ Aggie was excited at the prospect of a wedding, bustling about attending not only to Ilisa’s wardrobe but the other preparations as well.

  The ceremony was simple and quick, but to Ilisa it seemed to last forever. She was afraid to look at Lachlan as they took their vows, and her apprehension over the approaching wedding night made her more reticent than usual. Lachlan, usually quite composed and in control of his emotions, found it hard to look at Ilisa without feeling breathless with anticipation. She looked sad but beautiful in her wedding dress, her slight figure accentuated by the cut of the bodice which pushed her breasts up like two luscious half moons, so that Lachlan’s eyes were sometimes riveted to the hollow between the two ivory orbs and sometimes mesmerized by how rapidly they rose and fell. When they exchanged rings he took her hand in his, noticing for the first time her delicate fingers and the soft skin of her palm as it rested in
his. Ilisa felt her heart beat more rapidly as she took Lachlan’s hand in hers and slipped the ring onto his finger. His hands were large and strong; the skin attractively rough. She noticed the way the muscles ran up his arms, but dared not look at his kilted body; only barely aware of the soft fabric of his shirt and the blue Campbell tartan of his kilt. His red hair fell down to his shoulders while her dark hair was swept up to reveal her shapely shoulders and elegant neck. When they had pledged their troth to each other and were invited to share their first kiss, Ilisa began to tremble, and was moved almost to tears when Lachlan took both her hands in his to reassure her, before he leaned in to brush her lips with his. A tiny ripple shimmered up her spine as the kiss deepened briefly, and when Lachlan raised his head he looked into her eyes, sending an unfamiliar wave of anticipation through her body. When they left the Church hand in hand, they didn’t look at each other, and even at the wedding feast, Ilisa dared not allow her eyes to dwell on Lachlan, nor did he allow his gaze to fall on her.

  Ilisa fixed her attention on the pipers, the dancers and the banquet tables, but though she was aware of how lavish the meal was, she was in no position to remember any of it and sampled nothing at all.

  ‘You look tired,’ Lachlan said, coming over to her and taking her hand, ‘Let’s go up to our room.’

  ‘Must we do this?’ Ilisa asked fearfully.

  ‘We must…but have no fear. I am not a monster, just a man who is now your husband and must perform his duty.’

  Ilisa allowed herself to be led up to their candlelit bedroom, once again forcing her attention to fall on anything but what she feared. She noted the lace edged sheets and the warm knitted covering on the bed; the glasses and decanter on an ornately carved table and the murals on the walls that seemed to dance in the candlelight. They stood facing each other.

  ‘Have you had many women before?’ Ilisa asked, regretting the question the moment she had asked it. Lachlan nodded. ‘Not many. And certainly none like you.’

  ‘And what is that supposed to mean?’

  ‘I have never had a woman so mortally afraid of me – that she trembled at the merest touch of my hand. Even as I speak you are probably praying that I leave you untouched tonight…but then, I need to consummate this marriage.’

  ‘Yes…I understand,’ Ilisa answered quietly.

  ‘I can of course tell everyone that the deed has been done and then leave you to sleep without fear of me imposing myself on you.’

  ‘You would do that?’ Ilisa asked eagerly.

  ‘If you want me to.’

  ‘But then, I will not be doing my duty as your wife,’ Ilisa answered.

  ‘I would rather that duty were done willingly, than under duress.’

  Lachlan lay down. ‘Unpin your hair,’ he instructed and watched as her hair broke free of the pins that held it, and fell in dark waves to her milk white shoulders, and cascaded down to her waist. ‘Now come and lie down beside me,’ Lachlan said, and Ilisa complied, stiffly arranging her dress about her. ‘Close your eyes and sleep,’ Lachlan said, but Ilisa couldn’t do as he asked.

  ‘No,’ she said, ‘you are my husband now. Please…do what you must.’ Lachlan raised himself up on one elbow and looked down at her, touching her cheek with one gentle, hesitant finger. He bent over and kissed her lips, nudging them apart to reach inside her mouth with his tongue. Ilisa was startled by the heat that the kiss evoked – the passion that awakened within her body as Lachlan’s kiss deepened…and surprised by her instinctive response. Lachlan moved his lips to the side of her neck and down to her throat, even as he began to fondle her breasts through her dress. His breathing became more labored and Ilisa was breathless herself as Lachlan began to nudge the dress off her shoulders. Suddenly bashful again, she rose from the bed, her eyes on her feet as she unfastened the dress and stepped out of it, clad only in a thin chemise. Lachlan swung his legs off the bed and shrugged off his waistcoat and shirt. Ilisa kept her eyes fixed on her toes as she heard the sound of Lachlan’s kilt dropping to the floor. She sensed him move around the bed to stand behind her, acutely aware that he was naked, but not daring to look at him. He eased the chemise off her shoulders and it slid down Ilisa’s body and onto the floor as he cupped her breasts and kissed her neck, drawing her closer to him so that she could feel his hardness against her back. He turned her around slowly, his eyes caressing her nakedness; roving slowly over her rounded, pert breasts, down to her tiny waist and the flare of her hips and lower, to where her womanhood throbbed with a raging heat and moistness she had never known before. Lachlan kissed her deeper still, while his hands worshipped the softness of her skin. He threw her down on the bed and began to enter her when she saw his turgid member and cried out.

  ‘Hush my dear,’ Lachlan whispered, ‘It will only hurt the first time…and after that all will be well. Come, open yourself to your husband.’

  Ilisa hesitantly drew her thighs up and apart, cradling Lachlan’s pelvis as he placed his manhood near her mound, preparing for the first thrust. She wondered how she would accommodate all of him, concentrating on that thought to take her mind off the sharp stab of pain she felt as Lachlan entered her. She had seen horses mate…and dogs…and cats…but nothing had prepared her for such a violent coupling. Her body was flung this way and that as Lachlan heaved and pounded, bucked and thrust and Ilisa, at first dismayed by the aggression of it all, suddenly found herself caught up in the pleasure of the act, and followed her instincts – first opening herself and then resisting entry; arching her pelvis to meet each onslaught of his manhood, until Lachlan’s body convulsed and shuddered as he exploded inside of her and she felt the searing liquid fill her with a fire she hadn’t known possible; a fire that lifted her up, spun her around and then tossed her down from a height so dizzying that she gasped and cried out and moaned as if in pain. Then her own body convulsed and her core seemed to contract and then expand and then contract again, and then gather up into a very tight knot that made her cry out and sink her fingernails into Lachlan’s back as her senses exploded into a million points of pulsating heat.

  Lachlan rolled off her and lay back panting and Ilisa crossed her arms about her body feeling suddenly embarrassed. Lachlan turned towards her and uncrossed her arms, cupping one breast and squeezing it gently as he lowered his mouth to one stiff tip and began to suck it. Ilisa felt his tongue on her nipple and looked down at him as his head moved back and forth. Instinctively she offered him her other breast and then rolled over on top of him so that she could drop her breasts in turn into his mouth while he sucked hungrily at her taut nipples, feasting on first one and then the other. As she straddled him he drew her slight body up to his chest and nudged her forward, cradling her shapely bottom and squeezing the cheeks as his tongue found the soft petals of her womanhood and teased them apart. Lachlan groaned as the tip of his tongue found the tip of the sweet bud between the petals and he licked it to a fiery hardness. Ilisa felt a raw passion seize her body and began to move her pelvis back and forth as Lachlan drew her up and over his mouth and then rolled her over to fill her with his manhood again. This time when he thrust into her there was only a slight stab of pain – but Ilisa was barely aware of it above the sheer ecstasy of his entry and when Lachlan rode her, she lifted her hips to meet every thrust, until their bodies convulsed in unison, shuddering and trembling with the impact of their shared passion.

  CHAPTER IV

  By Campbell Castle there is a spinney that overlooks a patch of marsh violets and hydrangeas that cluster together as if for protection. Though she had little time to spend there, it became one of Ilisa’s favored spots and she would escape there whenever she wanted to think. She had still not come to terms with the loss of her family or the speed with which her nuptials had taken place.

  ‘And how goes it with the laird?’ Aggie asked, coming upon Ilisa lying on the grass, her hair flowing about her like a wood nymph. Ilisa gave Aggie a bashful look and Aggie laughed. ‘I can see it is going very well,’ Agg
ie chuckled.

  ‘What does very well really mean Aggie?’ Ilisa said.

  ‘You tell me, lassie. I can see that the marriage has been consummated to the laird’s satisfaction.’

  ‘And how can you tell?’

  ‘Because the laird has nothing but a big smile on his face when he wakes each morning and I hear him whistling when he goes about the castle. I also see the way he looks at you… and indeed the way you look at him.’

  ‘Does that mean we are in love?’ Ilisa asked. She wrinkled her nose. ‘You know Aggie, I don’t really know what love is.’

  ‘Has the laird said he loves you?’ Aggie asked.

  ‘No. But he is very gentle with me.’

  ‘Not too gentle I hope,’ Aggie remarked with a mischievous grin.

  Ilisa recalled their most recent night of lovemaking and smiled to herself. Lachlan was an ardent lover – passionate and adventurous. He took his time over enjoying her and encouraged her to explore his body. Ilisa was surprised at all that her instincts had guided her to do. She was glad when Aggie ambled off, leaving her to daydream about her husband. She turned pink when she remembered what she had done most recently, and the way Lachlan had looked at her – a wild fire illuminating his eyes. She remembered how he had tasted, how he filled her mouth; and how she looked up at him as she worked his manhood to an earth shattering climax and seen his eyes overflow with an emotion that she could only interpret as love. As she daydreamed, Ilisa heard footsteps and saw the object of her reverie standing before her. His hair looked like it was on fire in the sunlight and in his eyes was a familiar gleam. Ilisa said nothing as Lachlan dropped down beside her and began to kiss her. She unlaced the front of her dress to give him access to her breasts. They were bigger, fuller than when he had first feasted on them, and he took them hungrily, filling his hands with them. He squeezed and kneaded them, running his fingers over the taut nipples and sucking them to an aching hardness as Ilisa moaned and arched her body against his. His hand was under her dress as he kissed her, and his fingers sought the slippery softness between her thighs. He continued to suck her nipples as he nudged her legs apart and embarked on a deeper exploration; then he raised his kilt and guided her head down to his shaft. She caressed his manhood with mounting ardor, and her lips pressed down on his engorged veins as her tongue probed the tip of his member. She drew him in deeper, so that the engorged tip was against the back of her mouth and Lachlan moaned and thrust against her mouth, but before he peaked he pulled out from her mouth and tore into her core; agonisedly grinding his pelvis into hers. She arched her back, cupping her breasts and offering them to him while he rode her, until passion spilled, he lay on top of her, replete.