She was already wet and willing for him, and Cameron nearly spilled his seed right then and there. This was his wife, the woman he was tied to for the rest of his days.
This was the woman he loved.
He slipped a finger inside her, and she clenched around him, causing him to drop his head on hers. “Ye’re lovely...ye’re mine.”
“I’m yers,” she whispered, crying out as he flicked his thumb over the hardened nub.
Quickly, he brought her to her pleasure before settling himself between her legs. “I’m sorry, lass,” he said hoarsely as he pushed into her. “’Tis going tae hurt.”
Sweat broke out on his forehead as he pushed the rest of the way, feeling her innocence give way and accept him fully. She cried, and he stilled, his arms trembling from the exertion. He didn’t want to hurt her, but this part could not be avoided.
Finally, she opened her eyes. “Is that all?”
Cameron groaned. “Nay, lass, ’tis not all. Are ye alright?” He had never bedded a virgin before.
She wrapped her legs around his waist. “Give me all of it, Husband.”
She was slaying him with her words. Cameron gripped her hips and pushed into her, hearing her cries of pleasure as he did so. She was tight around him, and he was afraid of hurting her more, but soon she was meeting his thrusts, her hands gripping his shoulders as she pulled him closer.
Cameron felt the build of his own release, and he groaned, leaning down to capture her lips with his. He roared to his own release a moment later and rolled off Katherine, his heart hammering against his chest.
Katherine placed her hand on his sweaty chest, and they lay there while he tried to pull himself back together. He had just consummated his marriage with a woman he thought he would never be wed to.
It felt right. “Are ye alright?” he forced out as his body started to become aware of his surroundings.
“Aye, I’m fine,” she responded, her fingers drifting over his skin. “I’m fine, Cameron.”
That was all he needed to know. He reached for the covers that had been pushed to the end of the bed and pulled them up over their naked bodies before reaching for Katherine. She nestled in the crook of his arm, and he breathed in her scent, mingling with the scent of sex heavy in the air. “Sleep,” he told her, feeling the pull of sleep on his own body as well.
“Then ye will tell me?”
“Aye,” he said, her words like a dousing of cold water over his sated body. Now that he had marked her as his, he was going to have to stand by and watch her leave him for her own safety. He had no choice. He had to ensure her safety.
She was everything to him, and the sheer thought of losing her now scared him.
Cameron let out a slow breath, gazing up into the darkness. He couldn’t lose Katherine. For so long, he had nothing to worry about but himself, but now the thought of having Katherine in his life, to have her to worry about...sometimes, it was hard to draw in a breath.
She would have to understand his reasoning. She was the future of this clan, not just his wife.
It was his duty to protect her, even if it was going to rip his heart out of his chest in the process.
15
Katherine slowly opened her eyes, and for a moment, she lay there, reveling in the fact that Cameron’s body was pressed up against hers. She had no idea what time it was, nor how long they had lain there, asleep in each other’s arms, but she didn’t care.
She and Cameron were truly man and wife in every sense of the word.
Her body was sore from their encounter, but Katherine knew it was expected. Ainslee had told her about what went on in the marriage chamber, preparing her for the moment that she would be a wedded woman herself.
Neither of them could have imagined that it would be Cameron that would be lying next to her, his arm heavy around her waist. A smile crossed her face, and Katherine lightly ran her fingers over his arm, feeling every scar that dotted his skin. Her warrior husband was brave, scared for her life when he needed to be scared for his own.
It was more than she could have asked for, but now she wanted his heart. She wanted to hear him spout the words aloud.
She felt it in his touch, in each caress. Her heart longed for the moment that she could look at him and tell him how she felt.
What was she waiting on?
Katherine shifted under the covers. She could easily tell him now, clear the air between them. She knew she loved him fiercely.
“Och, ye are killing me with yer movement.”
Cameron’s voice rumbled past her ear, and Katherine shivered. “I’m trying tae get comfortable.”
His arm clenched her against him. “I’m about tae make ye uncomfortable, lass.”
“Ye wouldnae dare.”
In an instant, she was under Cameron, his bright eyes full of laughter as he pressed his large body against hers. “Wot about now?” he asked lightly. “Are ye comfortable now?”
She was acutely aware of each muscle, his need pressing into her stomach incessantly and driving her wild. “Aye,” she stated as she wound her arms around his neck, “but I know ye can improve on it, Husband.”
His eyes went wide, and she laughed, pushing his hair out of his face tenderly. “It is too soon Cameron?”
His expression changed, and he rolled off her. “Aye, lass. ’Tis too soon.”
Katherine felt the disconnect immediately and found herself disappointed. She wanted nothing more than to stay abed with her husband and learn his body while he learned hers. “Alright.”
He rose from the bed, and Katherine unabashedly watched him stoke the fire naked, her cheeks blooming with heat. Her husband had a fine figure, a strong warrior in his own right, and she wasn’t just talking about his strength.
But something was troubling him. She could see it in the way he held himself. It was something she had learned about Cameron all those years ago, how he kept his emotions close but they were easily seen to someone who was looking. She wanted him to feel comfortable enough to express them to her, to share in their fears, the loves, everything. “Wot’s wrong?”
He turned toward her, the proof of his need evident to her even though he was stating that it was too soon. “I’m sending ye tae yer cousin.”
Her smile died, and she sat up, gathering the covers about her naked form. “Wot?”
He thrust a hand through his hair, a troubled look on his face. “I cannae protect ye in yer own keep. I need for ye tae be safe and Arran can watch over ye while I figure out wot is going on here.”
He was sending her away? “I’m not going anywhere,” she stated, clamping her jaw tight to keep from crying. Why would he share her bed if he was going to send her away? Didn’t he know that she belonged here, the leader of her clan?
His brow furrowed. “Ye are. I demand it as yer husband. I cannae, Katherine, please.”
Katherine rose from the bed then, thrusting her arms in her wrapper angrily. “I knew this was going tae happen. Ye want tae protect me, but this is mah clan, Cameron. This is mah duty and if someone is trying tae kill me, so be it. I wilnae run from it.”
He crossed the room and gripped her arms in his hands, his eyes frantic. “Dinnae ye know that I cannae lose ye? Ye are in danger here! I cannae protect ye, and it’s tearing me apart on the inside that I might come across ye dead!”
“Then dinnae let it happen!” she shouted back, wrenching out of his tight grip. She understood that he was scared, but so was she. It still didn’t mean that they needed to turn tail and run away from it. They needed to meet it head-on, to show those that were trying to kill her that they had not succeeded. She had every faith in her husband that he could keep her safe even if he didn’t believe it himself.
Cameron’s jaw clenched. “I’m trying, lass. Dinnae ye understand what it would do tae me if ye were injured?”
Likely the same way she would feel about him in the same situation. Katherine reached for his cheek, cupping it with her hand. “Please dinnae send ma
h away,” she said softly. “I will do whatever ye wish, but I wilnae run. Dinnae make me, Cameron.”
He stepped out of her touch and grabbed up his clothing, his motions angry as he threw them on. “I’m only trying tae protect ye,” he bit out as he grabbed his sword. “Dinnae eat anything until I get back.”
Katherine winced as Cameron wrenched open the door and slammed it behind him, causing the bottles to rattle on the dresser. She didn’t want to make him upset, but he needed to see that he couldn’t just send her away at the first sign of trouble. She was his wife, but she was also the leader of this clan, and a leader never backed down from a fight.
After dressing, Katherine walked down the stairs to the great hall, where she found Cameron in a tense conversation with one of the warriors. “Good morning, Husband,” she said breezily as she walked past him.
“Katherine,” he stated stiffly, following her to the table, where the morning fare had been laid out. She seated herself in the laird’s chair, and he joined her, watching as she started to prepare her plate. “I thought ye would sleep in this morning?”
“Why would ye think that?” she asked, spearing a sausage with her fork. Cameron’s movements were fast as he reached for the piece and popped it in his mouth, chewing quickly. “Wot are ye doing?” she asked hotly.
He leaned forward, his hand covering hers. “As ye might have forgotten, Wife, someone tried tae kill ye with whiskey last night on our wedding night. I’m assuring that yer food is not poisoned as well.”
“By trying it yourself?” she bit back, her stomach churning. Right now, he could be digesting poison meant for her. Panic clawed at her, but she tamped it down, looking for any obvious sign of poisoning on Cameron’s handsome face. He thought he couldn’t lose her, but she would die if something happened to him. He had no notion of how much he meant to her.
He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “Better me than ye. Ye are the ruler.”
“And ye are mah husband,” she said hotly, pushing away from the table. Her appetite was now gone, her mind constantly picturing him dead.
“Katherine,” he called out after her, but Katherine did not stop until she was back in her chamber, sobs heaving from her body. She had married a man she had always wanted, one she had wished for, but now this unseen enemy was trying to tear them apart. It wasn’t fair.
Glancing over at the bloodstained sheet still on the bed, Katherine slid to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest. How she wished her cousin was here right now to give her needed advice! Cameron thought that he couldn’t protect her in any other way but to send her away, and she desperately needed to stay here, where she belonged.
All that and nothing was safe in her own keep any longer. Was she ever to have a normal life?
It was nearing nightfall before she saw her husband again. Cameron entered their chamber just as Katherine was entering the copper tub for a bath, unabashedly sliding into the scented water as he entered. She thought she heard him draw in a sharp breath as he shut the door but refused to look at him. “There’s food that has been tasted on the table,” she said, picking up the rag and soap. “Apparently, mah husband has demanded that it be tasted first.”
“Katherine, I dinnae want tae fight.”
She looked over at him, and her heart wrenched at the weariness on his face, some of her anger dissipating. He was trying so hard to keep her safe. “I dinnae want tae either.”
Cameron pushed away from the door and knelt before the tub, taking the rag from her. “I’ve never had someone in mah life,” he began as he ran the rag over her arm, leaving a trail of suds in its wake. “No one that I care about at least, save Arran.”
Her breath caught at his soft words, but more so the fact that she could feel every stroke of the rag on her sensitive skin.
“I dinnae want tae be laird,” he continued, dipping the rag over her shoulder and across the tops of her breasts. “I dinnae want tae rule anything.”
“I know. I dinnae think ye are trying tae rule.”
“I’m not,” he sighed, washing her other shoulder. “I care aboot ye. ’Tis killing me inside that someone is trying tae harm ye.”
Her heart broke then, and she gripped his arm, forcing him to meet her gaze. “I feel the same way aboot ye.”
He hung his head, and she placed her hand in his hair, smoothing it back. “Do ye not think that someone could care aboot ye as well, Husband?” That was what she was starting to realize about Cameron. He thought no one cared when he didn’t realize that he had her, Ainslee, Arran, and a whole host of warriors that looked up to him. Her brave husband was the object of much affection.
Her heart in her throat, Katherine rose from the water and stepped out, reaching for Cameron’s hand. “Come tae bed,” she told him. “Come and let me care for ye.”
His eyes were bleak as he looked at her. “Katherine...”
“I command it,” she said softly, beckoning with her hand. “As yer lady.”
His lips quirked in a small smile as he took her hand, and she led him to the bed. “First, ye have tae much clothing on,” she told him, her hands trembling as she untucked his tunic. “And ye smell like a sweating horse.”
“I’ve been training,” he said wryly as she got his tunic over his head and started to work on the laces at his breeks. He didn’t try to stop her this time, and soon he was naked before her, his cock jutting out from his body insistently. “First a bath,” she told him, pushing him toward the abandoned water. “Get in, Husband.”
“Demanding, aren’t ye?” He stated as he climbed inside. It was a mite small for the two of them, but Katherine somehow got herself in as well, water sloshing over the rim and onto the floor. “I hope ye like the smell of lilacs,” she told him as she soaped up the rag.
“I like the smell on ye,” he told her as she pressed it to his chest.
Katherine smirked. “Well, now ye will smell like me as well.”
He didn’t stop her as she soaped his broad shoulders and chest, sliding the rag down to his abdomen and beyond. He hissed in a breath as she gripped him lightly, sliding the rag down the length of him. “Lass,” he choked out.
“Shh,” she told him, emboldened by her sudden courage. She could touch him like he touched her.
Cameron gripped the sides of the tub, his knuckles white as she cleaned him thoroughly before replacing the rag with her hand, exploring her husband. “Ye’re lovely,” she breathed as he thrust his hips toward her.
“Ye’re killing me,” he groaned as she touched the tip. “Bloody hell, Katherine.”
Her own body reacted to his groan, and she wanted nothing more than to feel him inside her. “I want ye, Cameron,” she told him, climbing onto his lap. She wasn’t sure if they could do it in the tub, but she couldn’t wait.
He gripped her hips. “Wrap yer legs around me.”
She attempted to do so, but the tub was too small, and they both grinned at each other before Cameron picked her up and carried her to the bed, both still soaking wet. “Please,” she begged as he slid his hand down the length of her body. “Please, Cameron.”
He leaned down and captured her lips with his as he slipped inside her, burying himself to the hilt. Katherine arched against the delicious intrusion as he stretched and filled her, her body wanting more.
She wanted everything he could give her.
Cameron broke the kiss and gripped her hips. “Mine,” he said roughly as he slammed into her. “Ye’re mine.”
She was, but there were no words she could say, a cry slipping past her lips as her body rocked with pleasure.
She was his.
“Tell me,” he demanded as he moved his hips against hers. “Tell me what I want tae hear.”
“Cameron,” she cried out, her hands balled into the wet sheets. “Oh, Cameron!”
“Give me the words.”
She met his eyes. “I love ye.”
He stilled, and she knew that was not what he was expecting to hear. She co
uldn’t hold it back any longer. She was in love with Cameron, and he deserved to know that even a man who thought he wasn’t worthy had stolen her heart. Everything she did was because of him. He had come and brought her to Arran. Without him, she would not be in this position, in love with a man she wasn’t sure could love her back.
So she moved her body against him instead. She didn’t need the words. She needed him. He brought her to another point of pleasure before he took his own, her name on his lips as he spilled his seed inside her.
Katherine watched in rapt curiosity, knowing that at this moment, Cameron was giving himself to her.
It was a sobering reminder of how much she cared about him. He grunted as he rolled off her, and she snuggled up to his side as her heart attempted to recover.
“I won’t send ye away, lass,” he finally said as the sweat mixed with water started to dry on their bodies. “I cannae.”
“Good,” she yawned, placing her hand over his heart.
Now they had to find the one that was threatening to take away their happiness.
16
He glared at those around the table, some shrinking away at the anger on his face. They had failed yet again.
She was still alive. “I eliminated the threat,” one of them stated, his voice small in comparison to the small room they were seated in. “The servant is dead.”
“I dinnae care!” he yelled, slamming his fist on the table. “She is still alive, and now she is wed tae our enemy!” The servant meant nothing to the cause, a small sacrifice in the hopes that their plan would be carried through.
They hadn’t followed through with the plan, and she was still alive.
The others shifted in their seats, and he wanted to run his sword through them all. He had not anticipated the wedding to the Mcaiwn warrior, but the poison-laced whiskey had been a last-minute effort to rid themselves of two people that did not have the clan’s needs before their own.
Wine would have been preferable, but the servant girl he had coerced into doing so had failed to procure a bottle of wine, and whiskey had to be used. He wasn’t surprised that it had failed. Rumor was that the new husband had taken one sip and declared it poison.
Highlander’s Royal Blood: A Steamy Scottish Medieval Historical Romance Page 10