When the music started, Jennet had known this was the right time for them to make a commitment to each other. The need she felt was so thick and heavy that she was drowning in it, and only clinging to him would save her. Even before she’d gotten to know him, there was something familiar, like fate was bringing them together to complete the other.
Giric was everything she’d ever wanted in a husband. His honor was unshakable and real, he put family above all else, and he made her laugh. Not only that, he valued her opinions and wasn’t afraid to let her make choices. The freedom and bliss she felt in his arms were what she’d searched for since losing her independence all those years ago.
Her Scottish knight was her liberator, and now he would be her husband. She wanted this bond with him, wanted it so deeply that the emotions reached into her chest, and it threatened to bust.
His lips closed on hers, honey and mead filling her senses. She was lost in this moment, this man, and what her world was going to be. She’d be going to Scotland to live with Giric, and that didn’t terrify her as it would have only last week. It liberated her, knowing that she would be there with a man she could trust. They would make new memories and have their own family.
As she lay cradled in his arms, his tongue tangled with hers, she was vaguely aware of Giric moving. Anticipation surged as she held on to him. He lowered her to the bed, gently peeled his arms from her, and stood.
“Are ye sure ye are ready?” His husky Highland burr washed over her, and gooseflesh rose on her arms.
“Aye. I’ve never wanted anything more. I want this. I want us.”
She thought a rumble might have come from his throat, but her heart was beating so loudly she wasn’t certain. All she knew was that Giric was the man she’d been praying for her whole life, even before she’d known his face or his smooth voice. Her body had known as soon as they’d touched on that first night.
He licked his lips and watched her a moment. Seeming to weigh the consequences of what they were about to do. He reached for the bottom of his tunic and pulled it over his head. His bare chest boasted muscles that rippled with each movement. It was why she’d felt so secure in his arms.
As he tugged at his breeches, she shimmied the tunic she wore up around her hips, then sat up and drew it off. She experienced a shock of fear, thinking she might not be all he wanted, but one glance at his reaction told her she was wrong. She eased onto her back as his gaze fixed on her as if she were a glass of wine after going days without a drink.
He climbed onto the bed next to her, and his weight had her body shifting into his. The awareness of his flesh next to hers heated her as new sensations flooded her senses. She breathed him in. Need enveloped her.
His fingers caressed her cheek, and he spoke. “I promise to put you above all else. You will be my family now, and I will care for you with everything I have in me.”
“And I will do the same.”
His hand trailed to her neck as his mouth once again melded with hers. His fingers traveled farther down and gently took hold of her breast. Need exploded in her, and she arched into his touch. This seemed to spur him on because his kiss became more fevered, and he caressed her flesh again before moving to her belly, where he traced circles on the flat surface.
She giggled into his mouth, and then his hand dipped again. His fingers reached the spot between her legs, and her laughter turned into a gasp, as they moved up and down in the slickness that had pooled there. A moan escaped as pleasure engulfed her. He continued the sweet torture until she was almost panting with something she couldn’t name, a precipice she’d never experienced, and she shifted her hips into his palm to increase the pressure.
Giric withdrew then, and she thought to protest, but he moved too swiftly. Drawing her legs apart, he rose up, then settled between them. When the warm, smooth tip of his manhood touched her core, she moaned at the sensation. He slid the length up and down her passage before stopping and looking directly into her eyes, her soul, her whole being.
Then he breached the opening and seated himself deep within her core. There was a brief moment of pain, but she didn’t care because everything else about it felt so right. He stilled and dipped so that his lips were on hers, and she kissed him with everything she had in her. Her heart was nearly bursting with love for this man.
As they kissed, his hips started to rotate slowly. He didn’t pull out as much as he rubbed back and forth, reaching the deepest part of her as his pelvis rocked back and forth on the nub at her center. Heat and desire surged in waves as she fought to catch her breath, but at the same time, she sensed her body tilting farther up toward his, asking for more.
Pulses of pleasure burst in her core, and everything else disappeared as the swells of sensation hit her again, and then again, and then she gave into them as they came faster, harder, and stronger. She was vaguely aware that mewling sounds might be escaping her throat.
As the last of the pulses hit her, Giric leaned up on his arms and gazed down at her. He pulled out, then thrust forward. He repeated the process, once, twice, three times, then he seemed to be falling into that same place where she’d just been. Out of reality, out of time, and in that space that belonged to only them.
Moments later, he shifted to the side and pulled her into the crook between his arm and shoulder. As she lay nestled there, enjoying the peace and security, she said, “I’d like to do that again soon.”
He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, then whispered, “My lovely Jennet, ye have made me the happiest man in all of the word. And once we are wed, nothing is stopping us from doing it every day, or three times a day.” He laughed.
“Will we go to Scotland straight away, or will we be able to retrieve my belongings? Oh, I need to say goodbye to my father, and I’d like for you to meet him.”
“If that is what ye wish, we will visit yer family before I take ye to yer new home.”
“Yes. It is.”
Her thoughts turned to how pleased her father would have been about this match if he’d retained his senses, but she still had to let him know that she’d found a man who put her above all else. Perhaps that would give him some solace before he left this world. Peace claimed her as she lay in Giric’s arms.
Jennet snuggled into him, and her soft weight went slack. It was a first for him, to let a woman fall asleep in his arms, and he had a feeling he’d never get enough of having her by his side.
Tilting his head toward her, he inhaled her rose and sandalwood scent. It was heady, and he reveled in the realization that she was now totally and completely his. In her arms, he felt as if he had everything that he’d been missing all these years. He relaxed, visions of their life together playing in his head as a sweet slumber fell over him.
He dreamed of the day his father died, the girl with the bow, the smoldering pile of the inn when his cousins had finally taken him in search of his father. Then the worst of the images assailed him, pulling the charred remains of two adults and a child from the destroyed building.
He woke in a sweat, his lungs burning from the memory of inhaling the noxious fumes. Jennet was still nestled next to him, and he drew her near, welcoming the comfort of her presence.
The sunlight had begun to fade. He’d forgotten his mission and spent the afternoon lost in her. Och, hell, how was he to take care of her when he couldn’t even fulfill the mission to avenge his father’s death? He had to find Edward Linton and make certain the man would be in the melee tomorrow. It was the only fair way to seek his retribution.
Reluctantly, he pulled free of his woman, the lady that would be his wife. His chest soared at the thought. Once this business was over tomorrow, they could start their life together.
But first, he had to bury the past and move on.
He dressed, then leaned over the bed to wake her with a long sweet kiss. “Jennet, I have to see ye to yer room.”
She blinked, then sat up with the covers pulled to her chest. “Are you so eager to meet my brother you must wake me?” She grinned, and it was a beautiful sight.
As she rose to dress, he couldn’t help but gaze upon her lovely form. He wished he could change his mind and ask her to lay back down and never leave his room. And tomorrow night he could, but now he had to finish his quest.
“I want to meet with him, but ’twill have to wait until after the melee. It’s late now, and I need to seek out the man who I’ll be challenging tomorrow.”
She frowned. “Are you sure this is what your father would want? Perhaps he would wish for you to look to the future.”
“I’m taking care of both at the same time. I’ll meet you in the great hall as soon as I have won tomorrow, and my demands have been agreed to. Then we can have yer brother escort us to the chapel.”
“I will let you, but only because I need to check on Ada. You have to make me two promises.” She wrapped her arms around him.
“And what are those, fair lady?”
She drew back and held up a finger. “Number one. You will return to me uninjured.”
“Aye. I’m good with a sword and think I can manage that one. What’s the other?”
She reached into a hidden pocket on her gown and pulled out a small square of cloth. “You must take this with you.”
It was a kerchief with gold and blue flowers and leaves embroidered around the edges. “Wear it boldly because ’tis the only public favor I have ever offered a knight.”
He placed his palm on his chest. “I will wear it here, next to my heart.”
“All right then, husband-to-be, you may escort me to my room, and I will find you on our bench when the melee is done.”
He left her in the hall just outside her door with a kiss. He wanted to meet her brother but couldn’t spare the time. He had to find his enemy’s son.
As he turned to go, excitement consumed him. Tomorrow, he would have the revenge he’d always wanted, and a wonderful lady for a wife. Fate had finally dealt him a winning hand.