Page 70 of Highlander's Wild Lass
And yet, he could not.
Flashes of last night came to him. She on her back, looking up at him with heavy eyes, running her hands down his back. The feel of himself inside her. How she tightened around him...
“Anthony?” Celestia called from behind his study door.
“Come in,” he called.
The door opened slowly on its hinges and in stepped Celestia through a crack, dressed only in her shift.
God...
He knew he was staring, but he couldn’t help himself. The morning light was streaming through the window and causing the outline of her body to glow from underneath.
The arousal was there, within him, outside of him.
“Mornin’,” he said lamely, glancing away to pour the wax onto an envelope. He poured it slowly, hoping that if he didn’t look, she would disappear, as would his excitement.
She clasped her hands in front of her, sounding uncertain as she spoke, “Do ye have another plaid for me to wear? I need go to my room.”
His eyes flew to her. “Yer room?”
“Aye, I need to get dressed and I am nae puttin’ my weddin’ gown on to simply walk to my room.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. Right, her clothes were still in her old room. “Of course, there should be a plaid in the top drawer of the dresser.”
“O-oh,” Celestia stammered, turning to leave.
He sighed. “Wait...”
She turned toward him again.
“Do ye feel alright? After last night...”
Celestia shrugged, a small smile alighting her features. “A bit tired, a bit sore. But alright.”
She closed the door behind her, and Anthony fell back in his chair, dragging his hands up and down his face. He knew he could love her, despite how stubborn and difficult she could be, no matter how frustrating she was to him. This marriage could be a love match after all, if he wasn’t terrified that she didn’t love him.
But he would be damned if he didn’t make good on his promise and care for her and protect her for the rest of their lives together.
* * *
Celestia had easily found a plaid, wrapped it around her, making her way to her bedroom. The family quarters were quiet, and all the bedroom doors were shut; she knew that her brothers and sister would not be awake for hours after last night.
She wasn’t even sure how she’d woken up so early. Maybe because she felt a colossal space where she expected Anthony to be. Celestia never learned what happened after the wedding night, no one ever spoke of it.
Celestia half-expected Dara to be waiting for her, but the room was empty when she pushed open the door. She quickly changed, her thoughts going back to last night. How his hands trailed up the length of her body, getting to know every inch of her. How she explored him with an urgency she’d never felt in herself before. How it had hurt for a moment but the feeling of him filling her up felt better than anything she felt in her life.
She expected to feel differently, body and soul, afterward. Last night she felt as if her heart would burst with how he made her feel, how intimate they had been. His hesitancy this morning shocked her a bit, but maybe this was just how he was after being with someone.
Even if she was his wife.
She thought it best to busy herself with a task and found herself in the kitchens. Maids were bustling about and Mrs. Duncan was at the center of it.
“Good mornin’, m’lady!” Mrs. Duncan called.
Celestia moved to her. “Oh, please, Mrs. Duncan,” she said, laying a hand on the older woman’s forearm. “Ye’ve ken me since I was a wee thing, please just call me Celestia.”
Mrs. Duncan grinned wide. “Aye, of course, Celestia,” she said, brushing her hands on her apron. “I’ve taken tea and breakfast to yer Da, and if ye want to take breakfast with him, I can fix ye a tray.”
