Page 56 of Claiming His Scottish Duchess
Catriona smirked. “Unladylike, I ken. I can still feel the air, crisp and clean. It was the kind that bites at yer cheeks. It was then that the storm came. The sky turned black, and the rain…”
“We were in the carriage,” she started again as she could feel him hanging on her every word, trying to make sense of her own feverish memories. “Foolishly, we thought that we could outrun it. But the water rose so fast. It clawed at the carriage, pullin’ it, twisting it, until we were adrift. It began to sink, the cold seepin’ in, the roar of the water deafenin’.”
Richard stiffened beside her, his brows furrowed now.
“Me faither… he was always so strong, so capable,” she continued, “He didnae panic. He found a rope, somehow, in the chaos. He tied it around me waist, his hands sure and steady as the water swirled. He told me to hold on and nae let go…”
It had been so long since she was able to speak to anyone, really speak, about her father.
“The current swelled, and I kent… I kent there was nae hope now. Me faither told me to always take care of me family. And then… I tried to reach for him, as hard as I could, but… but… He was gone. I saw him swallowed by the churnin’ water. I watched, tethered by that rope, helpless as the river carried him away in that damned flood.”
“I didn’t know. I am sorry,” he said, with sincerity.
She could only nod as she wiped the tears away from her face.
They sat together, watching the fire. She savored the warmth of his closeness and the hearth, willing the fiery warmth to penetrate her sadness. He brushed a hanging curl from in front of her face, the touch magnetic as their souls felt joined together.
Richard turned to face her, their eyes meeting.
“I hate seeing you cry,” he murmured, his thumb wiping away one final tear, and before he knew it, he placed his lips on her cheek, kissing the tear away.
As he pulled away, just barely, Catriona exhaled and put her hands on his neck.
“Dinnae,” she whispered.
“What?” he breathed.
“Dinnae pull away.”
Without any more hesitation, he placed his lips reverently on hers and kissed her deeply.
She felt like a meteor shower could come down and end her at any moment, and she would die a happy woman. She had finally been able to confide in Richard and feel what must be true love’s kiss.
It was beyond her hopes. It was overwhelming. It was everything.
Their kiss grew deeper and more frantic, possessed by a frenetic energy. He scooped her up effortlessly and started to carry her to the meager bed in the corner. She laughed and he just kissed her again and again, on the neck and cheeks, until she was placed on the bed and lying as peacefully and still as could be.
“This is how I’d imagined it, but I do not think I can wait a minute longer,” he said with a sly smile.
“Dinnae stop,” she said huskily, daring to lift the wet clothing over her head and off her body. “I want ye, Richard.”
He knelt on the bed confidently, giving her the opportunity to take him in. She noted the cut lines of his bulging muscles, speckles of chest hair that gave him a masculine edge, and the other hair that trailed downward.
“I will be gentle with you,” he said with a forced breath.
“Stop talkin’,” she said with a fervent plea in her chestnut eyes.
He crawled to her and placed his body on top of hers, not putting the full weight of him on her, but also showing her just how powerful he could be.
He supported himself with his left side and took his right hand to her side, trailing it up and down her body as she trembled. Not from cold, but from heat. The sensation of his skin on hers, moving in such a deliberate manner, was intoxicating.
They began to kiss again, the warmth of their mouths tangling in a messy, hot kiss. She put her hands in his wet curls, pulling him closer and closer.
It was then he took his hand, all sense of gentleness replaced by pure passion, and started playing with the folds between herlegs. Her mind drifted back to their wedding night, but she was hungry and needed more.
He thrust himself into her, gently at first as he allowed her to adjust to his size.
The pain she felt quickly subsided as she was flooded with the most euphoric sensations throughout her whole body.
