Page 41 of Married for a Highland Debt
“I would rather not,” she replied, with a smile that was almost a frown.
He laughed softly. “I would never have willingly hurt you, my darling.” His deep, rumbling voice was infinitely gentle. “I know that I hurt you on our wedding night, but I will never do it again. I promise you that. I hope that this time will make up for all the times I treated you with indifference and even contempt. Do you trust me?”
“With my life,” she whispered.
Bettina thought that she knew how Ninian’s lips and tongue tasted, but this time was different; this time was so infinitely tender that she never wanted it to end, and as his mouth caressed hers, she sighed with sheer happiness. She felt his hand on the back of her head pulling her to him, then he let go and stood up, drawing her with him. Now she was not afraid—quite the opposite. Now she wanted more. The ache between her thighs was begging to be soothed.
“I think I would like to see the man I married again before he makes love to me,” she said wickedly. “In all his glory.”
“But you have seen me before,” he laughed, kissing her softly.
“Not while I was in love with you,” she replied. “Not properly.”
Ninian said nothing, merely twitched a smile and arched an eyebrow before beginning to unbutton his shirt.
Bettina watched his slow movements, then batted his hands away impatiently. “Let me do this,” she ordered. Her heart began to beat faster as she unveiled him, piece by piece, muscle by muscle until he was standing naked before her. She sighed in satisfaction as she gazed at his perfectly sculpted male body.
It was a masterpiece, from the breadth of his shoulders and chest that tapered down to his narrow waist and long, muscular thighs. She knew from experience how strong his arms were because she had been gathered up in them and held to his hard, wide chest with its dusting of fine fair hair. Lastly, she looked at the long shaft that was pointing at her, promising pleasures that she had only guessed at so far.
“Do you like what you see, milady?” he asked mischievously.
“Yes, M’Laird,” she replied as she stepped forward and ran her hands greedily over his chest. “Very much.”
Ninian took a deep breath and succumbed to her touch, closing his eyes and savoring the sensations her fingertips were causing.
“I love you,” he whispered as he peeled off her clothing until she too was naked, and he felt himself becoming painfully aroused.
He gazed at the creamy globes of her breasts, tipped with rose-pink nipples, her tiny waist that flared into round, womanly hips, and the patch of dark hair between her thighs that hid the sweetness within. “This will truly be our wedding day,” he breathed, as he lifted her into his arms and laid her tenderly on the silk coverlet of the bed, then joined her to lie beside her and look into her eyes. “I wish I had given you what you deserved then.”
“Can you stop talking and give it to me now?” she whispered, and he laughed mischievously.
“With pleasure, milady.” He rolled her over on her back and began to plant tiny, feathery kisses from her throat to her breasts, and he took her nipple into his mouth, then suckled and licked it until it was as hard as a little pebble. He changed sides and paid homage to her other breast, then kissed his way down to her navel, where he paused to swirl his tongue tip around the little pit, making her giggle.
He looked up at her, his bright blue eyes crinkling with laughter, then he gently pushed her legs open and gazed at that part of her that no man had ever seen before.
Bettina tensed, feeling embarrassed and vulnerable. “What are you doing?” she breathed fearfully.
“I am enjoying looking at you, and I will not hurt you,” he whispered, before he dipped his head and ran his tongue along the wet and throbbing folds of her vulva. She squealed in surprise and pushed him away, confused, but when he looked up, he smiled again. “Do not be uncomfortable, my sweet. You will love this.” Then he dipped his tongue inside her, pushing it in and out until she was screaming with pleasure, not quite understanding why she felt this way.
She should have been outraged, but instead, she was holding his head tightly against her in case he moved away, and her hips bucked involuntarily. When he pulled his tongue out and squeezed two fingers inside her, sliding them in and out, Bettina almost wept.
“What are you doing to me?” she gasped.
Ninian made no answer but watched her face as he touched the hard nub of flesh at her core with his tongue, licking, biting, sucking until she was begging for mercy from the almost unbearable pleasure.
Her head thrashed on the pillow, her hands fisted in the sheets, and she let out a scream as a jolt of ecstasy—something she had never felt before—shot through her. He watched her face as he slid his fingers out of her channel and kissed her.
“This is our wedding night,” he murmured, and with one firm thrust, he slid inside her. “And you are my bride.”
Then there was no more talking, for a while the only sounds being the moans and whispers of passionate lovers, but Bettina was not quiet for long as a new feeling began to build inside her. It was beautiful, elusive, as if she were chasing something just out of her reach, but as she grew closer, it grew stronger, but finally, she reached and grasped it, and it burst over her in an overwhelming deluge of pure bliss.
Ninian felt her shudder beneath him, heard her cry of pleasure, and it set off his own climax, which was the fiercest and finest he had ever known because he knew he had given Bettina the most wonderful experience of her life.
They lay together for a long time before either of them spoke, then Bettina sighed and laughed softly. “I never knew that anything could feel like that,” she said in wonder. “I cannot believe it. Was it the same for you?”
He nodded. “In a different way,” he replied. “I am the planter of the seed, and you bear the fruit, my sweet one.” He smiled into her slate-gray eyes. “And even if we never have a child, Bettie, I will always love you. I will love you ’til the end of time and beyond.”
“I thought the whole reason you married me was to have children.” She frowned in puzzlement.
