Page 32 of The Shadow of a Laird
“Please tell me to stop if I hurt you again,” he murmured. “The last thing I want to do is cause you pain.”
Maura said nothing, but nodded, then Gavin began to thrust, slowly at first, holding himself back as he desperately tried not to reach his climax before he had satisfied her.
He had never experienced anything so wonderful as the feeling of being inside her, driving her towards something that he knew would be glorious. Gavin had abandoned his restraint, unable to hold himself back any longer as he felt the walls of Maura’s sex clenching around him, driving him further and further towards his climax.
Now that the pain was gone, Maura savoured the building of her orgasm as waves and waves of pleasure gathered, waiting to break into a storm. She felt Gavin beginning to tense inside her, heard his laboured breathing and his deep grunts of pleasure.
She was climbing a mountain, and for a moment she almost despaired as its peak seemed unreachable, then she thrust her hips upward one last time and climaxed in an almighty explosion of ecstasy. Stars spangled inside her eyelids, and her whole body seemed to be out of her control as waves of pleasure shuddered through her.
Gavin watched her face as an expression of delight and incredulity crossed it. Seeing her reaction gave him a feeling of such joy that he let himself come, shouting her name while he experienced his fiercest climax ever.
They lay joined together for a while, not speaking, enjoying the afterglow while a blanket of peace and love settled over them.
After a while, Gavin rolled onto his side and pulled out of her, and she gave a little moan of protest. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. “I am sorry, Maura,” he said, “I hope it was all right for you.”
“Ye look so worried,” she observed, then laughed. “It was heavenly, Gavin. I never dreamed anythin’ could be like that.”
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips softly. “For me too, lovie,” he whispered. He kissed her again because he simply could not help himself. He felt utterly sated, filled with a warmth and joy he had never experienced before.
Maura’s eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, but she could hardly bear to close her eyes and blot out the face of the man she loved. Eventually, she had to, but he lived in her dreams until morning.
When Maura woke, she was looking into Gavin’s sage green eyes, and he was stroking her cheek tenderly. He smiled at herand brushed a lock of hair away from her face, then kissed her softly.
“Good morning,” he murmured. “Did you sleep well?”
“Aye, very well,” she replied, smiling as she stroked his bristly face. “I never thought sleepin’ wi’ a man could be sae nice an’ cosy.” Even as she said the words, she felt herself reacting to his nearness, and hoped they could just stay there and make love again.
It was not to be, however.
Gavin smiled at her tenderly, then his expression became sad, and he sighed. “We have to go,” he said softly. “There is no time to waste. I wish we could stay longer, Maura, but we cannot. It’s too dangerous.”
Maura nodded, then climbed out of bed, turning her back and pulling a blanket around her so that her body was invisible to him, as his was to her, to avoid temptation. She wished with all her heart that they could be together again, but she knew that it would result in a long period of lingering in bed, talking and laughing with each other. Gavin simply did not have the time for that; now, duty had to come before love, and although it was breaking her heart, Maura had to let him go.
They packed in silence, then stood irresolutely by the door for a moment, neither wanting to be the first to speak. At last, Gavin said, “Let’s be on our way.”
He turned away from her and opened the door, and she followed him quietly downstairs, then after a quick breakfast, they left the tavern without looking back.
It was only a short distance to the road leading to the castle, perhaps a quarter of a mile, and their parting would come all too soon. Gavin took Maura’s hand. The skin was rough from hard work, but he loved the feel of it. It reminded him of how genuine she was, how unlike the pretentious people he had met in what he now thought of as his former life.
They walked very slowly, neither wanting their time together to end. At some point, tears began to leak from Maura’s eyes; the thought of leaving Gavin was almost unbearably painful. She could not even stand to look him in the eye because of what she might see there. What if it was the same agony that was in her own?
“Thank you for saving me,” Gavin said tenderly as he looked at her. “I have never experienced such kindness before, Maura. I would not have lasted the night without your help.”
She smiled sadly at the memory. “I remember the first time I saw ye,” Maura said, sniffing and wiping her eyes. “I have never felt sae sorry for anybody in my life. Ye looked like a poor whipped dog, an’ I couldnae have lived wi’ myself if I had left ye there, but helpin’ ye was the best thing I ever did.”
“Why?” Gavin asked, smiling a little. “Because you got a big, strong man who threw out all the drunks?”
Maura laughed. “That as well,” she answered. “No, no’ just that. I found a person that was no’ like a’ the other people o’ his class, the ones that lord it over us an’ couldnae care less if we live or die. You are happy tae be one o’ us, Gavin. When I saw the way ye were wi’ the orphans, I felt like weepin’ wi’ joy. Those bairns mean so much tae me, an’ tae see that somebody else cares about them, it makes me so happy. Ye are truly a good man, Gavin, but ye never gie yourself the credit ye deserve.”
“Thank you, Maura,” he said warmly, “but being in Carmalcolm and being among the orphans made me realise just how far I had become from being a decent human being. If I sort everything out, the first thing I will do is build them a proper home, and hopefully find loving parents for them.”
“An’ ye will marry Lady Elspeth an’ have bairns o’ your own.” Maura’s voice was husky with unshed tears.
Gavin sighed. “Elspeth is a pleasant enough person, Maura,” he said, “but I am marrying her out of duty, and it is also my duty to sire children. It’s out of my hands.”
“I know,” Maura nodded slowly.
“But maybe you will marry and have children of your own,” Gavin said, trying to sound more cheerful.
