Page 18 of Highlanders for the Holidays
She was rocked by waves of ecstasy as the most divine sensation encompassed her. It seemed she sailed along on a deep ocean of pleasure.
But it lasted for only a moment.
And then he plunged into her.
She cried out, feeling the sudden searing heat of his trespass like a knife.
* * *
No?l bitout a curse and froze. What the devil?
He’d been so sure his new bride was not a virgin.
Ah, god, he’d made a terrible mistake. An unforgivable one.
“Ohnon, non,” he lamented. “I’m so sorry,cherie.”
Her knuckles were white. Her eyes were tightly shut. And her lips were compressed into a tense line.
He ached with remorse. He’d give anything to undo what he’d done.
But he couldn’t.
All he could do was to withdraw and leave her alone, as he should have done all along…as he’d promised her he would.
Yet if he withdrew, it would only make things more difficult. The next time, she would be even more reluctant, and with good cause.
That was no way to start a marriage.
Nae, if he wanted to repair the damage he’d done, he had to help her through the pain and bring her back to pleasure. So he remained within her.
“I’ll make it better,” he promised, smoothing the hair back from her troubled brow. “I didn’t mean to hurt ye, lass. Truly I didn’t.”
He tugged her sleeves off, freeing her arms. Her hands relaxed. But she still wouldn’t look at him. And it broke his heart. He had to fan the flames of her desire quickly before his own subsided.
“Ye aren’t afraid, are ye?” he asked. “Because if ye are…”
That got her attention. She opened her eyes and furrowed her brow. “Nae.”
Shewasafraid. He could see it in the way she sucked her lower lip under her teeth. But she wasn’t going to admit it. And he rather admired her for that.
“I can make the pain go away,” he said, “if ye’ll allow me.”
She looked doubtful. Then she gave him a nod.
Holding himself up on his elbows, he lowered his head to kiss her. But this time, he kissed her softly, tenderly. And when she answered too eagerly, he drew back. It was essential this time that she be completely ready.
It didn’t take long. Soon she was reaching for him. She clasped the back of his neck to hold him close. She gasped against his throat and arched up until her bosom grazed his chest.
Then, to his relief, she began grinding her hips slowly against him. He closed his eyes as a ripple of desire coursed through his loins. Even a virgin instinctively knew the dance of love.
The sweet friction was almost too much to bear. He clenched his teeth against his release as she sought her own.
When she finally stiffened, opening her mouth in joyous awe, he groaned her name and drove deep within her. Together, they shuddered out their bliss.
* * *
For a weightless moment, Ysenda felt like a hawk, soaring high in the sky. There was no more pain, only freedom. Then she dove through clouds of pure pleasure, plummeting down so swiftly that her wings shivered on the air.
