Page 72 of Tempted By a Highland Beast
Constantine eased a second finger into her, feeling how tight and hot she was. Desire clawed at him, urging him to take her, but he forced himself to move slowly. This was her first time, and he would see to it that the memory was not one of pain but of pleasure. He wanted her to know her body could be cherished and worshipped.
By the time he had gotten the third finger in, Rowena had gotten impatient, as she detonated around his fingers and screamed. A gush of hot liquid flowed around Constantine’s hands, and he watched in fascination as she came for him. He kept pumping inside her languidly, until she pushed him away and said with conviction: “Constantine, I want ye inside me. Please.”
“As the lady wishes.”
With a grin, he rose up bent over her body as it was splayed on the table and kissed her. He tweaked her nipple with a hand and wrapped a hand around his shaft with the other as he guided it to the entrance to her center.
“Spread yer legs fer me.” She obliged quickly, as eager for him as he was to feel her. She pulled her knees to her chest, and Constantine sucked in a breath at how lewd she looked all spread out for him.
How beautiful.
They came together slowly, carefully, Constantine watching her face for any sign of discomfort. The initial moment of joining drew a soft gasp from Rowena’s lips, and Constantine stilled immediately.
“Are ye ok? I ken it hurts initially the first time.”
“Aye,” she breathed, her hands sliding up his back to anchor herself against him. “Dinnae stop. Please.”
Constantine groaned as he finally allowed himself to sink into her, and he swallowed her tortured moan with a kiss.
He began to pump in earnest, and his manhood swelled harder at the sinful moans Rowena let out. He needed her to be there with him, so he snuck a finger between their wet, sweaty bodies and started to roll his finger on her clit. It was impossible, but Constantine could have sworn she got even tighter.
When release finally claimed them both, it was with an intensity that left them clinging to each other, hearts racing and breath mingled.
Constantine gathered Rowena against his chest, and walked them by the fireplace, pulling a blanket over them both as they lay in the firelight’s glow.
“That was…” Rowena began, then trailed off, apparently lacking words.
“Aye,” Constantine agreed, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. “It was.”
They lay in comfortable silence, watching the flames dance in the hearth. Rowena traced idle patterns on Constantine’s chest, marveling at how natural it all felt. The physical intimacy, but also the emotional openness that had come with it.
Outside the library windows, the first light of dawn was beginning to paint the sky, but neither of them was ready to return to the world beyond those walls. They stayed like that, the warmth of the flames mingling with the heat of their bodies as they finally reached for the wine they had forgotten. Each sip was traded between kisses and languid caresses, as though they could stretch the night a little longer.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The morning mist clung to the castle walls like gossamer, soft and ethereal in the pale light of dawn. Rowena moved through the stables with practice, her stride quiet and purposeful as she prepared her mare for the ride to the village.
The healer had sent word that she needed assistance with a difficult birth, and Rowena had volunteered immediately. It had been scarcely an hour since she had returned from the library to her chamber and washed the evidence of the night from her skin, yet the call for help stirred her at once. It felt good to have something tangible to do, something that connected her to the people she would soon call her own.
She ran her hands along the mare’s flank, checking the leather straps and adjusting the saddle with great care. The familiar routine soothed her, grounding her in something simple and real after the intensity of the previous days.
The sound of boots on stone made her look up, and she felt her pulse quicken as Constantine emerged from the shadows between the stalls. He moved with that fluid grace that was so distinctly his, all controlled power and quiet observation. His dark hair was still damp from washing, and he wore a simple linen shirt beneath his leather vest that was more casual than his usual formal attire, but no less commanding.
Her face flushed as the events of the previous night ran through her mind. Her body still carried the memory of Constantine’s touch, the way he’d held her as if she were something precious, something worth protecting.
She raised her head up to find Constantine grinning at her, and her face flushed even more.
“What are ye daein’ here?”
“Checkin’ the horses,” he said, though his eyes never left her face.
Rowena smiled. She continued her work on the saddle. “At dawn?”
“Aye, well.” Constantine moved closer, running his hand along the neck of a nearby stallion. “A laird must be thorough in his duties.”
The excuse was transparent, and they both knew it. There was something almost boyish about his attempt at nonchalance, aquality she’d never seen in him before. It made her heart do something complicated in her chest, a flutter of warmth that had nothing to do with desire and everything to do with the growing certainty that he had gone to her simply because he wanted to see her.
She tightened the girth strap, testing its security with a firm tug. “The healer needs help with a birthin’. I should be back before midday. A guard is waiting tae escort me by the gate.”
