Page 76 of Lost with a Scot
“I’m not staying here in Ruritania, Aiden. I want to go home, toourhome. I miss Lydia, Joanna, and Rosalind. I miss the hedgehogs, pine martens, and owls. I miss Bob and Thundir. I miss little Cameron, and I missour lifethere most of all.”
For a moment he found it hard to speak. “You dinna want to stay here and help yer brother rebuild yer country?”
She shook her head. “Alexei and I will always be connected, but my destiny and his have diverged. I belong in a place where I’m free to be myself. Free to share the rest of my life with you. Besides, I think it would be good for England to have me as an official envoy for Ruritania, when needed. King George does like me, after all.” She winked at him mischievously.
“Aye, that he does, lassie, that he does.” Aiden was quick to agree. Anna would never be short of admirers in England and Scotland if she decided to use her political influence there.
“Does that reassure you, husband?” she asked him in a soft, husky voice that made his breath catch in his throat.
“It does... but a kiss wouldna hurt to add to that reassurance.” His own voice was low and gruff.
She leaned in and kissed him, and Aiden forgot to breathe. He hadn’t known kisses could show a man his future, but Anna’s kiss did. He could see them returning home to Castle Kincade, welcoming their first child, and then several more. He saw them in their twilight years as they sat by the fairy pools and watched the clouds drift over their heads. He saw the exquisitely beautiful life Anna’s kiss promised. A life he never thought he would have.
He cupped Anna’s face, kissing her harder, hungrier, and soon she crawled onto his lap, wrapping the plaid around them to keep them warm as the sun fell past the horizon. After a long while, he dropped the plaid and scooped his wife up in his arms and carried her to bed. He set her down on the edge of the feather tick bed and cupped her face again, kissing her harder this time. Then he let go and stepped back, simply admiring the princess sitting before him.His princess.
“Are you going to ravish me, oh devilish Highlander?” she teased with a silky laugh. “Or stand there staring at me?”
“Ye want to be ravished, lassie?” he growled playfully.
“By you? Always...” She reached up and removed the golden circlet upon her brow and gently set it on the table beside the bed. Then she began removing the pins from her hair until it tumbled down her shoulders in wild russet waves. It reminded him of the first time he’d met her, when she’d washed up on the shores of Scotland like a selkie princess.
He took over then, by kneeling at her feet and removing the fine jeweled slippers she wore. She lifted her skirts up to her knees so he could roll her stockings down. He kissed every inch of her, taking his time in a way he hadn’t had a chance before. Until now, every minute with her had felt as if it would be their last. For the first time since he’d met Anna, he could savor her, with the knowledge that this was only the beginning.
When it came time to remove her gown, she rolled onto her stomach on the bed, and he crawled up over her and carefully straddled his knees on either side of her hips as he worked his fingers through the buttons and hooks at her back. Then as he peeled her gown off her shoulders, he leaned over and kissed the back of her neck, and traced her spine with his lips until she shivered and whispered for him to hurry. That only made him smile as he shushed her.
“If I’m to ravish ye, I’ll take my time, wife.” His scolding made her giggle as she buried her face in the crook of her arm. The sweet, girlish sound made his chest ache. She was letting go of her fear of the future, of her worries, and that made his entire body hum with a joy he’d never thought possible.
Anna lifted her hips so he could slide the voluminous gown off her body, leaving only her stays, chemise and petticoats. He was quick to remove the stays and petticoats, but when he got to the filmy chemise, he simply tore it down the back and lifted her into his arms as the cloth fell away.
“You can’t do that to every chemise, you know,” she warned with an impish grin as she turned in his arms and kissed him.
Her breasts brushed against his chest, and he growled in delight. He didn’t bother to tell her he rather liked ripping her clothes off sometimes. Perhaps it was the old Celtic warrior within him, to want to claim his woman so roughly sometimes. But now, now was a time for sweetness, for long, torturous delights, and he would enjoy every minute of it.
He cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply, his tongue miming what his body would soon do to hers.
“Please, Aiden, you’re wearing far too many clothes to kiss me like that,” she moaned, and her hands frantically tugged at his shirt, trying to pull it free of his trousers.
He gently laid her back on the bed, and then he removed his shirt, kicked off his boots and pants, and nearly fell off the bed trying to get rid of his own stockings, and then he was on her again, laughing with her as he came down on top of her. Her legs parted, and he was sinking in, glorying in the welcoming heat of her body as if the heavens themselves had opened for him.
“I love ye,” he whispered as he began to move inside her. “I love ye so much it hurts.”
Her inner walls clamped down on him in response, and she threw her head back with a cry of pleasure. When she seemed to have come down from her climax, she buried her hands in his hair and stared up at him, love shining in her eyes.
“I love you too, Aiden. So much it hurts. But it’s the most wonderful sort of ache, isn’t it?”
He knew exactly what she meant. When his heart was as full as it was in that moment, it actually did hurt, and the hurting was a thing of beauty to him, just as she was. He made love to her, taking his time, making her come apart twice more before she begged him to let her rest. He allowed it with a sensual, rumbling laugh. She was asleep moments later, and he simply stayed awake watching her. Then in the hours before dawn, he gently roused her once more.
When she parted her thighs and he sank into her, they both shared a soft gasp as they became one in those wee hours before dawn. Anna gave in to her passions with fresh fervor, and Aiden drew out her pleasure until she wept with desperation for him to satisfy her. As sweat dewed upon their bodies, he nuzzled her neck and kissed her ear.
“I hope that we made a life between us just now,” he whispered.
“So do I.” She stroked her hand through his hair, and he was thankful that his tears of joy were hidden by the fading night.
“I told my brother we would sail to Scotland when a ship could be made ready,” she said.
“Are ye ready to leave so soon?” He was happy to think they would be going home, but he didn’t want her to rush her goodbyes.
“Yes. Your brothers and the others left weeks ago, and I long to be home with them, to be home with you. I told Alexei we would come back next year and visit.”
