Gifts of Desire (35 page)

             
Ceann turn
ed his gaze to the window.  “No
, no consequences.” 
There would be no
bairn…
there would never be a bairn.

             
“Then I wouldn’t
worry
so
.
  Why don’t you just enjoy yourself
for once
?
  After all, the harm is already done, as you say.
”  Ethan stood and gave him a fatherly pat on the shoulder before he
went to the door, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll go se
e to Mrs. Ferguson’s roof, then.  I can see you’re busy.
”

***

             
Ceann
practiced in the yard, his sword clashing against his opponent’s, his muscles straining
hard
as he worked
, a glistening sheen of sweat covering his skin.
  With a
roar
he sw
ung a wide arc and knocked Gregors
’s blade to the side, while at the same time sweeping his legs from under him and knocking him flat
on his back
. 
Ceann
stood over him, the tip of his sword pressed to the other man’s chest.  “Yield, man.”

             
Gregor
grinned
up at him.  “Yield?  I let
you
win!”

             
“I
don’t
think so, else
you
let me win every time.”

             
Just then he caught a movement from the corner of his eye and looked up. 
Ella
walked across the yard with Fiona, the two of them
happily
prattling
away about something.  She looked up and met his gaze, and smiled.  He pressed his lips together
in a grim line and
watched her as she turned back to her friend.  Remembering himself, he lifted his sword and let
Gregor
up, declaring the sparring over for the day.  Before
Gregor
could say a word
about his strange behavior
, he had gathered his things and was headed back toward the keep.  In that brief moment,
when
Ella
had smiled at him, he almost felt
again
that he was i
n a different time and place.  And h
e knew in that instant what it would be like t
o have a true home, with a wife
that loved him
.
  Could
Ella
ever
grow to love him?
He was almost afraid to even
let himself think about the possibility… and she
had mentioned adopting children
.  He knew childless couples took in bairns all the time.  Hell, with all the
fighting
, there were always orphans in need of a home.  Could he raise an heir
to Tulloch
after all?  Would Ella truly not care if the child were not her own by blood?  All of these questions filled his mind, and he struggled to hold back the spark of hope that was growing there.  Then h
e thought about Ethan’s
words.  Maybe he
was
worrying too much.
Maybe for once he should just enjoy what was before him.
  God knew Ethan did.

             
H
e cornered
Ella
in the hall
, where she was arranging flowers on the head table.  Flowers
.
  There hadn’t been flowers in the keep since before his mother died.  His heart squeezed.  He had forgotten how
far
such a small, womanly gesture
could go in making a cold stone keep feel like a home.
“I thought to go out for a ride, to exercise Fallon.
 
You
can
come along if
you
want.”

             
She pretended to consider his offer
, secretly thrilled that
finally
he had sought her out on his own
, knowing how difficult it probably was for him to do so
.  “Well, I did
say I’d help Mairi with the linens
this morning
, but I suppose that could wait till later.  I
don’t
think she’d mind
.”  She smiled at him.  “And
you
know
how much I love to ride…
alright, I’ll go.
”

             
She grabbed him by the hand
before he could change his mind,
and ran for the stable, pulling him after her.  She looked back with a grin, and he couldn’t help but smile.  Soon they were
on horseback
,
and she was racing ahead of him
as she had before, making him chase after her. 
She sped across the moor and into the grassy hills beyond. 
Of course
the mare she rode could not outrun Fallon, and as she glanced back, she saw that he was quickly gaining ground.  She bent low in the saddle and urged the
horse
on, but only moments later heard the thundering of hooves just behind her
.
A
hand came up to grab the reins of her mare, pulling her to a slow stop.  She looked over
at
Ceann
, and saw the thrill of the chase reflected in his eyes.  Giving him a coy smile, she slid off the other side of the mare and ran, knowing he would follow, and knowing he would catch her. 

             
He did.  Laughing, h
e grabbed her from behind and spun her around. 
Her eyes flew open wide at the sound.  Laughter, honey-rich and deep, a sound she had never heard before.  She had done it!  Given him a gift.  He was laughing. 

             
“Don’t ever run from me lass, I won’t ever let you get away.” 
The two of them tumbled to the ground, with
Ceann
landing
sprawled on top of her, and her chest heaving under him from
her
run
ning
, and then from the look in his eyes; dark and
wild with desire
.  He looked at her for only an instant
before
his mouth was on hers, claiming his prize.  She smiled against his lips before his tongue
thrust
hungrily
into her mouth.  Her arms came up around him, pulling him closer.  She broke away from his
kiss
and put her lips to the side of his neck, flicking
her tongue there.  He moaned
with pleasure, and suddenly she wanted to see what it was like to have him comp
letely at her mercy.  Could she make him completely wild
with desire?  When he reached for her skirts she grabbed his hand.

             
“No!”

             
He stilled, looking like a child who
had just been told he couldn’t have a sweet.

             
“No?”

             
She pushed against him, and still surprised by her denial, he sat back.  She lunged at him then, knocking him over and landing on top.  “Not yet.”

             
His eyes widened and she laughed.  “I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Straddling his hips, s
he
leaned forward and kissed him, hard and deep
. 
His hands rose up to touch her, but she slapped them away. 
“No.”  She kissed and nibbled his neck
while her hands unlaced his shirt, smoothing her hands over the rock-hard flesh of his chest. 
She circled her thumbs lightly over his nipples and he hissed in a breath, but now he understood her game, and held himself still for her. 
Returning to kiss his mouth, her hand slipped to the belt that held his plai
d in place.
  Already his breath was coming hard and his eyes were he
avy-lidded, but
Ella
was
thoroughly enjoying herse
lf
.
  She was far from done with him.  Earlier that day she had had a very enlightening conversation with Elizabeth…

             
He couldn’t move.  If she wanted him at her mercy, she had that and more.  Pleasure flowed through his body, drugging him.  His heart was going to pound right out of his chest.  She gently suckled his nipple, driving him crazy with need until he tried to rear up and take control, but she bit him on the shoulder and pushed him back down.

             
He groaned.  “
Your
fun is going to kill me”, he bit out.  He had never had a woman
try to
take control of
his body
before, and it was sweet torture; sweeter than he could have ever imagined.  But she was kissing him again, and he lost
all
conscious thought.  She shimmied her hips down his body, and kissed a path towards his naval, running her hands up to the top of his thighs, making tiny circles there with her thumbs. 
Then back up again, then down and a little closer, but not quite close enough.  God, he wanted her to touch him there. 
Needed
her to touch him there. 

             
When she bent down and softly kissed the head of his cock, he almost leapt right out of his skin.  He groaned, and a fine sweat broke out on his forehead.
She slowly ran
her tongue
up and down the length of him, and h
e hissed in a breath
,
going
co
mpletely still.  He was
unable to believe what she was doing to him, and unable to believe how good it felt
. 
Oh Holy God!
 
When he felt her mouth close around hi
m, he almost came right then.  He bucked beneath her, and suddenly
the urge to spill his seed deep inside of her became too great to bear.  With a fierce growl, he flipped her onto her back and drove into her in one swift motion, roaring in satisfaction at the incredible feel of her body.  He knew in that moment that he could make love to this woman every hour of every day for the rest of his life and still it would never be enough. 
W
hen her hips rose to meet him and she dug her fingernails into his back and cried out, he forgot
his
fear. 
He forgot everything. 
He pulled her closer, closer, burying himself deeper with every thrust, until
finally
his release left him weak and shuddering in her arms.

             
No, it had never been like this with any other woman, not even close.   He pulled he
r
to him
and rested his ch
in against the top of her head, listening as her ragged breath began to slow.  He loved the feel of her in his arms, and when he held her like this,
the softness of her body against the hardness of his. 
He felt the now familiar tightening in his chest, and for the first time admitted to himself that he wanted to keep her.  Even not knowing who she was, even knowing he could never give her a child, he wanted her. 
With him.  Always. 
Hell, he had wanted her from the first moment he saw her
,
had probably never stood a chance.  But now
he wanted to possess her,
make her his forever
so that she would never be able to leave him, and he would never have to go back to the empty life he had lived before. 

             
The feelings rose up in him so strongly that he
felt
almost
overwhelmed
.  He lowered his mouth to kiss the top of her head, and she sighed and snuggled closer against his chest.  He stroked her hair slowly, still lost in his own thoughts.  He still didn’t know where she had come from, or why she had given him her innocence.  Perhaps he was being played for a fool,
there was a good chance of it
,
but
for
this moment
he didn’t care.  If there was even a small chance that she would stay with him
, could come
to care for him, he would take it, because unlike any woman that had come before, she seemed to
…
complete him.  He had no desire to be half a man again.  She shifted in his arms and looked up at him, her hand sliding along the side of his body in a slow
, erotic
caress. 

             
“What are
you
thinking about?”
she asked
drowsily
.  “
You
look a thousand miles away.”