Shipwrecked (20 page)

“I love it!” she
exclaimed, turning in Rowan’s arms and reaching up on her tippy toes to kiss
her husband.

Rowan let out the
breath that he had been holding and smiled down at his wife.

“How do ye ken
that ye love it when ye can barely see it?” he asked, laughing softly as his
fingers traced his wife’s lovely, full lower lip.

“I love it because
it’s our home,” Anna said softly, gazing up at Rowan.

“We’ve plenty of
work tae do,” Rowan warned as his mind flooded with all of the chores and
projects that would need to be completed to get the place ready for winter. 
The small farm had been abandoned, and the Murray brothers had purchased it at
a fraction of what it was probably worth.

“Are Malcolm and
Quinn there?” Anna asked hopefully, turning away from Rowan and squinting down
into the valley again.

“Aye, they are. 
They won’t expect tae be seeing ye,” Rowan revealed.

“You didn’t tell
them why you were going to find me?” Anna asked eyes suddenly intense.

“Nay, I didna tell
them,” he confessed.

“Why?”

“I just wanted tae
see ye one more time.  I never intended tae…I didna expect tae ask ye tae marry
me.”

“You didn’t?” Anna
asked eyes wide.

“No.”

“Then why…why did
you?” Anna asked, looking up at him with tears beginning to well in her eyes.

“Because it was
what I had wanted…wanted more than anything in the world.  I just hadn’t dared
tae hope that ye might say yes.  I was afraid that ye would say no,” he
revealed, eyes downcast as he bared his heart to his wife.

“Rowan,” Anna
whispered.  “I’m so glad that you did.  My heart died when I had to leave you,
when I had to go with
him.
”

Rowan’s mood
darkened at her mention of Arbor.  He knew that the bastard would look for her,
and he hoped that his preparations would be enough to keep them hidden here.

“Malcolm will be
beside himself when he sees ye…let’s go surprise him,” Rowan said, seeking to
lighten the mood of their homecoming.  When Arbor crept into his thoughts, he
was consumed with worry for protecting his wife.

“Let’s go!” Anna
said, dropping Rowan’s hand and running joyfully down the hill to meet the rest
of the Murray’s.

***

“Thank God ye marrit
Rowan!” Malcolm exclaimed as he took another bite of the stew that Anna had
prepared for dinner, chewing appreciatively.  “We might have starved tae death
if ye wouldna have had him.”

Anna smiled
warmly, and her heart swelled with love as she looked around her kitchen table
at her Murray boys, each happily stuffing his face with her cooking. 

“This is why I marrit
her,” Rowan said teasingly as he savored another bite of the delicious stew.

“I guess that this
is the upside of my family falling into financial ruin.  I had to learn how to
cook,” Anna said chuckling, her mood suddenly dampening as she thought of her
mother.

Anna pushed away
from the table and began to clear away the dishes, noticing that the Murray
brothers had all but licked their bowls clean.  The bachelor life had been hard
on them, and she was glad that she could show her love for these men by feeding
them.  It was the least that she could do when they worked so hard from sun up
to sun down, struggling to get the farm in order before winter.

“Can ye help us
get the tools intae the shed, Rowan?” Quinn asked standing and pushing away
from the table.  “Looks like it might start tae rain.”

“Aye, I’ll be
right out,” Rowan said.

“Thank ye for
supper,” Malcolm smiled at Anna, his love for his sister-in-law playing easily
across his face.

“My pleasure,”
Anna winked at Malcolm, and handed him a small paper wrapped parcel filled with
leftovers.  She knew that he was still growing, and now that she was able, she
intended to keep his bottomless appetite at bay.  Anna knew that Malcolm would
not ask for more food, so she made an extra effort to send him back to the
cabin that he shared with Quinn with leftovers.

Quinn and Malcolm
headed out into the dark night, leaving Rowan alone with his wife. 

“I’ll be back
before ye miss me,” he said, smiling Anna’s favorite lopsided grin and
sauntering over to place a slow, tender kiss on his wife’s lips.

“Not true,” Anna
whispered against his cheek, inhaling his masculine scent that was so
distinctly Rowan.  “I’ll miss you as soon as you step out the door.”

“I’ll hurry then. 
Promise,” he said, smiling and kissing his wife’s hair.

***

Rowan returned
sometime later, shirt plastered to his chest from the downpour of late summer
rain.  His chestnut hair hung loose about his shoulders, and curled at the
ends. 

Anna smiled as
Rowan walked into the small cabin, hands stalling in the dishwater as her eyes
roamed desirously over her husband.

He had pulled off
his sodden shirt and laid it carefully over the back of a chair, and was now
stooped by the doorway removing his boots and socks.  Anna watched as his work
hardened muscles rippled as he moved, and she swallowed hard as she took in the
beauty that was her husband.  Her eyes followed him across the room as he
padded barefoot and shirtless towards the fire to warm himself.

Rowan’s eyes
flashed to Anna’s, and he raised his eyebrows mischievously, catching her in
the act of coveting him.

“Ye are a naughty
wee thing,” he teased, reading her mind.  “I think that I’ve created a
monster,” he joked, easily reading the lustful expression on his wife’s lovely
face.

“I’m just doing
the dishes,” Anna feigned innocence, remembering the task at hand and
pretending that she was actually washing dishes.

“Are ye now?”
Rowan asked, stalking from the fireplace towards his wife.  “Then ye won’t mind
if I help ye a bit so that ye can finish sooner?”

“No, I wouldn’t
mind at all,” Anna said breathily as her husband fitted his arms around her and
trailed his warm hands down her arms and atop hers in the dishwater.

Anna forgot what
she was trying to do as she felt Rowan’s naked chest against her back, and his
hands stroking hers beneath the surface of the dishwater.  He pressed his ready
erection into her back, and she leaned back against him, forgetting all about
the dishes.

Rowan nuzzled her
neck and bit her earlobe playfully, loving that he could tease his wife
senseless and make her forget what she was trying to accomplish.  Rowan
chuckled softly and kissed Anna’s hair just above her temple, slowly moving his
hands back up her arms and out of the dishwater.

“Ye seem tae have
forgotten about the dishes,” he teased, pressing himself against his wife’s
delicious bottom.

“You have a way of
doing that to me husband,” Anna smiled, face flushing.

“I’ll leave ye be,
and wait for ye tae join me when yer done,” Rowan said in invitation, slowly backing
away from his wife and smiling to himself as he walked back over to the fire
and settled himself in the chair.  He loved the way that Anna responded to his
touch and took joy in unnerving her, knowing that she could easily do the same
to him, and in fact, often did so.

Anna watched her
husband as the fire reflected on his handsome face.  She knew that he was
tired, but he never complained.  He worked so hard, side-by-side with his
brothers, doing everything in his power to build a life for her.  Her beautiful
man had seen so much, had lost so much in his short life, but his spirit
remained, wild and unbroken.  Oh how she loved him. 

Arousal began to
build between Anna’s thighs as she watched her husband, in all of his shirtless
glory, warm himself before the fire.  His skin was golden from working in the
sun, and his muscles had developed even more from the fruits of hard manual
labor.  Rowan’s chest was expansive, and Anna’s eyes lingered over the small
muscles of his arms, and the sinew that built his flat abdominals, which
tapered deliciously beneath his linen pants.  When she thought of just what lie
beneath Rowan’s pants, she felt her feminine parts constrict, and she sprung
into action.

The dishes would
have to wait.

Drying her hands
on her skirt, she briskly walked behind Rowan and into the small bedroom that
they shared.  Boldly, she slipped out of her homespun dress and let down her
hair, running her fingers through the blonde masses so that they would cascade
down her back.  She knew that this was how Rowan liked her hair best.  Biting
her lower lip in anticipation, she lifted her chin and walked completely naked
back out into the main room of the cabin.  Loving Rowan made her feel bold,
reckless and powerful.

She walked up
behind her husband, whose eyes had drifted closed as he savored the warmth of
the fire.  Anna bent down and kissed Rowan on the cheek, and his lips turned up
into a delicious smile. 

Face flushing with
color as she made her next move, Anna trailed her fingers lightly over the skin
of Rowan’s collarbone and moved to stand in front of him.

“Rowan,” she
whispered huskily, standing completely naked before the fire.

Rowan’s eyes
opened slowly, and then flew open widely.

“Baby!” he
exclaimed with an awed look of astonishment on his face.  His mouth hung open
in a perfect “o” as he gaped at his beautifully naked wife.

Anna moved forward
boldly and straddled her husband, her breasts bobbing seductively against his
bare chest.

Rowan’s hands her
on her at once, and he growled low in his throat, eyes devouring his naked wife
as she sat erotically atop his quickly growing erection.

“Ye’ll be the
death of me, Anna,” he whispered appreciatively as he nuzzled her neck, and
trailed his fingers down the side of her breast to the subtle curve of her
waist.

“I want you,
husband,” Anna confessed, moving against his manhood, causing pleasure to shoot
through her veins as the rough linen of his pants brushed intimately against
her sex.

“I can see that,”
Rowan chuckled, moving his hands up to support Anna’s back as he took her
taught pink nipple into his mouth and suckled. 

Anna arched back
in pleasure, and Rowan’s arms were there, waiting and ready to support her as
he continued to tease her nipple with his mouth.  Anna’s hands were on his
chest, sliding up his shoulders and across his strong arms as he supported
her.  She slid a hand through his wet hair, groaning as Rowan suckled her
breast.

“I want you now,
Rowan,” Anna demanded, needing relief from the pressure that was building deep
within her.

“I’m yours, baby. 
Body and soul…take what ye need,” Rowan coaxed breath whistling through his
teeth as he fought to remain in control, fought to let Anna take the lead in
their lovemaking.

 Frantically, Anna
reached down between them and tugged the lacings of Rowan’s pants free, exposing
his pulsing erection.  She fitted her hand around him, and she smiled
devilishly as she began to torment her husband, sliding her hand up and down
his length.

Rowan let his head
fall back against the chair, and savored the feeling of his wife’s hand
surrounding his cock.  He gritted his teeth in response to her touch, working
hard to give her total control.  He needed to be inside of her now, but forced
himself to hold back.

Rising up on her tippy
toes, Anna positioned Rowan’s cock at the entrance to her womanhood.  Watching
the passion flare in Rowan’s eyes, she lowered herself onto his shaft, inch by
delicious inch until she was filled to the hilt by her husband.

Rowan closed his
eyes and groaned deeply, lost in pleasure that he felt at being buried deeply
in his wife.  Having her straddle him like this allowed him to penetrate her so
deeply, to possess her so completely.  He placed his hands on her hips and
began to move her, teaching her the rhythm of their lovemaking.

Anna became wild
with her need, and used her feet to leverage herself against her husband’s
cock, lifting herself up and then sliding deliciously down the length of his
manhood.  Her husband filled her so completely, and the sweet stretching
sensation that she felt was all consuming.

  Rowan moved in
time with her, thrusting up to meet her rhythm and growling as Anna became
rough, frantic to find her release.  His lips captured hers in a ravenous kiss,
their tongues dueling with need to be closer to each other.  Rowan trailed
kisses and nips down Anna’s neck, and then lingered on her breasts.  His eyes
lingered on her beautiful, full breasts as they bobbed up and down seductively,
rising and falling each time she slid down his shaft.  His thumbs brushed her
sensitive nipples as he palmed her breasts, alternating kisses between them as
his wife took control of the rhythm of their lovemaking.

Rowan trailed his
fingers down his wife’s flat belly and found the bead of her desire, stroking
her lightly and causing her to call out with pleasure.

“Look at me,
baby,” he coaxed, stroking Anna intimately as he tilted her chin down so that
he could see her eyes.  Her eyes were misty with passion, and she focused on
her husband, slowing her rhythm and savoring the love that she saw in his eyes
as he worshiped her with his body.  “I want to see you when you come,” he said
huskily, increasing the intensity of his fingers against her clitoris and
thrusting himself deeper inside his wife.

Anna matched his
rhythm, and closed her eyes as she felt the first tremor of her release take
hold.

Rowan stilled his
fingers, and Anna’s eyes flew back open.  Her body ached for his touch.

“Look at me,
Anna,” Rowan demanded as he began to stroke his wife again, taking her back to
the brink of orgasm.  He thrust deeply into her, and her body came undone
around him, quivering with an explosive orgasm.  Her eyes held his as she
moaned loudly, and then called out with the force of her orgasm.