“You agree?” he asked.
“Aye. I want to marry you, Keegan.” Even if it was a marriage her father wouldn’t recognize… to her it would be a true marriage. The only one she would ever have. Keegan as her husband was what she wanted most in the world.
“Good.” Keegan pulled in a deep breath and drew her to stand facing him before the hearth where the firelight was brighter. His face told her many things—that he was suddenly a wee bit nervous, but then, so was she. Terrified, in fact. But it was time to grab hold of what she wanted and never let go. The sincere devotion in his intense gaze made her fall even harder for him.
“Lady Seona Murray,” he murmured, his voice deep and strong. “You are the stars in the sky, the warm and bright sun upon my face, the wine I drink, the air I breathe. And I love you.” Lifting her left hand, he kissed her ring finger then slid the gold band upon it. “With this ring, I thee wed. I vow to protect you and cherish you the whole of my life. I shall always be faithful unto you. I take you for my wife.”
Though she tried to hold back, Seona burst into tears.
He drew her close and kissed her forehead. “Shh.”
“That was so beautiful, Keegan,” she whispered. How on earth could she find words of equal beauty to tell him how she felt?
Forcing her emotions under control, she wiped the tears away and stood back. Gazing up into his eyes, she knew she had to be the luckiest woman in the world. “Keegan MacKay,” she began.
He nodded, a hint of a smile taking away his serious expression.
She swallowed hard. “You are the most honorable and noble of men. Strong and steadfast… the rock I cling to in the storm. I admire you, trust you, and love you more than I could’ve ever dreamed possible. You bring me joy and happiness such as I have never known. And I vow to forever love and cherish you. I shall always be faithful to you only. I take you for my husband.”
His smile broadened, then he kissed her lips. “You have made me the happiest man on earth,” he whispered. “I’m never letting you go, Seona.”
“I don’t want you to.” She slid her hands ’round his neck and into his silky hair. “You are mine.”
***
Seona’s pleading expression told Keegan she needed him in the worst way. In the same way he needed her.
He lowered his head and kissed her lips, her sweet taste and warm breath seducing him instantly. “I could devour every inch of you,” he said, then deepened the kiss.
Her arms clasped him tight around his neck. His hands at her hips, he lifted her, relishing the feel of her slight body and feminine curves plastered to him.
He loved her and wanted her intensely, yet he’d restrained himself during each sensual encounter. But not this time.
She ground herself against his erect shaft, sending jolts of pleasure and yearning through him. When she spread her legs and wrapped them around his waist, he near lost his mind. Next thing he knew, he was laying atop her on the bed, his shaft against her crotch. Layers of clothing separated them.
He dug through her skirts. Finally, he reached the silken skin of her thigh above her stocking. His fingertips traced upward.
Slow… take it slow.
He made a fist, restraining himself. Hell, he’d touched her in more carnal ways before, but this time he knew he couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to hurt her or frighten her.
“Keegan, please,” she gasped, tugging at his belt buckle. He caught her hand, halting her. “Make love to me,” she whispered.
He growled, wishing he had more control. Wishing he did not crave her so powerfully.
“I want to feel your hot, naked skin against mine,” she whispered. “’Tis what I dream of.”
Saints! What an image she put into his head. “’Tis what I dream of, too, lass.”
When she pulled at his kilt, drawing the plaid upward, something in him refused to stop her. Arousal blazed a trail through him, burning away his restraint. And when her soft fingertips brushed up his bare thigh to his shaft, he groaned.
Launching into action, he unclasped his belt and in seconds threw off his plaid, shirt, and weapons, then kicked off his boots. Next, he removed her belt and arisaid. The linen of her smock ripped.
“Damn,” he muttered, struggling to unwrap her from all her clothing. Finally, she was nude, the firelight dancing off her pale curves. His chest constricted, seizing his breath. But then he noticed, on her forearm, she still wore the leather sheath and knife he’d given her. The sight of it only aroused him more, told him she was his.
Lying beside her, he traced his fingers along her warm silken skin. “You are delectable,” he said.
“Nay, you are,” she breathed, her gaze trailing down his chest and abdomen to his erection. Her eyes wide, she bit her lip.
“You are not afraid, are you?” he asked, knowing some women did fear men’s bodies… and their first time.
Her sincere gaze met his. “Nay. Of course not. I love you and trust you more than anyone.”
His heart near burst from his chest with love for this woman. And when she grazed her fingertips lightly along his rock-hard shaft, showing him how much she wanted him, lust stormed through him.
Moving over her, one of his knees between hers, he brushed his lips over her beaded nipple, then drew the sweet morsel into his mouth. “Mmm.” He couldn’t resist tasting the other one, too, swirling his tongue around it, sucking it into his mouth.
“Keegan,” she whispered. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling it, holding his head near, her hips lifting toward him. Seeing how much she wanted him, despite her innocence, fired his blood. But he had to take it slow.
“You must relax, Seona.”
“I am. I want you. Please,” she said against his mouth, then licked his lips. Arousal jolted through his shaft.
Between her thighs, he sat back on his knees and skimmed his hands from her ankles, upward along her inner thighs, spreading them more. When he reached the top, he stroked his thumbs gently along her nether lips, incredibly wet and swollen. “So good.”
She gasped and thrust her hips toward him.
With one thumb, he circled that sweet feminine nub that was so inflamed and drenched, it near drove him mad. She cried out his name and words he couldn’t understand. Tears glistened at the corners of her eyes.
Leaning over her, he pressed a kiss to her mouth. “I don’t want to hurt you but I fear I will.”
“Nay. Take me, Keegan… my husband.”
A strange primal urge overcame him. Aye, she was his wife. His woman. He must make her his in every way, even though it would hurt. He would try to ease her pain and make it better.
He had to have her now. No more waiting.
He stroked the tip of his shaft up and down along the moist folds of her sex. Saints, he loved the slick feel of her. The more he stroked, the wilder she became, wriggling, thrashing this way and that.
“Oh, Keegan,” she breathed, arching her back. “Aye, I beg of you…”
He positioned his shaft at her entrance, teasing her with just the tip. When she lifted her hips, offering herself to him, some instinct overpowered him and he thrust his hips. He found himself lodged a couple inches into her slippery, snug heat. Her inner muscles clamped onto him.
“Ow!” Her nails dug into his arm and more tears glistened on her lashes.
“Shhh, lass,” he hissed against her mouth. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she said, her voice intense. “But it hurts.”
“I know. Relax your muscles a wee bit right here.” He stroked his hand over her flat lower belly. How incredible she felt, gripping him so firmly. Pain was the opposite of what he was feeling at the moment, but he had to help ease her first time, while maintaining some control over his own body. Hell, all he wanted to do was thrust. Hard. And bury himself deeper in her tight body. But he didn’t. He kissed her, flicking his tongue against her lips. She opened and sucked at his tongue.