Highland Warrior (Campbell Trilogy #1)(56)
He shook his head.
She tried to sink down a little more and stopped. “I’m afraid this is as far as I can go, you are simply too big.”
This time he managed to smile. “Words to warm the heart of any man, my sweet, but I can assure you it will work. I must break through your virgin’s barrier. I can make it go fast, but I’ll not lie to you, it will hurt.”
She nodded. Before she could reconsider, his hands grasped her waist, and holding her gaze, in one smooth motion he thrust up high inside her. Deep inside her. She felt a sharp pinch and cried out.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice tight with restraint.
Her body fought the invasion and her first instinct was to lift off of him, but he held her firm.
“Give it a minute,” he urged. “Try to relax. God, you feel incredible.”
He started to massage the tip of the opening between her legs with his thumb, and slowly her body softened. The sweet drowsy feeling spread over her again.
“That’s it,” he groaned, rubbing her a little harder. He was right: It did feel incredible, unlike anything she’d ever imagined. She never thought she could feel this close to someone. He seemed to fill her, his manhood providing all the pressure she had craved—and more.
Her body began to move, lifting up a little and sinking down on him again. She fell into a natural rhythm. Never had she felt so free.
She knew from the look of rapture on his face that she must be doing something right.
As her pulse started to race frantically, he clasped her hips and helped move her faster over him. Churning, plunging, harder and harder. Faster and faster. Until . . .
Her body contracted in the tight grip of pleasure and started to pulse. It must have been all that he’d been waiting for, because she sensed him relax and let go.
“I’m going to come,” he said tightly, and thrust one more time, penetrating to her very core. Their eyes met, and what she saw there made her heart squeeze. The tender emotion was a sharp contrast to his usual cold implacability; she knew he’d revealed a part of himself that she’d never seen before—that maybe no one had ever seen before.
He cried out as his body tensed and the hot rush of his seed exploded inside her.
And she rose up to meet him, arching her back and crying out as her own release swept over her. It was the same as before, only much more intense. The slow breaking apart, the sharp pinnacle of sensation, the brief moment where her heart stopped and her soul seemed to touch the heavens. But this time, she was not alone.
I’m not alone.
She wanted it to last forever and clung to the sensations as long as she could, riding each wave until the last tingle of sensation had ebbed.
Breathing hard, she slumped forward onto his chest, their skin pleasantly slick with the sheen of perspiration.
Her cheek was pressed to his chest. Listening to the frantic beat of his heart begin to slow, she closed her eyes.
Jamie heard the soft, even sounds of her breathing and knew she slept. He breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t have words to describe what he was feeling and was glad for the time to collect himself.
What the hell had just happened?
It was like nothing he’d ever experienced. He’d known their attraction was strong, but it did not explain the connection he’d felt when deep inside her. A connection that had far more to do with sating his soul than with sating his lust. Never had a woman so completely penetrated his iron-forged control. She’d revealed a part of him that he hadn’t known existed.
He stroked her hair, contemplating the strange tightness in his chest. The overwhelming feeling of tenderness for the tiny woman in his arms. His wife. He’d thought that would be enough, but it wasn’t. He wanted more, much more. He wanted her love, trust, and respect. For without the latter two, the first was impossible.
But what if she could never give it to him?
He was inextricably tied to his cousin—a man she could not abide—and his own brother had destroyed her clan.
How long would it be before she asked him to choose between her and his family—his duty?
He dreaded the day, though he knew it would come. For there were some things he could not—would not—do. He nestled her more firmly under his arm. Even for her.
Chapter 13
A knock at the door stirred Caitrina awake. It took her a few moments to realize where she was and that she was alone. She didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved—probably a little of both. In the stark light of day, the memories of what they’d shared last night took on new meaning, and she was more than a little embarrassed by her passionate response to their lovemaking.
If she needed a reminder, all she had to do was look down at the sheeting twisted around her naked limbs to recall exactly how bold she’d been. Her cheeks heated. Quickly, she bent over to pluck her nightraile from the floor, then dropped it over her head, fastened the ties at the neck, and bade the person at the door enter.
It was Mor. She bustled into the room, a stack of drying cloths piled to her nose. “The laird bid me wake you so you had time to bathe before breaking your fast.” She placed the linen atop Caitrina’s chest and began to stoke the fire. “He wishes to leave within the hour.”
Caitrina stretched lazily, reluctant to leave the cozy warmth of the bed. “What time is it?”
Her old nurse walked to the windows and tore open the shutters. Blinding rays of sunshine poured across the polished wood-planked floor. “Nearly midmorning.”