Chapter 27

27

M urdoch had hoped that the offer of a library and books would convince Lydia that he was sincere about wanting to wed her. He'd hoped she would accept his apology and give him a chance to mend what he'd so foolishly broken between them.

He didn't expect her to cling to him, much less to say that she loved him. He certainly wasn't expecting it when she pulled him down and pressed her lips to his.

Lydia tasted of sunshine and honey, her lips soft and sweet against his own. Her mouth opened under his, welcoming him as he deepened the kiss.

He felt heat moving through his veins, his body responding to the warmth and weight of her in his arms. With an effort, he pulled back. "Lydia…"

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright with joy and desire as she looked up at him. "Aye?"

He didn't want to admit what he was thinking, but the truth was that he wanted her far too much to stop at one or two kisses. "I want ye. If ye kiss me again I cannae promise to stop."

The smile she gave him was bright as sunlight and sent a pulse of desire straight to his groin. "Then daenae stop."

She pulled herself flush against him, going up on tiptoes to whisper in his ear. "If we're to be wed at the end of a month, then there's nay reason we can't be together in other ways before then. Besides, ye do remember me second condition for our marriage, aye?"

"Aye. Ye'd decide when we consummated it."

"And do ye remember what ye said when I gave ye that condition?"

"That before a month was out, ye'd be asking me to take ye to me bed."

The smile she gave him was pure teasing, full of desire and heat that made his heart pound. "Tis nae precisely yer bed, but I'm thinkin' there's more than one way to christen a library."

He took her chin gently in one hand. "Are ye declarin' yer intention to have me fulfill that second condition of yers?"

"And the promise ye made me."

"Yer wish is me greatest desire." He tilted up her head to kiss her again.

The room wasn't heavily furnished, but there was a thick rug in front of the fire. Murdoch lifted Lydia into his arms and carried her to the rug, then bent down to lay her upon it.

He turned to lock the door and remove his boots, belt and sash. When he turned back, Lydia was still lying on the rug, but her bodice was unlaced in clear invitation, her skirt pulled partway up her legs in a teasing manner.

Murdoch smiled and went to kneel beside the woman he'd chosen to be his wife.

Lydia sensed her heart speed up as Murdoch knelt beside her. She was nervous, but at the same time she was certain of what she wanted. She wanted Murdoch, and she wanted him to love her as a husband loved a wife.

His hands caressed her face as he knelt beside her. "Ye're so beautiful." He bent close. "I love ye."

"And I love ye." Daringly, she slid her fingers into the laces of his shirt and undid them. Murdoch chuckled and removed his shirt, revealing the broad expanse of his brawny chest.

Lydia ran her hands over his newly revealed skin, reveling in its warmth, the solid feeling of his muscles. Her fingers found and traced the scars she'd seen before, and she smiled as Murdoch groaned quietly under his breath. Beneath his kilt she could see his arousal growing.

She wanted him. She wanted to feel him inside her. She reached out to the growing erection, only for Murdoch to grab her hand.

"Daenae do that or I'll nae last long, and I want to take me time with ye." His voice was a low, husky growl that made her shiver with delight and desire.

His hands slid over her body, gently caressing and exploring, before they reached the hem of her skirt and began to slowly guide the fabric upward to bare her body to his heated gaze. Lydia shivered as Murdoch's warm hands brushed over skin, followed by the kiss of the cool evening air.

He slid the dress up her arms and let it fall away, leaving her naked before him. Lydia shivered as his mesmerized eyes drank her in.

Murdoch bent to kiss her again, a long, heated kiss that left her breathless, her mouth thoroughly ravaged by his. One hand came up to cup her chin as Murdoch shifted to press another kiss to the point of her jaw.

Another kiss to her pulse point, then her shoulder, as his hand slid down her chest to caress her breast. Lydia gasped as he teased her nipple into a hardened peak. His mouth traveled down to suckle on her other breast and Lydia found herself unable to do anything other than arch into the pressure of his mouth and hands as sparks flew from her breasts to her core.

By the time he'd ceased teasing the sensitive flesh Lydia felt her stomach quivering. Every brush of his lips as he kissed his way down her center pulsed shivers across her skin.

His palm slid across the junction of her thighs, sliding through the damp curls that covered the soft mound of her sex. "Part yer legs for me."

Lydia obeyed, her heart pounding. Every touch set her afire, making her want more.

Murdoch's tongue teased her navel, making her squirm, as his hand stroked over her sex and caressed the outer lips of her most secret place.

Murdoch slowly kissed his way back to her breasts, bending to suckle the one he'd teased before, while he slid one finger inside her and stroked the inner folds of her sex before he caressed her pleasure center. Lydia gasped and writhed, her back arching as she pressed up into his touch, seeking more stimulation.

His fingers caressed her, sliding slowly and more deeply inside, seeking out the inner folds to her channel. Lydia gave herself over to the intense heat and pleasure that Murdoch's touch invoked. She could feel the innermost core of herself spinning faster and faster as the intense pleasure built up inside of her..

Murdoch withdrew his hand and she whimpered at the sudden loss of her rapture.

Murdoch sat back and unwrapped his kilt to reveal his prominent arousal. His member was fully erect, hardened and ready. Murdoch shifted to kneel gently between her legs and envelop her.

"Ye're so beautiful." One hand braced him while his other caressed her face. "Are ye sure?"

"Aye." Lydia smiled and shifted her hips, arching her back to press herself up against the tip of his stiffened shaft.

Murdoch made a guttural sound, his eyes flaring bright with desire. Desire for her. "I love ye, and how ready ye are for me."

As he positioned himself Lydia vibrated with anticipation as the head of his member pushed apart the outer lips of her sex, then slid slowly inside.

Inch by inch, Murdoch glided into her. The pressure and heat against her innermost folds shot surges of intense pleasure through her. She felt herself being tightly stretched around his thickened member, the burn heightening her pleasure. Her body was sizzling and taut, encased in roaring waves of sensation with his every movement.

Lydia gasped as Murdoch encountered the fragile resistance of her maidenhead. He stooped and claimed her mouth in a fierce kiss as his free hand teased her nipple. The combined sensations rendered Lydia's pain to a distant ache as he claimed her maidenhood, which faded as he slid deeper into her channel, his erection filling her completely as he pressed inside her.

Murdock was sheathed fully inside of her, his body locked to hers as they both breathed heavily. The sensation of him pressed so far inside of her that his ballocks brushed the cleft of her buttocks was extraordinary, but it was still not enough.

He shifted against Lydia, who gasped at the feeling of him moving within her. Murdoch grunted, pulled back and thrust deeply again.

Murdoch set a steady rhythm and Lydia responded, arching into his thrusts with every move, the two of them moving together in harmonious passion and pleasure.

The heat built around them, their bodies shining with perspiration as they made love in front of the fire. Their pleasure built higher and higher, coiling about her core as Lydia fused her body to Murdoch's.

A raging tide of intense passion threatened to consume her. She felt as though she would explode into thousands of stars of pure ecstasy. Her entire being was focused solely on the strokes of Murdoch against her and within her.

His thrusts deepened and Lydia felt her insides coiling tighter, burning brighter. Murdoch dipped his head and kissed her intensely, his body tight against hers as he buried himself to the hilt. Lydia felt herself dissolve into a wave of pleasure that crashed over her and swept her away. Her body shuddered, her inner walls convulsing around Murdoch's shaft. She felt him convulse as well, his seed spurting deep into her body as he climaxed along with her.

The sensation sent a renewed wave of release through her and swept her away again in a surge of white heat that drove every thought from her mind.

The last thing she perceived before succumbing to the rapture of her release was Murdoch's soft words. "I love ye, Lydia Knox."