Chapter 22

Ailis felther heart pounding with excitement and anticipation, her whole body tingling as Duncan laid her down on the soft rug in front of the fireplace and hovered above her, his eyes hot and hungry.

He bent close, his hot breath fanning her cheek and the flames of her desire as he whispered, "Will ye let me take care of ye, Me Lady?"

"Aye."

"And pleasure ye until ye cannae do anythin' more than call me name?"

"Aye." Her voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper.

Duncan rose slowly to his knees, then to his feet. With slow, sensuous movements, he removed his stained armor, then his sash and his belt. Then, holding her eyes until the very last moment, he took off his shirt to reveal the well-toned, tanned expanse of his broad shoulders, trim waist, and the corded muscles in his arms.

Ailis felt her mouth go dry as she beheld his upper body. It wasn't the smooth perfection in her stories, but the scars made her long to trace each one of them with her fingers, and perhaps her tongue. The image in her mind was a heady one, and it added to his appeal.

Then Duncan kicked off his boots and removed his long socks to reveal the lean muscles of his calves. Ailis's eyes were drawn to the shadows beneath his kilt, and the prominent bulge that tented the fabric.

Then he unfastened his kilt and stood naked before her, and Ailis felt her eyes widen at the size of his already erect manhood.

Duncan smiled and knelt before her. "Dinnae fret, lass. Just let me take care of ye."

He gently removed her shoes, then trailed his hands up her body until he could undo her sash and the belt of her skirt. Ailis shivered as he loosened the laces of her bodice and then moved to slowly tug her skirts down over her legs.

She'd undressed a hundred times, but the simple sensation of her skirt being drawn over her legs became teasing and sensual as he did it, and her whole body tingled at the soft slide of the fabric over her calves and ankles.

Duncan threw the skirt aside and then bent to trail his hands up her legs, starting from her ankles. His callused hands caressed her skin, stroking every inch as though he was worshiping her. His hands left warm trails across her skin, until his fingers found sensitive spots and caused her nerve endings to spark and sing.

His hands caressed her knees, then slid slowly under the edge of her chemise to tease the sensitive skin of her thighs as he tugged the fabric up to expose her most secret, sensitive place.

Higher and higher his hands moved, across her belly and her ribs, before his thumbs teased the underside of her breasts and gently rolled her nipples before he finished removing her blouse and her undergarments to leave her bare and exposed to his gaze.

The blouse and chemise joined the pile of their clothing as Duncan moved his body to cover hers once more. The heat of him made her shiver with delight, and the pressure of his hot, hard member against her thigh was both exciting and somewhat terrifying.

Duncan bent to kiss her mouth with gentle thoroughness. As his lips began to trace a path down the column of her throat, every kiss left sparks behind. Ailis gasped when he found a sensitive spot at the junction of her neck and shoulder and bit on it gently, adding a twinge of pain that somehow only enhanced the pleasure she felt as his tongue laved the spot and continued to trace a lazy pattern across her chest.

When his mouth latched onto her right breast and suckled, it felt as if lightning had struck her straight in the core. Ailis arched into his mouth with a cry, squirming as his mouth teased the sensitive flesh and sent fire running through her veins.

She was on the brink of thinking she couldn't take any more when he switched to her other breast and began to lavish the same attention on it. By the time he began to trail lazy, gentle kisses down the line of her center, she was panting.

She'd never felt anything like this. She'd thought his hands were overwhelming, when he'd pinned her against the wall and made her come apart around his fingers.

His tongue teased her navel, plunging deep inside it, and she arched into his mouth, a soft whimper escaping her lips as she squirmed beneath him.

She wanted to escape. She wanted more. The two desires chased each other inside the inferno that Duncan was creating with his mouth.

His hot breath fanned the soft curls that covered her sex, and she gasped again, her knees drawing upward.

Duncan's hands caught her legs. "Nay, lass. Open for me." His breath teased her sex again. "Open for me, and let me show ye pleasure ye've never imagined…" His tongue licked gently the seam of her sex. "I can smell and taste how ready ye are for me, Ailis… Just let me give ye what ye want…"

Without thought, she let her knees fall back, her thighs parting under the gentle guidance of his hands, leaving her open to his touch and his mouth.

Duncan's tongue stroked her, flicking against the lips of her sex and leaving fire behind. Ailis gasped, and the sound turned into a sort of whisper-scream as his tongue slid inside her to caress the inner folds of her sex and probe her entrance.

Then his tongue slid deeper, as if trying to lick all the way to her core. Every flick of his tongue sent waves of pleasure through her, building the heat of her desire and leaving her wanting even more.

His tongue found the pleasure center his finger had touched before and caressed it, changing angles with every stroke until she was crying out mindlessly and writhing under him. "Duncan…"

"Aye, lass. Call me name as much as ye like."

The low vibrations of his voice against her inner walls made her cry out and arch against him once more.

Higher and higher the fire built, and she could feel herself coming closer to the edge. She felt the inferno within her rise on a tide of pleasure and heat…

Suddenly, Duncan pulled away, and Ailis keened, her body aching for more. "Duncan…"

"Aye, lass." He moved to hover over her, his rigid shaft hot against her thigh as he kissed her and she tasted the salt of his sweat and the sour-sweet taste of her arousal on his lips.

His fingers slid between them and moved to spread open the lips of her sex. She felt the head of his shaft at her entrance, the entirely new sensation of being stretched and filled as he slid the tip slowly inside her.

The sensation was one of combined pleasure and pain, and Ailis heard herself keening again as she writhed and tried to pull him in deeper. Duncan chuckled but maintained his slow pace as he slid inside her a little deeper.

It was heat. It was pleasure. It was a burn that bordered on pain and made her want more. His girth was almost too much, and yet she wanted to feel filled by him more than she'd ever wanted anything.

The tip of his member slid deeper inside her, and she felt a sense of resistance and pressure as his shaft reached her maidenhood.

Duncan bent to kiss her again, and she felt his hips give one short, sharp thrust. A brief, intense pain flared, and she gasped.

"And now ye're mine, me beautiful lass. Me wife in the physical sense, as ye will be in marriage soon enough," he whispered roughly.

His shaft slid deeper as the pain faded, filling her until their hips were pressed together and he was sheathed fully inside her.

The pressure and the feeling of being filled were like coals stoking a slow inferno inside, but it wasn't enough.

Ailis squirmed, and Duncan sucked in a breath. "What is it ye want?"

"Duncan… please…" She didn't know what she wanted. "Please."

"Aye."

Duncan began to move, slow and steady, his hips rolling against her as he thrust inside her, their bodies rocking together with every stroke. Ailis felt nearly overwhelmed by all the sensations, from the heat of the fire to the soft yet rough sensation of the rug against her back sliding against her spine and buttocks with every movement.

Every touch and every breath drove her higher, her pleasure rising and rising like wildfire.

She felt as if she was going to burn from the inside out, as if she were going up in flames in the most pleasurable way possible.

Then Duncan bent and gently bit the spot he'd marked before. Sparks burst in her vision as she cried out and arched against him, release crashing over her in a wave of pleasure that swept her away in a tide of fire.

* * *

His body was afire, every nerve ending singing with every thrust. He could feel his release coming. He bit his lip to delay his climax, determined that Ailis should find her release first.

Duncan bent to nip the spot he'd marked before and grunted as her velvety, tight walls clenched around him and coated his shaft with the fluids of her release.

The feel of her walls clenching around him was too much, triggering his release in a blaze of heat and light that turned his vision white. His hips bucked as his body stiffened, then he spilled his seed deep into her core. He caught himself on his elbows as waves of pleasure washed over both of them, shuddering with the force of his climax until he was completely spent.

Finally, he collapsed beside her, both of them breathing hard as gentle aftershocks coursed through them. He felt exhausted but happier than he could remember ever feeling before.

For long moments, he lay there, content to enjoy the softness of the rug and the feel of Ailis in his arms.

He was startled sometime later by a soft laugh. "Ailis?"

"When I was writin' those fantasies to ye, I didnae ken they'd all be happenin' in yer study. And I'm wonderin' how ye'll get any work done here…"

She turned in his arms, the rosy flush of her release still painting her skin a delicate pink hue as she slid a finger down his chest. "Can ye… work here while kennin' everythin' we've done in this study? Kennin' all the stories these walls and this rug could tell?"

Duncan laughed. "Ye minx. Dinnae fret, I'll be more than able to get me work done."

"Will ye?"

"Aye." He tugged her closer so he could whisper in her ear. "For when me work is done, I'll have a beautiful wife to come to and make more memories with, while I fulfill her fantasies in every room of the castle."

Ailis giggled, and Duncan laughed with her, his heart lighter than it had been in years.