Chapter 25

25

M aeve inhaled sharply when he hiked one of her legs over his waist and slid even deeper into her. She let him devour her lips while he thrust in and out of her with a sensuous rhythm that heightened her pleasure.

She gave herself to the passion of the moment, her lids fluttered closed, and she gasped when he slid all the way out of her, teased her with the tip of his erection, then drove it in to the hilt.

Their sighs and moans filled the night's air. Maeve had never felt heat as intense as this before. She drowned in it and let the strong tides sweep her off her feet.

"Ye're perfect," Archer mumbled in her ear as he kissed the side of her neck again and caressed her breasts. "Every inch of ye," he continued. His shuddering groan made her muffle down a moan. Maeve's toes curled into the sheets just before he linked their fingers and thrust into her one last time.

His warmth seeped through her core, filling her as it sent waves of electric currents up and down her spine. She recovered from the full body tremors a long moment after, but her thighs still quivered.

Archer groaned, rolled over to the left side of the bedding, and gathered her close to his chest. "Dinnae move," he murmured against her hair, smoothing a hand down her back till he got to her bottom.

Maeve felt herself heat for him again. She slid her right hand down his hairy chest and lifted her head a bit so she could stare down at him.

She noticed the long scar running down the side of his chest and other imperfect healed cuts on his arm and stomach. Her throat tightened even before he gave her his answer.

"The mad war," he explained. He hummed in a deep breath, seized her finger, and traced it down the longer scar on his chest. "I got this one in me first battle. Me attacker seemed like a giant back then. He towered over me with his sword over his head, but I managed to take him down. In our struggle, he drew out his dirk and sliced it down me chest, leaving me on the ground to die."

She took in the reddened look on his face as he recalled the memory and told it to her. Maeve's heart ached for him in a way it never had before. She felt his light tremble, and tears burned the back of her eyes.

He was so little then with no one to look out for him or protect him.

"You protect everyone around you," she spoke in a low voice, and her hand moved to cup his chin before she teased his lips with a kiss. "You need someone to love and protect you too."

"It is me duty," he answered her with ease then clamped a hand around her waist and drew her down again. Maeve placed her head on his chest and listened to the steady thump of his heart beating. "Protectin' and providin' for me people is all I've ever known."

She understood now why taking something for himself was impossible from the start. Maeve wished he could let go with her and allow himself to feel desire if he needed it.

When she kissed his chest, he growled and moved to pin her under him on the bed.

"I dinnae wish to hurt ye, Maeve," he said in a trembling voice as he traced a hand down between her thighs and parted them. "Ye are sore, and I cannae promise to be gentle this time."

His lips fastened over her breasts as he said the words aloud. Maeve gave into the moan bubbling in her throat then she spread her legs wider for him.

"Archer…" She wriggled her hips, and he held her steady beneath him. "I want you," she said to him, licking his lower lip as he kissed her again.

He stroked her with his erection once then dipped fully into her. she cried out from the intensity of his strokes and held on as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and took her to heights she had never reached before.

Archer made love to her two more times that night, and by dawn, they giggled while his tongue teased hers in a slow, arousing kiss that still did not satisfy either of them.

Maeve grinned wide when he finally let her leave his bed. She slid into her night dress, lifted her hair over her shoulders, then tried to brush her fingers through her hair.

"I shall ride out with my mother and sisters this evening. Will you join us?"

He propped a hand under his chin, lifting his head, so he could watch her tighten the sash of her night dress. "What I want is ye in me bed all day," he replied in a husky tone that brought a flush to her cheeks.

"Well, we cannot do that because you have to attend your meetings and …"

She laughed loud when he jerked off the bed, got to her, and wrapped his arms around her waist again. Maeve pressed her palms flat into his chest. "What are you doing?"

Heat crept up her skin, and she tilted her head back to give him access to her neck and breasts when he began kissing her all over.

"Archer," she moaned, shivering from his ministrations.

He drove her to the edge of desire again. Maeve licked her lips and bunched her fingers up in his hair. He lifted her off the ground, and her legs snaked around his waist with ease.

Archer said nothing else as he sat on the bed and began making love to her again. This time, she straddled him, and she marveled in the sensations he invoked in her.

Maeve blushed most of the afternoon she spent with her mother and sisters in the moors. They picnicked with Lauren and Quinn. Her mother got along with them fine, and as they planned the details of the upcoming Yuletide feast, Maeve let herself dream of a happy future with Archer here.

The Viscount's threats came to mind sparingly, but she brushed them off with ease. Archer would protect her…she was certain of it, and for the first time in her life, she did not need to worry about anyone.

He has protected me so far and I would rather not worry anyone.

By the stroke of dusk, she returned to the keep and found Archer standing with Jensen in front. They seemed lost in their discussion at first glance, but once Archer saw her, he beamed.

His eyes narrowed at the corners, but the burst of joy she saw in his gaze could not be mistaken for anything else. Archer motioned for her to come to him, and she flushed beet red when he kissed her fully on the lips.

"We journey for MacGuire soon, and I intend for it to be an adventure for ye," he revealed. "It will be me first time attendin' a feast as laird, and I am excited."

Maeve loved to see this side of him. A bubbly laugh fell off her lips as she watched his amused smile. "I shall prepare," she answered, her eyes bouncing off his to Jensen.

Quinn soon joined them, and Maeve watched her link hands with her husband before kissing him squarely on the lips. They stood there and discussed for some time before Maeve joined her sisters and mother again.

That night, she hummed to herself in her chambers while sitting in front of her mirrors. Dahlia helped run the wooden brush over her brown hair, and Maeve kept thinking about how her luck had changed.

Archer seemed happier with her now, and she rarely ever remembered her time in England. When she was with Archer, she completely forgot about her past. All she could think about was what the next few years on the Highland would be like.

They could explore the lands she had always wished to travel to together, and Archer would re-build his clan till they were loved and powerful again.

I could bear his children, she thought with a blush, and her heart spiraled with a surge of energy that made her pulse jump. Maeve's entire body heated up as she recalled their activities last night.

Her hand moved to her stomach, and she pressed it down there, wondering if they had made a child already. As she stared at her rosy cheeks in the mirror, her heart swelled with warmth and pure joy.

I shall have his children, and we shall be a happy family.

The wistfulness of the moment had her heart leaping higher. Maeve's happy moment was, however, interrupted when her gaze landed on the potted plant in a corner of her chamber, and a vivid image of Gilbert's whip on her back cut through her mind.

Maeve instantly paled, the smile on her lips dwindled, and panic seized at her heart. There are consequences for everything, Maeve. Remember that always, he had snarled at her while snatching her chin to one side, so she met his eyes. You can protect your sister's forever, but who will protect you from me?

A chill spread through her now, and every image of the hopeful future she could have with Archer slowly faded from her mind. How can I be hopeful for the future when the past looms over my head? Gilbert's threat had been clear. Could she ignore him?

Here in the Highlands, he had no control over her decisions. But he was a dangerous man…a sick, entitled brat who would do anything to get what he wanted.

All those years he spent hurting her made her realize just how evil his heart truly was. Maeve knew she had to do something about Gilbert Hampton before he destroyed the happiness she now she had.