Chapter 22

Norah was not dressed in the finery of a rich bride, but in an outfit that resembled the Sunday best of one of the village women. She wore a traditional kirtle, with a laced bodice and a full skirt over a white blouse and an arisaid, a traditional shawl, over her shoulders, which was belted at the waist. The arisaid had been gifted to her by a group of the village ladies of Rosblane, who had spun, woven and dyed it for her, and Caitrin had brought it with her.

When Norah saw the clothes she gasped, incredulous at the generosity of these loving people who were willing to share what little they had with her.

"Caitrin," she said to her friend as she gazed at her new finery, "look at what these lovely ladies have done for me. I can't believe their goodness!" Her smile was bright enough to light up the room. "Everyone here has looked after me, fed me, hidden me, even risked their lives for me. What have I done to deserve all this?"

"You have been the light o' my life," Caitrin said warmly. "When my Peter was killed by the English five years back, I thought I had nothin' to live for. Then you an' Tearlach came into my life an' gave me new hope. I feel much younger an' very, very happy again because o' you." Suddenly she became brisk and businesslike. "Now - time tae get dressed!"

Tearlach was spending his last few nights of freedom in the guards' quarters in the castle, where he was enjoying the rough and ready companionship of his fellow warriors until the day he took his vows.

On the morning of the wedding, he was being ceremonially bathed in the moat by the men of his company, and it was rather a rambunctious affair, as would be expected when dozens of healthy young men came together. The water was freezing, and the men were mercilessly ducking him under the water again and again, roaring with laughter as they did so.

At last they let him escape, and he was allowed to dress himself for the wedding in peace. His heart was pounding like a drum as he made his way downstairs into the chapel, then stood facing the priest while they waited for the bride.

When they heard a hubbub at the back of the church, he turned to see Norah advancing towards him with a beaming smile on the arm of her father. She was dressed like a peasant but looked like a princess, and he felt himself burning inside with pride as he watched her. He reached out his hand and took hers, and her silver grey eyes smiled into his. Liam placed her hand in Tearlach's and looked at him as if to say something, but the steely glance he received made him scurry away quickly.

"Ready?" Norah whispered, looking up at him with shining eyes.

"Yes," he replied fervently. "I have never been more ready for anything in my life."

They turned to face the priest.

It was done, and Tearlach and Norah walked out of the chapel as man and wife, then he kissed her passionately at the church door, so that every one of the servants and tenants could see them. There was a huge cheer and a few suggestive comments, but when Tearlach picked Norah up and carried her into the Great Hall, there was an even louder chorus.

They sat close together, their thighs touching, and Norah could not remember a time when she had felt so content. She had thought that she might be nervous at the thought of being with her husband for the first time, but as she looked into his apple-green eyes, she could see that there was no need to be. There was nothing but love shining out of them.

They dutifully ate their share of the feast, even though both of them were desperate to leave, because they did not want to deprive the common people the chance to enjoy their few hours inside the castle. This might be the only time many of them would have the chance.

When Tearlach had asked the Laird for a day off for the wedding, Laird McMillan had shocked him by offering them the hospitality of the castle.

"But M'Laird, I am only a guard," he pointed out.

"I do my best for those who risk their lives for me," the Laird answered. And so it was done.

Presently Laird McMillan leaned down between them and said, "time to make your escape?" His face was full of mischief.

"Yes, please, M'Laird," Norah said gratefully. "I am a little tired."

The Laird's eyes flicked over to Tearlach, who was trying not to smile, because sleep was the last thing on his mind.

Laird McMillan stood up and struck his glass with his spoon for silence. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he called. "Is it not time we let Mister and Mistress McLachlan have some - er - rest?"

There was a gust of laughter at his speech, but when he stood up and held up his whisky glass a chorus of voices joined him in wishing the happy couple good health and happiness.

"Sláinte Mhath!" he called, then he escorted them to the foot of the main staircase, where he gave Tearlach a key. He smiled at both of them and put a hand on Tearlach's shoulder. "Thank you for your service," he said warmly. He smiled at Norah and kissed her hand, then he was gone.

When they reached the door, Tearlach unlocked it, then pushed the door open before sweeping Norah into his arms. "Happy weddin' day, my darlin'," he said huskily, before advancing into the chamber and setting her down on the floor.

Norah smiled into his beautiful green eyes. "At last," she breathed. "I never thought we would really be alone together, Tearlach. I know much hard work went into our wedding, but all I wanted was to be here with you."

"I know," Tearlach whispered, as he gently pulled all the pins out of Norah's hair so that it tumbled down her back in a shining river.

Norah's scalp tingled as he slid his fingers through the golden strands, and felt herself swell up with so much love and joy, she could hardly contain it. She flattened her palms against his chest and leaned into him, inhaling the musk of his skin and feeling the bulk of his muscles under her hands.

He pulled her closer to him, and she felt the hard ridge of his erection pressing against the base of her belly, and her body responded in its usual way with a flood of warm moisture and a sweet ache. Fortunately, she had asked Caitrin about what went on between a man and a woman a short time previously, because her father had neglected to tell her, or have her educated about the facts of life.

Presently, Tearlach bent to kiss her, and as if a fire had started between them, passion flared into life. He thrust his tongue into his mouth to tangle with hers, and she responded by grinding her hips hard against him, making him growl with need. When he tore his mouth away from hers, his eyes were dark with desire.

"Oh my Norah," he whispered. "You have nae idea how long I have dreamed of this moment, how many hours I have lain awake just thinking about you. Ye are the love of my life an' I will never let ye go. I will never let anybody harm ye."

Norah cupped his face in her hands and kissed him softly, then she felt his fingers at the front of her dress as he began to unlace her bodice. She smiled at the concentration on his face as he removed each item of her clothing until she was standing in her thin shift. Her peaked nipples showed through it clearly, and because he could hold himself back no longer, he bent to suckle one through the filmy garment.

Norah had never felt anything so sublime, and she moaned at the sensation of the warm wetness of his lips suckling, and his strong teeth scraping the pebbly hardness of her buds.

"I need you on the bed," he said huskily, as he once more swept her into his arms and laid her tenderly on it. Norah watched in fascination as he stripped his clothes off so fast that they might have been burning him, and presently she was gazing at the most magnificent sight she had ever witnessed.

He was nothing like what she had imagined. When she saw the breadth of his shoulders, the shape of the muscles on his chest and the tiny ones that ran down his stomach to his waist, she was amazed.

Everything about him was so different: he was angular where she was curved, hard and muscled where she was soft, hairy where she was smooth. Her gaze traveled up his thighs and came to the part of him that was most different of all, a round rod of hard flesh that looked impossibly huge. Her eyes widened and she swallowed nervously as she gazed at it.

"I know what you're thinkin'," Tearlach said, as he climbed onto the bed beside her. "But I promise that you will be fine, sweetheart. Men and women were meant to be together as one body, an' we two are nae different from everyone else."

"You won't hurt me?" she asked fearfully.

"Only the first time, an' just a wee bit," he answered, as he smiled at her. "But I promise I will not do anythin' ye don't want. If ye tell me to stop I will. I love you so much."

"I love you," Norah whispered, then Tearlach pulled her shift over his head and tossed it away to the corner of the room before kissing her hungrily.

He cupped one of her breasts in his hands and rubbed his thumb over its hardened nipple, then resumed the sensual assault he had begun through her shift, as he took it into his mouth and began to suckle and nibble it gently.

The sensation was so incredibly delicious that Norah could hardly stand it, and she moaned with pleasure as he changed sides to suckle the other breast. At the same time he gently twisted and ran his thumb over the nipple of the one he had just left.

Norah was writhing on the bed, hardly able to bear the pleasure he was giving her. She gripped the soft coverlet in her fists, desperately trying to find something to hang onto while Tearlach continued his relentless sensual assault on her body. She was gasping and her head was thrashing from side to side on the pillows as he worked his magic.

She felt bereft when he moved his lips away from her breasts, but it was only to kiss her lips again, and presently a new sensation began. She gave a little squeal as she felt his finger invading her entrance, pushing inside slowly, withdrawing and advancing over and over again. It was heavenly. Could this become any better?

Tearlach looked up and saw the expression of utter delight on her face. It was such a privilege to give such pleasure to the woman he loved, knowing that soon there would be even more. He wanted to take her to a place she had never dreamed of before.

He bent to sweep his tongue through her soft wet folds, then nibbled on the little nub that he knew would bring her the most delight. "Good?" he asked huskily.

Norah could hardly speak, but she nodded frantically. "Don't stop," she whimpered. He began to sweep his tongue over her swollen clitoris.

The sensation was akin to torture of the sweetest kind. It seemed that a madness was overtaking Norah as her hips arched off the bed of their own volition. She clung to Tearlach, holding onto the thick auburn mass of his hair as he carried her into a realm of delight she could never have imagined.

When he stopped to kiss her again, she could taste herself on his lips, and as he drew away to look into her eyes she begged, "please, Tearlach. I cannot wait any longer."

Tearlach had never been so glad to hear any words in his life, since the stress of holding back waiting for Norah to be ready was killing him. He had promised himself that this would be her night, and he would take things slowly and carefully so that she would be ready when the time came. Now he was almost painfully hard, and although his every male instinct was telling him to push inside her and not stop until he had spilled his seed, still he held back.

"Are ye sure, love?" he asked gently, then, as she nodded, he positioned himself between her thighs and eased forward gently, a little at a time, until he heard her cry out and clench around him. Norah gripped his shoulders so hard that her nails were digging into his flesh, then suddenly she relaxed and her eyes opened and looked into his.

"Go on," she whispered. "Please, Tearlach."

Once again, he began to move inside her and a moment later Norah realized that she was moving with him, and then it was effortless, and their bodies were rising and falling in time with one another.

But something else was happening. As Tearlach thrust faster and faster, Norah could hear him moaning in passion, and the sound drove her into a frenzy. She clenched tighter around him as a strange, delicious feeling began to assail her.

It started as softly as the touch of a feather on her most sensitive spot, then gradually built and built until the pleasure became almost unbearable. It ended suddenly as a wave of ecstasy washed over her, spreading from her core to every nerve ending in her body. Norah heard herself screaming as her fingernails dug into Tearlach's flesh and heard him reach his climax at the same moment, calling out her name.

They lay trembling in each other's arms as they came down to earth, then Tearlach opened his eyes and smiled into Norah's. Then there was a moment of perfect peace, perfect stillness, perfect love, during which neither moved nor spoke.

"Now you are mine, Norah," Tearlach said lovingly. "Truly my wife, at last."

"And you are mine," she replied, snuggling into the warmth of his body once more.

"How do ye feel?" He sounded a little uncertain.

"As if I am drowning in love," Norah answered. "I feel as though I have just come back from heaven. Will you take me there again?"

"Men have to rest after the journey back fae heaven." Tearlach chuckled. "We are no' quite as strong as you ladies."

"I wish I could write that down!" Norah laughed out loud. "A man admitting weakness to a woman! Surely such an event has never happened before."

"Maybe not," Tearlach murmured, "but I can be strong for you, Norah. I would die for ye. I cannae imagine my life without you." He ran his hand over her shining golden hair and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I love you so much," she whispered as she lost herself in his leaf green gaze.

Tearlach pulled her closer and they fell asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.