Chapter 29

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Half an hour later, while the stable lad was saddling their horses, Catalina and Ivar peeked into the stall to see the fawn. The little creature was curled up in a deep bed of straw, fast asleep.

“My, he’s grown,” she murmured, pleased to see how plump and healthy it looked.

“Aye,” Ivar said, leaning on the stall door next to her. “The stable lad at the inn says his leg is as good as new now.”

“That’s grand. I cannae help but feel the sweet little thing brought us together somehow,” she mused, smiling at the fawn.

“Aye, but maybe nae in quite the way I might have wished,” Ivar said, and they both laughed before moving away for fear of waking the tiny deer. Besides, their horses were ready.

Mounting up, they soon set off through the castle gates, with a party of guards keeping a discreet distance behind.

It did not take long for Ivar to work out where they were going. “So, we’re going back tae the loch, are we?”

“Aye,” she admitted with a smile.

“What fer? If I may ask.”

“Ye’ll see,” she replied mysteriously. ’Tis a surprise.”

“I’m nae sure I like the sound of that, not when ’tis ye sayin’ it. It sounds like

trouble.”

Catalina had to laugh at that. The teasing talk and laughter flowed easily between them as they rode, and they eventually reached the edge of the wood as before.

“D’ye remember when we were here the other night, durin’ the storm?” she asked.

“Ye must think I have an awful memory if ye have tae ask me that,” he told her with an amused glance.

She laughed. “I was just makin’ sure.”

“Cat, that’s somethin’ that’ll likely stick in me mind forever,” he assured her, making her heart glow with warmth.

They dismounted and, leaving the horses under the guards’ watchful eyes, they wended their way through the trees. Finally, they emerged onto the little hidden beach.

“So, here we are again,” Ivar said as they stood next to each other at the water’s edge for the second time in as many days. “Now, what’s this little plan ye have in store fer us.”

“Fer ye, ye mean,” Cat replied, smiling, feeling mischievous. “Well, first of all, ye need tae take yer clothes off.”

“I see. ’Tis like that, is it? Well, I’ll take mine off if ye’ll take yers off as well,” he answered, smirking at her.

She laughed, but she could think of no excuse not to agree. “All right. We’ll dae it together.”

They stripped off all their clothes, threw them on the gravelly sand, and then stood looking at each other naked in the bright sunlight.

“’Tis a bonny view from here,” Ivar said, grinning at her as his gaze traveled up and down her naked form.

“Is that so? Well, ye should see it from here. ’Tis marvelous,” she countered, frankly admiring his masculine beauty. “Shall we go in?” she asked, holding out her hand for him to take.

“It’s going tae be awful cold in there,” he warned, taking her proffered hand in his giant paw.

“Aye, that’s sort of the point. Come on.”

They stepped into the loch, hand in hand, both of them hissing and giggling as the chilly waters closed around their ankles, then their thighs, and when it covered their private parts, they let out loud shouts.

“Whose brilliant idea was this?” Ivar demanded, doubling up with laughter when Catalina screamed as the waters lapped over her breasts.

“Go ahead and laugh,” she told him, weakly, unable to suppress her own giggling. “Just because ye’re taller than me ye think ye’re going tae escape?” She dragged him by the hand all the way in, until only their heads were bobbing atop the wavelets.

“All right. What now?” he asked, brushing water from his eyes.

“Now, we swim,” she told him, laughing through her chattering teeth. She let go of his hand and pushed off from the sandy bottom. She swam a short way, reveling in the silken feel of the cold water as it penetrated every nook and cranny of her body.

“Is it nae thrilling?” she gasped as he swam up next to her.

“Aye, invigorating,” he agreed, coming closer.

“Exhilarating.” Their heads were very close.

“Rejuvenating.” Beneath the water, naked skin touched naked skin.

“Liberating.”

The word had hardly left Catalina’s lips before Ivar’s met hers. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his shoulders, while his arms went around her and held her to his chest as they clung to each other in a passionate embrace, the heat of their joined mouths a tantalizing contrast to the chilly waters enclosing them.

Still kissing her, Ivar playfully pulled them under, and she had to hold her breath until they burst upwards with a splash, sending spray everywhere. At last, they broke the kiss, and laughter bubbled out of them. Ivar looked so young, so happy, her heart lurched inside her.

As she gazed into his beautiful silvery-blue eyes that perfectly reflected the waters surrounding them, it came to her like a bolt from the blue.

I’m in love with him. I’m head over heels in love with me sister’s fiancé.

“How are ye feelin’?” she asked, suddenly buoyed up by the love she bore for him, forbidden or not.

“Free,” he answered without hesitation. He shook the water from his long hair like a seal, and Cat caught her breath to see how carefree he appeared. “I feel like… like the walls I’ve put up these last few years are all tumblin’; down and meltin’ away. I feel happy fer the first time in years, like a new man.” He gazed at her tenderly, pulling her close. Their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly, effortlessly, as if they were made for each other. “Thank ye, Cat, fer makin’ me a new man. A happy man.”

“As wrong as this is, ye make me so happy too,” she whispered as their lips joined once more, and she tasted the heat of their mutual passion that, whatever the circumstances, could no longer be denied.

The kissing continued as he carried her up the beach and laid her down on the soft grass at the edge of the beach, leaning on his forearms above her. Pinned beneath him, Catalina gave herself up to the sensations rippling through her as their tongues entwined in a sensuous dance, her hands traveling over his smooth skin.

Despite the chill the water had left on her, she felt a warm glow pulsing between her legs as a flame inside her ignited and leapt higher, burning within her like an all-consuming fire that swept away everything else except the yearning for his touch.

The force of his kiss swept her away, her passions inflamed as she recognized the equal passion in him. She did not hesitate at all, welcoming the sensual experience as he caught her lower lip between his teeth, gently teasing it before plundering her mouth once more, the whole length of his powerful body pressing against hers, making every part of her sing with excitement.

Their kisses deepened with dizzying intensity. Catalina, in a daze of desire such as she had never experienced before, entwined her arms around his neck and pulled him nearer, craving more of his touch.

With a guttural growl that turned her belly molten, Ivar lips left her mouth and began moving lower, trailing small, hot kisses down her throat, and lower still, down the soft concavity of her belly. With each touch she let out a small moan of pleasure, and she wanted to explore every part of him, more even than when they had shared the bed at Agnes’s cottage.

“Och, by the Wee Man, ye’re beautiful!” Ivar murmured, smiling at her hungrily as his mouth traveled tantalizingly across her naked flesh and his large, warm hands cupped her breasts. It was an exquisite sensation, and she exulted in the power she had to entice him, but she could only sigh and moan in helpless abandon as his hot tongue greedily devoured them, while he rolled her soft globes in his rough palms, squeezing the flesh and pinching the soft tips until they turned hard at his touch, sending shivers of pleasure traveling the length of her body.

His mouth and hands roved hungrily over every bit of her exposed flesh, kissing, nuzzling, sucking, and biting, teasing her in ways she had never known existed and now never wanted to end. Catalina’s fingers entwined in his hair, relishing the feel of his long golden locks as they spread softly over her breasts and belly. Its light, tickling touch was as much an aphrodisiac to her as his questing mouth and tongue, sending her into a frenzy of wanting as she tangled her fingers within its length.

Catalina trembled with anticipation as Ivar trailed one hand lazily from her breasts, down her belly, and over her hips. His palm slid slowly, luxuriously up the outside of her thigh, cupping and squeezing her buttocks. She moaned beneath him and wriggled in pleasure as his hand ran up and down her legs, finally arriving at the soft, curling nest between her thighs, the secret place where no other had been.

Utterly wanton now, acting from sheet instinct, she opened her legs to him, needing his touch on the moist, burning flesh of her sex, relishing the sensation of his other hand still playing with her breasts while his thick fingers prized her legs further apart, suddenly taking possession of her hidden folds. She trembled and cried out when he cupped her entire sex in his palm, working his hand back and forth, and she stiffened for a moment to feel his finger delving inside her entrance.

But the sensation was so delicious, she soon relaxed into it, pushing against him for more when another finger entered her, diving deeply inside her, creating the most thrilling sensations as her inner muscles responded to his firm explorations. She felt a third finger inside her, and the three moved in harmony in deep, rhythmic exploration. She stifled a scream when his thumb strummed expertly at her sensitive bud, making her moan and tremble with desire for more.

But she felt a desperate yearning to give him pleasure too and reached for his manhood. Her hand closed around it, and she groaned to feel its throbbing length in her hand. She worked it, slowly at first, and then faster, the way he had shown her before. Ivar groaned deep in his throat and lofted his head long enough to murmur, “Ach, Cat, ’tis wonderful, it feels so good when ye touch me like that.”

“And I feel the same about ye,” she whispered, her voice trembling from all he was making her feel. “I never want this tae end. Ye bring me tae life in a way I never knew existed, and I want more of ye.”

Ivar looked down at her, his smoldering gaze fanning the flames of her need before he shifted his body, turning so he could continue to pleasure her between her legs.

“Take me in yer mouth,” he murmured, and she did so eagerly, swirling the tip of her tongue around the head of his shaft as she gripped him firmly, eliciting more low groans from him.

“Och, God,” he gasped as she took his whole length in her mouth and sucked on him, while her hand pumped him rhythmically.

When he buried his head between her thighs, and his hot, questing mouth plundered her virgin flesh, Catalina let out a squeal even as her tongue lapped at his shaft, moaning as he teased her little rosebud, his tongue parting her folds, laying her entrance wide, his tongue flickering in and out of her alongside his fingers. They delved deeply into her, deeper than she ever thought possible.

“More, Ivar, I want more of ye. I need tae feel ye deep inside me,” she murmured, her lips enclosing his huge erection, her tongue running up and down the hot, silken length, welcoming the gentle thrusting to the back of her throat as he grew ever more excited. At the same time, she thrust her hips against his penetrating fingers, craving the feel of him inside her.

It was not long before she began to be gripped by strange and powerful waves of intoxicating heat that coiled up from her now molten center and swept over her body. At the same time, she felt Ivar’s erection hardening further, his balls tightening as she cupped them. She did not quite know what was going to happen, but she desperately longed to find out, for them to share whatever she sensed was coming.

“Och, Ivar, it feels so good, please dinnae stop,” she cried out softly, one hand gripping his hair, matching every thrust of his fingers with her hips, riding him as the inexorable waves of pleasure began moving up her body like concentric rings, drawing her once more by slow, deliberate degrees to the delicious edge of delirium. She knew he was feeling it too, for he was thrusting harder into her mouth, and she worked her hand faster and faster, her moans mingling with is groans, as the pleasure built to its ultimate peak.

She felt it as the shuddering climax gripped them both in its intensity, shaking her entire being to her very core, the exquisite sensations overtaking her as she sucked at him and teased him with her tongue, while her hips rode his hand, his fingers and tongue buried deep inside her, his thumb rubbing her bud in tantalizing circles.

As the waves of ecstasy gripped her, she felt him tensing too, and then he cried out hoarsely against her molten flesh, “Cat! Cat, I’m comin’,” and a warm gush filled her mouth just as the waves crashed down over her in a sudden, all encompassing, blissful rush.

It was the most wonderful delirious experience of her life!

They lay with their limbs entwined, naked in the sunshine as their skin cooled, and their breath returned to normal. A wonderful sense of tranquility infused Catalina as she rested, enfolded in Ivar’s strong arms, her arm across his broad chest. She thought she had never felt so fulfilled and peaceful. She allowed herself to be lulled by the sounds around them, the gentle lapping of the water nearby, the cries of the birds, the soft soughing of the warm breeze through the sheltering foliage.

She could hear the steady thump, thump, thump of Ivar’s heart as she rested her head against his chest, a comforting sound. But for some reason, like the snake in Eden, a thread of deep sadness began to weave itself through the complex tapestry of her love for Ivar. She knew she could never love another man, but equally, she knew that what they shared was forbidden. Their love could never be, and only heartache loomed ahead.

Desperate for some clarity, she whispered, “This is paradise, Ivar. I want tae stay like this forever. I care so much fer ye. But with ye bein’ engaged tae Anastasia, ’tis impossible. What are we going tae dae?”

Ivar’s arm tightened around her, and he kissed the top of her head. “I have feelins fer ye too, Cat, ye ken that by now. I cannae hide it. Ye’ve given me so much in such a short time. ’Tis like ye’ve brought me back tae life. In the last four years since Thor’s death, I’ve never been so happy. I… I am in love with you.”

“Ye make me happy too, Ivar, so very happy, and I love ye too” she told him, brushing a long fair lock of hair from his face, her eyes welling up with tears of happiness and despair. “But there seems nae way fer us tae be together. We have tae think of Anastasia. I cannae bear tae think of her bein’ hurt by what’s happenin’ between ye and me.”

“I agree with ye—Anastasia’s feelins are paramount. But at the end of the day, none of us asked fer this situation. This marriage between me and yer sister was forced upon us by the king. We dinnae love each other.”

He shifted slightly so he could look into her eyes, and she saw his handsome brow was furrowed with worry. He continued, “Neither of us meant fer this tae happen between us, but there’s nae use us denying how we feel about each other. All I can tell ye is that, even if ye dinnae want tae be with me, I cannae marry Anastasia. It would nae be fair.”

Catalina stared at him, her emotions in a whirl. On the one hand, she was elated that he cared for her as much as she did for him, to the point that he was prepared to back out of the marriage. On the other, she wondered what would happen if he did it at this late stage. How would it affect Ana, and how would he explain it to everyone? It was all such a mess!

“I tried tae get Ana alone earlier on, tae tell her the truth. She has a right tae ken. But she was busy, and I had tae come and meet ye, so I didnae get the chance. Also, I am happy we discussed it first. Please dinnae dae anythin’ yet. I need time tae think about all this and talk tae her about it first. I have nay idea how she’s going tae react. But I think I should be the one tae tell her, dinnae ye agree?”

“Of course. I’ll dae naethin’ until ye’ve spoken tae her,” he promised, hugging her closely and pressing his lips to hers.

“I think we should head home now,” she said reluctantly, wishing they could remain there in blissful solitude forever. “The sooner I can speak tae Ana, the better.”

“All right. Let’s get dressed and go back,” he agreed. They were both subdued as they put their clothes back on. Without her even asking, Ivar helped Catalina into her stays and gown and tidied her hair for her with the same gentle finesse he had used to split the apple. Once they were ready, they shared a tender kiss before slipping back through the trees to the horses.

Catalina’s anxiety over the forthcoming conversation with Ana was overwhelming as they rode back to the castle. She hated deceiving her beloved sister. When they got back, they took the horses back to the stables and began walking to the keep.

“I’m going straightaway tae find Ana and tell her everything,” Catalina told Ivar. “I cannae put it off any longer.”

“Aye, it willnae be pleasant, but ’tis fer the best. Tell me what happened later. I’ll have tae speak tae her too at some point.”

They paused for a moment before rounding the corner to the main courtyard.

“One last kiss?” Ivar asked softly, his smile and his silvery-blue eyes making her melt all over again.

“One,” she said, standing on tiptoes to meet his lips with hers.

She was submerged in the kiss when suddenly, there was a loud gasp from nearby. Instantly, their lips broke apart, and their heads turned in unison to the source of the sound.

“Ana!” Cat cried, her heart plummeting to the ground when she saw it was her sister standing there, her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide with shock. Before either of them could say anything, Anastasia spun on her heel and ran off, out of sight.