Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

Agnes held her breath, waiting for her husband's response. Beyond his grip tightening on her sides, he had not moved or spoken. She was standing, naked in the Laird's chambers, wondering if this had all been for naught.

Then Leo suddenly brushed her hair so that it fell over one shoulder. Agnes's back arched as his knuckles ran up her spine, slow and deliberate, and then his lips gently pressed to the center of her back. And again, just to the side. To just below her shoulder blade, to the center of her back, and over again.

At first, Agnes did not understand, and then realization dawned on her. Tears pricked her eyes, and she let out a hitched, grateful sob. She tried to turn around, but he would not let her.

Not until he pressed a kiss to every last scar on her back.

When he stood, she heard a rustle and turned in time to see him shedding his shirt. He seemed even bigger and harder in the firelight, yet touchable too. Leo caught her hand and pressed it to the scar on his side, then kissed her lips.

"Ye are far, far braver than most, Nes."

Agnes felt a sob hitch in her throat and tried to smile up at him, trying to thank him for what he'd done. But the fear was too big, and his mask—oh, his mask.

Over the past weeks, Agnes had wondered time and again if perhaps some cruel twist of fate had forced Leo into a marriage not only with an almost-nun but also a scarred one.

He had enough burdens to carry without having to face hers.

And yet not in her wildest dreams did Agnes think Leo would have taken the time to kiss every one of her scars.

"You still want me?" she whispered, even though she knew. "You don't find me ugly?"

"Such a thing is impossible, Nes." Leo shook his head, his eyes gentle, and he turned her wrist over. "Ach, another one. I fear it will take me a lifetime to find them all, ye wicked, little sinner."

"But I-I would understand," Agnes choked out. "I have been thinking about it—" She swallowed a sob. "Your mask, your scars…"

Leo's eyes closed, and he pulled in a deep breath. After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Then, his lips dropped to her ear as he pulled her close.

"It's nae the scars alone that make the Beast of Briorn, lass. That's why…"

"I don't care," Agnes said and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her bare body to his chest.

She reveled in the feeling of the hard edges of muscle and hair against her feverish skin. And from the way Leo choked and bucked against her, he liked it, too.

"You are mine too, Laird MacLarsen."

"Och, aye, nay doubt about that," Leo muttered.

His lips found her neck as one of his hands ran down her back and squeezed her bum again. The other hand teased her arm, while she clutched at his hair.

"I dinnae think ye would even be repulsed if I killed all those damned nuns who hurt ye."

"It was not all of them," Agnes said and gasped as Leo pinched one of her nipples. Of all things, she thought they might—or might not talk about. "And again, you are kind, but yes. You do not deserve to be burdened by their cruelty."

Leo stilled and pulled back, gazing at her. There was a strange look on his face, as though no one had ever put such an idea together for him. His lips parted and then closed.

"Did I scare you?" Agnes finally whispered.

At that, Leo jolted, and a wicked smirk slowly spread across his face. "If I didnae ken better, I'd say ye were tryin' to see the monster—ye think you'd like the monster that I am, Nes?"

"You are not a monster, Leo," Agnes said fiercely.

He huffed out a breath, and she leaned in, kissing him.

She pulled back and gazed at him. "But if you were, then I am a hundred times worse." Her husband's gaze filled with severe reproach, and he went to speak, but Agnes continued. "An almost-woman of God, who wanted to be taken by a Highlander, who wanted to consummate this marriage more than her husband… You say you want me. But the way I want you, how much I want you, Leo—I am far, far worse."

"What do they teach ye in those convents?" Leo groaned as he leaned in to kiss her again. "Christ, Nes, what did I do before I met ye?"

Now his hands were roaming everywhere, leaving no part of her untouched or unheated. He seemed unable to get enough of her, and Agnes returned it in kind. Her hands swept up over his hard stomach, causing him to gasp into her mouth, then into the hair on his chest.

Her fingers dug in there, and he half-laughed, half-groaned, but he seemed to like it best when she reached around to hold on to him. Her body took over, arching and writhing against him, the ache between her legs growing.

And yet Leo did not touch her there, not yet.

Not until she realized he'd walked them toward the bed and her legs hit it. He pushed her down so that her legs were dangling, and then he knelt. She gasped as he spread her legs, holding her by the thighs, and gazed at her center.

And then he tasted her. Agnes arched up, crying out his name and squirming, trying to find that release. But he kept her away from it, causing her body to become more and more restless, more and more heated.

"Leo, please ," Agnes half-sobbed as he stood up.

"I needed ye ready, mo ghràidh, " Leo said, and she realized he was taking off his trews. She scrambled up, watching as his manhood sprung out, and everything she'd wondered about connected in her head. Her mouth dry, she looked up at him, and he nodded. "Och, aye."

"But…" Her gaze darted down, and she shivered as Leo squeezed himself, his big hand working the length that seemed far too big for her small body.

"Dinnae fash," he said. "Ye are wet enough to take me without pain, I hope. And the pain willnae last."

She gasped as he grabbed her ankle and yanked her to the edge of the bed again. Agnes had not even realized she'd been moving backward. He smirked at her and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Och, but Sassenach, the pleasure will last. Ye will beg for more."

Agnes whimpered, looking down in time to see Leo brush his manhood against her center. It sent a white-hot spark of heat through her, and she nearly arched off the bed.

Leo sighed and shook his head. "Ye cannae make anything easy, can ye?"

"You are huge ," Agnes yelped and tried to move backward again.

But Leo followed her, now on the bed, too, and it dipped under his weight. He seized her and held her with ease, kneeling between her splayed legs. Agnes arched up as his fingers began rubbing soothing, teasing circles against her. Soon, she was panting and coming undone again.

Prayers and pleas tumbled in her head, but she couldn't speak. She couldn't think. Not when this bright, hot pleasure was so concentrated and her body seemed to ache for more—to be filled and consumed.

Consummated. Oh.

"L-Leo," she whimpered.

"Need somethin', wife?"

Her teeth were almost chattering, and she twisted on the edge of the bed, whimpering when his fingers left her. Cool air brushed against her, but Leo did not move, simply pinned both of her thighs in place.

"You, please," she whispered. "I'm ready."

"I ken," Leo said and moved closer, then hovered over her.

One hand slid under her back and lifted her hips, causing her to squeak in surprise, and Leo laughed. Then he pressed against her, teasing at first, until she squirmed.

Leo huffed out a breath, going slow, but Agnes shook her head as she watched. "More, now, please ."

With a snarl, Leo surged forward and filled her to the hilt. She let out a soft cry, as there was a sharp pain, then a shudder of strangeness, of fullness, and her throat closed up. And then her body seemed to recognize him, to know what to do, as pleasure spiraled through her.

"Oh, oh," Agnes cried out, and Leo began to move. "Yes, Leo, oh yes ."

She watched as he filled her again. One of her ankles was suddenly at his shoulder, and her other foot was pressed to the mattress, while he tightened his grip, angling her hips up even more. He slid in and out, stroking her walls with his manhood in a way that was beyond perfection.

Did he feel this too?

"Ye feel so good, Nes," Leo gasped. "I can barely hold meself back, damn."

"Don't," Agnes begged. "More of that—oh, yes. "

Leo began to pound into her, a snarl on his face, and she lit up from head to toe. Bone-shattering bliss washed over her in waves, every nerve ending lit up. She watched Leo, his focus, his pleasure, and she smiled as he came undone.

They were one. They were always meant to be one.

As she had that thought, Leo made a rough sound, moving even faster. Then he was kissing her, pressing her down, and they were lost in each other. Wave after wave rose, spiraling higher and higher, and then it crashed down. She heard Leo roar her name, shaking as he climaxed, and then she was gone, nothing but embers and starlight and brilliant color.

The pinnacle of that pleasure pinned her down so hard that her vision fractured, and it seemed to take her a long time to come back to that bed, where Leo was still inside her. He was panting, lifting himself up on shaky arms, apologizing for pinning her down.

Agnes wound her arms around his neck and smiled. "May we consummate our marriage again, husband?"