Chapter 22

Pleasure And Surprises

Holly felt her pleasure rise at her husband’s words, and she was caught up in a wave as he carried her out of the water and to the bank. Water dripped from their soaked undergarments, and the heat of the sun was a welcome respite from the coldness of the river.

Randall carried her back to the clearing and lowered her onto the grass. Holly marveled at it once more, the softness better than any bed she had lain in. She looked up at the sky above, taking in the rich blue and readying herself.

The blue circle was replaced a moment later by the face of the man she loved. She had been relatively sure before, but she could feel it in her heart now. She was in love with Ragnall, and she didn’t care what came next. The love brought the best feeling imaginable, and it was overwhelming.

She looked into his chestnut-brown eyes, getting lost in the color. She held onto him tight, fearing she might float up into the sky if she remained untethered. Ragnall leaned down and kissed her again. Her body was warmer now—with the heat from the sun and his body—but their kiss ignited a fire in her core.

“Mmm,” Holly moaned, lying back beneath the Laird and letting him pleasure her. She responded with her tongue languidly, but he did the work, licking at her and leading the kiss.

She let him take control. They were in the middle of the woods, all alone, and she would let him do to her whatever he pleased. His bare chest pressed against her shift-covered breasts, the wetness giving her a slight chill that was quickly wrung out by the pressure.

She lifted her hands to his cheeks as he kissed her, holding him there. She never wanted his kisses to end. Her hand traced his scars and then trailed down his neck to his shoulder and then down his side to his thigh. Then it trailed back up, delicately tracing his scars until it was back on his face.

Ragnall took her hands and pinned them above her head, stretching her body. Holly felt the soft grass against the back of her hands.

He teased her, pulling away from her lips and then pecking them gently again. When she pushed her head up, he pulled back and smiled. He looked like an angel atop her, his face framed by the blue sky above and the tips of the silver birch trees.

Holly lowered her head, and the Laird leaned in and kissed her again. She yearned for more than just a peck on the lips, but she was not the one in control. The Laird pressed his lips to hers gently, and when she parted them, he pulled back again, eliciting a frustrated smile from her.

She looked up at him, and he waited a moment before leaning down again and kissing her. This time, the gentle pressure on her lips was followed by his tongue slipping into her mouth, and she closed her mouth firmly to trap it, as if catching a fish in a net. She sucked on his tongue and moaned.

Ragnall soon pulled away again, and she was powerless to fight back. She could only look up at him, begging him with her eyes for more.

“Do ye like that?” he asked.

“Aye,” she breathed.

“Do ye want more?”

“Aye, please give me more,” she pleaded. “Please dinnae stop.”

“I willnae stop until ye explode with pleasure,” the Laird promised.

Holly bit her bottom lip and nodded.

The Laird leaned in, hovering just above her lips, his warm breath tickling her. She could smell the river on his skin and the wildflowers between the trees. He leaned down slightly, not kissing her yet, but then he moved swiftly to her neck.

Holly moaned and turned her head to the side to give him access. The Laird planted a delicate kiss on her neck, but then he began nibbling on her skin and licking her soft flesh. Holly moaned louder and louder, unable to contain herself. She felt her core clenching, and she wanted his lips on hers, but she wanted his lips elsewhere, too.

His hand clamped over a heaving breast, and he squeezed. Her nipple stiffened beneath the wet fabric, the cold removed by his touch. He kneaded and fondled more and more of her curves as he kissed and licked her neck, holding her just tight enough to feel pleasurable and not painful. His free hand moved up her arm to her wrist, and then he took both of her hands in his, pinning them above her head.

Holly submitted to him, opening her legs. She felt the cool breeze kiss her sex, but she wanted it to be replaced by something warm.

She was obliged a moment later.

The Laird did not waste time kissing down her body. He released her hands but kept hold of her breast. He moved down to her thighs, lifting her shift to reveal her fertile garden, and then his free hand went to her other breast, squeezing it.

Holly wanted to moan, but she could not utter a sound when the Laird buried his head in her wetness. She arched her back and opened her mouth, but the pleasure was so deep that she could not form a single sound. Perhaps it was the transition from cold to hot or the location or their shared afternoon, but it was better than she could have ever hoped or imagined.

He licked at her, probing her pulsing bud with his tongue and gently sucking on it. He kissed around her waiting cavern, licking and lapping at her entrance. Holly couldn’t keep her hands still, so she brought them down to the back of his head to pull him into her. She needed him more than ever.

She opened her legs wider, bringing her knees up. She held him in place, worried that he might not be able to breathe, but she couldn’t release him now. There was only one way to release him, and that was with the orgasm to come.

She was finally able to moan and let out a deep, animalistic sound that surprised her. She was only surprised momentarily before the first jolt in her core came. The cold was gone now, and she was warm all over, the heat emanating from within.

Holly moaned deeply and then gasped before moaning again. She writhed under his lips, her body shaking and beginning to lose control. She held his head to her, but he was the one fully in control.

He concentrated entirely on her center, moving his tongue over her sensitive area, teasing her, and then moving quickly. Holly ran her fingers through his hair, breathing heavily. Her chest rose and fell like swelling waves in the ocean.

The same feeling as the one that hit when she jumped into the river washed over her. It felt like a shock of coldness that removed everything else from the world, but it wasn’t coldness—it was pleasure.

“Mmm,” she moaned loudly. She pulled his head into her core again, trying to absorb him. “Oh, me goodness!”

Ragnall licked her fully, running the flat of his tongue against her bud. He did it again and again, caressing her with his muscle. Holly writhed beneath him, but she could not escape the pleasure he was wreaking on her body.

She closed her mouth and breathed in and out through her nose. She felt her heart pound quicker, so furiously that she thought it would burst out of her chest.

The Laird did not stop or let up. He lapped at her, unwavering. Her body began to buck under his touch. Shockwaves of ecstasy rippled from her deep cave. Her hands trembled as she tried to keep hold of him, her fingers tingling. She slowly lost control of her body, unable to think.

She became like a wild animal, only able to use her primal instincts. She could only concentrate on them coming from deep within.

Then, her entire body seized. She ground her sex against the Laird’s face, unable to keep still. She shuddered with pleasure, the pulses racing up and down her body to her fingers and toes.

All the built-up pleasure inside erupted through her like a volcano. She gasped and cried out, and she almost laughed in joy and hoped she didn’t startle any wildlife. She moaned deeply and then gasped again.

Her entire body shook one last time, and then she dropped back down onto the soft grass, panting and moaning gently.

His face swam above her, and his lips pressed against hers, and it was a second release to kiss him again. She moaned into the kiss, relishing his taste.

Ragnall pulled away from her and rolled onto his side. Holly looked up at the sky again. She pulled down the bottom of her shift and concentrated only on breathing, and when she felt able, she rolled onto her side and placed her head on his chest. He wrapped his arm around her, holding her tight.

“Oh, me goodness,” she breathed. She began to laugh. “What are ye doin’ to me?”

“Only what I please,” Ragnall replied. He kissed the top of her head.

“Aye, ye have that right.”

Holly could have fallen asleep in his arms—she felt safe even though she was outside in only a wet shift. The sun helped to dry them both, but as the day progressed, she started to feel the chill again.

“Ye are shiverin’,” the Laird noted. “Come on, let’s get dressed. I need to stretch me legs after that.”

“I need to stretch everythin’,” Holly said, laughing again.

They rose to their feet, their bodies leaving an indent in the grass. Ragnall helped Holly get dressed before he did, and then she packed up the basket. She glanced down at the spot they had lain in and smiled.

She took his arm as they walked back to the castle. She could not have planned a more perfect day. They got to the bridge and were about to cross it when they heard another rustling.

Holly turned with a smile, looking for the deer again.

But she did not find a deer this time. She found four men coming toward them with their swords drawn.