Chapter 23

23

T illie blinked and took a step back in anger. "I dinnae. I told her if she couldnae behave, then she would have to leave."

The anger in Aidan's eyes lessened somewhat and became slightly clouded with confusion. "Has she mistreated ye? What has she done now?"

"Nay, not me," Tillie quickly explained. She stepped forward and placed her hand on his upper arm, gently caressing him. "'Tis ye who she is mistreatin'."

A look of bemusement crossed Aidan's face. "Ye were protectin' me?"

Tillie smiled gently and cupped his cheek. She had to stretch up on the tips of her toes to do so, though. The man was just so tall. "Aye."

Aidan's expression changed, and the smile he gave her now was soft. Pleased. As if what she'd done made him proud somehow. "And just how did ye protect me? What could Grace have done to make ye react so?"

"'Tis what she continues to do," Tillie explained gently. "She came to our chamber earlier and told me it would be better if I were not here." A thunderous expression crossed Aidan's features. "She said 'twas her duty to make sure ye continue to punish yerself for Anne's death."

"As I should," Aidan agreed.

How am I supposed to get through to him and make him realize that he does not deserve to be unhappy?

"Nay, ye should not, and I told Grace as much. I explained that ye both need to move on, and while ye keep Anne in yer memories, it does no one any good to live yer lives in misery."

Aidan's expression darkened with each word Tillie said. She started to wonder if she'd done the right thing but quickly pushed that doubt away. It was for their own good, and she knew she was correct to interfere. Someone had to, and as Aidan's wife and lady of the clan, that duty fell to her.

"Aidan —"

"What right do ye have to tell me how to mourn, what to feel, or how to live my life?" he demanded.

Tillie dropped her hand from his cheek and took a step back. He wasn't just angry, he looked furious. Her gaze dropped to his hands and noticed they were balled into fists. She wasn't worried he would use them on her, but she was concerned by just how angry he was.

"I'm yer wife, and I care —"

"Ye will leave Grace alone," he ordered. "Ye will not chastise her, and she will remain in this castle."

A sudden shot of anger burst through her body. Tillie glared at him, her frustration evident in every muscle of her tense body. "Ye dinnae have the right to —"

"And ye willnae argue with me on this," he interrupted, infuriating Tillie all the more.

"I am not yers to command," she finished, practically shouting.

Aidan's eyebrows rose for just a second before they slowly lowered. His blue eyes narrowed, and that tick started up in his jaw again. His gaze traveled slowly from her eyes to her toes and back up again, and the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.

Tillie swallowed thickly. She'd probably said too much. As laird and her husband, he did have the right to command her, but she'd been so upset that he stubbornly chose to continue living in misery, she spoke out of frustration.

He took a step toward her. The way he moved reminded her of a predator stalking its prey, and she was that prey. Another step, and his eyes dropped to her mouth. Her lips tingled as if he was actually touching them, and she took a hasty step backward.

"Were ye not mine when I kissed you?" Aidan's voice was level, all the more lethal in her opinion.

He took another step, and Tillie countered with two of her own.

"Were ye not mine when I claimed yer sweet body and made ye cry out in pleasure?"

Tillie's whole body started to thrum with excitement at his words. She took a step backward and gasped when her back came up against the wall. There was nowhere for her to go, and Aidan was still advancing. An ache began in her lower belly, and this time she knew what it was: passion. Her body was responding to Aidan's nearness and words, no matter how she might wish otherwise at this precise moment.

Aidan closed the distance between them until he was standing toe-to-toe with her. Tillie refused to cower and tilted her head back, so she could look him in his eyes. He no longer looked angry. His blue gaze shown bright with lust now, and another thrill of anticipation shot along her nerves.

He leaned down and growled low next to her ear, "Never forget that ye belong to me."

Tillie's knees nearly buckled. His warm breath caressed her ear and sent shivers down her spine. A second later, his lips started trailing kisses, nipping here and there with his teeth, along her neck. She wanted to push him away and tell him they needed to finish this conversation, but she couldn't. What he was doing to her felt too good, and she didn't want it to stop.

Her arms wrapped around his waist as he nibbled his way to her throat and then up the other side of her neck. "Ye are mine," he growled when he reached her other ear, and it was Tillie's undoing.

Gripping the hem of his linen shirt with both hands, she pulled it up until it got stuck at his shoulders. Aidan helped by stepping back, crossing his arms over his head, and yanking his shirt off. Tillie nearly moaned at the sight of his powerful chest and the rippling muscles down his stomach. Her hands fluttered to his chest, and she lightly drew her fingernails down until they hovered just barely touching the waist of his trews.

Aidan was busy, too. His deft fingers unlaced her bodice and then tossed it aside. His large, warm hands cupped her breasts, squeezing and caressing them. When his thumbs flicked her nipples, Tillie moaned. Her fingers shook as she unfastened his trews, but then she didn't know what to do.

She didn't want to bend to take his pants off because that would mean she'd be moving away from his hands, and she didn't want that. Every time one of his thumbs tweaked a nipple, a sizzle of awareness shot through her nerves and the pressure in her lower belly increased. She could feel her breasts swell with his touch and her nipples peak and extend, as if reaching for him.

Aidan pulled down the shoulders of her chemise, baring her breasts. His eyes darkened with desire, and then his hot and talented mouth covered one breast and nipple. Tillie flung her head back. She forgot she had her back to the wall and was momentarily stunned when her head smacked against it, but his hand was there instantly, providing a barrier between her head and the hard surface of the stone wall.

Tillie wrapped her arms around his waist just as Aidan's mouth claimed hers. It wasn't a slow and sensual kiss as she was used to with him. This was him claiming her. It was hot and primal, and she welcomed every second of it. His tongue mated with hers, sliding and caressing, driving her to such a distraction she didn't realize how hard she was digging her nails into his back.

"Save some skin, lass," Aidan said with a chuckle. The sound was low and gruff though, and Tillie was thrilled that he was just as affected as she was.

"I'm so sorry," she started to say, but Aidan cut off her words and claimed her mouth again. He reached behind her and grabbed her wrists, then pinned them above her head.

Tillie was caught between Aidan's hot, strong body at her front, covering every inch of her, and the cool stone wall at her back. He rotated his hips, pressing his thickness against her core. Her entire body was on fire. Her bare breasts were squished against his broad chest, the feeling amplified with her hands above her head. It was exquisite torture, and Tillie didn't know what she wanted more, for it to continue or for him to stop so they could finish undressing and make love.

"I cannae wait any longer, Tillie," Aidan rasped after he broke the kiss. "I have to have ye now."

"Good," Tillie agreed huskily. "I cannae wait any longer either."

"God above, woman. Ye please me," he growled as he released her wrists.

Tillie shook her hands briefly to get the blood flowing again then grabbed at the waistband of his trews. Neither wanted to spend time disrobing, and they were naked a few seconds later. Instead of leading her to the bed, as she'd expected, Aidan took a step back and looked at her. His gaze roamed her body appreciatively, pausing longer at her breasts and the juncture of her thighs.

Hot, liquid heat pooled at her core, and Tillie shifted from foot to foot. She literally ached to have him inside her, and it was pure torture to just stand there letting him look his fill of her. She returned the gesture and took some time to study his amazing body.

She'd seen men without their shirts before, usually when they were practicing their warrior skills, but none compared to her husband. His chest was so wide that if she stood in front of him and someone walked in, they would not be able to see her.

The muscles there were thick and strong and then tapered to a narrower waist. It was the ripples along his stomach that she loved most, and her fingers itched to trace each deep line.

She'd been so caught up in admiring his body that she hadn't noticed he'd moved. He closed the step separating them and grasped her under her arms and picked her up. She gasped at the surprise move but didn't argue. She was curious what would happen next.

The position put her eye-to-eye with Aidan, and with her legs wrapped around his waist, the tip of his manhood just barely touched the opening of her core. He slanted his head and claimed her mouth with such heated passion, Tillie felt her muscles clench and thought she might just find her release right then and there.

When he started walking, the tip of his thick member pressed the tiniest bit inside her, and with every step, he went in just a little deeper. It was driving her mad. She squirmed against him, but he held her with a hand on each butt cheek and wouldn't let her move.

The cold stone wall was a bit of a shock when she once again found her back against it.

"I've dreamed of takin' ye like this," Aidan growled hungrily.

"Ye have?" Tillie choked. "'Tis possible to… er… to make love standing up?"

A half smile pulled the corner of his mouth upward. "Aye, 'tis."

Before she had a chance to say anything more, he surged inside her, filling her so completely she gasped. Her inner muscles stretched to accommodate him then started clenching around him as the tension built to such a high level, Tillie knew she would reach her pleasure any second now.

Aidan wrapped an arm around her waist, raised his other hand to put between her head and the wall, and then his hips went to work. He wasn't taking things nice and slow; he thrust into her as deep as possible then withdrew until only the tip was still inside her before slamming inside her again.

Tillie cried out as wave after wave of pleasure erupted from her. Her body clenched his in tiny spasms that went on forever and yet not long enough. Aidan smothered her cries with his mouth, but he kept thrusting into her, harder and harder. Faster and faster.

"Again," Aidan commanded, and she was surprised her body responded instantly. Her orgasm had barely ended when another one built, even more powerful than before. Aidan threw his head back and growled with his release a second after Tillie found her second pleasure.

It took several minutes for their breathing to return to normal, and then Aidan carried her, still connected with her legs around his waist, to the bed. When he slipped out from inside her, Tillie immediately felt the loss, but then he laid her on the bed and crawled in beside her. She laid there with her back to him but only for a second. He pulled her close, her back to his chest, his legs snug behind hers, and his strong arm around her waist. His hand rose and cupped her breast, and within minutes she heard his soft snoring. She laughed at the way Aidan always wanted a nap after they were intimate.

Tillie smiled and wiggled a little to try and get even closer to him. He and Anne had not loved each other, but she had hope Aidan would love her. Maybe he already did, she thought with wonder. He seemed to want to make love to her all the time; that was a good sign, right?

But then doubt crept in. He'd been adamant that he would live his life in misery as punishment for the way his late wife had died. He had forbidden her to send Grace away. And, she thought with a sad frown, Aidan had told her from the beginning that he had married her to beget an heir. Perhaps that was the reason he wanted to make love so often and not because he had feelings for her.