take a seer to figure it out.” He bowed and kissed her fingers. “God’s speed, m’lady.”
Turning his attention to Emma, he helped his wife into the waiting coach and scooted Albert off the velvet bench.
Emma took his place and patted her knee. The dog was all too happy to rest his head there and receive a pet. “Are you ready for a new adventure, laddie?”
Ciar smoothed his palm around her shoulders. “A new adventure. I like the sound of that.”
The coach rocked as it started away. “Ye ken I trust you implicitly, but will you tell me where you’re taking me?”
“Well.” He kissed her lips, then nibbled along her jaw to the tune of her delightful giggles. “I wanted our first days together as man and wife to be unforgettable.”
Her shoulders shimmed as he licked the blue vein running down her neck. “I’ll never forget.”
“Nay, because I’ve an armada of fourteen ships waiting out at the mouth of the River Ness.”
She gasped. “Fourteen ships?”
“Aye, and we’ll be sailing in luxury, staying in the captain’s cabin of my new cutter.”
“A tall ship?”
“Mm hmm.” He kissed her rosy cheek. “We’ll sail around the southern point of Britain and up the west coast until we reach the Firth of Mull.”
“I ken where that is—and we’ll sail past Gylen Castle and the isle of Kerrera.”
“Indeed, though we’ll not stop until we’re moored at the estuary beneath Dunollie.”
“Is Betty sailing?”
“Aye, she’ll be with us.”
“And Albert.”
The dog’s tail wagged at the sound of his name.
Chuckling, he pulled her onto his lap. “Of course Albert.”
Ciar supported her back with his left hand while he cupped her cheek, admiring the delicate lines of her lips. “I love you,” he whispered right before he lowered his mouth to hers. Closing his eyes, he savored her taste. As he sealed their lips together, he seduced her with hot glides of his tongue while slowly inching up the hem of her yellow gown.
She stilled his wrist. “Ciar, no.”
“No?” he asked, moving his mouth to the luscious tops of her breasts—tempting, creamy flesh that had beguiled him throughout the ceremony. Sliding his fingers past her garters, he found a gloriously silken thigh. “Mayhap just a wee sample of what’s to come.”
“But we’re in a coach.”
He slipped his hand just a wee bit higher, high enough to make her blood thrum. “Aye—enclosed inside where nary a soul can see us.”
“No one?” she asked, a grin spreading across her lips.
He coaxed her legs open, sliding his hand up until he lightly brushed downy curls. “Only Albert.”
Emma arched into him, a hint of her nipple showing from her scooped neckline. With a sweep of his tongue it slipped free of the silk and lace, and he teased it while his finger slid into the warm, wet folds beneath her skirts.
She placed her palm on his chest and moved it downward, until she touched the tip of his cock, hard and wedged beneath the soft curve of her hip.
He moved his finger along her parting, making her head drop back with a rapturous gasp. “Let me pleasure you, my love.”
She lightly brushed her fingers, making his balls tighten. “Just me?”
“Not to worry,” he whispered, moving his mouth up to her lobe. “My pleasure will come later.”
“Mm. And I will see to it,” she said, reclining her head and moving her hips with the gentle caressing of his finger. As her passion mounted, he slid inside and worked faster, using his thumb to tantalize her. And when her mewls grew louder he covered her lips with his, relentlessly stroking her, until he muffled the elated cries of her peak with his mouth.
Panting, she brushed her hand over his hair. “I love you, Ciar MacDougall.”
“And I you,” he said, as he slowly slid his hand away and straightened her skirts.
“We’ve hit the cobblestones of Inverness. It won’t be long now before we arrive at the wharf.”
Emma patted her hair. “I must look a fright. Have I smashed my flowers?”
He examined the lovely daisies and cornflowers inserted among the curling pile of red tresses and pulled out one with crushed petals and tossed it out the window. “I must say your coiffure withstood my attack quite well.”
“I would refer to it as no more than a surprise.”
He tugged up her bodice to ensure all returned to its proper place. “A pleasant one, I hope.”
She nuzzled into his neck. “Delicious. Delightful. Dizzying.”
As the coach rolled to a halt, Emma clasped his hand between hers. “I cannot believe I shall have