king had given his blessing, the only thing James thought about was to have his bonny lass in his arms to cherish for the rest of his days. As soon as he’d stepped ashore at Lochranza Castle, he set MacSween to task, insisting the priest be summoned without delay.
Within an hour, Her Ladyship managed to don a gown of lavender silk and a veil to match. Her beauty took his breath away and he stood transfixed while the priest chanted the order of holy matrimony.
It was a small affair with the lord and lady of the castle in attendance as well as Florrie, Harris, and Coira. After the service, MacSween provided a feast of roast leg of lamb, but there had been no time to arrange for musicians or dancing or any of the pomp that comes with a wedding. And James did not give a fig. He had his strong-willed, quick-tongued, stunningly beautiful Ailish by his side at long last.
All through the meal, he was giddy with anticipation, barely able to wait until they could be alone. Finally, when his bride led him to her chamber above stairs, he followed as if he, the feared Black Douglas, were floating on a cloud.
“I cannot believe this day,” Ailish said as she opened the door. “’Tis as if all of my dreams have come true with the snap of my fingers.”
“You harbor no regrets that I insisted on a hasty marriage?” he asked, following her inside. The room was small but warmed by a peat fire and lit with an array of candles artfully placed on the mantel. In one corner stood a washstand with an earthen bowl and ewer. There was but one chair, though the round table beside it contained a flagon of wine and two goblets with a note beside it.
“Look at this.” Ailish moved to the table and picked up the slip of vellum. “May the joy that binds you yield fruits of the spirit – MacSween.”
“He’s a good man.” James pulled her into his arms, closed his eyes, and kissed her, slowly, deliberately, possessively. “Och,” he sighed. “I’ve never been so happy.”
“Nor I.”
He glanced to the narrow bed, wedged against a wall. It was a bit small but would do. Hell, the floor would do.
The table.
The window embrasure.
As long as they were in each other’s arms, he’d make love to his lady anywhere.
Leaning away, he refused to release her from his arms. “Would you like a wee bit of wine?”
Ailish slowly scraped her teeth over her bottom lip and toyed with the brooch at his shoulder. “First…”
“Hmm?”
“I want you to make love to me.”
His knees buckled. It took all the self-control James could muster not to rip the lovely lavender dress from her lithe bones and lay her down. For the past nine months, this woman had consumed his dreams, his thoughts, his hopes.
And now she is mine.
“I’ve been waiting months to hear you say that,” he whispered, nibbling her neck. “I need to be inside you.”
Ailish slid the veil from her head. “And when we join, we will be one. Bonded by our love.”
Though his hands trembled with his desire to move fast, he untied the bow securing her neckline, slowly tugging the ribbon and spreading the laces of her bodice until the gown whooshed away, dropping about her feet.
Wearing only a thin linen shift, she stepped out of her slippers. Then eyeing him with the intent of a delicious hellcat, she unclasped the brooch at his shoulder and set it on the table. With deft fingers, he unfastened his belt, sending his plaid to the floorboards.
Another tug of a bow and her shift vanished.
His braies vanished.
And in a rush, garters and stockings flew across the chamber.
Their lips fused, their bodies crushed together as in a frenzy while their hands explored, rubbing, caressing. James backed her toward the bed and slid his fingers down her narrow waist, willing himself to regain a modicum of control.
“You are a goddess to be worshiped,” he growled, pulling her against his erection. The fervor started again while he sank his fingers into her luscious, soft bottom, his eyes crossing as she rubbed against him. Rocking his hips forward, he bit his lip and pressed harder. Until his thighs shuddered.
Any more and I will spill.
In one motion, he swept her onto the mattress. Exquisite sable hair sprawled across the pillow, her body lithe, naked, and prone to him. Ailish’s breasts alone with their gentle mounds and taut nipples arrested his