the bed.
Aidan spoke. “I can’t wait any longer, Anne. I’ll try not to hurt you.”
He’d been moving his body against hers. But his next action was foreign, unanticipated. It stirred her from the languorous haze of desire. He entered her.
She stiffened. “Aidan?” Her hands gripped his shoulder.
“It will be all right, love.” He thrust deeper.
Anne felt a sharp pain, like the prick of a needle. It shocked her and she jerked, attempting to move away from him.
He held her in place. “Give it time, Anne. Let your body adjust to me.”
She met his gaze, wanting to trust him. “Does this mean the marriage is consummated?”
His lips curved into a smile. “Absolutely.”
“Then it is worth it.” She drew a steadying breath. “I think I’d like to get up now.”
“Get up—?” He pressed his head against her forehead and looked nose-to-nose in her eyes. “Anne, we haven’t even begun.”
“Do you mean there is more?”
He nodded. “More pleasure.”
She didn’t know if she believed him. This was such a strange position. Almost too intimate.
And then he started moving.
Holding herself still, she planned to wait it out until he was finished. But something happened. His movements sparked a responding sense of need. He pushed deeper and she felt the return of desire, only this time, it came with more force.
The ache became a distant memory. Her body moved to meet his. He was driving harder now, even as she reached to respond.
This was making love. Emotion guided her now. She strained to meet him, searching for a point inside her she didn’t understand. Aidan talked to her, kissing her and encouraging her to meet his every thrust.
Then, suddenly, she crossed a threshold she’d never known existed. One moment she was in the present, her body as tight as a bowstring; in the next she was flying.
Anne cried out, holding Aidan close. She couldn’t let go. She’d never let him go.
He buried himself deep inside her. Once, twice, a third time…and then she felt him release. His life force filled her, branding her, making her truly and completely his.
Anne fell back on the bed, drained. She closed her eyes, reveling in the weight of his body covering hers. “I didn’t know anything could be like that.”
“I didn’t either.”
The touch of amazement in his voice caught her attention. She opened her eyes. “Truly?”
“Yes, truly,” he echoed. He kissed her then, gentle, feather-light kisses on eyes and cheeks.
Cool air hit her skin. She’d been so involved in the heat of their own making, she had not noticed the chill in the room.
He rolled from her and pulled the heavy spread and sheets over them. His legs entwined with hers and she snuggled down next to him. “Are you all right?” he asked. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
She laughed. “I’ve never felt better.”
Visibly relieved, he said, “I got a bit carried away at the end.”
“I liked it.” She let her hand stray to his chest where she marveled at his hardness, his strength. “For the first time since my parents’ deaths,” she whispered, “I feel safe.”
His arms cradled her close. “I will do everything in my power to protect you.”
“This is enough,” she answered, and pressed a kiss against his collar bone before yawning. She relaxed into the bedclothes. “I could sleep for a week—”
A footstep outside the door was their only warning. The door was flung open even as Anne ducked further under the covers. For a second there was no sound, and then Aidan said coolly, “Was there something in particular you wanted, Lambert?”
Anne peeked from the shelter of the bedclothes and her husband’s body. Major Lambert’s eyebrows could not have risen any higher up his forehead. “The guard said he’d heard strange noises.”
Aidan smiled. “Not so strange, I would hope.”
Major Lambert struggled for understanding. “You’ve been making love?”
“How else did you expect us to pass the time?” Aidan said. “Wringing our hands with worry while you trump up charges by beating a man to death?”
“Have you no respect for my authority?” The major raised his voice, conscious as a very embarrassed Anne was that Lieutenant Fordyce and some of the other soldiers craned their necks to witness the confrontation between the two men.
But Aidan answered calmly, “I am well aware of how much authority you wield, Lambert. You have the power to destroy me whether I am innocent or guilty. But I am a recently married man.” His hand beneath the covers clasped Anne’s. “I have a pretty young wife who is being dragged into