But now that the thought had stuck in her mind, she studied him from the corner of her eye and wondered if she had the nerve to do as Maddie had described. It stood to reason that if he could make her so mindless with his mouth, the reverse would also be true.

“Are you finished yet, wife?” Ewan drawled.

She glanced down at the empty trencher and slowly set it aside. Aye, this was indeed the perfect time to try her wiles. She nearly giggled at the idea of her having wiles. Mother Serenity would be most stern over such a thought.

Not wanting to seem too obvious, she took her time preparing for bed. She undressed with a great deal more care than she usually exerted, her every movement slow and sensual. Twice she peeked to the side to see Ewan watche was lher, his eyes dark and hooded.

When she was completely nude, she sashayed to the basin of water and made a great production of washing. She turned to the side to give Ewan a good view of her profile, and she heard him suck in his breath when her nipples puckered in the wake of the damp cloth.

Having worked up the sufficient courage and having had enough time to formulate her plan, she tossed aside the cloth and moved toward the bed.

“You’re still clothed, husband,” she murmured as she stood over him.

Though he still wore his trews, they did nothing to disguise the bulge between his legs. He was hard and getting harder with every passing second.

“Aye, lass, but I can remedy that.”

He started to push upward, but she reached down and pressed a hand to his chest.

“ ’Tis my duty to undress you.”

He settled back onto the bed as her fingers went to the laces of his trews. As soon as she loosened them sufficiently, his erection jutted upward. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to his size. And she couldn’t even fathom how she’d get it in her mouth, but Maddie seemed sure that it was done by plenty of women.

When she had trouble tugging the material over his hips, he lifted them and his hands covered hers as he helped push it down his legs.

When he would have sat up, she once again pushed him down, only this time she followed him down, until her lips were a mere breath from his.

She kissed him, enjoying the feel of his mouth beneath hers. Her hands wandered over his chest, and she marveled at how hard and solid he was. The roughness of his scars contrasted with the bristle of the hair underneath her palms. His nipples puckered and hardened under her touch and she went back, rubbing over them again, fascinated by the reaction that was similar to her own.

“What are you about, lass?” he murmured against her mouth.

She smiled and nuzzled his jaw and kissed her way down to his neck just like he’d done to her. Judging by the sudden tension in his body, he liked it every bit as much as she had.

“I have a theory,” she whispered as she hovered just over one flat nipple. Then she flicked her tongue out and licked the point until it hardened and jutted outward.

Ewan groaned. “What is your theory, lass?”

Placing both hands on his chest, she trailed her tongue down his midline until it dipped into his navel. He flinched and arched upward, his erection prodding at her side.

“My theory is that men might enjoy being kissed … down there … as much as women enjoy a man’s mouth … down there.”

“Ah hell,” Ewan gasped out.

She curled her hand around his thick manhood and tucked the head between her lips.

He sounded like a man taking in his last breaths of life. His body was so tense and bowed that he resembled a wooden beam. His hands flew to the bed and gripped the linens. Oh aye, he liked it.

Emboldened by his obvious enjoyment, she took him deeper, running her hand up and down the shaft as she sucked him farther into her mouth.

“Mairin,” he gasped. “Oh sweet heaven, lass. Have mercy.”

She smiled and lowered her fingers to stroke his swollen sac. He arched his hips, thrusting even as she took him as deep as she could. He was impossibly hard, so turgid that she wondered how he didn’t split his skin.

He throbbed in her hand, hard, yet velvety soft, like a steel sword encased in silk.

“Lass, I can’t take much more. You need to stop before I spill in your mouth.”

Still gripping him in her hand, she raised her head so she could look into his eyes. Her hair fell forward and he reached up to smooth it from her face, his palm cradling her cheek as he did so.

“Would you like to spill in my mouth?” she asked shyly.

“Ah, Mairin, that’s like asking a dying man if he wants to live.”

She cupped his face between her hands and lowered her mouth to kiss him. Long and sweet, she licked over his lips and dove inside, brushing her tongue over his, tasting him and teasing.

“I like the idea of tasting you,” she whispered.

He cupped her breasts, and as she pulled away, he raised the mounds and lifted his head so that he could feast on her nipples. She leaned heavily on him, her knees weak and shaking under the onslaught. If she gave him half a chance, he’d turn the tables on her seduction.

She pulled away but softened her withdrawal with another kiss, and then she kissed another path down his chest, to his firm belly and then beyond to the nest of hair where his erection jutted hard and bold.

She licked first, tracing the bulging vein on the underside of the thick shaft. When she reached the head, there was already a droplet of liquid seeping from the slit. She lapped gently, sipping at the slightly salty taste of him.

Ewan’s breath escaped in one long hiss, and when she lowered her mouth down his length, he seemed to lose all of his carefully cultivated control.

He writhed on the bed, his movements desperate and unmeasured. She held him tight, using her tongue to drive him wild. His hand closed around hers and he pulled upward, his grip tightening as he worked her hand up and down. Realizing what it was he wanted her to do, she began to move her hand in rhythm with her mouth.

“Ah, lass, like that. Just like that,” he moaned.

His hand tangled in her hair and then gripped the base of her neck, holding her as his hips hammered upward. She took him to the back of her throat and then hot liquid exploded onto her tongue, filling her mouth in a seemingly unending stream.

It was the most erotic thing she could have ever imagined, and never could she have thought that something so course and basic could have excited her beyond measure, but loving her husband in this fashion drove her as wild as it did him.

She felt powerful and equal, like she could give him every bit as much as he gave her.

He collapsed on the bed and slipped from her mouth. She swallowed the last of his passion and wiped at her lips with the back of her hand. His breaths came ragged and harsh and his gaze slid hotly over her as his chest heaved up and down.

“Come here, lass,” he said hoarsely.

He pulled her down on top of him so that their bodies fused, warm and sweaty. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as he pressed a kiss to her hair.

Remembering Maddie’s assertion that men were much more amenable after loving, Mairin lifted her head until her hair drapped over his chest.

“Ewan?”

His hands smoothed over her shoulders and down to cup her buttocks. He squeezed and kneaded gently as he stared up into her eyes.

“Aye, lass?”

“I would like your promise,” she said.

He cocked his head to the side. “What are you wanting me to promise?”

“I realize we’re newly married and I don’t fully know the way of things, but I’ve discovered I’m a very possessive woman. I want your promise that you’ll be faithful. I know ’tis common for some men to keep a leman—”

She was interrupted by Ewan’s scowl. Then he sighed.

“Lass, you’ve just thoroughly worn me out. Do you mind telling me how on earth I’d have the energy to bed another woman?”

She frowned. That wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear.

He sighed again. “Mairin, I took vows. I didn’t take them lightly. As long as you prove a good and faithful wife, there’s no reason for me to seek out another woman. I wouldn’t dishonor you or myself that way. Your loyalty is to me, aye, but my loyalty is to you and any children you bear me. I take my responsibilities very seriously.”

Tears crowded her eyes and she leaned down until their foreheads touched. “I’ll be faithful to you as well, Ewan.”

“You damned well better,” he growled. “I’ll kill any man who touches you.”

“Did9;ve disc like me kissing you … down there …?”

He grinned and raised his lips to smooch hers. “I liked it very much. I may require you to kiss me there every single night before we retire.”

She frowned and punched him in the gut. He laughed and sucked inward in mock agony. He grabbed her wrists and rolled, careful not to jar her side. When they were on their sides, locked together, their faces so close she could feel his breath, he touched her cheek and rubbed with the back of his knuckle.

“And now, lass, I’m thinking I have some kissing of my own to do. Complete with tongue.”

She sucked in her breath until she saw spots dancing in her vision. “Tongue? Have I told you lately how indecent your tongue is, Laird?”

“It can’t get any more indecent than yours just got,” he said.

Then he proceeded to show her that indeed, he was far, far more indecent than she could ever dream of being.



CHAPTER 23


“Jesu, Ewan, ’tis just me,” Caelen said. “You were sleeping the sleep of the dead.”