“In the sight of the Almighty, I pronounce ye husband and wife.”
That was it. She was Galeren’s wife. She thought the ceremony was a bit short and smiled at her husband’s eagerness. She wondered if she would still be smiling in the morning.
They thanked the good priest and Galeren handed him Daffodil for the night.
“We are not going to the manor house?”
He shook his head and led her up the hill toward Jamie’s cottage.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The cottage wassimple in design. There was a small table and chair near the hearth that was built within the wall. Dried, garden herbs hung from the low ceiling. A curtained wall separated the kitchen area from the sleeping quarter, which consisted of a separate room with a bed and some trunks. There was a shepherd’s crook hanging on the wall. A larger hand-carved chair was set opposite the bed.
There were fur coverings on the bed, and it looked able to accommodate two people.
“The night is finally here,” he said, coming up behind her and kissing her earlobe. “I thought I would go mad yesterday when I couldna see ye.”
She trembled a little when his arms slipped around her waist and he buried his face in her nape.
She lifted her arm and ran it through his dark golden locks. She expected to feel Daffodil there. She smiled and drew in a quick, deep breath to calm her nerves. She loved him. She just promised her life to him. Truly, there was nothing to be frightened of.
“Silene, I love ye, love. I will be gentle.”
How? She wanted to ask him. How would he be gentle when he was so eager for her? When he’d been chaste for so long? What if she disappointed him?
“Galeren,” she turned in his arms to say, “I do not know what to do to please you.”
His eyes roved over her face, her red waves falling to her brow. “Love, lookin’ at ye pleases me.” The catch of his breath proved his words.
Somehow, she, with her plain, freckled face and shorn, bright red hair had won the heart of Galeren the Bonny. She didn’t have to do anything to please him. She already did please him. It made her want to please him more.
She took his hand and led him to the bed, her heart banging so loud in her chest she was sure he could hear it.
He followed, a willing subject.
She released his hand when they reached the bed and turned to face him. She untied her cloak and let it fall around her ankles, her gaze fixed on his while she stood before him in her thin chemise.
He took her in as if he had waited his whole life for her.
She was emboldened by the power he was giving her by not throwing her onto the bed and taking her like a savage. Though she was not always opposed to savages, this was her first time.
He was patient, as always, in tight control of himself, letting her move at her own pace. She had never touched a man before him. She wanted to take her time and explore him. She began with his léine, pulling it free from his belt. She could feel his eyes on her, looking down at what she was doing, patient, waiting…
She pulled the léine up, exposing his flat, muscled belly and bit her lip. He lifted his arms so she could continue undressing him. She loved being the only woman in six years whom he allowed to touch him so intimately.
He had to finish undressing when she couldn’t reach his head.
She wanted to step back to revel in what she’d uncovered but she wanted to touch him even more.
Lightheaded with power, she moved her fingertips lightly over his belly, dancing over the hills and valleys that fashioned him.
He groaned at her silken touch as she rubbed her palms over his chest that was dusted in swirls of dark gold. His shoulders were wide and carved from stone. She leaned in and kissed one of his arms, thick with sinew, able to protect and comfort. She wasn’t afraid of him. Elysande and Adela had told her what happens on a lass’ wedding night. Her new cousins were correct to tell her that after a few passionate kisses, she would not care about any pain. She wanted him to know she wasn’t afraid.
She leaned up on her tiptoes and hooked her hands on his shoulders. “Kiss me, Husband.”
His broad hands circled her waist as he bent his mouth to hers.
Contact with his lush, hungry mouth made her nerve endings feel raw. The sensual path of his hands—one up her spine, and one below, and moving even lower made her blood boil. He pulled her body against every inch of his. He was hard and tight everywhere.