HIGHLANDER: The Highlander’s Surrender Bride (Scottish Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (3 page)

Aryen paced the bedroom nervously. He was agitated. He was frustrated. He was loosing his bloody mind! Almost two weeks had gone by since his wedding day and he was reaching the end of his patience. He’d thought things were going well between him and his new wife. Really quite well. Splendidly well. But still, she hadn’t shared his bed, and from what he could tell, wasn’t planning to anytime soon.

              He was a red blooded man, with red blooded man’s needs. And yet, she deserved his patience. He knew how terrifying it must have been for her, especially after he’d heard the whole story of her dastardly uncle and his unconscionable plot. As if he’d thought he could just barter his wife. His wife! He growled as his thoughts came around to the same point they always did.

              He would wait, because, and he was surprised to discover this as well, he found he truly cared for her. And he wanted to make sure she knew that fact. He detested the idea of her being frightened or afraid of him, although she didn’t seem as afflicted by that as when she’d first arrived. Her inner spirit had started to shine through and to his delight he’d discovered a strength to rival even Mira. His wife and the intimidating woman had gone head to head on a few items over the past weeks and he’d been forever impressed when Abigail not only came out ahead, but did it all in a way that Mira was smiling and nodding her head in polite agreement the whole time. Mira. Polite! Agreeable! He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it for himself.

              With a sigh at his own rambling thoughts he turned to head out of the room, throwing the door open and jumping back in surprise at the woman standing in front of it.

              “Good evening, my lord.” Her sultry voice whispered through the night air and a sinking feeling started in his gut as he found himself staring at Kathryn, one of the more persistent women who had tried to trap him into marriage, and had offered more than once to share his bed with no other intent but pleasure. If he believed her lies. Which he most definitely didn’t. A more ambitious woman he’d never met, and his mind raced with a way to get rid of her, and quickly before his wife appeared from her most recent meeting with Mira and the rest of the staff.

              “Uh, Kathryn, I was just checking to see if my wife was ready to retire. I should really go see to her.” He said, trying to make his voice sound as firm as possible. He moved to sweep past her but she blocked his path, her impressive bosom on display as she pressed it against his arm in a less than subtle move.

              “Please, my lord, I have heard that things might not be as…content as they may seem between you and your lovely wife.” She smiled up at him like a cat eating the canary. “I thought I might offer my services.”

              Aryen’s blood ran cold as her words registered. He couldn’t believe her audacity!

              “Kathryn, let me make one thing clear, lass. Very clear. My wife is none of your concern, and frankly, neither am I. I have no want or need of your
services
as you so tactlessly call it. I love my wife and could not possibly be more content. There is nothing you could offer me that would tempt me for a second. I really think you should go, and pretend this unfortunate instance never happened.”

              He watched as her face paled with each word but the anger pumping through his veins didn’t allow him to soften the words. He thought he’d been done with all of this nonsense, only to find they were still trying to sneak into his bed and his life. He’d had enough of it. With a quick, but deep curtsy Kathryn turned and fled down the hallway. He gave a sigh, glad to be rid of her but already regretting his harsh words. But when would they learn. With another heartfelt sigh, he turned and went back into the bedroom to wait.

              Abigail held her breath until the door was shut before finally releasing it. She’d just come up from speaking with Mira in the kitchens to see that trollop that had been hanging around skulking in front of the bedroom door. Unexpected rage and jealousy had filled her as her sultry words had poured out, shocking her into silence. And then she’d seen Aryen himself step out, and how close that woman had stood to him, her husband, and she’d felt like scratching her eyes out.

              The emotions took her completely by surprise, not just by their intensity but by the vivid and instant desire to act on them. Abigail had been trying to take things at a slower pace with Aryen, taking advantage of his patience to get to know him, and to find her own place in this new life she’d found herself in.

              But seeing him with another woman pressed against him had steam uncurling in her chest, that is, until she heard his words.

              “…I have no want or need of your
services
as you so tactlessly call it. I love my wife and could not possibly be more content. There is nothing you could offer me that would tempt me…” His voice was raised and she could easily hear it from where she was concealed around the corner. Something changed within her as she heard those words fly from his lips with such conviction. He loved her. Her heart melted inside her, leaving her ashamed for doubting him and embarrassed by her own jealous reaction. But she knew better now. She had learned over the past weeks that he was so much more than the blackguard the rumors had made him out to be.

              She stared at the dark hallway that Kathryn had just stomped down in retreat, and then at the closed door of the bedroom as a plan began to form in her mind. She had been waiting for the right time to surrender to the desire her husband had stoked in her, and it had finally arrived. He had given her a special gift, even though he didn’t know it, and she intended to return the favor in a way that would he would never forget. Now, she would just have to find the courage to go through with it.

The next evening, Abigail opened the door to Aryen’s bedroom, her own bedroom now, she thought firmly and breathed a sigh of relief to find it empty. Hastily she slipped out of the dress she’d been wearing, one that laced up either side so she wouldn’t need assistance, and swallowed her unease as she replaced it with a night gown. It wasn’t the gown that made her uneasy, it was the fabric itself. It was nearly completely transparent! She felt scandalous just wearing the garment in the room by herself, the thought of showing it off in front of her husband nearly sent her into apoplexy. 

              She bent to the fireplace to stoke the glowing embers back to a fire, when a startled voice surprised her, making her jump up straight and spin around.

              “Sweetheart? Abigail? What are you…” His words trailed off his his green eyed gaze travelled down her scantily clad body and she thought his eyes couldn’t get any wider. He stared for so long she started to shift uneasily.

              “Well? Are you going to say something?” She finally pleaded in a breathy voice, but it was all she could get out. Never in her life would she imagine acting so brazen, but something about it thrilled her to the bone and she felt strength beginning to return at the appreciative light in his gaze.

              “I…I…” Aryen paused, swallowing hard before answering again. “I don’t know what to say. I…You.” He stopped again, just shaking his head, but a moment later, his actions made up for lack of words as he stepped close, crowding her with his much bigger body and wrapped his arms around her. He wasted no time as he lowered his lips to hers, his kiss searing through her obliterating any lingering doubts. Finally, he looked at her, breathless and panting, “You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen in my entire life, my wife, my love, I…I can’t thing of anything to say. You’ve completely struck me speechless.”

              “No, Aryen,” She smiled up at him warmly as his words sunk into her heart and soul, “that’s all you have to say.” She didn’t get anymore words out before he was kissing her again, holding her as close as he could as his hands began to travel up and down her spine. She could feel every touch as if the gossamer fabric of the night gown wasn’t even there and a thrill of desire spiraled through her making her so dizzy she had to lean against him.

              In the blink of an eye he had her from where they’d been standing in front of the now crackling fireplace to the bed. He didn’t even bother with the heavy coverlet or mountain of pillows covering it, throwing them aside heedlessly as he gently lowered her down and then not so gently followed her. His kisses grew deeper and deeper until she was lost in the passions he had swirling through her body. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, more intense, more all encompassing than she could have imagined.

              Suddenly, Abigail felt a pang of regret for the past two weeks that she had tried to stay away from her husband. This, she realized, is what it felt like to really be alive, to really feel loved and cherished. And she couldn’t believe that he was her husband, the man she had come to care about. It was like she had known him her entire life rather than just a few short weeks.

              She could feel him moving above her and she pressed her eyes open against the heaviness trying to drag her under. But as she saw him peel off his tunic and over shirt to reveal the muscled chest underneath her breath caught in her lungs. My god, he was beautiful.

              “Thank you,” He said with a laugh and she blushed to the roots of her hair as she realized she’d said it out loud. She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off with a kiss that burned through her and her embarrassment was completely forgotten as his hands moved over her body, sneaking under the thin fabric of the night gown and setting each and every nerve ending on fire.

              A trembling started and moved from her toes all the way up her body and an insatiable need followed it, making her move restlessly on the bed and pull him closer. He laughed again at her eagerness but kept it at a slow, steady pace that was driving her to distraction. She needed him. She needed…something. And she needed it right now.

              “Aryen, please, I need…” She trailed off, unsure of what words to use to explain the torturous desire twining through her but he just continued his gentle assault.

              “It’s alright, my love, I know exactly what you need.” Those were the last words he spoke before he began trailing kisses across her cheek, down the hypersensitive side of her neck and then finally burying his face in the crook where the gentle curve of her shoulder began. With feather light touches he swept his hands up her leg, across her inner thigh to the very center of her and she almost jumped right out of her skin when his lightest touch set off an explosion inside her.

              He knew exactly were to press, and the pressure to bring her right the edge of…something, but she just wasn’t sure what. It was something bright and golden and she reached for it but every time he would bring her close he would ease his touch just enough to bring her back down. And then he would start the process all over again until she was stretching underneath him, begging him with her words and her body to fulfill the need that had grown to unmanageable proportions inside her.

              “Please, please…” She wasn’t even aware of the words that slid from between her lips and then finally, he was moving over her, his weight settling in between her thighs and it felt like heaven. It felt like exactly what she needed, even though she still wasn’t sure why.

              “Abigail, are you…Are you ready, sweetheart? Ah, this might hurt a little, and the last thing I want to do is–.”

              “Now, Aryen. I need you now.” Abigail pulled him close, pressing her hips upward and his hard length slid at her entrance. He groaned, trying to take it slow for her pleasure she knew, but she couldn’t wait any longer. She needed to know what was waiting for her on the other side of that shining cliff he’d teased her with.

              In one motion she arched her back, hitching her hips against his and bringing him deeper inside her. She felt that moment, a tiny tearing sensation and then a mountain of pleasure as he slid all the way inside her. They both moaned together, and soon Aryen was thrusting, both out of control and panting as lust and desire overrode any other thought.

              With a shriek of pleasure, Abigail hurtled over the edge and sensations exploded across her body in tingling waves that left her shattered and boneless. A moment later, Aryen gave a loud moan of his own, shouting her name as they came together.

              Moments later, they were both asleep, drifting in blissful slumber, their arms and legs tangled together in a heedless pile, as man and wife.

Scotland, 1789

Abigail clenched the letter in her hands, her uncle’s scrawled handwriting bringing back memories of the events that had transpired almost a year ago. But things were different now, she was different now, so much stronger, and so much happier than she had been and she wouldn’t let her despicable uncle turn her life on its ear once again.

              She cradled her arms around her middle, feeling the babe kick as the child responded to her riotous emotions. As an only child, she had always dreamed of having hoards of children of her own. A house filled with laughter and joy and above all, life and love.

              And the best thing for her was that she was going to be sharing the life of this child with Aryen. The love between them had only grown more and more over the past year, changing her from a lonely woman content to live her life on the shelf to someone confident, strong, not only a wife but now a mother.

              She knew she would love this baby more than she had ever loved anything or anyone in her entire life, and it warmed her heart to know that her husband was there right along with her.

              She read the words again and shook her head as sadness swept through her and she had to swipe at a rogue tear that escaped despite her best efforts.

              “Abigail?” Aryen’s soft voice calling her name had her instantly turning towards him. Towards the man that she had learned to love and cherish and had shown her just how sweet it can be when you share that love in return. “Darling, is everything alright? Is it the baby?”

              She just shook her head, but couldn’t get any words out past the lump in her throat, so she handed him her uncle’s letter. He quickly perused the document, his face growing red with anger at each word.

              “Why, that awful man, he doesn’t deserve to be there, he doesn’t deserve–.”

              “Aryen, my love, it’s alright.”

              “But, Abie, he…”

              “I know.” She said simply, and sank into him as he pulled her close. In the past short year, her uncle had completely bankrupted the estate. He had lost everything to a life of gambling and excess. The home she had grown up in with her father, the home she had loved, was gone.

              For a moment she felt sorry for her uncle, for his wasted life, but in the end it was because of him that she had fled the manor to chase after the infamous Black Lord of Scotland, and for that she would be forever grateful for him. She hoped he had a nice cell in the debtor’s prison he would surely find himself in.

              “My love, are you sure you are alright?” He asked again softly as he cradled her close, his hand resting lightly on her burgeoning stomach. In only a few short months they would have their first child, and she hoped many more to come after that. Abigail placed her hand over his, soaking in the love and peace of the moment.

              “Oh yes, so much more than alright,” She finally said as she leaned even closer against him, listening to the sound of his heartbeat under her ear, because more than anything, it was the truth. “I am absolutely wonderful.”