Spellbound (18 page)

She
moaned, writhing against him. “It may hurt at first….” He grunted and pushed into her entrance.

“
Take me…don’t hold back,” she said. “Find your pleasure. I…trust you.”

He
grasped her wrists and brought them above her head, holding her that way as he entered her fully with a sharp thrust. She bit her lip as he filled her to near bursting, but then he began to move, gently. “Shhh, love, it’s okay.” Her body was adjusting to his size, responding, wanting to take all of him into her soul. He thrust gently at first, lathing her nipples with his tongue.

He
nipped her shoulder gently and Maggie found she enjoyed the tiny nip of pain and sting of pleasure. He began to move faster, harder, as if he couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t get deep enough inside her.

“
Deeper, I need to be deeper….”

He
rammed her hard, thrusting again and again. Her body shook and clenched, and deep, curling heat shot through her being. “Kade….”

He
released her wrists, and she clutched at his back while he shifted his position for a final thrust. “Maggie,” he gasped, his face strained, his pelvis grinding over hers. Then Maggie watched his face as hot arcs of pleasure burst from him. He growled and then collapsed next to her, their hearts thundering together.

He
caught her up against his side. The sun shone on their bodies and they lay entwined as their hearts and breathing returned to normal. He brushed a curl from her forehead. “How do you feel Maggie?”

“
Blissful.”

He
laughed. “Yer no’ one to mince words.”

After
a while, he stood, stretched, and reached for her hand, an unmistakable look of male triumph on his face. “The loch is warm enough to bathe in today. But we shouldn’t linger. The others will begin to think I’ve done nasty things to ye.”

“
If only they knew,” she said, taking his hand.

He
hefted her easily into his arms and carried her into the water. When it was waist-high, he carefully set her down. He helped her to wash, trailing his hands over her arms, her breasts, her stomach, between her legs. She sighed, her hand caressing his chest and reaching below the water to grasp his manhood, which was hard again and pulsing wickedly. “I wish ye would take me again, Kade. Now.”

He
kissed her. “We could, but it would have to be quick this time. Quick and…harder. It can be quite erotic to make love in the water.”

In
answer, she caressed the hardened ridge of his swelling cock. “Yes,” she barely breathed.

There
was a small cove with a large, smooth rock halfway in the water. He guided her to it so her back was against the smoothness of the rock. “Are you comfortable? Because I want to fuck you hard,” he growled.

“
Yes, the rock is warm from the sun.”

“
Spread your legs.”

He
cupped her womanhood, plunging his fingers into her warmth beneath the water. Her breasts were above water and he suckled them and pinched them, eliciting low moans from her. Her neck arched back as his hand plunged in and out of her folds. Kade pressed against her, ravaging her mouth with his lips. The head of his thick, stiff rod crested her opening beneath the water. “Hurry,” she said.

“
Are ye sure? ‘Twill be different than the first time but no less pleasurable.” She nodded, her impatient hands finding their way to his thighs, stroking his muscles, his hair-roughened skin.

He
nipped her shoulder and thrust into her with one solid stroke. She cried out, burying her face in his neck as he pulled out slowly. She whimpered with lust and need. He thrust hard into her again, driving himself as deep as he could go. Her thighs quivered. Beneath the water, his arm caught her leg and lifted it high, opening her wider. He speared her again and again and she moaned. “It won’t take me long to come this way,” he said, his body trembling.

He
drove into her once more fast and hard, then again, faster and harder. He repeated the thrust. “Yer going to come quickly too, Maggie.”

Her
moaning answer sounded crazed. The sensation of being trapped by Kade, of being commanded by him, and yet of being free to act erotically on her own heightened all her senses. Kade was breathing as raggedly as Maggie. “I’m going to…Kade I’m going to come….”

He
thrust powerfully once more, and she cried out in pleasure as waves of spiraling, delicious heat overtook her being and he spilled his hot seed within her. “Maggie,” he cried.

When
he was finished, he pulled out with a groan.

“
I don’t think I’ll be able to walk straight today,” she said, breathing heavily, her heart thumping.

“
Did I hurt ye?”

“
Nay, Kade. ‘Twas quite the opposite of hurt.”

He
smiled and the sun shone on their wet bodies as they dried off and dressed. Staring at him, emotion overwhelmed her. She wanted to tell him she loved him. But she held back, still unsure of herself despite how thoroughly she now knew his body and the pleasure it could bring her.

He
tipped her chin up with his big hand and kissed her softly. “Shall we go then?”

She
nodded and they settled atop his black destrier. “How did ye know it would be so pleasurable to make love in the water?” she asked, smiling. “Because yer a devilish rake who seduces whome’er he pleases?”

“
Ah Maggie,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice, her back pressed warmly to his chest. “I’ve ne’er felt the way I do when I’m with ye, when I’m touching ye.”

It
was not the answer she really wanted, not a declaration of love, but it would do for now.

37

It was mid-morning when Kade and Maighdlin reached the village. The site that greeted them was a surprise; Kade’s men mingled with the villagers, sharing food and drink, talking and laughing. At their center was Elliot.

The
horse carried them down the heather-clad slope, Kade’s arm drawn possessively about her waist. Maighdlin could not contain her joy. The burly blacksmith Lachlan first spied them. Kade slipped off the horse and lifted Maighdlin down.

“
Maggie’s back!” Lachlan shouted. “Just as ye said she would be, Elliot!” His face broke into a wide grin.

Maighdlin
spied her father Haddon and raced to his side. She hugged him fiercely. Tears ran down the old man’s face to match her own.

“
I thought ne’er to see ye again. I’ve missed ye so much, Maggie. Me Maggie!”

“
And I’ve missed ye, father.”

He
frowned, glancing at Kade. “Are ye unharmed, lass?”

“
Aye, father, I’m fine.” In her mind, Haddon would always be her true father. “I’ve much to tell ye.” Maighdlin felt a gentle tug on her sleeve. She turned and was greeted by Erskina’s tear-filled eyes. She gently wrapped her arms around her.

“
Erskina! How I’ve missed ye!”

One
by one the other villagers embraced her. For the first time in her life, Maighdlin felt truly accepted in her village. And then she felt a stab of pain, knowing she would have to leave it again.

“
I had a dream, lass,” Erskina said, her eyes twinkling. “It gave me much peace after what happened in the woods. I was so worried about ye. We all were. I dreamt ye were married to a tall, dark stranger, and that ye’d fallen in love.”

Maighdlin
glanced shyly at Kade. The sunlight glinted off his silky, black hair. His expression was fiercely proud. “Aye, I was,” she said. There was a collective gasp and the villagers whispered.

“
’Tis true then! She married the MacAlister,” one said.

“
Aye, they say he’s the devil himself,” said another.

“
‘Tis a story, but I am tired from the journey,” Maighdlin said. “I’d like to speak with my father and Erskina now.”

The
villagers crowded around Elliot as he continued to embellish his tale of finding and confronting the bold Highland warrior in his keep. Kade did not correct him and Maighdlin marveled anew at Kade’s kindness as he let Elliot spin his tale, his chest puffed with pride.

Inside
Haddon’s cottage, Kade listened as Maighdlin told her story to Haddon and Erskina as best she could, concluding that she had indeed been married to the Highland laird, and that he had not harmed her.

“
Ye fell in love with the fiery-haired lass, did ye?” Haddon asked. “Well, I’m no’ surprised,” he said, without waiting for an answer from Kade. “She is a one, she is.”

Maighdlin
didn’t want to shock Haddon but had to tell him of Brodie. Since she’d been taken from the village, he’d clearly aged from the stress. She put her hand on his sleeve when she gently related the tale of how Brodie was her father, how he feared for her life when she was born, how he’d been the one to leave her on Haddon’s doorstep. How Brodie was now in the MacAlister dungeon awaiting his fate.

“
I’m sorry for the loss of yer brother and wife-to-be,” Haddon said to Kade. Kade nodded, his jaw tense. “I’m sorry too ye thought to take revenge by stealing my only daughter away from me. But I am grateful ye brought her back unharmed. For Maighdlin, ye will always be my daughter, in my heart.”

“
And ye will always be my true father. Ye were the one who raised me, who sang me to sleep when I was a babe, who picked me up when I fell and scraped my knees, who taught me to be who I am, when he, Brodie, gave me away.” Her voice caught and rose, and her eyes welled with tears.

Haddon
sighed. He scratched his bald head as tears trickled down his round cheeks. “I knew I wasna yer birth father,” he said. “Ye were left on our doorstep in a basket. What good would it have done for me to tell ye that once ye were grown? ‘Twas a night of furious mists when we found ye on our doorstep. Mariota and I had no children of our own though we’d always wanted them. We took ye into our cottage and ne’er looked back. Though we did worry that whoe’er left ye might one day change their minds and come back for ye, and that would no’ be acceptable, as we’d become ve’y attached to ye the moment we saw those big, brown eyes of yers. I ne’er knew who left us with such a blessing, until now.”

Maighdlin
hugged him and they both cried. “But now ye will be returning with the MacAlister laird to his keep, will ye no’?”

Maighdlin
nodded.

“
Aye,” Kade said, placing his hand possessively on her shoulder. “She is my wife and will return with me.”

Haddon
stood up, leaning on a cane that had been propped against the table. “Then ye’ll treat her as a queen, and kindly, or I’ll see that ye regret it.” Kade did not laugh at the old man’s threats or belittle him in anyway. “Aye,” he said. “It will be as ye say.”

Kade
looked at Maighdlin warmly and Haddon seemed satisfied that something that had started as revenge had turned into something else entirely. “I’ll spare ye me fists then,” Haddon said, and they both laughed. “But it will take time to forgive ye for stealin’ away my Maggie like that.”

“
To show ye my word is good Haddon, I will send a gift to the village. Cattle and spices. I understand ye lost a cow recently. And ye can visit anytime yer able. I will send an escort to see ye arrive safely.”

There
was a celebration that night and a great fire was built in a field. As the skies darkened and stars twinkled brightly, the villagers and the Highland warriors gathered around. Meat was roasted, ale was poured, and the villagers danced to a fiddle. Ian tried to dance and much laughter ensued at his handsome clumsiness.

Maighdlin
did not mistake the way the village lasses looked at Kade, admiring his dark, handsome looks. Elliot had admirers, too. Sheena, a lass with long, shiny, black hair, seemed quite taken with him. She hadn’t noticed it when she’d lived in the village, perhaps because she was too wrapped up in her own loneliness.

When
it was time for bed, Haddon gave Kade and Maighdlin his cottage. “I’ve kept yer bed and linens clean and ready for yer return.” He went to bed down on an extra straw mattress in Lachlan’s cottage. The other Highlanders made camp around the fire, and continued to talk with the villagers long into the night.

In
her cottage, Maighdlin stoked the meager peat fire. But truly, she wasn’t cold knowing the big Highlander stood behind her removing his plaid, his shirt, and his leather boots. The thought made her insides swirl with heat. She turned, and there was nothing shy about the way her eyes took in his muscular arms and chest.
Dear Sweet God, but the man was perfect. He was so male.
“What are ye doing?”

He
looked amused. “Getting ready for bed.” His hazel eyes hotly devoured her from head to toe. “I suggest ye do the same.” He lifted his gaze to the ladder and the loft above it. “Was that yer bed?”

Maighdlin
nodded. He closed the distance between them and caressed a strand of her hair in his long fingers. “Then that is where we shall sleep. Though at the moment, sleep is no’ what I’m thinking of.” He kissed her and her hands twined in his black hair.

As
he undressed her, she said, “How will we do this, Kade?”

“
If ye dunna know by now…” he teased.

“
Ye know I dinna mean that. I mean, I was yer prisoner. Now I’m yer wife. Yer people, how will they see me as anything but a prisoner? They will always hate me.”

He
removed his trews and braies and pulled her into his embrace. “We willna worry about that now. Look how easily ye charmed Addie. In time, they will come around. They will see how important ye are to me.”

She
looked into his eyes, her fingers caressing his bare chest. “Am I important to ye, Kade?”

“
How can ye doubt it, lass?”

“
What if they continue to hate me, if they ne’er accept me?”

“
I will cut their heads off.”

Maighdlin
gasped.

He
smiled. “I jest, lass.”

“
Well ‘tis no wonder ye have such a fearsome reputation, especially if ye go around threatening to cut people’s heads off!”

He
laughed, and he looked like a different man when he was happy.

The
shutters on the window afforded them privacy. He smacked her bare rump playfully. “Get up to bed, love, unless ye want a true spanking.”

“
Maybe I do, Highlander.”

He
quirked a brow.

She
climbed up the ladder and he followed. In the loft she laid down on the linens and he pressed himself gently atop her. She shivered, but not with cold, as he kissed her lips, her neck and her shoulders, and strayed lower to the tops of her breasts. She shuddered when his hand cupped her breast and he took her nipple in his mouth, tugging and sucking, swirling his tongue over the pebbled peak.

“
Seeing yer handsome face above me is a beautiful thing,” she said. His touch was gentle but sure.

“
Are ye still sore from this morning?” he breathed.

“
Aye. But…I like the feeling that ye were there, that ye claimed me, and were inside of me, a part of me, and I can still feel ye.”

He
growled and kissed her more fiercely this time. Maighdlin pressed herself against him, her hand stroking his hair. He turned and rubbed his hand along the silky, smooth skin of her inner thigh. “Open yer legs for me.”

A
flush crept into her face but she did so. He pushed them wider apart. “I want to look at ye, touch ye.” He spread her folds with his fingers and stroked her until she moaned. And then his mouth tasted her. “Kade…what are ye about?”

“
Maggie, ye taste good.” She gasped at the hot intrusion of his tongue and writhed as his mouth wrought her pleasure. “Do ye wish to know what ye taste like, Maggie?” Before she could answer, he was kissing her, mingling their scents, their tastes.

Her
heart pounded, her body needing more. She lay limp with surrender, open to him. The pressure of his erection was straining against her thigh. Kade’s eyes were hooded, glazed with lust. “Touch me Maggie.”

Her
hands eagerly glided over his back, his buttocks. As she took his cock in her hand, he gripped it and showed her what he liked, pulling her hand up and down his pulsing member.

“
I can’t get enough of you, Maggie.”

Their
coupling was slower this time but fierce. She watched his handsome face as he came close to coming, his dark lashes framing his amber-gold eyes. As he rammed himself inside her with one last, powerful thrust, the words burst from her lips before she could stop them. “I love ye, Kade,” she whispered.

He
came, spilling his seed into her womb, his kiss hungry, tender. He pulled her close
but he didna say he loved her back.

Maggie
tried to keep the tears from her eyes. She loved him, Kade MacAlister, the devil Highlander, her captor, her husband.
She loved him
. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of his ragged breathing, his hard, hair-roughened thighs tangled with her own, the deep, wet, dizzying response of her own body to his look, to his touch, always.
Maybe he hadna heard her.

She
thought about dreams, fate, destiny. Had she somehow known he’d been waiting for her before she even met him? Did her heart feel him even then?

His
fist tangled possessively in her hair and she listened to his deep breathing long into the night, wondering what she was going to do with her aching, foolish heart.