within her mouth. At the invasion, Nairna’s knees went soft. She could feel his rigid desire, but despite her fears, Bram was melting her resistance.
His breath heated the softness of her throat and shivers overtook her body, making her more aware of him. The primal look upon her husband’s face flustered her. He looked as though he had no intention of sleeping this night and every intention of joining with her.
Nairna swallowed hard, keeping her eyes shut tight. It was time to obey Jenny’s suggestion. After loosening the laces of the grey gown she’d worn, she lifted it away. The air was cold, but she forced herself to remove her shift until she stood naked before him.
Bram stared at her as if he were fighting himself. His gaze moved down over her curves, but he didn’t say a word.
She felt exposed and vulnerable, not at all comfortable with his detached manner. When she covered her breasts with her arm, he moved it away.
‘No. I’ve been wanting to see you in the light. Don’t ever hide yourself from me, a ghaoil.’ He led her forwards to the mattress on the ground. Nairna’s knees were shaking, but Bram lowered her down. She shut her eyes tightly, curling up onto her side.
Behind her, the warmth of Bram’s body filled up the empty space. ‘What are you afraid of?’ he asked.
She shook her head, for there were no coherent words to voice what she was feeling. When he cupped her cheek, she couldn’t stop the shiver. His hands moved over her body, down her waist. A warmth of unexpected desire flooded through her.
Her thoughts fled when he began exploring her skin. He caressed her as though he intended to learn every part of her. She felt her nipples rising and a mysterious ache echoed between her thighs.
His mouth travelled from her shoulder to the top of her breast, but when she looked into his eyes, they were devoid of emotion. He was tightly locked away, in complete command of every action.
Nairna tried to reach out to him, but he took her arms and held them still.
‘No,’ he bade her. ‘I lost myself last night and took you without any thought of your needs.’ His touch skimmed down the dip of her waist and over her hips, then down to the sensitive skin of her bare calves. Though he touched nothing but her leg, she caught her breath at the caress. When she felt his hand between her thighs, Nairna couldn’t stop the startled gasp that escaped.
‘I want you to feel good this night,’ he swore, bringing his mouth to her stomach, moving even lower. As if she were a holy offering, he worshipped her flesh.
He stroked the soft inside of her thigh and she struggled to calm the shivers that he’d provoked.
‘Close your eyes,’ he whispered. She did and his breath warmed the intimate skin that guarded her womanhood.
‘Bram,’ she breathed, reaching to grasp the back of his head. When he raised up to look at her, she confessed, ‘It doesn’t seem right, not to touch you.’
She wanted to open up the guarded side to him, so that it would be a shared moment between them.
The scarred flesh on his back was rough, mingled with smooth, unmarred surfaces. Bram’s brown eyes seared into her own as she explored the texture of his shoulders.
‘Don’t, Nairna. It’s better this way.’ He removed her hands from him and confusion clouded her mind. Jenny had told her that a man liked to be touched, that if she kissed him on any part of his body, he would enjoy it.
She almost asked him why, but when his fingers moved to touch the folds of her womanhood, the sudden flare of heat took her without warning.
Against his fingers, she grew embarrassed as her flesh grew wet and aroused. He touched her intimately, changing the pressure as he learned what pleased her. And when he lowered his mouth to her entrance, the unexpected tenderness sent her body into a pool of sensations she didn’t understand. Her fists gripped the coverlet as he feasted upon her with mouth and tongue.
He tasted her secret flesh and the gentle pressure rose hotter. She was nearly sobbing with frustration, arching against him in search of the fulfilment that lay just out of reach.
‘I need you inside me,’ she begged. ‘Please, Bram.’ But she couldn’t seem to break past the mask of control he wore. She reached out and tried to loosen his clothing, but the moment she touched him, he slid a finger inside her.
Her body trembled and she bit back a gasp. When his thumb pressed hard, rubbing against her centre, she found herself panting for breath. He kept up the relentless rhythm, watching her as she arched to receive him. She was drowning in his touch, and when he leaned in to kiss her the needs cracked apart, sending a wave of heated delirium throughout her body. She shuddered, crying out when the release pulled her under.
He stroked her again and Nairna convulsed in the aftershocks. She understood that he was trying to please her, but she needed more from him now. Her hands moved up to unfasten his trews.
Bram stopped her, shaking his head. ‘Not tonight, Nairna.’
He’d meant only to touch her, taking nothing for himself, but it made the act meaningless. Did he truly believe that she would want to experience lovemaking without him? She couldn’t understand why he was punishing himself, but it seemed he intended to leave her alone now.
‘I want a child, Bram,’ she murmured. ‘And I need you inside me for that.’
He said nothing, so she reached up to touch his hair. She stroked the side of his face, running down to his neck. ‘Look at me, Bram.’
He did, and in his eyes she saw the raging needs locked away beneath the surface. Right now, she wasn’t about to let him push her away. Not if she had the power to seduce him.
The first night they’d shared had been his first. And she wanted his second time to be even better. Stubborn, was he? She’d show him stubborn.
‘You’re going to let me see you naked now,’ she ordered, reaching for the tunic that covered his chest.
‘Nairna—’
‘No,’ she cut him off. She walked over to her belongings, moving slowly to catch his eyes. After digging around, she found a dagger and brought it towards him. ‘I’m a reasonable wife. But you’re not behaving like a reasonable husband. So you’re going to take off your clothing for me now or I’ll be cutting it off you.’
She brandished the knife, asking, ‘Which will it be?’
He propped his head up, leaning against his elbow as he stared at her. His eyes flared with interest. ‘You wouldn’t dare.’
She moved over to him and straddled his waist, bringing the tip of the dagger to his tunic. Holding the fabric firm, she put a slight cut in the linen. ‘Wouldn’t I?’
He eyed the dagger, but he didn’t look as uncomfortable around the blade as he once had. Instead, he looked interested in what she planned to do.
Nairna took both sides of the fabric and tore it apart. The edges fell to the sides, revealing his chest. She leaned against him, pressing her bare breasts to his skin. The darkness in his eyes turned hooded with even more desire.
‘You’ve
