Love Wild and Fair

Her tawny hair was piled at the top of her head and secured with several small gilt and pearl pins. She stared back at him proudly. She was so beautiful that he was almost afraid to touch her, but then desire overcame awe and he drew Cat into his arms.

His amber eyes never left her leaf-green ones, and when his arms closed tightly around her he could feel her trembling slightly, and was pleased by what he believed was her awe of him. He held her thus imprisoned for what seemed a lifetime, and then he bent and his mouth captured hers. Reaching up, he pulled the gilt pins from her hair, and it tumbled down over her shoulders in a perfumed cloud.

He pulled at the thin silk ribbon at her waist, and the gown opened easily. He watched as it slid to the floor. She turned without speaking, walked to the bed, and got into it. James forced himself to disrobe slowly, but once in bed with her he did not think he could wait She knew it, yet she held him off.

'I am nae a whore to be quickly fucked, Jamie.'

'So ye can talk! I thought ye were angry wi me.'

'I am! Twas nae kind of ye to send Patrick away so quickly!'

'My dear Cat, for three nights I stood in that damned passage and watched ye and yer husband make love. I could stand it no longer. Would ye rather I came through the door and asked yer husband to move over?'

Stunned, she could not answer. That anyone else had partaken of her private moments with Patrick infuriated her.

I hae a large score to settle wi ye, James Stewart, and I intend to settle it one day, she thought bitterly.

The king's mouth closed over the nipple of her breast and sucked hungrily. His hand was between her legs, seeking her soft, sensitive secret flesh. With exquisite expertise he caressed her, his fingers teasing with unbearable gentleness. Within minutes he had reduced her to a writhing passion.

She had wanted to punish him with coldness, but as her own desire grew she suddenly realized that the greatest harm she could inflict on James was to be the most voluptuous female he would ever encounter. She would ruin him for other women! She knew that once young Anna of Denmark arrived in Scotland, James would devote himself to her. Above all, he wanted a wife who belonged to him alone, and he wanted a family. He was the kind of man who couldn't jeopardize all that.

However, a teenaged virgin would hardly compare favorably with a woman as experienced as Cat was. She was no wanton, but Patrick had taught her well, and Cat was by nature a sensuous woman. She would now use her experience to revenge herself on James Stewart. Shifting her lovely body, she slid under the king and wound her arms about his neck. 'Jamie,' she whispered huskily. 'Love me, Jamie hinny!'

He could scarcely believe his ears, but when he looked down at her he saw shining eyes and an inviting mouth. The king didn't question his good fortune. He took possession of the lips offered him. They were soft and yielding, and they drove him to a frenzy.

Her thighs opened and she arched her body to meet his downward thrust. Her legs wrapped tightly about him, and each time he drove within her, her little tongue darted within his mouth. His excitement was fierce and he was unable to control himself. Yet, within minutes, as she moved voluptuously beneath him, he grew hard again with lust for her. She whispered his name over and over again like a litany. He was mad with passion for her, but this time he held himself in check until she could find her heaven too.

Exhausted, they lay panting on the bed. Finally, he spoke. 'Ye frighten me, Cat! Ye canna be human, for no woman can love like ye have just loved me!'

'But I can, my lord. Did I not please ye?'

'Aye, love, ye pleased me verra much. Did ye use witchcraft?'

Cat remembered that James was terribly superstitious.

She bit back her laughter. 'Nay, my lord. I used only the sorcery of my body.' Standing, she stretched tall, and then walked over to the cabinet.

'Red or white, my lord?'

'Red,' he said, and she poured out two crystal goblets of the ruby wine. Carrying them back to the bed, she handed him one. Sipping it thoughtfully, he asked her, 'Did Patrick teach ye to make love like that?'

'Aye,' she answered him quietly.

'Ye've never known any other men, have ye?'

'Nay, Jamie, none. I am by birth a Hay of Grey-haven. Our home is quite isolated, and other than my brothers and my Hay and Leslie cousins, I had no contact with the world. I came to Patrick a virgin.'

'Is yer family large?'

'I hae four brothers-one older, three younger-and my parents are both living.'

'Yer fortunate, my sweet,' sighed the king.

'They are but part of my family,' she reminded him. 'Dinna forget I have a husband and six children.' She looked directly at James. 'When the queen arrives from Denmark, your majesty, I am going home to Glenkirk and to my children. Ye may be the king, but I'll nae allow ye to destroy my marriage! I love Patrick Leslie, and I love our bairns. If I did not I would hae sooner killed myself than submit to another man's lust!'

He caught a handful of her hair and pulled her down to him. 'Yet, madame, ye respond to my lovemaking, and ye will continue to respond as long as it pleases me.'

'I respond,' she answered defiantly, 'because Patrick taught my body to respond.'

'Are all the Leslies such paragons in bed?' he asked sarcastically.

'According to their wives, and the lasses in our district, they are. My cousin Fiona was an extremely restless woman until she married my lord's brother, Adam Leslie. Since then she has nae strayed once.'

'Fiona Leslie,' mused the king. 'Aye! Sultry, wi auburn hair, gray eyes, and skin like ivory satin. I've seen the wench, but I didna realize she was yer relative. Perhaps some evening I may entertain the two of ye.'

'Am I not woman enough for ye, Jamie?' Pushing him back onto the pillows, she kissed him expertly, and her hand slid between his legs. He quickly grew hard in the silky warmth of her skilled caresses, but before he could move to mount her, she took the initiative and mounted him instead. Triumphantly, she looked down into his surprised face. And before he could stop her she began to ride him as one would ride a horse, her round knees digging into him. No woman had ever done this to James Stewart. Shocked, he struggled beneath her.

She laughed, mocking him. 'How do ye like being forced, my lord king?'

He could not escape the iron grip of the warm thighs that gripped him. To his shame and horror he felt himself pouring his seed in furious spurts into her. She collapsed on top of him. Angrily, he rolled over, forcing her underneath him. Her eyes were sparkling wickedly, and her mouth was laughing. Slapping her several times, he was amazed to feel his desire quickening again, so he thrust brutally into her, making her cry out in pain. The knowledge that he was hurting her seemed to soothe him.

Afterwards he spoke quietly to her. 'Yer the most exciting woman I hae ever lain wi, Catriona Leslie, but if ye ever do to me again what ye did this evening, I'll beat ye black and blue. I am nae a maid to be used in such a fashion!'

'I ask yer majesty's pardon,' she said softly, but somehow he felt her voice wasn't contrite enough. 'Sometimes,' she continued, 'Patrick likes me to love him in that fashion. He says it excites him to play wi my breasts while we-'

'If I want to fuck ye and play wi yer tits I can love ye in the Greek fashion,' he interrupted her. 'In fact, I hae a mind to do it now!'

'No, Jamie! Damn! Not that, please! I hate it! Noooo!'

Now it was the king's turn to laugh. He wanted to punish her further, and this was the way. She would feel the shame he had felt. Forcing her over onto her stomach, he took her quickly, cruelly bruising the lovely breasts. He was pleased as she wept and struggled to escape him. She was much subdued when he had finished with her, and James felt he had gained mastery over her again.

They slept for a few hours. Then, roused by the sight of his naked, tousled and sleepy mistress, the king took her again. This time he was gentle. He smiled down at her afterwards and said, 'I'll be late this evening, my pet. Closer to midnight.' After taking a piece of marchpane from the plate on the nightstand, he put on his dressing gown and disappeared through the passage door.

Cat fell back onto the pillows. She was exhausted. Her body felt battered and bruised, and she wasn't sure she would be able to walk. But-and she smiled as she fell asleep-if she could keep up the pace, James would soon have memories to burn his brain forever. No other woman would ever satisfy him.