Her cheeks flushed crimson with shame and embarrassment, for she had never been this intimate with anyone before. But she told herself that she didn’t need to feel this way because he was her husband. All of these feelings were natural and holy. She relaxed into his embrace and leaned over him. Now that her hair was free of flowers it hung loosely over him, enveloping him in the draping veil. Caitlin pressed her lips against his, using the fiery passion to burn away the lingering doubts in her mind. She whimpered softly and felt a tingling sensation pass across her body. Rhys’s arms reached up and around her back. He played with the long strands of her hair and then his hands reached around her shoulders, pulling at the straps of her dress. She could feel the pull and the power of his body. Arousal surged and scorched the heat around them.
“Wait,” he said, gasping. She pressed her lips against his cheek and left a trail down his neck.
“What is it?” she asked.
“There’s something…something I need tae tell ye,” he said.
Caitlin giggled to herself. Rhys sometimes said the silliest things at the strangest times. There was absolutely no need for him to interrupt the mood with some confession. She assumed it was about him being with other women. She had assumed that he had; after all, he was such a natural at this and a wild man. There were few rules that could constrain a man like him, and she didn’t much care because he was her husband. She had lay claim to his heart, and she would make sure that his eyes never wandered and his heart never strayed.
“It doesnae matter. Naething matters,” she said, and before he could say anything else, she locked lips with him again. There had been enough talking. Now was the time for them to give in to their desires and their feelings, to succumb to the fervent arousal that had laced every one of their kisses so far, and that had been the driving force since the first moment they had laid eyes on each other.
To ensure that he remained speechless, she pushed herself up so that she was sitting on top of him and slipped off her dress, exposing her soft milky skin, and letting her voluptuous curves pour out. She moaned softly as she made herself vulnerable to him, but as it happened she felt a serene sense of tranquility pass through her mind, for she knew that she was safe with him and that she could trust him with anything. Her heart was his, and soon enough her body would be as well.
14
The words had slipped from Rhys’s mind. Suddenly nothing was as important as being with her and sharing in the delights of her body. Her kiss silenced him, moved him. The taste of her lips was intoxicating and the way her body melted into his was heavenly. All the tension left his body in one guttural moan and he was rendered silent, unable to do anything except love her. His hands fell about her curves and his fingers entwined with her hair. He pressed his hand into the small of her back and felt the small tremors that rippled over her skin. The flare of passion was unlike anything he had felt before. It was more powerful than any sensation he had ever experienced. It was as though his heart had opened and a rush of emotion had burst out in a vibrant flow, as though a waterfall of emotion was cascading through him in a relentless torrent.
His mind swirled with different emotions and different sensations. His entire body was alive, as if the world before had just been an illusion. Everything else was being stripped away from him, leaving this raw, pure feeling of bliss.
They hurriedly clawed at each other to pull each other’s clothes away. Caitlin snatched away his tunic and gazed in awe at the expanse of his body. She left a trail of kisses along his neck and over his chest, resting her hand against the middle of his body where she could feel his frantic heart beating. Rhys deftly undid the thread that held her dress together. With a coy shrug, Caitlin’s dress fell away and she was exposed and vulnerable. Rhys had never seen anything so beautiful. He gasped in awe at the sight that was better than the rising sun spreading its golden fingers over a dew-stained world, or a dappled ocean dancing under the shimmering moonlight. Her skin was flawless and soft. He reached out a hand and the air was scorched by the heat of his passion as he explored every inch of her body. Her head arched back and her lips parted slightly as a rush of breath escaped her lips. His huge hand encompassed almost all of her petite body. He felt her voluptuous breasts and pulled her in closer to him, her body melting into his. Their lips met again with irresistible force.
They fell back, with Caitlin atop him, her hair falling around, enveloping them in a soft veil. His hands traveled down her back. She moaned when she felt how aroused he was. Her eyes sparkled with fear and anticipation. The marriage bed was a place of secrets and mystery, a place where inhibitions could be thrown away, a place where a married couple did sacred things that went unspoken of outside of their union.
Such things took place that night.
Caitlin traveled
