‘It is probably nothing.’ Ceanna told him what she’d learnt about the sons of King Aed. She was aware that her voice was picking up speed, but she couldn’t slow down. Her words came to an abrupt shuddering halt at his incredulous expression. ‘You know what this means. What I must do.’
‘Are you asking to go back to Dun Ollaigh? We married to keep you from that place. You return there and you will die. We both will. Shall we annul this marriage so that you can return? It would give your aunt no end of pleasure.’
Ceanna wrapped her arms about her middle. She had done it wrong already. He was disappointed with her and the marriage had not yet truly begun. She had to try harder or her aunt would inspect the sheet in the morning and discover that Ceanna remained a maid. But confessing this might mean he made love to her out of pity and she most definitely did not want that. She slowly shook her head. ‘I want to be married to you. I choose that.’
He lifted her chin so that she looked into the shifting colours of his eyes. A woman could drown in those eyes. ‘Good. Then let us stop seeking reasons why you should go back to Dun Ollaigh. We have other things to do that are more important right now.’
She licked her parched lips. ‘Enlighten me.’
‘I came in here with seduction on my mind.’ He ran his hands down her arms. ‘I told you once that we go at your pace, not mine. I want you to enjoy yourself. It increases my pleasure.’
‘I thought we had agreed to be friends rather than lovers.’ She retreated a step away from the enticing touch of his hand. The bed dug into the back of her legs. Her aunt’s warnings about men and their ravenous appetites came back to her. While the older woman had been speaking, Ceanna had decided she wanted to be someone who enjoyed such things, rather than someone who lay there and endured.
‘We’re married now.’ He crossed the room to her. He shed his tunic and stood in the flickering light from the rush lamps. ‘I don’t have to worry about ruining your chances of becoming a holy maid. Destroying your future. I want you to have a future, Ceanna. I want you to live. It is why I married you.’
‘That’s what stopped you before? At Mildreth’s—’
He gathered a strand of hair. ‘Your hair falls like a cloud about your face.’
‘My aunt gave me a list of instructions about how to be a bride in our marriage bed. We are supposed to pray first, but I am not certain how effective that will be.’ Her voice had become less than a reed singing in the wind. She swallowed hard and tried again. ‘I don’t know what to do so you will have to show me.’
He cupped her face with his long fingers and lowered his mouth. ‘Trust your instincts, Skadi, not your aunt.’
The use of her nickname calmed her. His lips met hers and she gave herself up to his kiss. Their tongues met, touched and tangled. The warmth in her belly ignited, infusing her.
He gently eased her back against the soft bedcoverings.
He ran a finger down the side of her face, sending tingles through her. ‘Shall I blow the lamps out?’ he asked.
Slowly she shook her head. ‘I like looking at you.’
He gave a very husky laugh. ‘I bear scars.’
She traced several of the silver scars on his chest. There was one particularly vicious one near his heart. Her hand ran over its almost unnatural silky smoothness. ‘How?’
‘Someone wanted me dead in Constantinople. I objected.’
‘I am glad you did.’ She ran her hands further down his chest, encountering his nipples which hardened to points under the pads of her fingers.
He caught her questing hands and held them above her head. His tongue nuzzled circles on her neck, making her writhe under him. A hard bulge pressed between her thighs. Her thin gown had become plastered against her body, leaving little to the imagination.
‘Tell me you crave this.’ He gently bit her earlobe and the heat surged between her thighs, making her slick. Her body arched upwards towards the bulge. ‘Tell me that your dreams have been full of me, like mine have been full of you.’
‘I... I...thought you were not interested,’ she admitted.
The admission earned her a quick kiss and a laugh. ‘You have much to learn about men, Skadi, particularly me. I’ve been hot for you since the day we met.’ He tugged at her shift. ‘May I? I’ve imagined you like this.’
She nodded, scarcely able to speak. His hands gently removed the garment so that her naked body was open to his gaze in the faltering light. She instinctively tried to hide her breasts with her hands, but he shook his head.
‘There is no need to hide from me, Skadi. I have long wanted to feast on your beauty.’
‘My beauty?’
He ran gentle fingers down her side. ‘You are more desirable than I ever imagined.’
He bent his head and took a nipple in his mouth. His tongue went round and round its point until a sharp stab of heat radiated out through her. Her body arched upwards, seeking his touch. She made a mewling noise in the back of her throat as she fought to remain still.
He lifted his head and gave a very masculine laugh. ‘Do you like this? You must say something if you don’t. Your pleasure is mine.’
‘I’ve never—’ she said. ‘That is to say—everyone said I must lie completely still, never moving.’
‘They are wrong. Do what your body tells you to.’
She touched her tongue to her bottom lip. ‘I’ve never done this before.’
He pushed the hair back from her forehead. ‘I know. It means I have a great responsibly to ensure you enjoy this.’
‘You are staying dressed?’
‘For now. I don’t want this to be over
