“You promise we’ll stop if you have any pain,” she said, relenting.
“The only thing causing me pain at the moment is my cock, the way it aches for wanting ye.” He hadn’t redressed from his wash, so his cock lurched against her, proving his words true.
“I did vow to nurse you back to health,” she teased, taking him in hand.
“Aye. You did.”
“I know you are in a hurry to get out of bed, but do you think I could coax you back into it?”
He nodded and sat on the edge of the bed as she knelt before him. He hadn’t planned on this, but when her warm mouth took him in, he groaned and let her go about it.
He leaned back but readjusted when his shoulder protested at supporting his weight. He repositioned himself and watched her as she took to her task heartily. He didn’t want to spend so quickly, so he looked away from the sight of her mouth on him. He might not be back to fighting form, but he was a prideful husband who wanted to see to his wife’s pleasure.
“Stop,” he ordered, and she did so quickly, a look of concern on her pretty face.
“Don’t worry. I’m not harmed.” He was quick to allay her worries. “I want to see ye take your desire. Sit on me so I can watch you.”
He inched back onto the bed until he was lying across it. He stroked himself as he watched her disrobe and crawl atop him. She was a glorious sight.
“Go slow,” he said when she was fully seated. “I don’t want it to be over too soon. I’ve waited so long for this.”
With his good arm, he kneaded her breasts and tugged her nipples until she was gasping and rocking against him faster than he wished. He could tell she was close, so instead of bidding her to slow, he used his thumb to hasten her release, then followed her with his own, pushing up into her, not minding the slight burn in his chest from the action.
The pain was easily forgotten as his release poured out of him.
His wife slumped beside him, and he pulled her close, kissing her hair and her lips.
“That was what I wanted,” he said contentedly, not able to move.
“So, all I had to do to get you to stay in bed was ride you a bit?” she asked in a naughty tone.
“Aye. You’ve found my weakness, lass, but I can’t be sorry for it. Any time you want me to stay in bed, you know your power.”
“Shall we stay here awhile, then?”
“I just need a quick rest, then I plan to show you how well I’ve recovered, thanks to your caring touch.”
They chose to take their meal in their room so he could continue to show her how fully his health had improved.
There would be time enough to leave his bed tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-Six
After two days of staying in bed with Cam as he proved his stamina, Mari walked to the village with Abagail to check in on a woman who’d given birth the night before.
Abagail was kind not to mention the slowness of Mari’s steps, which was the opposite of her husband’s smug smile. He had offered to carry her down to the morning meal, but she’d declined with a light slap to his arm and a reluctant smile. He was barbaric, but she enjoyed his wickedness. Even as she’d left him at the table with Lachlan, she’d returned his naughty grin. There would be time enough for that when she returned home.
Meanwhile, she’d made a decision.
After the helplessness she’d felt when Cam was injured, she’d asked Kenna and Abagail to teach her to be a healer. Today was to be her first lesson.
She smiled up at the morning sky as the sun touched her face. She loved coming to the village. The pleasant cottages and happy families made her feel as if she belonged.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light of the cottage after being out in the sun, but once she was able to see, she offered a smile to the small family inside. Abagail instructed her to check the mother for fever, and how to check over the new bairn.
“He has a mighty grip. A strong lad,” Mari said when the baby had fisted his wee hand around her smallest finger.
“Aye. He’ll grow up big and strong like his da. He’ll make a fine warrior,” the mother said.
“Your husband is a warrior?” Mari asked, wondering if she’d ever met him while watching Cam with his men.
“Aye. But my man grew up in the village and wanted his family to live in the village rather than the castle,” she explained.
Mari nodded. “How do you manage when he goes off to battle? I fear I did not handle it well the first time as a wife.”
The woman patted Mari’s hand. “It’s one of the hardest things a wife has to bear—watching her man go off, not sure if he’ll return. But everyone finds a way to handle it. Some find distraction in other activities. Some pray. Some—like me—hold our children tight and send our love and strength to our husbands. It gets easier.”
Mari wasn’t sure how that was possible. Cam had been injured this last time, and she feared for when he’d be called out again, now that he was back in good health. The fear had only grown, not gotten easier. But she’d promised Cam she would not put undue stress on their partings in the future. If he was too distracted, he might fall to an enemy’s blade, and she would feel responsible.
When Abagail finished showing her other things to look for that would indicate a complication from birth, they gathered their things to leave.
“I’m glad they’re both happy and healthy,” Mari said to the healer. “’Tis a great blessing, to be sure.”
“Aye. Are ye hoping for a similar blessing between you and Cam?”
Mari
