After a moment’s hesitation, she obeyed and went to stand in front of him.
“Come and sit here,” he told her, gesturing to his lap.
Olivia was shocked by the invitation. Her already racing heart fluttered madly, and she felt herself flushing from head to toe. But she could find no real reason to protest. He was her husband, after all. So, she did as she was told and eased herself as gracefully as she could onto his lap.
The heat from his thighs easily burned through the layers of flimsy silk separating them, and Olivia was terribly conscious that her breasts were only inches from his face. She could not bring herself to look at him. When he put his hands on her thighs, she stiffened, and her breath caught in her throat.
This is it, she realized frantically.
But he only stroked and caressed her thighs, running his hands over the smooth material slowly as if in deep appreciation.It was not at all what Olivia had expected. To her further consternation, she found herself starting to enjoy his touch, the slow movements of his large, warm hands over her thighs making her skin feel pleasantly hot and tingly.
This stroking went on for some minutes, with the crackling of the fire the only sound in the room.
Eventually, unable to stand the tension any longer, Olivia dared to look him in the eyes. It was a shock to find him already looking at her, his usually stony face only inches from hers, a hungry expression on it.
It was such a striking difference, lending him a certain air of vulnerability, that she found herself softening towards him.
Desperate to relieve some of the unbearable tension between them, not knowing if she was doing the right thing, she tried to lighten the mood by asking jokingly, “My, ye are takin’ yer time. Is that somethin’ I should be concerned about?”
A ghost of a smile played on his lips as he shook his head gently. “Nay, nae at all, lass. I just like to enjoy me victories… slowly,” he answered, his eyes fixed on hers as he slowly leaned in.
This is it! Me husband is about to kiss me for the first time!
Time seemed to slow down as his lips approached hers, and in those final moments, her inner voice was telling her not to fight it, to do nothing to stop it, to just let it happen. But just as his lipswere about to touch hers, anxiety gripped her, and she put her hand on his chest and cried, “Wait!”
Edan stopped. With a strange look on his face, he leaned back. Olivia, her poor heart thumping, was grateful for the breathing space.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice neutral.
Olivia struggled for a moment to find the right words to describe what waswrong. When she thought she had them, she began hesitantly, “I-I cannae do it—nae like this, as strangers.” She glanced at him and saw he was listening. So, she went on. “I-I’d like the chance to get to ken ye a bit first before… before ye claim me.”
There was an ominous silence that lasted several moments, during which she became convinced that an explosion was in the offing. But none came. Instead, he repeated her words thoughtfully, his eyes searching her face. “The chance to get to ken me?”
Emboldened by his unexpectedly mild reaction, Olivia voiced the proposal that had rapidly formed in her mind.
“Aye. If ye dinnae mind, I’d like to be wooed a little. Courted. If we could have five dates, five times when we spend time together, go out and do somethin’, then we wouldnae be strangers anymore. It would make me feel better. And after that, I promise I’ll give meself to ye.”
She waited on tenterhooks while Edan regarded her silently, expecting him to refuse. But it seemed the man was full of surprises, not all of them unpleasant.
He leaned forward again until he was close enough to kiss her, his breath tickling her skin, sending shivers up her spine.
Her heart sank. Her attempt to buy herself some time had failed. She closed her eyes and steeled herself for the kiss, and everything else that would follow.
5
“All right,” Edan murmured.
Olivia’s eyes flew open. She stared at him, unable to believe her ears. “Ye mean, ye agree?”
“Aye. If ye want to be courted, why nae? I’ll do exactly that.”
“Why, thank ye, Edan!” she cried, feeling so relieved and happy that she almost kissed him.
With the tension between them eased somewhat, and with a new respect for Edan for being so unexpectedly agreeable, she finally felt able to ask him about his absence.
“Would ye like somethin’ to eat and drink?” she asked. “Megan left us something in case we’re hungry.”
“Aye, I’ll have some ale and maybe a bite to eat. I havenae had any supper yet.”
