‘Oh, we won’t be waiting,a mhuirnín,’ he said.‘I came here with the intent of spending all hours of the night with my mouth upon your skin.’
His wicked words sent a rush of sensation through her.But she touched his face and asked the question that had been bothering her for so long.‘Have you forgiven me, Balor?For what happened in the past…’ Her words broke off as she chose them carefully.
He captured her mouth, pulling her body close until his hardness rested against her softness.‘The past doesn’t matter anymore.I’m going to spend every day of the rest of our lives loving you.’He cupped her nape and spoke against her mouth.‘Starting tonight, if you’re willing.’
His hand moved against her breast, gently stroking itthrough the delicate linen.Her body reacted instantly, rising against his touch as she went liquid between her legs.
In answer, Mairead let thebratslide from her shoulders.Then she loosened the ties of her shift and let it fall away until she stood naked before him.She needed him to lie with her this night, to drive away the shadows and remind her of the happiness yet to come.
Balor stripped away his leather armour and tunic, followed by his weapons and trews.And when he, too, was naked before her, she couldn’t resist the urge to touch him.Hunger roared through her, along with the thankfulness that he was here with her now.
‘Do you remember the day I first rescued you?’he asked as he drew her towards her bed.‘The day I tried to take you away?’
‘Yes.’Her words were breathless as he slid his hands over her breasts, caressing the nipples with his thumbs.
‘I didn’t want to give you back,’ he admitted.‘I saw you once when we were children, and you waved at me.I never forgot that, and I think I always wanted you to be mine.’
‘I am yours now,’ she said softly.‘And always will be.’
He drew his hands to her waist, then pulled her tightly against him.She loved the feeling of his hard body against her own.
‘I never imagined you would love someone like me.’He caressed her spine, stealing another kiss.
She cupped his face and looked into his eyes.‘How could I not?When you saw me as a woman and not a king’s daughter?’
A smile caught his mouth as he continued guiding her back towards the bed.He pressed her to sit and asked, ‘Do you know what a man must do when he’s with a king’s daughter?’
A sudden rise of nerves caught her, but she shook her head.
‘He has to kneel.’
And with that, he laid her back, pulling her legs to rest on his shoulders as he knelt at the foot of her bed.
His breath warmed her intimate flesh, and the anticipation made her body yearn for his touch.He kissed her inner thigh, and she bit her lip, trying to gather the shreds of her own control.
But when he used his tongue to worship her, tasting her flesh, she let out a shattering moan and arched against him.Her fingers dug into her coverlet as he feasted, and never in her life had she felt so powerless…and yet, he was doing this for her.With his mouth, he kissed her softly, sucking against the bundle of nerves while his wicked tongue invaded.
She went over the edge within moments, heat and wild sensation pulsing through her until she was hardly able to breathe.She cried out in gratitude as the release tore through her.
Then he kissed a path up her stomach as his erection came into contact between her thighs.She tried to reach for him, but he pinned her wrists above her head.
‘This is what I’ve been dreaming of since the first night I touched you.’He leaned his weight against her, and she yearned to join their bodies together.His mouth covered one breast while he teased the other nipple, and she felt the slow burn of another release rising within her.
‘I’ve wanted to taste every part of you,’ he said, moving his mouth to the other breast.
‘So have I,’ she answered, gripping his hair.He suckled her nipples, his fingers sliding into her wetness.‘I want to take you into my mouth.’She imagined running her tongue over his thick length, savouring him.
‘Later,’ he promised, before he began a gentle thrusting rhythm with his fingers.He teased her with shallow strokes before his fingers slid in deep.But even as he pleasured her, she whispered the words he needed to hear.
‘You are the man I’ve been waiting for, all my life, Balor.And I want nothing more than to be at your side.I love you with everything I am.And everything I have yet to become.’
He groaned as she found his velvet length at last, caressing him with her palm and guiding him to her entrance.His face turned pained with ecstasy as she used her thumb to coat the essence of him against the blunt head.
‘I love you, Mairead.’His words turned into a blend of Gaelic and Norman endearments.And when she squeezed him, he rewarded her by finding her slick opening and driving in deep.He found a rhythm, thrusting until she lost where he ended and she began.
God above, she loved the feeling of his body inside hers.But more than that, his gaze burned into hers, his blue eyes captivating her.
‘You’re mine,’ he said.And he slowed down, lifting her hips with one hand while he gently pressed against her stomach with the other.The sensation intensified, her body rising and falling with the rhythm of his thrusts.As he made love to her, she could only squeeze him from within, meeting his body with her own.
