When finally, blessedly, her tongue darted out over the tip, a hiss of pleasure flew from his lips. And when she opened her mouth and closed it around his length, he tossed his head back, losing himself in the feel of her entirely.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Sunlight streamed through the windows, and the chirping of birds filled the air. It all called for Marissa to wake up, coaxing her out of a deep sleep.
She groaned, trying to roll onto her side but accidentally rolling onto the warm body next to her instead.
“If ye wanted to finish what we started last night,” Arthur murmured, “ye could have just asked. Nay need to maul me in me sleep.”
Marissa’s eyes fluttered open just to glare at him. His hair was mussed, and he was gazing down at her from where he sat propped against the pillows.
“I’ll hear none of that,” she quipped, playfully pinching his side before throwing back the covers.
She stared at the wall, contemplating if she actually wanted to get up. Her family would be downstairs. And, after everything she had revealed last night, she was certain that breakfast would be an onslaught of questions and concerns that she simply was not prepared for.
“Ye ken ye have to go and face them,” Arthur murmured, but Marissa did not turn to look at him.
“What are ye? A mind reader?” she quipped.
“I just ken how much it all worried ye last night. And I dinnae want ye hidin’ away in here instead of goin’ and spendin’ time with them while ye can.”
She nodded. As much as Marissa hated to admit it, Arthur was right.
Pushing herself up off the mattress, she groaned. Her limbs were stiff. After what they’d done the night before, Marissa had fallen into a deep slumber. One where, apparently, she didn’t so much as move throughout the night.
She walked out into the sitting room, stretching her arms above her head and twisting her back. It took a little while, but eventually, she had limbered up.
She turned toward their bedchamber, only to find Arthur standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he watched her.
“I didnae ken ye would be puttin’ on such a show,” he said with a grin. “Otherwise, I may have gotten up sooner.”
“Oh, enough of ye,” she huffed, flapping her arms in dismissal. “Go ahead and leave so I can change.”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “So, ye can sleep next to me,” he purred. “Ye can even put yer mouth on me?—”
“Enough!” she stammered, putting her hand up to silence him.
She didn’t need to hear him recounting the events of last night. She was doing well enough on her own, staving off the embarrassment that was threatening to overwhelm her.
I dinnae need to feel embarrassed, nae when we will be married in a few days. And he did save me life, after all.
Arthur just chuckled at her, but he didn’t say anything further as he walked past her.
“I’ll head down to breakfast,” he murmured, giving her a searing look. “Dinnae think of me too much before ye come down.”
Marissa just rolled her eyes before she turned her back on him. The door to their rooms closed with a gentle click, and for the first time since someone threw a knife at her heart the night before, she was blessedly alone.
Heaving a sigh, she walked toward their changing chambers. Pulling a simple gown from their wardrobe, Marissa fell into the routine of dressing herself.
By the time the fabric was draped fully over her body, she felt ready to go down and face the day.
The castle was quiet as she walked through the corridors, making her way toward the dining hall for breakfast. And, as she walked, a sudden feeling of unease crept over her.
Eric’s man, the one who tried to kill me, is somewhere within the depths of this castle.
“Stop it,” Marissa chastised herself, finding that it helped when she spoke out loud. “Ye’re bein’ foolish.”
But even as the words left her mouth, she wasn’t entirely sure that they were true. Because at least a part of what she had thought was true. Eric’s manwassomewhere within the castle.
