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Scared. She’d never have imagined it possible, but her husband was scared. Gillian jumped out of the bed and laid her hands on his crossed arms.

“I love you, Graeme. I love your loyalty and passion, your gentleness and . . .”

That she could not say aloud.

Did he believe her? If he would not listen to her words, then perhaps . . .

Gillian turned away, walked to the bed, finding its edge thanks to the sole candle that was still lit, and crawled inside. She really should have disrobed first, but no matter. It was not overly difficult to remove her shift and the braid that held her hair together while lying down. Finally, when finished, she looked to her husband.

* * *

He stared at the bed, the woman he’d dreamt of every night lying completely exposed and vulnerable. Because he knew Gillian. She was not yet completely comfortable with their intimacy, which made the gesture more meaningful.

I love you, Graeme.

Gillian loved him, and by all the saints in Scotland, he loved her too. He tore off his clothes as he approached the bed, needing to bury himself inside her, sealing the pact they’d made with their words.

But not yet.

He spread her legs wide as he crawled between them. Turning his head, he kissed her smooth calf and then edged his lips up toward her thigh. Higher still. Graeme held her legs open with his hands while he placed a soft kiss on her inner thigh.

He looked up at his English queen holding court in their bed. Shaking off any remaining vestiges of doubt, he told her exactly how their night would end.

“I am going to prove my love for you with every touch of my lips.” He kissed the sensitive flesh on the underside of each slightly bent knee. “I will revere you as the queen you are.” He splayed his hands wide on her thighs. “And when I enter you,” he finished as he glided toward her, “each thrust will give you a piece of me, my love and my eternal devotion to you, Gillian.”

She licked her lips, tempting him to take them. But he fulfilled his promise and made his way toward her mouth slowly, each touch of his lips on her skin an apology. For not accepting her the first time she asked for more. For leaving, twice. By the time he reached her breasts, he partially covered her, the feel of her skin against his hardening him even more. Her softness and acceptance touched his very soul.

He gave each breast the attention it deserved, kissing one while teasing the other with his hand, and then finally made his way to her mouth. He captured her lips beneath his own, unrelenting in his message: he loved her, worshiped her, and would prove it this night. His tongue tussled with hers, a soft moan escaping from her lips. Graeme’s skin burned everywhere it touched hers. And when she pressed into him, it was an invitation he could not ignore.

He reached down and guided himself into her. But once her tightness enveloped him, his urge to go slowly was overwhelmed by the desire to fit so deeply into his wife that neither of them would have any remaining doubts about where they belonged—together.

Guiding her legs up on either side of him, he whispered into her ear, “Wrap your legs around me.”

When she did, Graeme took full advantage of the new position and thrust and circled and thrust until her uneven breathing became louder. He kissed her ear, her neck, his tongue flicking Gillian’s skin as he gave her everything he had, waiting . . .

For that. Her legs tightened around his back as she grabbed his hair, groaning. The small spasms intensified, and he finally let go. Spilling himself into her, Graeme captured her lips once more, a silent promise that he would give as much as she offered.

She was his wife in truth, and the thought of it filled him with so much pride that he could not get close enough. He rolled her atop him, their bodies still joined, and held on tight. Her hair covered his face, their limbs indistinguishable.

Graeme could stay this way forever.

Unfortunately, she eventually lifted her head, and he reached up to move her hair to the side.

He opened his mouth to tell her all that he’d been thinking, but words seemed to pale in comparison to what they’d just experienced. Instead, he lifted his head and kissed her.

Her broad smile was the only response he needed.

36

“Move against me like that one more time, and you’ll know exactly how I’d like to wake up to you every morning for the rest of our lives.”

Gillian chuckled and pressed her backside against him, taunting him. Teasing him. Well, he had not been teasing her. He was already hard and more than ready for his wife. Reaching around to ensure she was also ready for him, Graeme moved over her so quickly Gillian had time for nothing more than a widening of her eyes before he entered her.

Unlike the night before, he did not take his time. She met his every thrust with one of her own, and it took only a change of pace, from fast to slow and back again, before his English queen tipped her head back and thrust her hips up to meet him.

Graeme covered her hands, which gripped the coverlet on both side of them, and found his release with her. Collapsing on top of her, supporting his weight in order to not crush her, Graeme placed a kiss on her nose.

“Good morn, wife.”