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“Do you see what tricks your imagination plays?” Oriana asked pointedly. “I want only you here, not Lugh. Let’s create our own song if you must have a melody to accompany your memories.”
While Egan was not so easily convinced that Lugh had not just sent a mischievous puff into the fire, he rose to join her on the bed. Then with a low, hungry growl, he caught her in his arms. “You never do anything I ask, do you?”
Oriana placed her hands on his chest in gentle reproach. “That’s untrue,” she protested. “I went to the feast with you tonight, did I not? It was not the first such meal I’ve attended.”
Egan responded with a grudging nod. “Aye, you have been at my side when I demanded it, but then tonight, as always, you did as you pleased.”
Oriana’s posture stiffened. “Would you rather I silently sipped wine until I had to be carried from the hall like more than one of your female relatives?”
Egan nibbled her ear. “I’d hoped you’d not notice the women who are overly fond of wine. In the future, we must dilute theirs with even more water.”
The slight growth of his beard tickled her throat, and Oriana’s pose softened as she leaned into his playful caress. “Perhaps the real problem lies not in the strength of the wine, but in the lack of a husband’s affections.”
“It could well be, but you’ll never suffer such a tragic fate.” Tightening his embrace, he lured her down onto the furs and captured her mouth for a long, lavish kiss.
In but a moment, Oriana felt his teasing mood change with the quickening of his breath. This was where he had pulled away from her that afternoon, but now, rather than being edged with caution, his kiss was suffused with desire. Deeply grateful, she welcomed his passion. There was no need to recall a haunting melody when he would be her first and only lover.
When he at last allowed her a moment to catch her breath, she whispered against his ear, “Are our clothes not in the way?”
Embarrassed that he had once discarded his so recklessly by the shore, Egan raised up only long enough to peel off his long tunic and toss it aside.
“There is no need to rush,” he assured her.
Oriana trailed her hand over his warm, bare shoulder. “No need for you, perhaps.”
Amused by her suggestive tone, Egan chuckled softly. “I mean to have you for a lifetime, my lady.”
Knowing some lifetimes were tragically brief, Oriana could not help but think of his mother, who must have died so very young. “I fear a lifetime with you may not be nearly long enough.”
“Then we must savor every moment.” Shifting his position slightly, Egan twisted his hands through her curls to hold her still for another deep kiss.
Cherishing every nuance of the affectionate exchange, Oriana sighed softly and then, with sudden alarm, confessed, “Rather than only seventeen summers, I’ve actually seen nineteen.”
Charmed by her candor, Egan indulged in another deeply satisfying kiss before leaning back to prop his head on his elbow. “I would love you even if it had been two hundred to my mere twenty-seven.”
The smoky scent of the fire blended smoothly with the lavender perfume of Adelaine’s clothes, but Oriana craved more of Egan’s clean, masculine essence. She snuggled close and breathed deeply. As always, he smelled so good, like soap and leather with a lingering hint of the mysterious forest depths. Beneath her fingertips, she felt the pulse in his throat beating in a sure, steady rhythm, and she fought to silence her fears.
His bare chest was so inviting, her own clothes were proving to be a frustrating distraction, and she sat up to pull off her sleeveless tunic, then leaned down to remove her shoes. “Perhaps you enjoy making love in your clothes, but I doubt that I shall.”
Egan watched as she stood to remove the golden torque he had placed around her neck and the delicate wooden beads his father had carved. He stretched lazily as she slid off her simple gold bracelet, and thought that even if they were blessed with a hundred years together, he would never tire of her guileless grace. He imagined the distant future when her hair would be a glossy silver rather than gold, and still she was so beautiful it took his breath away.
Unable to bear even a brief separation, he rolled off the bed, caught her in a warm embrace and nearly crushed her against his chest. “You’re right,” he admitted hoarsely. “Our clothes are in the way.”
As he dropped his hands, Oriana stepped back to unfasten his belt. “So you admit that I’m right about at least one thing?”
Egan sucked in his breath as her fingertips brushed his bare belly. He caught her wrists before she could undress him. “Wait. First you must remove your gown.”
That she had caused the catch in his voice made Oriana smile. “As you wish,” she replied. She bent to grasp her hem, and with a slow, easy twist pulled the lovely garment off over her head.
Egan had forgotten that she would be wearing a lace-trimmed shift underneath, and he waited impatiently as she laid her dress aside. When she turned back toward him, the rosy tips of her breasts were clearly outlined against the sheer linen, and it was all he could do not to rip her shift from neckline to hem wi
th a single quick lunge.
Fighting for control, he ran his palms down his thighs and reminded himself that she was not only a rare beauty, but also an innocent who undoubtedly had no real understanding of what the night would bring. If he did not take care, there was a risk of frightening her so badly that she might also prefer wine to her husband’s company. Avoiding that wretched consequence would be worth the effort, but when he wanted her so badly, he was uncertain how he would maintain the necessary restraint.
Fearing the chamber was too brightly lit for modesty’s sake, he glanced toward the fire, and when he looked back toward Oriana, her shift lay pooled at her feet. With her stately elegance clothed, he had known she would be enchanting nude, but rather than demure, her glance was curious and direct. He tried to smile, but feared his expression conveyed only awestruck wonder.
Which of us is the true innocent here? he wondered. Before he could gather his wits to comment on her beauty, she crossed the distance between them in a single gliding step, and he was lost in her before their lips met in another lingering kiss. He picked her up to lay her across his bed, then sloughed off his pants and kicked them away.
