AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Wolfric, what are we to do? The slur on my honour is out there now. People will talk and snigger about us.’ She twisted up onto his chest and kissed him. ‘No matter how firmly we stand together, they will judge you a cuckold, and me, an adulteress.’
He pressed his palm to one of her breasts and stroked a thumb down the side making her shiver. ‘Aye, but perhaps the beating I gave Robbie Dunn will make them think twice about saying it to my face, eh.’
Orla looked down, and tears pricked the back of her eyes. ‘It is not fair. You should not be shamed with an untruth nor by my recklessness.’
‘Tis done,’ he said, sweeping hair off her face with gentle fingers. ‘And I say, this is how it will go. We will go out into society together as one until this scandal dies down and the folk of Inverness move on to fresh prey. We will face down all the gossipy, pious old hypocrites.’
‘But you hate to go into society.’
‘Aye, but I will do it for you. I will face those old cats and not let them scratch you.’
‘Alright. If you think that is a good plan.’ She smiled and kissed him again. ‘We should not have gone to bed wet. Now we have made the linens damp, and the mattress too.’
‘Then we will move to my chamber while they are dried.’
She frowned. ‘Your chamber? I have never been allowed in there.’
‘Well, you are now. I have decided to trust you, lass, and you have decided to trust me, so you may as well learn all my secrets.’
‘What secrets might they be, husband?’
‘I will tell you mine if you will tell me yours. Agreed?’ said Wolfric. ‘And mine is this. There was no offer from your father to take you back. I said it to test you.’
‘That was bad of you. But I would never go back there anyway.’
‘Your turn, Orla.’
‘Alright.’ She bit her lip and frowned. ‘I did not swim the loch.’
‘Hah. I knew it,’ said Wolfric. ‘You were rescued then,’ he said, smiling.
‘Sykes rowed the boat over at first light and took me off the island. She saw you put me there and would not have it. She may be a gossipy old harpy, but she is loyal to a fault and as strong as any man. The currents in the loch were no match to those beefy arms.’
Wolfric laughed, and it was music to Orla’s ears.
‘You were very convincing,’ he said.
‘Because when we reached the bank, and we both tried to scramble out at the same time, the boat overturned and tipped us into the water. It was horrible – so cold and full of slimy mud and weeds. They got everywhere, in my hair and boots, but it helped convince you that I swam for it.’
Wolfric rolled her over onto her belly and slid his hand between her legs. ‘Not everywhere. There are no weeds down here.’ Orla moaned as his cool fingers stoked her lust. ‘You told a terrible falsehood and disobeyed me, wife. Since I am here, I think I should extract another punishment from you.’ His fingers slid inside her body, and Orla suddenly had difficulty holding her thoughts.
She giggled. ‘I’ve already been punished. Sykes has complained so loudly about how she was almost lost to a watery grave that…oh….she will never let me forget it and…oh…please….’
‘Hush now, no more talk of Sykes. Take your punishment with fortitude, Orla.’
‘Only if you tell me another secret,’ she giggled.
‘Alright. The first time I realised you would be my bride, I was relieved. I thought you were striking - so strong, so angry, yet comely enough to tempt any man. ‘It will be no hardship to bed her, I thought.’
‘Oh, I did not know.’
Wolfric put his mouth to her ear. ‘And what did you think of me?’
‘I thought you were an animal,’ she gasped, writhing against his hand.
‘Well there, you were not wrong, my love.’
Wolfric replaced his fingers with his manhood, and there was nothing Orla could do save thrust her fingers into his hair and gasp her pleasure into the mattress. Soon they were joined more closely than ever before, in a tangle of warm flesh and limbs, with shy words of affection whispered between hungry lips.
