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Groaning, Jetta shifted and almost struggled in his arms briefly under the passionate teasing, and then she couldn't take it anymore and tangled her hands in his hair to pull his face to hers for another kiss. This time she was the aggressor, thrusting her own tongue forward to duel with his. Jetta even got so bold as to let one hand creep down toward the hardness pressing against her so intimately. The moment she neared it, however, Aulay broke their kiss, dragged a chair over with one foot and then dropped to sit in it.
Jetta stared at him with confusion, unsure what was happening. Was all that lovely passion over? Was she supposed to slip off the table and take the other seat as if nothing had hap--
"Husband!" she cried with shock when he suddenly caught her by each leg, drew her forward until her bottom was almost off the table, and then ducked his head under the hem of her shift and began to press kisses up along first one thigh and then the other. "Husband, please," she muttered, unsure herself if she were begging him to stop or to continue, and then he spread her wider and buried his head between her legs, his mouth finding the core of her. Gasping, Jetta did a little hop on the tabletop, her legs closing like a vise around his head and her hands reaching to clutch at him through the cloth of her shift as his tongue rasped over her most tender skin.
"Oh God!" Jetta cried, her eyes wide open one moment and squeezed shut the next as he did things she had never imagined could be done. Things she was also sure shouldn't be done in the eyes of the church. Jetta was aware that he had pushed her legs open again and was holding them that way as he devoured her with his lips, teeth and tongue. But mostly she was aware only of the sensations now ripping through her as Aulay licked, suckled and nipped at her tender flesh, causing such exquisite pleasure.
It was a revelation to her, and Jetta could not believe that it was possible to forget something so incredibly powerful as this. Family and loved ones? Aye, perhaps they could be lost to memory, but this mad passion? How had she forgotten this? How had she not begged for it the moment she opened her eyes? Dear God, it felt as if he were drawing her very soul out of her. Her entire body was taut as a bow and quivering with the need he was producing in her. She was panting for breath, her heart thudding wildly. Jetta felt as if she might lose her mind if he continued, but was sure she would surely die if he stopped . . . and then something shattered within her. Some fine string that he was pulling just snapped under the strain, and pleasure exploded within her, drawing a scream from her lips and making her body convulse as she was overwhelmed with a sweet release.
When Jetta regained some small semblance of herself and opened her eyes, she was no longer on the tabletop. She was again in Aulay's arms and he was carrying her to the bed. In fact, they'd reached it, she realized when he stopped and bent to lay her in it. Jetta immediately slid her arms around his neck, pulling on him and urging him to kiss her when he would have straightened. Aulay hesitated, but then pressed a quick kiss to her lips even as he caught her hands and said, "Someone is at the door."
As if to prove his words, a loud knock sounded at the door then. Knowing it probably wasn't the first round of knocking and that she had simply been too overwhelmed by her release to hear the first, Jetta reluctantly lay back on the bed and allowed him to disentangle himself and straighten.
"'Tis probably Mavis with the soup I sent for," he said with a smile, and then squeezed her hands before releasing them and turning to head for the door.
Jetta closed her eyes and listened drowsily as Aulay answered the door and began to speak with who she was sure was Rory. At least, it sounded to her like it was Rory's voice she was hearing. She couldn't make out what was being said, but the younger man seemed agitated, she thought with a complete lack of curiosity just before sleep pulled her down into its gentle folds.
Chapter 4
"What the devil are ye doing to the poor lass? I heard her screaming all the way out at the well."
Aulay scowled at Rory and stepped into the hall to pull the door closed so that Jetta wouldn't hear. As he shut it, he wondered, though, if Mavis too had heard Jetta's passionate cries. The lass was a very vocal lover, which he'd found vastly satisfying at the time, but now realized could be something of a problem.
"Thank God, Mavis didn't hear," Rory said now, answering that question. "At least I do no' think so. She is out hunting up wild herbs and spices to cook with and said she would bring up the soup once I'd watered it down a bit with water from the well. Which is fortunate," he assured him. "Had she been here she probably would have rushed into the room to stop ye from killing the poor lass. What the devil was going on? Is she having nightmares?"
Aulay raised his eyebrows at that and then shook his head with disgust. "The very fact that ye'd ask that tells me ye really need to set yer medicinal studies aside once in a while and visit the local light skirt, brother."
Rory stiffened at the words and then narrowed his eyes. "Aulay, ye did no'--?"
"Nay," he interrupted firmly, and shifted to ease his discomfort as he added, "I just . . . distracted her." That wasn't strictly true, of course, he admitted to himself. He'd originally intended to distract her by moving her to the table and making her eat. But when she'd said she found him attractive and enjoyed the idea of his having his way with her, Aulay had been . . . well, frankly he'd been shocked, amazed and so damned happy and turned on he'd wanted to--
"Aulay," Rory snapped, and if he was to judge by the level of irritation in his brother's tone, not for the first time. "When I said distract her, I did no' mean that ye should make free with her virtue. I--"
"Her virtue is intact," Aulay interrupted stiffly, and then spotted Mavis coming up the hall behind Rory and gave him a warning look before nodding at the woman and saying, "Ye're back."
"Aye." She smiled. "I found what I needed pretty quick. I think there must ha'e been a garden near here at one time. I found a variety o' herbs and spices nearby."
"That's helpful," Aulay murmured.
"Aye." Mavis smiled and then glanced to Rory and smiled at him as well. "Thank ye fer adding the water. The soup was already bubbling again when I came back in."
Aulay's eyebrows rose at the guilt-stricken expression that now claimed Rory's face. Obviously, he hadn't added the water in the end. No doubt Jetta's screams had distracted him from his purpose. To keep the maid from noticing his brother's reaction, Aulay said, "Thank ye, Mavis. The lass is too thin and needs to eat as much and as often as she can to regain her strength."
"Aye, she is frightfully skinny," the woman agreed solemnly as she reached them and Aulay took the tray. "I'll have a try at making some o' those sweet pastries Cook is always making up at the castle. Everyone loves those and they'll help put some weight on the girl."
"Good idea," Aulay said with approval as she turned and headed back the way she'd come. Once she had reached the stairs and was again out of earshot, Aulay shifted his gaze back to his brother. Noting the anger still burning in the younger man's eyes, he said, "Her virtue is intact. She is under me care and protection. I would no' betray her trust by taking advantage."
Rory arched one eyebrow grimly. "She thinks ye're her husband, Aulay. Do ye think she'd let ye kiss her, or anything else, if she knew ye were no' married? Even kissing her is betraying her trust in this situation. At least it is until ye tell her the truth."
"Ye're the one who told me no' to tell her the truth," he pointed out with irritation. "Ye said it might set back her recovery."
"Aye, I did," he agreed. "And I still believe that. Head wounds are a tricky business and until she is fully recovered I think she needs to rest as much as possible, feel as safe and comfortable as possible, and avoid excitement of any kind."
"Christ," Aulay muttered through clenched teeth, and then took a calming breath and said, "Fine. I'll no' get her excited in any way."
Rory nodded with satisfaction. "Good."
Shaking his head, Aulay started to turn back toward the door.
"Oh, I almost forgot."
"What?" Aulay asked impatiently, pausing.
"Alick arrived earlier," he announced.
Aulay raised an eyebrow. "What did he want?"
"Just to let ye ken that Conran and Geordie set out yesterday to ask about any boats that may have sunk three weeks ago."
"Conran?" Aulay said with a frown. "My message instructed Alick and Geordie to do it."
