AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Oh aye, I ken why," he assured her dryly. "He's upset at me for what we were doing."
Jetta frowned. "Well, that is just ridiculous. We are husband and wife. Besides, we should be angry at him for entering without knocking."
Aulay was silent for a minute and then sat up and slid his feet to the floor. Standing up then, he knelt to begin pleating his plaid and murmured, "I should not have been kissing and caressing ye or anything else."
"Why?" she asked with dismay. They were husband and wife . . . and she liked it. She wanted him to do it again, and more. "We are married, bedding is part of that, and if we want to we can--Well, at least I want to," she added uncertainly.
"Lass, I want to as well," he assured her, raising his head to eye her solemnly. "Surely ye ken that?"
Her gaze dropped to his still very erect member and she blushed and nodded.
"But the fact is, ye do no' ken everything," he said solemnly.
"What do I not know?" Jetta asked with a frown.
Aulay hesitated long enough that he was finished with his pleating before he said, "He warned me no' to excite ye until ye've recovered. He fears it can hamper and even set back yer healing."
Eyes widening, Jetta watched him don his plaid, and asked, "Is that why you have not touched or kissed me since--?" Her question died when he stood and then bent and pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips.
Straightening then, he strode to the door, saying, "I will send Mavis to ye."
Jetta watched him go with a sigh, disappointed that the passionate interlude was over.
Chapter 5
"If ye can no' control yerself, I will ha'e to insist ye avoid spending time alone with the lass," Rory snapped the minute Aulay stepped out into the hall and pulled the door closed again. "She is me patient, Aulay. I--"
"I can control meself," Aulay snapped, cutting him off. "I was controlling meself. I have no' even kissed the lass since ye warned me no' to more than a week ago, but this morning she--" He cut himself off abruptly, unwilling to tell his brother that he'd woken up to find Jetta kneeling next to him with his cock in her mouth.
God's teeth, just the thought of it made Aulay hard as a rock. He still couldn't believe she'd done that. Well, he could since she'd explained why she'd done it, but . . . no, he couldn't believe it. It had certainly been a lovely way to start the day . . . right up until she'd chomped down on him like he was a tasty side of beef. The memory made him wince. He'd only been half-awake at that point. Awash in the pleasure she was giving him, he'd been swimming toward full consciousness and then, pow! He was wide awake and howling and the pleasure wasn't even a memory, but had been pushed out by the pain.
Sighing, he glanced at his brother and said, "She was hurt that I had not kissed her again and thought it meant I no longer found her attractive so tried to rouse my interest."
"And obviously succeeded," Rory said grimly.
"Aye, but I only kissed her. I did not take her innocence. Her virtue is still intact. And after ye left I explained that ye did no' think it was a good thing fer her to get excited until she'd healed, so all is well. She'll no' do that again, and I will continue to control meself."
Rory eyed him solemnly for a minute, and then sighed and nodded. "Very well. But I will warn you one last time, brother. If you take her innocence, you will have to marry her."
Aulay scowled at him with irritation. "Brother, I understand ye're only looking out fer the lass, but I am the eldest brother. I am laird at Buchanan and you can no' make me do anything I do no' wish to do." Mouth tight, he added, "And I'll no' let ye force her into doing anything she does no' wish to do either."
He fell silent for a moment, allowing that to sink in, and then asked, "Now, why did ye come to the room? Is something amiss?"
Rory grimaced, and then admitted, "Nay. Well, aye. I thought I heard ye shout and howl. 'Tis what woke me. So I came to be sure all was well."
Now it was Aulay's turn to grimace. He could hardly tell Rory what had happened. So he continued to remain silent, searching his mind for some excuse for his shout and howl that didn't involve Jetta, her teeth and his cock.
"It was probably just a dream I had," Rory offered suddenly.
"Aye," he said at once with relief. "A dream."
Nodding, Rory turned toward the stairs, but as he walked away, he added, "Odd Mavis had the same dream wake her up though."
Aulay closed his eyes on a sigh. Really, he should have put more care into building this place. Sound carried as if the walls were parchment thin. However, he hadn't considered sound an issue when he'd set the men to building it. There had been no woman in his life then, and in truth, he hadn't expected there ever to be, or considered the sound issues a woman's presence might cause.
"I'll send Mavis up to help Jetta with her ablutions."
Aulay opened his eyes in time to see his brother jog lightly down the steps, and then turned to re-enter the bedchamber. He stepped inside and closed the door, and then paused when he saw that the bed was empty. Blinking in surprise, he glanced swiftly around the room, finding Jetta at the window. She'd pulled the shutters open and was leaning out to peer at the clearing around the lodge in the dawning light.
"Careful, lass," he said, moving quickly to her side. "We would no' want ye falling out the window."
The caution made her chuckle softly. "I will not fall out, husband. I just . . . the fresh air is so lovely. And I wanted to see something besides this room."
Aulay frowned slightly and peered out at the trees surrounding the lodge. It was a lovely sight, the tall, strong trees waving in a light breeze, the sound of birds chirping, the grass as green and bright as Jetta's eyes. He himself had spent most of the last more than four weeks now in this room watching over Jetta, but had made the occasional excursion outside. He had returned to Buchanan a handful of times to handle castle business too, but they had been short trips before she'd woken. Since Jetta had regained consciousness he hadn't left the lodge, although he had gone outside early in the mornings while Mavis had helped with her ablutions, often hunting up some game for their meals, or riding to a nearby loch for a morning dip to clean up. The ocean was closer than the loch, but the fresh water was better for his purposes than the salt water the ocean offered. Besides, Aulay had enjoyed the brisk ride in the morning air after the hours inside.
Jetta, however, hadn't been out of this room at all. A change of scenery and the fresh air might do her a world of good, he thought suddenly.
"If ye're feeling up to it mayhap we could go for a short walk, or a ride today," he said impulsively. "Mayhap we could even ride out and break our fast by the ocean."
"Really?" She turned a face full of excitement to him, her eyes wide and happy.
"Aye," Aulay said, smiling at her expression, and then he frowned and added, "Well, if Rory says 'tis all right. I would no' wish to do anything to set back yer healing."
"Oh aye," Jetta said her smile fading and worry taking its place now. "Do you think he will allow it?"
Aulay opened his mouth to answer, but then paused and glanced to the door as a soft knock preceded Mavis entering. He nodded in greeting to the woman, and then turned back to Jetta and took her arm to urge her away from the window.
"I'll ask him while Mavis attends ye," he promised, and, noting the way she was now worrying her lip with her teeth, added, "I'm sure he'll think it a fine idea."
"Absolutely not."
Aulay rolled his eyes at Rory's firm words and said, "But she has been cooped up in the room upstairs for weeks now. Surely some fresh air will only do her good?"
"She has been unconscious most of that time," Rory pointed out with a scowl. "The lass only woke up little more than a week and a half ago. She's been very ill, Aulay. And she is still ill."
"Not really," Aulay argued. "I mean, I ken she has no memory ere waking here, but otherwise she is fine. There is no fever, no open wound, the back of her head has mostly healed and while she is weak still, she grows stronger every day. She has even put some weight back on."
"Not nearly enough," Rory said at once. "The lass is still far too thin and frail. She needs to build more strength before we risk outings."
"She is hardly going to gain strength lounging about in a bed," Aulay pointed out with exasperation. "She needs to be up and about."
Rory was silent for a moment, and Aulay could tell by his expression that he was considering it, so said, "A compromise then. A picnic by the ocean. She will need only walk below and to the horse, and then from the horse to a blanket on the beach and back. That way she can get fresh air, a very little bit of exercise, and the sight of the ocean might even spark a memory for her. Perhaps she'll recall the ship she was on and its sinking."
