The Silent Highlander by Donna Fletcher

Chapter 19

Odran caught her in his arms, yet warned himself to push her away. If she didn’t have the sense to run from him, then he should have enough sense to run from her. What had he been thinking taking her as his wife? Surely, it had been the madness. It had to be or he would have spared her it all and walked away—like he should do now.

Instead, his arms tightened around her, lifting her, pressing her against him, needing to feel her warmth, her love, needing to chase the madness that raged through him, devouring him. He groaned when her slim arms hooked around his neck. She wasn’t going to let go of him and he didn’t want to let go of her. He wanted desperately to get lost in her over and over and over again.

A wild rage swirled in him and somewhere deep inside him, where sanity still existed, a small voice warned him to release her—it wasn’t strong enough.

His lips came down on hers in a crushing kiss, the kind that was meant to brand, to leave an imprint that would forever linger there, would forever remind her that she belonged to him. She responded with the same forceful passion as if she too branded him. It shot straight to his shaft and hardened it with a potent need.

He pulled his mouth away, nipping at her lower lip as he turned with her and slammed her back against the tree, the strength of his body pinning her there. He thought he smelled and tasted blood but he ignored it, pushed it aside, refused to allow the horrible memories of the battlefield to take hold.

He groaned when her small hands gripped his arms and her head fell back against the tree, leaving the soft skin of her neck exposed. His mouth couldn’t resist. He nipped along her delicate skin that left the familiar hint of mint on his lips that she sometimes tasted of, making him even more hungry for her.

Pushing the edge of her tunic aside, he grabbed hold of her shift at the neck and yanked at it. The cloth tore, exposing one breast. His mouth quickly claimed her nipple, his tongue rolled over it, lavishing it with licks and nips that fired his loins. He couldn’t get enough of the familiar taste that he had missed. He suckled with greed as he rubbed his aching manhood against her. While he wanted to linger, his ache was too powerful, too demanding.

He raised his head and pressed his cheek firm against hers, his whisper harshly ravenous. “I need to be inside you.”

His arm shot under her bottom, hoisting her up and her legs quickly coiled around him. He kept her braced against the tree as his hand shoved garments out of the way, then he lifted her once again to adjust his shaft between her legs.

All was lost to him but the thought of plunging deep inside her and that’s what he did. He dropped his head back as he felt her tightness close around him and all madness and sanity faded at that moment and he let himself get lost in her.

Hard and fast he drove into her, over and over, his passion mounting rapidly, his heart pounding wildly against his chest, his breathing rapid. He needed this, needed her, needed to get lost, not think, not feel the pain. He hammered away, all thought and reason gone. He stood on the edge, ready to fall, ready to let himself go, let himself be caught in a vortex of pleasure he had only found with… “ELYSIA!”

Her name exploded from his lips and her arms tightened around him and he let himself fall, knowing his wife’s arms would be there to catch him.

Elysia let out a long aching moan as she found herself bursting for a second time. She had gone so long without him that pleasure had overtaken her before her husband even got inside her. And when he finally did slip inside her, her need had grown again. She hoped his strong release had eased at least some of the pain that had consumed him to the point of madness.

Odran rested his brow against the tree, his chest heaving, and his shaft lingering inside his wife. Sanity suddenly returned to him like a hard slap in the face. What had he been thinking? He had left them both exposed in the woods when there were people out to do them harm. He truly was mad.

He pulled out of her and stepped away so fast, that Elysia stumbled. His strong hand grabbed her arm to steady her then he let go, turning his back on her.

“My madness endangers you,” he said with a bite of anger as his eyes searched the woods.

Elysia had no intention of letting him destroy the pleasure they had shared. “That was no madness. That was pure joy.”

Odran turned, his words dying on his lips and his green eyes flashing with anger, seeing the blood dribble down her chin from the wound on her lip. He took a step toward her, then stopped. “I hurt you.”

Elysia wiped at her bloody lip. “A minor nip.”

The tight scrunch of his brow disagreed and his glance went to her arm.

Her sleeve had a spot of blood on it. “My wound is fine. The blood is from my lip.” She waited sure of what would come next and it did. His eyes went to her torn shift and that she saw regret there fired her anger. “Oh, good Lord, husband! Do you think I care about a tear I can easily mend? I wanted you with the same madness you wanted me.”

“I should have never touched you with my madness,” he said, the thought of her suffering endlessly with it tearing at his gut.

She’d had enough talk of madness. “You suffer from no madness. It is hurt and pain that torments your soul and the fear that you will give it to others. And you will if you allow it to rule you. You did nothing to me that I didn’t want you to do, that I didn’t ache for you to do.”

“I gave my word that it would be your decision when we became intimate again—”

She stopped him before he could go any further. “And it was my decision.”

“I didn’t give you a choice,” he argued.

She laughed. “I don’t recall denying you or telling you to stop. My need was as great as yours.”

“I had a need to possess you, wife. I thought of nothing else, only my need,” he said, not surprised that he felt his shaft stir. He’d have her again shortly if he allowed himself to.

She took the few short steps that brought her to stand in front of him. “And why was that—the need to possess me?”

No words came to him.

“I’ll tell you,” she said with a poke of her finger at his naked chest. “It wasn’t that you wanted to possess me. It was that you wanted to love me and be loved so that our love could devour your pain. Why do you think I rushed to you? I couldn’t bear to hear the pain in your roar. I wanted to rid you of that pain as much as you wanted it gone. My heart hurt at the thought of you out here in the woods suffering alone. Nothing, not the devil himself, would have stopped me from coming to you and easing that pain—not madness but pain. So think what you will but know that from this moment on you will never suffer that pain alone again—I will be there for you—always.”

Odran’s green eyes grew intense in color as he slowly lowered his head to plant his face in front of his wife’s face.

Elysia stared at him, praying her love had penetrated his maddening pain.

He whispered as if sharing a secret. “I am still in pain, wife.”

Elysia smiled. “As am I.”

Odran scooped her up in his arms and gently kissed her lips. “I love you, Elysia. Never forget that. Promise me you’ll never forget that.”

“I promise, though it’s not necessary. Never. Not ever would I doubt your love or forget how much you love me.” She dropped her head to rest on his bare chest as he hurried them out of the woods, his strong steady heartbeat a soothing melody to her ear.

She hadn’t given thought to the sight they made with her in his arms until she saw how people stared, some turning away to whisper, some scurrying away, some unable to hide their shock and dismay.

Finch stepped in their path. “Lord Odran.”

“Not now!” Odran snapped, pivoting to step around the man who looked ready to speak again. “I won’t repeat myself, Finch.”

Elysia turned a smile on Finch, hoping it would ease the concern she saw on his face. Unfortunately, she winced as she smiled, her sore lip catching with pain.

The servants in the Great Hall ran when Odran entered, but he paid them no heed. He rushed up the stairs and kicked the door shut to their bedchamber so hard, she was certain it could be heard throughout the keep.

He set her on her feet and when she shivered, he hurried to the hearth to add more logs. When he turned her tunic lay at her feet and she struggled with her torn shift caught on her arm. He went to her.

Elysia smiled when her husband’s hands reached out to help her and an ‘Oh!’ rushed from her lips when he tore the shift completely off her and tossed it aside.

“It’s time for new garments,” he said and quickly rid himself of his plaid and boots.

Elysia hurried out of her shoes and with gooseflesh rushing over her, she hurried to the warmth of the bed. She didn’t get far, her husband bringing her to a halt with his strong hand catching her arm.

He looked to her other arm, a cloth still wrapped around it. “No blood.”

She pointed to her mouth, reminding him where the blood on her sleeve had come from. His eyes narrowed and she wished she hadn’t reminded him of his unintentional bite. He scooped her up in his arms once again and she cuddled close, eager for his warmth. He laid her on the bed and she was surprised when he pulled the blanket over her and walked over to the hearth. She expected him to join her and cover her with his warm body.

He returned with a bucket of water that was kept full and a cloth, setting the bucket on the floor beside the bed. He nudged her with his hip when he sat and she scooted over some, giving him room. He dunked the cloth in the water, rinsed it, and proceeded to wash, ever so gently, her wound.

“I never meant—”

She didn’t let him finish. “I know. I didn’t feel it. I was too busy enjoying your kiss.”

“I should kiss you again—delicately this time.” He dropped the cloth in the bucket.

Elysia tingled with anticipation, eager to feel his lips on hers again. But his lips didn’t touch hers. His lips kissed her brow, then her cheek, and drifted down to kiss her chin, ever so faintly. Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips moved along her neck, his faint touch tickling her and sending a shudder through her, then firing a strong spark to her nether regions.

His lips traced feather-like kisses along her shoulder and down her arm with intent slowness, turning her skin to gooseflesh. His lips traveled back up her arm to move over to her breast. She waited for her nipple to disappear into his mouth, but instead his tongue slipped out to tease the hard bud. Her body arched of its own accord and he splayed his hand on her stomach to ease it down, holding it there while his lips lavished her with pleasure. His lips replaced his hand on her stomach, raining the most delicate kisses over it.

If he intended to drive her mad, he was doing an excellent job of it. She would not last if he kept it up, her passion mounting at a rapid pace with every faint kiss.

“Odran,” she said, her breath a bit unsteady.

He raised his head. “Every part of you is beautiful and delectable. I cannot get enough of you.”

When his mouth disappeared into her triangle of hair, she almost bolted off the bed. Passion soon devoured her whole and she knew she wouldn’t last long and didn’t want to.

“Odran!” Her voice demanded. She wanted him inside her and thankfully he understood. His strong hands latched onto her waist and lifted her. She understood his intention quickly, seeing him kneeling on the bed, his backside resting on his folded legs, and his shaft protruding hard and proud.

She spread her legs as he brought her to fit against him, his hands remaining firm at her waist, keeping her aloft until he positioned her over his thick manhood. then he lowered her onto it.

“Oh!” she cried out as she felt him slip slowly into her and when he was fitted snugly inside her, she wrapped her legs snug around him and balanced herself with her hands on his shoulders.

His hands went to rest beneath her backside and he took control of the rhythm. All she had to do was join in, and she did. He moved them together in a tempered pace that didn’t last long since she urged him to go faster.

“I’ll hurt you,” he argued, “and stop biting your lip, you’re making it bleed.”

“Then go faster,” she demanded and cried out when she suddenly found herself on her back, him pumping into her with a force that rocked her body, and her grin matched her glee.

It wasn’t long before her passion burst in exquisite pleasure rocking her body as hard as her husband had rocked her. He was close in doing the same himself and she continued to match his frantic pace knowing… another wave of passion struck her hard as her husband shuddered against her, his groan of pleasure joining her cries at the same time and both bouncing off the walls of the bedchamber.

He collapsed on top of her and she hugged him and kissed his cheek before whispering. “That was exceptional.”

He chuckled and rolled off her, his arm snagging her waist to tuck her against his side. “I’m glad I pleased you, wife.”

“You always please me,” she said, snuggling against him.

He held her firm as he stretched his other arm out to reach for the cloth in the bucket and rinse it. He brought the cloth to her mouth and wiped the blood from her chin before dabbing the wound.

“You made it worse,” he said, seeing the angry swelling that hadn’t been there before.

She winced as he dabbed at her lip. “It was worth it.” She saw the regret and sorrow in his eyes for being the cause of it. “I do not suffer over this, therefore, I demand you do not suffer as well.”

“Demand?” he said, his eyes narrowing, though his smile showed he teased.

She poked him in the side. “Aye, I demand you stay as happy as I am.”

His smile faded and he dabbed her wound with the cloth again. “As long as you’re with me, I’m happy and content.”

“I feel the same. As long as I am with you, I am happy and content, which means we are going to have a very happy life together,” she said, as if predicting the future for them.

Odran smiled, wishing it was so, wishing they could have bairns, raise a family, have the keep know love and laughter once again.

Squabbling voices outside their door caught both their attention.

“You are not to disturb them,” Finch ordered.

“I don’t care what you say. I will make sure, Lady Elysia is not harmed,” Lendra argued.

“I am well!” Elysia called out, feeling her husband’s body grow taut against her.

“Do you need anything, my lady?” Lendra asked with a shout.

“No, Lord Odran and I do well and I will be with you—”

“When I’m ready to let my wife go,” Odran called out. “Now both of you be gone.”

“Now leave!” Finch ordered sharply.

“I will have a hot brew and honey oat cakes waiting for you, my lady,” Lendra called out.

“Leave!” Finch ordered again.

“I’m going. I’m going.” Lendra said, though called out once again. “Freshly made honey oat cakes.”

Odran chuckled. “I can hear your stomach begging you to hurry and get them.”

She buried her face against her husband’s chest. “They are a weakness of mine.”

“Eat as much as you want of them. You have gotten thin since I’ve been gone and it worries me,” he admitted.

“I think worry over losing you stole my appetite more than being as busy as I was, but,” —she sprang up— “you’re back now and so is my appetite.”

“You’re eager for those oat cakes, aren’t you?”

Her grumbling stomach responded for her, and they both laughed.

“Let’s go feast on honey oak cakes,” he said and sat up, swinging his legs out of bed.

Elysia hurried across the bed to him, her arms going around him, her chest pressed to his back, and her cheek next to his. “I was foolish for thinking you any different than Saber. You are the same and I am proud to call Odran my husband.”

He turned to hook his arm around her waist and swing her around to his lap. “I regret not telling you, Elysia. It was not right of me. But I do not and will never regret marrying you. You are the best thing that ever happened in my life.” He kissed her gently, avoiding her wound. “Now let’s get those oat cakes.”

* * *

“Areyou sure you’re all right, my lady?” Lendra asked refilling Elysia’s tankard.

“I am more than well, Lendra. I am happy,” Elysia said with a smile, glancing at her husband standing by the large fireplace speaking with his da and Finch.

Lendra winced. “Your lip looks sore.”

“A bit, but it’s of my own doing,” Elysia said, keeping an honest tongue, since her lip was swollen and sore because of her distractedly biting at the wound. “Lord Odran did not hurt me. he would never hurt me, so you can rest easy.”

“I wondered over it since he looks at you with even more love than when we knew him as Saber. His love seems to grow for you by the day. I only hope others see it as well.”

Elysia turned a puzzled look on Lendra. “You sound concerned.”

“Aye, I am. Tongues have wagged mightily with so many seeing Lord Odran carry you through the village. They saw your bleeding lip and his angry scowl and they believe his madness caused you harm.”

“Then I will make sure people know the truth,” Elysia said.

“It is not only that, Lady Elysia. I heard mumblings that all pray you do not bear Lord Odran a bairn so the curse can die with him. I fear for you if you get with child. Though I heard say Lord Odran has sworn he would never seed a child. Still, many fear the curse will see it done allowing its evil to live on.”

Fear robbed what appetite Elysia had left. How was she ever going to tell her husband that she carried his bairn? And how could she keep the curse from touching their innocent child?