Page 23 of Deception

“Lass, you are clutching that sheet as if ye expect me to eat you alive.”

That wasn’t far from the truth. But her pride was pricked and she threw back the sheet and leapt to her feet.

His brows shot up. ”Ye have nothing to prove, lass. You didnae expect to be married. I’m willing to give you time to adjust to your new state.”

Her cheeks flamed, but she said, “You promised me if we wed, it would be a real marriage—you swore before God and witnesses that I was your wife.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you challenging my word?”

Linnae lifted her chin. “I am.”

“A man can’t let such a challenge go unanswered.”

He dropped his arms to his sides and strode toward her. Linnae took one faltering step backward, caught herself, and stood her ground. He reached her in an instant and swept her off her feet. She cried out then tensed when he tossed her onto the bed. She bounced twice on the mattress, then frozen when he grasped his belt and unbuckled it. He tossed the belt onto a nearby bench, then shoved the plaid off his shoulder and unbuttoned his shirt.

Her mouth went dry at sight of the broad expanse of his chest. She’d never seen a man’s bare chest. Her heart pounded. Eyes locked with hers, he sloughed off the shirt, then unwound the plaid from his waist(?)body. The fabric dropped to the floor and she caught sight of the long, thick erection that jutted toward her.

She felt her eyes widened, but couldn’t help herself. She’d witnessed many a copulation between farm animals, and dogs—well, male dogs had not the slightest compunction about giving the world a peek at their male organ—but she hadn’t expected anything quite so…large.

“Not quite what you expected, eh, lass?” Jacob said.

“I am not a child,” she said.

Amusement lit his eyes. “That I can see.” His gaze dropped to her breasts… Then lower.

He took the two paces to the bed and she stiffened when he crawled onto the mattress. He swung his leg over her hips—God help her, his manhood was at eye level—and lowered himself onto her body. For an instant, the hard planes of his muscled body felt impossibly hard and heavy, then her body accommodated as he pressed her into the mattress. His hard length was crushed between them, making her feel oddly vulnerable.

He levered onto his elbows and stared down at her. Her heart thundered. Would he see her fear? He shifted and she started. Jacob looked at her as if to say, Still frightened, little rabbit? Then he lowered his mouth to hers. Their lips touched, and a strange pulse began to beat between her legs in rhythm with her heart. When he’d kissed her after the wedding ceremony, his mouth had been soft and warm. Now, his lips moved with an insistence that took her breath.

She squeaked at the flick of his tongue against her mouth. He chuckled, but flicked her mouth with his tongue again, and she realized he wanted her to open her mouth. Tentatively, she parted her lips.

He drew back a hair’s breadth, and Linnae remained completely motionless as he traced her mouth with the tip of his tongue. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth and tangled his tongue with hers. She drew back in shock. A tingle radiated from the apex between her legs and she touched her tongue to his. Linnae did as he had done and wound her tongue around his. He groaned. She started at the vibration of the sound through her body.

Linnae drew in a breath. She tasted the wine on his tongue, and something else undefinable. He shifted his hips between her legs and she couldn’t help wondering what it would be like for him to slip his manhood inside of her.

He abruptly broke the kiss, then slid off her onto the mattress. He yanked the sheet from beneath her and pulled it up over them, along with the blanket. He wrapped an arm around her waist and dragged her back against his chest and—she swallowed a yelp--his manhood nestled against her buttocks.

“Is that everything?” She asked.

“Nae,” he said.

He nuzzled her ear, then gently bit down on the lobe and nibbled. Gooseflesh raced down her arms and back.

Hurried bootfalls sounded outside in the corridor. Linnae tensed. In the next instant, the door rattled with a hard knock.

“MacKinnon,” Richard shouted. “You and Lady Linnae need to come to the laird’s room.”