Page 66 of A Fearless Rebel

The tunic shifted upward, exposing him from the waist down. His staff jutted up like a tree, hard and proud.

Ava looked to him, her face turning a bright shade of pink. “Do ye wish to sit or lay flat?”

“Sit,” he replied and purposefully made it hard for her to help slide him upward. Her face next to him as she pulled him up from under his arms was the closest they’d been in a long while.

“Ava,” Keithen whispered.

She turned, and he took her mouth.

At first, she was reluctant and then slowly relaxed and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back. It felt like all was right with the world in those moments as they savored each other as, finally, their tongues intermingled.

Ava was careful, lowering only enough to lay beside him, never allowing the kiss to break. She laid precariously on her side on the edge of the bed, but with his arm around her keeping her in place, she would not fall.

“I am so sorry,” she whispered against his lips and Keithen took her mouth again, not wishing to hear regrets. He needed her close, to feel himself come to life with want was a reminder that he’d survived. Although he’d never feared death, what happened to him had been a stark slap of reality he had not been prepared for.

His thoughts lifted and disappeared when Ava’s hand wrapped around his hardness. She stroked him from sack to tip, until he fought to breathe evenly.

“Mmmmm.” Keithen pushed his head back against the pillows, doing his best not to breathe too deeply. Ava pressed her lips against his jaw and then trailed her tongue down the side of his neck, all the while maintaining a steady stroking rhythm, her hand sliding up and down his hard cock.

“Awww,” Keithen moaned and covered her hand with his to guide her to move faster as his climax neared.

His release was strong and so hard the entire room went dark. He let out short hard breaths attempting to regain control.

Ava kissed him and slipped from the bed. “I will get yer whisky.”

Too languid to try to move, he kept his eyes closed, opening them only when a glass was pressed to his lips and the woodsy scent tickled his nose.

“Ye should sleep well now,” Ava said with a soft smile and pressed a kiss to his lips.

He drank the liquid, and immediately its effects lulled him into slumber. “Lay with me.”

It was moments later that the bed dipped as she slipped into the bed, ensuring to keep distance between them.

Twice, his wife had evaded telling him what happened to her. He had suspicions, especially when he tried to touch her in bed, and she would not allow more than kissing. Ava was hiding something and he needed to know what it was.

It was early one afternoon when his mother joined him in the courtyard. He stood away from where the guards and his father practiced at swordplay.

“I wish they would not be so violent,” his mother said with a shudder. “I came to find ye. The healer said yer stitches can be removed. Why did ye not remain for him to do so?”

“Ava can do it later,” Keithen replied. “I had to be at a council meeting.”

“How is she?” his mother asked. “She has not joined Catriona and me in the sitting room.”

Keithen shrugged. “I feel she is still uncomfortable after all that has happened.”

“Poor lass. Especially after her harrowing experience at the hands of ruffians.”

His chest constricted. “What do ye speak of?”

“Did she not tell ye?” When he shook his head, his mother continued. “Upon arriving, she was in a horrible state, crying and very upset. Esme asked where she’d been, and Ava admitted to being at Mackenzie Keep after escaping being abducted.” His mother sighed. “I cannot imagine what she’s been through. Although I must agree in part with Esme. This was all of her own doing.”

He already knew that part. What he didn’t know was what else she was hiding. He touched his mother’s shoulder. “I must go inside.”

“I will help ye.” His mother tried to help him but, in the end, two guards hurried over and helped him to the great room.

“Mother, will ye find Ava and tell her to come speak to me in Father’s study?” Lady Fraser nodded and went up the steps, her gaze moving back to him one last time before she disappeared.

He managed his way alone to his father’s empty study and moments later, Ava entered.