Page 100 of The Laird Who Claimed Her

Eloise felt her virginity give way to her husband. She arched against him. His mouth covered hers in a hungry kiss.

He slid deeper inside of her. A feeling she had never known took hold of her. The way her body responded to him, shocked her. She pulled him closer to her. He looked at her and smiled.

“Now who is the one that cannae wait?” he said.

“Ye feel so good inside me, James,” she whispered.

He groaned at those words and moved faster. Sliding back and forth. He guided his hips to give her the best of pleasures. Eloise could not contain herself and found she wiggled and moaned beneath him.

For what seemed like forever, they intertwined in this motion of love and lust.

Eloise felt the throbbing deep within her. The pulses built again.

“I am close” he whispered.

“Aye, as am I” she said.

He kissed her with a passionate yearning. In that moment she felt him release inside of her. She felt his warmth and her body shivered beneath him as she exploded with ecstasy.

He drew her back against him once more, his arms wrapping around her in a quiet, protective hold. Eloise rested there, her head against his shoulder, her body humming.

“Ye have undone me,” she murmured, her voice content.

“Nay,” he said gently, pressing a kiss to her hair. “I have only begun to show ye what it means to be cherished.”

And as she sat there in his arms, Eloise knew she would never again wish to be anywhere else.

“Ye are smilin’,” she murmured softly, glancing up at him.

He gave a low chuckle, his chest rumbling beneath her cheek. “I have reason enough,” he said, his tone lighter now.

She tilted her head, curious. “And what mischief have ye planned now, me Laird?”

He grinned, brushing a stray curl from her face. “For the feast, I have ordered only vegetables, fruits, and sweet desserts.”

Eloise blinked, then laughed in surprise.

“Only that?” she teased, her eyes dancing with amusement.

“Aye, did ye think I forgot how ye used to set me traps loose in the forest?” he said, though his grin widened.

She shook her head fondly, as understanding settled over her. “Ye wished to tease me still?”

He shrugged, though his eyes betrayed him. “Nay, it is simply a jest. From this point, I wish to give ye somethin' of comfort after all ye have endured.”

Eloise reached up, cupping his cheek with tenderness. “Then I thank ye, James,” she said. She hesitated only a moment before adding, “I love ye.”

He stilled beneath her touch, the words striking deep, and then his expression softened into something unguarded and sure.

“I love ye, lass,” he returned, his voice steady despite the emotion that flickered through it.

Eloise’s breath caught, her heart swelling at last to hear the words she had long carried within her own chest. He pressed his forehead to hers, a quiet vow in the gesture.

“I should have said it sooner,” he admitted.

She smiled. “Ye said it when it mattered most.”

That night, the great hall blazed with candlelight and life, filled with music that set the very walls humming. Laughter echoed as clans mingled freely, tankards raised and plates overflowingwith food. Eloise had insisted the cook, the gardener, and Fiona join the celebration, and their presence filled her with quiet pride.

“Dance with me, cousin!” Beatrice called, pulling her into the lively swirl, while Fiona clapped along with bright delight.

James watched from near the dais, his gaze never straying far from Eloise as she moved among his people with ease.

When she returned to him, breathless and smiling, he took her hand as though it belonged nowhere else.

She looked at him.

I chose him fully and he chose me in return. I wouldnae change anythin'' that brought me to this moment. This love.

The End?