Page 53 of Wicked Passions

Alastair glanced at Isla as they went through the forework tunnel. “Can you manage the hill in those shoes and that gown?”

She kicked the satin shoes away, tore off her gable hood and veil and gave it to a very bemused guard. Then she hooked up the train of her gown, and gazed at him expectantly. “Carry me, devilish beast.”

He scooped her up, and when she curled an arm about his neck and settled against his chest, he murmured, “A demanding wife shall face consequences.”

“Yes,” she said hoarsely. “Hurry.”

All three nodded and smiled at those who offered congratulations as they passed on foot or on horseback. But they did not halt on their way to the cottage; not when privacy beckoned and no restrictions stood in their way. Soon they would just be a husband and wife and lover at last able to share a bed.

Callum opened the door and ushered them both inside the blessedly quiet cottage.

“Well…” said Alastair, as he set Isla on her feet. “That was a month in a day.”

“How are you feeling, Callum?” asked Isla anxiously.

Their laird nodded. “Surprisingly well. This might sound strange, but just before I won that final point…I became calm. My head cleared and stomach settled. All that mattered was a future with those I hold closest to my heart. Those who bring me joy and comfort and support. Those who I pleasure and who pleasure me in return, exactly how I want and need it. I love you both. So much. I cannot wait to return to Glennoe and begin a new life, a new family together.”

Quite overcome, Alastair stepped forward and curled his hand around Callum’s neck, mastering his lips in a heated kiss until his laird surrendered with a moan. Then he did the same to Isla until she melted against him, whimpering.

But eventually she stared up at him and shook her head. “Nay, Alastair. You cannot just show us. You must tell us of your love.”

He swallowed to dislodge a boulder of emotion from his throat. “It is…difficult to express tender sentiment in words. Lust is easy. I give orders without thought. But my heart was trapped behind a wall after being abandoned as a child. Having no coin, no land or title, no blood clan…it leaves a scar. A deep one.”

Isla took his hand and linked his fingers with hers. “All will be well. You are under my protection now.”

Alastair’s eyes burned, even as his lips twitched. “Is that so, lady?”

“Aye. Callum is, too. Woe betide anyone who threatens my men.”

“I love you,” he said rawly. “I have loved Callum my whole life. To have one great love is a blessing beyond all…but two? A family of my own? I cannot think to deserve such happiness.”

Callum stilled and tilted his head. “You spoke of a blood clan, which makes me think you do not feel that you truly belong with the MacIntyres. Is that because of your name? Do you wish to be known as a Graham, or nay?”

He blinked. “Graham might be my surname, but I do not hold any great attachment to it. Not after what they did.”

“Then formally pledge yourself to me. Pledge yourself to the MacIntyres and become one in name as well as deed. Be the husband of our hearts. Isla and I need you, Alastair. Our happiness cannot be complete without our master.”

Alastair’s eyes burned again, but this time the mist turned into tears that trickled down his cheeks. “That…that sounds like forever.”

“It is,” said Callum seriously. “If that is what you wish.”

“Aye. More than anything.”

Isla and Callum wrapped their arms around him and they stood in that cool, silent room as three people in love. Then Isla peered up at him, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“Now you’ve said, it is time to show. Take me to bed, my MacIntyre men.”

Fierce lust surged through him. Aye, this night he would bed the husband and wife of his heart most thoroughly. It was his sacred duty, after all. To love and cherish them for as long as they all should live.

Alastair took Isla’s hand, and Callum’s, gently leading them forward. “To the bedchamber, then.”

* * *

It was her wedding night.

As Callum lit candles in the bedchamber, Isla stared at the bed in front of her in consternation. While being conquered rested easily on her shoulders, tonight added the uncertainty of something altogether new: it would not just be penetration with fingers or tongues, but those huge cocks inside her. At the same time.

And she was a wife now. Would that change anything? Would the lusty play she so enjoyed, the blunt talk, the submission, the unashamed nakedness, the worship of their bodies, the pleasure for pleasure’s sake…halt now if the purpose was the creation of children?