Page 37 of Her Forbidden Highlander Husband

“I assure you, that’s not true.” She wouldn’t look at him. He reached over to turn her chin so she could see the truth in his words.

“What I mean is, this is your first time with a man who cares for you and wants you to enjoy it. It’s your first time wanting a man in that way. I worry if we go too fast, I could scare you or destroy the happiness that could be between us. I want to wait until we can go at a more comfortable pace.”

“I thought you’d be eager to—”

“Oh, aye. I’m very eager.” His words came out so fast, she wouldn’t be able to doubt him. But just in case she still wondered, he pressed the most eager part of him against her hip to prove his attraction for her. “But I’m even more eager to make sure you never look at me again without thinking of the ways I make you burn.” He kissed her neck, making her laugh.

“I am burning. I’ve spent days in the kitchens listening to the women tell stories of things they do with their husbands, and I’m intrigued. They all seem to enjoy it. I never have before and thought I was different, but I think it must be different with someone you care for.”

“I think it must be.” His chest felt full at her admission that she cared for him.

“I doubt I’ll be able to sleep in this condition.” She shook her head. “I didn’t realize I’d ever feel like this. To want this. I thought for sure I was—”

“You’re a woman. The same as the others.” He was quick to cut off whatever she might have said. He thought the word ruined might come up again. He didn’t think he hated a word more than that one. “You have needs.”

“I’m not completely like the others. Did you know Bettia likes her husband to spank her?”

He blinked. “I didn’t and I probably could have continued on not knowing that for the rest of my days.” They laughed together, then she turned quiet.

“I wouldn’t like that, Liam.”

“I wouldn’t think so.” He understood why she wouldn’t. “Is Earl angry when he does it?” He couldn’t help but asking.

“No. It’s a game. Playful.”

“Hmm. I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to spank a woman before.” He shook the thought away to focus on his wife and what she needed now. “Come with me. I have an idea.” He picked up his plaid and led her out of their chamber and across the hall to an empty room. It was rather small, and he felt her shiver in the cool night air coming from the large hole where the window used to be. “You can see why it isn’t used. Don’t worry, you won’t be chilled for long.” He spread his plaid out next to the door so they could still hear if Gwennie called for them.

He kissed her again, building her fires higher once more. When she was gasping and clinging to him, he trailed his hand up the inside of her thigh.

She opened for him with a quiet sigh as he teased and tickled her. When she whimpered, he thought she had waited long enough for satisfaction.

She’d offered him a great gift; it was his time to repay her for her trust by giving her exquisite joy.

…

Evelyn had never felt such turmoil in her body before. She shook with desire and heat, and did her best to remain quiet so not to wake her daughter.

After her time with the McCurdys, she’d thought herself broken and hadn’t had a bit of interest in lying with a man. In fact, she’d planned to avoid it for the rest of her life if possible. But here she was, pulling Liam to her, wanting him in a way she didn’t know and couldn’t explain.

All she knew was she spent her days thinking about the kisses from the nights before. The women’s naughty tales had made her curious, and she began to imagine the things they spoke of but replaced the actual couple with visions of herself with Liam.

That was when the aching had become too much to bear, and she realized she wasn’t completely broken, because she did want a man. Or rather, she wanted one man.

When he touched her between her legs, she expected it to feel like an intrusion, but she welcomed his caress. She couldn’t even compare her past experiences with this, they were so different. Those weeks with the McCurdys had been a torturous hell, while what Liam was doing to her was intense delight.

He was slow to enter her, using one finger at first and then a second. He built the rhythm, faster and faster. He was taking her somewhere she longed to be. She had no choice but to trust he could get her there.

Then his thumb moved against some place that sparked the fire so hot she burst. Wave after wave of heat escaped as she lost control. She must’ve cried out for Liam pulled her against him to muffle her surge of pleasure. Even her breathing was so loud worried she might still wake Gwennie from across the hall.

It wasn’t until Liam had tucked her against him that Evelyn began to worry.

What if she enjoyed what Liam did too much? Would she become wanton? She’d heard hushed comments from some of the men who had heard what had happened to her from her father. They’d suggested she’d lied about being captured. They said she’d probably run off with a lover and when she’d grown tired of him, she’d come back with tears in her eyes. They’d called her a whore and said she’d wanted what had happened.

She hadn’t wanted any part of it. But now with Liam… she wanted. Could she become consumed with the feelings he conjured in her to the point she didn’t care about anything else?

She needed to remember why she’d left Scalloway in the first place—to be with her daughter.

Not so a man could make her break apart into bliss, though she did wonder if she couldn’t have both things. From the way Kenna, Mari, and the other women in the kitchen spoke, they managed to care for their little ones and also enjoy time alone with their men. And they enjoyed it enough to speak of it nearly every time they were gathered. Yet they still tended to their children and found the time to do other things.