The Hellion and the Highlander Read online

  Kade froze his body stiff as a board as he peered down into her face. Averill peered back and managed not to grimace as she felt all of the lovely passion he'd stirred quickly draining away. It had been quite nice until he'd ridden his horse into her stable.

  "All right?" he growled after a moment.

  Averill bit her lip but managed a nod. He let out the breath she hadn't realized he was holding and eased himself out of her. She was just releasing a relieved breath of her own when he suddenly surged back inside. Clutching at his shoulders, she managed not to wince and closed her eyes to avoid looking at him for fear her disappointment and discomfort would show, but then blinked them open again when he reached between them to caress her again. Averill stilled and concentrated on what he was doing, surprised when excitement began to build in her once more. Then he began to move again, but with his caressing her as he was, she didn't mind.

  He stopped his caresses a few moments later, and Averill experienced a moment's concern and disappointment, but then he shifted slightly, his body rubbing where his fingers had been as he slid in and out of her, and she groaned at the sensation. Hips arching instinctively, knees rising and feet pushing against the floor, Averill met him thrust for thrust, her breath coming in little gasping pants again as she struggled to reclaim the release she'd just enjoyed. She screamed his name as it struck her, crying out with amazed pleasure as her body shuddered and convulsed around his manhood, then he thrust one more time and shouted out himself, body straining over her as he spilled his seed into her.

  Averill grunted when he then collapsed on top of her. He muttered an apology and immediately shifted to the side, removing his weight. Kade then gathered her in his arms and tugged her over to lie half on his chest so that he could run his hands soothingly over her back. Averill wiggled about until she found a comfortable position and settled in with a contented little sigh. However, her contentment did not last long. She thought she should be tired after what they'd just done, but she wasn't. In fact, she felt quite energetic. They had consummated the wedding. She was now completely his wife.

  Lady Averill Stewart. She tested the name in her mind and decided she quite liked it.

  "Are ye all right?"

  Averill smiled faintly as the words rumbled to her ear; the chest she laid on vibrated as he spoke. She then tilted her head to peer up at him shyly, and whispered, "Aye."

  In the next moment, she found herself turned onto her back and Kade was getting to his feet. Half sitting up, she watched with confusion as he moved to the bath the maids had left behind. She saw him pick up the bit of linen she'd washed with, dip it in the cooling water, and wring it out, then he turned and moved back to her side.

  "Spread yer legs," he ordered.

  Averill blushed, but supposed it was silly to be shy after what they'd just done and forced herself to lie back. When she opened her legs to him, Kade washed her with the cloth. He was gentle, but perfunctory, and still she felt a tingle that was negated by a slight soreness. Then he was done and up and moving back to the bath again. She watched him rinse the linen in the bathwater, then bit her lip as she watched him clean himself, wondering if she should not have offered to do it for him as he had done for her. Before she had decided, he was finished and returning to her side.

  She expected him to rejoin her on the furs, so was surprised when Kade gathered her up in the linen and straightened. Averill quickly caught her arms around his neck as he carried her to the bed, noting that he was definitely much wider and stronger than he'd been on first awakening from his illness. It seemed the two weeks of plentiful food and exercise were speeding him along in his mending.

  Kade set her in the bed, kissed her forehead, then returned to gather the remaining furs. He brought those back to the bed, laid them over it, and climbed in beside her before drawing her against his side to rest her head on his chest once more. A little contented sigh slid from his lips then, but he did not go off to sleep as she almost expected. Instead, his hands were roaming restlessly over her body again. One began smoothing down her back to find and clasp her behind, pressing her against his hip. The other slid up and down her side, brushing the curve of her breast. When that hand paused to cup her breast, Averill moaned softly as her earlier passions stirred lazily. She then tipped her head up, silently requesting a kiss.

  Kade complied, covering her mouth to kiss her in a way that was at first only gently questing but soon became more ardent. Averill moaned as the first embers of her returning excitement became a blaze, and when the hand at her bottom suddenly dipped between her legs to find her core again, she shifted one leg up over both of his, opening herself to make it easier for him. When he then started to slide a finger inside her, however, she stiffened in surprise at her tenderness there.

  Kade immediately stilled as well, then he withdrew his hands, broke their kiss, and urged her head to his chest.

  "Sleep," he ordered, his voice grim.

  Averill hesitated, then asked uncertainly, "Are we not going to--?"

  "Nay," he growled, not sounding happy about it, then added more gently, "Yer sore from the first time."

  "Oh," Averill whispered, but couldn't deny it. She was tender. However, her leg was still splayed over his hip and groin, and she could feel that he had grown larger and stiff again. While her body was not ready for another round, it appeared his was. She lay still for a moment, debating whether to suggest they risk it anyway. They could always stop if it was too painful, but then she supposed that would leave them both feeling as frustrated and unsatisfied as she'd felt after that night two weeks ago. She'd lain in bed for hours, her body aching. At the time, she hadn't known what it had been aching for, but now she knew and really didn't want to suffer getting even more excited, then being left unfulfilled. She shifted her knee, accidentally nudging Kade's hardness, and glanced up swiftly at his hiss of indrawn breath.

  She was just wondering if he was suffering the same frustration she had that other night and, if so, what she could do about it, when Sally and Old Ellie's advice on how to please him came to mind. Considering what the maid had said, she decided she might be able to ease his aching at least.

  Averill bit her lip, considering how to go about it. She had nothing to grease her hand with, so the pumping thing was out, but she did have her mouth. Of course, Ellie had said some women didn't like it, but she had no idea if that was true for her. Deciding the only way to find out was to try, she ducked under the linens and furs and began to shinny down his body.

  Kade was trying to think away the bothersome erection plaguing him when Averill suddenly slipped from his arms and began to struggle her way down his body. Stiffening, he lifted his head to peer down in confusion, then caught at the linens and furs and jerked them up away from his body to see what the devil she was up to. He froze, however, eyes squeezing tightly closed and furs slipping from his fingers when her hand suddenly found his erection and grasped it firmly.

  "Wife?" Kade asked, gritting his teeth against the sensations just her touch was sending through him.

  "Aye?" her muffled voice came from under the furs.

  "What are you--Jesus!" he gasped, his back raising halfway off the bed in shock as something wet--her tongue, he thought--rasped across the very sensitive tip of his manhood. In the next moment, he sucked in a hissing breath and grabbed at the bed linens, twisting them in his fingers as she licked him a second time.

  This was wholly unexpected, he thought vaguely, as she licked him again. And a sort of hell to bear, he acknowledged as her tongue flicked over him once more. The woman had no idea what she was doing, Kade realized with dismay as her tongue rasped over him for a fifth time. And he didn't have a damned clue how to stop her without hurting her feelings.

  Her tongue lashed him again, and he suffered it helplessly, aching to direct her, but--

  "Oh, my, what a large piffle you have, my lord."

  The words came to him muffled from under the furs, and Kade's eyes shot open with a sort of horror.

  "Aye, a fine piffle indeed," she added, then licked him again before adding, "'Tis very...big...and...er...handsome."

  That was followed by yet another lick, but Kade hardly felt it this time. His upper body was convulsed upward off the bed with sudden laughter. He tried to stifle it for fear of hurting her feelings, but 'twas like trying to stop the wind.

  "Why, I would wager it's the largest and handsomest piffle in all of England," Averill added for good measure, then went still as she apparently became aware of the sounds he couldn't keep from slipping out; little choked guffaws and low-pitched snorts. And then his erection was suddenly released and the linens and furs began to move as she shifted to crawl out from under them.

  Kade immediately dropped back to lie flat, biting his tongue hard to kill the amusement on his face as she appeared and eyed him with concern.

  "Are you all right, husband?" Averill asked, shifting up beside him so that she could peer down into his face. "I did not hurt you, did I?"

  Kade bit his lip to hold back any remaining amusement and shook his head quickly.

  She frowned, but said, "I thought I heard--"

  "'Twas verra nice, thank you," he got out in tones stretched thin by his effort to keep his amusement from showing. He then tugged her down to lie with her head on his chest, and muttered, "Sleep now."

  "But I have not finished--" Averill began, trying to sit back up again, only to gasp in surprise when he tugged her back into place and held her firmly there.

  "We're finished fer now," he assured her. "It's been a long day. Time to sleep."

  "Oh." She sighed, then settled against him, her hand moving absently across his chest. "Well, I suppose I can finish pleasuring you in the morn when you are rested."

  "Aye," he growled, horrified at the very thought of suffering her repeated licks.

  Much to his relief, she fell silent then, her fingers stilling. Kade was just relaxing, a smile curving his lips, when she suddenly raised her head, and said, "Husband?"

  Kade erased the smile at once. "Aye?"

  "How am I supposed to tweak your nipples when they are all the way up here and I am all the way down there?" She dropped her hand down onto the furs over his groin, and Kade no longer had to fight the urge to laugh. The woman had just thumped him in the balls. He closed his eyes briefly, intending to wait until the pain passed, but then her words sank through the pain and he blinked them open again. "Tweak me nipples? Why the devil wid ye want to tweak me nipples?"

  "Well, Sally said men like it when you play with their piffles and tweak their nipples," she explained.

  Kade was just about to ask who this Sally was when she added thoughtfully, "Mind you, she did not say they had to be done at the same time. Mayhap she meant just that men liked it, too." She considered that briefly, then yawned, and said, "I shall have to ask her about that."

  Kade closed his eyes briefly, not sure he could stand any more of the woman's advice, but then his eyes popped open again as Averill said, "Husband?"

  "Aye?" he asked warily.

  "Is Stewart nice?"

  He grimaced at the question. His family home had once been one of the finest castles around, but that was before his father had taken to the drink and left the care and well-being of the castle and its inhabitants to Kade's mother.

  Not that she had not done a fine job, Kade thought with a frown. She had run it as well or better than any man, as had his sister after her, but when his father and brothers got into the whiskey, they could get violent. Things got broken, servants avoided the castle to avoid bearing the brunt of a whiskey-fueled temper, and the keep and people had suffered for it. The last time he'd been there, the castle had begun to show some small signs of neglect. But at the feast tonight, Kade had heard from Lord Mortagne's neighbor, one of the guests at the celebration, that Lord d'Aumesbury had finally claimed and wed his sister, Merry. That meant that his father and brothers had been left to tend to Stewart, and he very much feared what he would find when he arrived.

  Had Kade known this beforehand, he probably would have delayed the wedding and ridden home to tend to matters before marrying Averill and bringing her back. However, he hadn't known, and the deed was done and well and truly consummated. He had no intention of leaving her behind for even a day while he took care of things at Stewart.

  "Is it?" Averill prodded, absently tugging at the hairs on his chest.

  "It was," he admitted quietly. "And will be again if it isna now."

  Averill lifted her head to peer at him curiously, but before she could ask what he meant by that, he said, "Ye'll see soon enough. We leave for Stewart the day after tomorrow."

  "What?" she squawked, levering herself up to gape at him.

  "Me men have no returned from their chore," he said quietly. "I would find out why."

  "Oh." She frowned, her gaze suddenly moving around the room.

  No doubt thinking of all that she would need to pack and take with her, he thought, and--suspecting she would ask for at least three days to manage it all--he said, "I'd leave tomorrow, but would no' have ye suffer days in the saddle when yer tender. I'm givin' ye time to heal. Ye'll have to pack what ye need most. The rest can follow later."

  "Oh." She blushed, but whispered, "'Tis very thoughtful of you, husband. Thank you."

  "Aye," Kade grunted. "Now sleep. Ye'll need yer strength for the packin' and journey ahead."

  Averill smiled faintly, and laid her head back down on his chest. She then gave a little sigh and wiggled about against him, making herself comfortable before allowing her eyes to close.

  Kade stared down at her until her breathing turned slow and steady, suggesting she was asleep. Only then did he risk a small smile curving his lips as he recalled her "pleasuring" him. His little wife might not have known what she was doing, but she'd tried, and that was enough to please him for the moment. He would teach her how to do it properly later...and figure out some way to get her to leave off with the compliments without hurting her feelings.

  The largest and handsomest piffle in England?

  Kade chuckled softly, then closed his eyes to sleep.

  Chapter Nine

  "Oh, this water is cold."

  Averill smiled faintly at Bess's complaint but didn't comment. Instead, she concentrated on cleaning away the dust and grime from their travels that day. It was the first night of their journey to her new home, and she'd found it a long, exhausting one. Aside from the fact that she had spent most of her life at Mortagne and wasn't used to traveling, Averill also hadn't slept well or long last night. She had worked late into the evening, sorting and packing what to take with her and what to have sent later, and had only given it up when Kade had entered and ordered Bess out of the room.

  When Bess had protested that she had to prepare Averill for bed, he'd growled that he'd take care of that and had ushered the older woman to the door. And then he had assisted her, stripping away her clothes with the ease of a longtime lady's maid. It had made her wonder where he'd got all the practice in undressing women. It wasn't until he'd finished the chore, and she was climbing into bed, that she'd realized he'd been affected by that simple act. He'd stripped his own clothes off then, revealing a manhood that had grown swollen and an angry red.

  Averill had bit her lip as she watched him approach the bed. Recalling and appreciating his intention to let her heal before their journey, she'd shyly offered to pleasure him again. Kade's eyes had widened with what she imagined must have been surprise at the offer, but he'd quickly shaken his head, repeating that he would let her heal before they left for Stewart.

  Averill wasn't sure how her pleasuring him could cause her discomfort, but then supposed he feared he'd want to make love to her afterward and wouldn't risk it. Deciding he was really the most considerate and kind husband a girl could have, Averill had let the matter rest. She'd cuddled up next to him to sleep, more than glad that she'd punched Cyril and put him off marrying her. She really had got lucky, Averill had thought, and continued to think so.

  Kade was truly a caring husband. His words were sometimes lacking and his tone often gruff, but he had proven very solicitous of her well-being on the journey today: taking her up on his mount to ride in his lap when she began to flag in the saddle, ensuring she had enough to eat and drink when they'd interrupted their journey to have the nooning meal, ushering her away to tend to personal matters first thing each time they paused in their travels, then ushering her and Bess here to bathe when they'd stopped to make camp for the night. Averill didn't think she could have asked for a better husband.

  A burst of male laughter made her glance curiously to the right. Will and Kade were bathing just around the bend. Unable to see them thanks to the curve in the river, but within shouting distance, Averill found it comforting to know they were there.

  "I've had enough of this cold, my lady. I am getting out," Bess announced, heading for shore.

  "I suppose I am ready to get out as well," Averill said reluctantly. She then quickly ducked under the water to rinse the soap from her hair and body. By the time she resurfaced, Bess was out of the water and using one of the linens she'd brought down to the water to dry herself off. Squeezing her hair to remove the worst of the water, Averill headed back onto shore, murmuring a thank-you when Bess handed her a fresh linen to dry herself. By the time she'd done so, Bess was clothed and collecting her chemise to help her dress.

  They had finished and were just gathering the damp linens to take back to camp with them when Kade appeared at the edge of the clearing. His head poked out first and he peered around, but once he saw that they were both out and decent, he pushed the rest of the way into the clearing and approached, with Will on his heels.

  With Kade's own men not yet returned from delivering their message, Will had insisted that he and a small army of Mortagne men accompany them to Stewart. At least, that was the excuse he and Kade had given Averill, but she knew it was more than that. The two had been foolish enough to discuss the state of Stewart and Kade's intention to ask his father to step down while seated at the trestle tables. It was not so much foolish to discuss it there, as it was to expect they would not be overheard and the information passed around. Bess had got hold of the gossip and brought it to her. She was not riding to her new home as ignorant as they'd hoped.

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