Chapter 7
“Ryder put me down!”
Meredith had kicked and screamed her way through the castle in Ryder’s arms, not caring who could hear her. Nor, however, had Ryder, who had simply continued up the stairs, holding her firmly against his body as she writhed in fury, trying to escape his grip.
At the top of the staircase, he turned and marched on towards his own chamber, kicking the door open with one foot and then allowing it to slam closed behind them as he threw the still kicking Meredith onto the bed before him.
“Ryder, what on earth…?” she started to say, but his lips closed upon hers, ending the sentence — and all thought — in a passionate kiss that left her gasping for breath and barely able to remember why she had been shouting at him just moments before. Adrenaline still coursed through her veins as he pushed her roughly back against the pillows. This time she didn’t protest as he brought his lips towards her, softly kissing her neck, then moving downwards, trailing feather-light kisses across her collar bones, and the swell of her breasts, just visible beneath the open collar of her blouse.
“Take it off.” His voice was low and firm as he sat back on his heels, his eye never leaving her body.
Meredith blushed furiously but obediently did as he said, kneeling on the bed as she unlaced the bodice she wore, allowing it to drop to the floor, hesitating as she reached for the blouse underneath it.
“Take it off,” he said again. “All of it.” And then, seeing the fear in her eyes, he reached for her, cupping her face in his large hands as he dropped soft kisses on her closed eyelids.
“I’m nae going to hurt ye, lass,” he said softly. “I just need ye to understand that yer mine; mine, and no one else’s.”
Ryder had not known he would say it, but the second the words left his lips, he knew they were true. There was no use in pretending —in telling himself he was trying to scare her away. The truth was, he wanted her — more, in fact, than he had ever wanted anything in his life.
Seeing her with Colby had simply confirmed what he had already known. The truth he’d been trying to hide from himself with his endless sparring sessions and long horseback rides. He’d been trying to escape her, but now, as she opened her eyes and he gazed into their depths, he knew that no matter where he tried to run to, he would always want to come back to her, no matter what.
* * *
“I do know that,” she whispered, as he helped her unlace the blouse and pull it gently over her head.
“Aye, but I need to prove it to ye,” he replied softly, as her skirt joined the small pile of clothes on the floor, leaving her before him in a simple white shift. “And I need to make sure ye want no one else but me in return.”
“I do,” she said, gasping as he kissed her again, his tongue parting her lips. He kissed her over and over again, her lips, her face, her neck, his hands gently moving down her body as he did so, unhurriedly exploring her pale skin and the curves of flesh that lay beneath her shift.
Meredith gasped again as his lips moved lower, closing her eyes to concentrate on the sensation as they brushed lightly against her swollen breasts before traveling down her body, his hands insistent as they moved under the hem of her shift and up her thighs. It was unknown territory for her — she was but a maid, after all — but Meredith closed her eyes and sank bank against the pillows, abandoning herself to the pleasure that surged through her veins as his tongue found its way to the secret place beneath her shift, kissing her gently there, and then gradually increasing in pressure until she could hardly stand it.
Her hands reached down for him, her fingers entwined in his thick, dark hair, as the almost unbearable pressure increased again. She moaned in frustration as she felt his lips withdraw. “Nay,” she cried, hardly knowing what she said. “Danae stop, please!”
As she writhed beneath him, she reached down to pull him closer to her, her fingers entwined in his black hair as his tongue was placed on her again, making her gasp at the sensation. She felt as if every nerve ending in her body was alight, her skin suddenly exquisitely tender to each gentle touch of his tongue, as it teased at her, making her fingers tighten against his scalp and her hips rock up towards him.
She murmured incoherently, barely aware of what she was saying as she felt the pressure slowly build within her, the sensation becoming more and more intense until it suddenly reached a peak. She felt herself explode in a wave of pure pleasure, which broke over her, making her scream out loud, her hands still buried in his hair. The sensation was so pure that it erased all other thought, leaving just her and him, together in a moment that seemed to stretch on indefinitely, her hands still entwined in his hair as he moved to rest his head against her body.
* * *
After a few minutes, Ryder started to pull away from her, ready to leave, as was his way, but she pulled him back down towards her until his head was resting on her shoulders.
“Stay,” she whispered sleepily, reaching for him again. Ryder hesitated before reluctantly submitting to her embrace. He was unused to such affection, having never known it until now. Indeed, as he lay there, feeling his eye grow heavy as her soft fingers continued to stroke his hair, Ryder realized he could not recall the last time someone had touched him other than in anger. The thought made his heart feel suddenly full, and, as he lay there, he felt the unfamiliar sensation of tears prickling behind his eye and reached up to angrily dash them away before she could see them.
This willnae do, he thought, shifting position slightly, and feeling her arms tighten around him. But then again, the damage — if there was to be any — was already done. The woman lying beside him, her dark eyelashes fluttering as she started to drift towards sleep, was already his, in all but name, their lives already entangled. He could not have walked away from her now even if he wanted to — at least, not in good conscience — and there was no point in trying to convince himself otherwise.
She was right, he thought, as he propped himself up on one elbow to watch her sleeping face. Our fates were sealed from the moment we met. There was never any other option.
“Meredith,” he whispered now, not wanting to startle her. “Meredith, wake up; I’ve something I must ask ye, and I need to do it now. It cannae wait until morning.”
“Ryder?” Her eyelids fluttered open, her green eyes confused as they tried to focus on him in the dim light of the single candle. “Did ye say something?”
“Aye.” He sat up, suddenly awkward. How stupid to think that we were so intimate just moments ago, and now I’m afraid to ask her a simple question, he thought, grinning ruefully as she looked up at him from the pillow, her dark hair spread around her face and making her look like a creature from a dream.
“Meredith,” he began, her smile giving him courage. “Ye must forgive me, for I’m nae a man of many words.”
“No, yer nae,” she agreed solemnly, the twinkle in her eye adding levity to her words. “It’s lucky for ye that that’s nae why I like ye.”
He grinned back at her. Just a few days ago, he’d thought he’d never get used to her playful manner, and yet already she was so familiar to him that his awkwardness evaporated as he leaned forward and took both of her hands in his, pulling her up to face him on the bed.
“Well, I’m glad to hear ye like me,” he said softly, “Because I daenae think anyone would blame ye if ye didnae.”
Meredith simply shrugged, her black hair spilling over her shoulders as she waited for him to speak.
“D’ye think ye might like me enough to agree to be me wife?” he asked, at last, watching for her reaction. “Because I know we’re already betrothed, but I’d like to make it official — and I daenae see the point in waiting any longer when I know me mind is already made up, and willnae be changed. So… will ye?”
If he had been worried she might keep him guessing, he needn’t have. No sooner had the words left his mouth than she was throwing herself into his arms, her soft lips meeting his in a passionate kiss.
“Of course, I will, Ryder,” she said, pulling away just enough to speak. “Did ye ever doubt me?”
His answer, however, was lost as she kissed him again, and he kissed her in return, his heart light for what felt like the first time in his life. If allowing himself to love her brought him danger, then so be it, he decided, as he drifted off to sleep, still in her arms, a short while later. It was not, after all, as if he was unused to danger, but now it was time to allow himself to become used to love.
* * *