He frowned so darkly that Cait had the sudden urge to giggle. Laughing at him now probably wouldn’t be wise. Perhaps she had already gone too far, but she didn’t care.
“Caitlyn, do not test me. If that branch breaks and you fall—”
“It is a strong branch. That’s why I picked this place to sit.”
“You will not be sitting anywhere in a few minutes,” he muttered. “You will find it impossible to sit.”
“Will I?” Cait sighed. “I much prefer sitting here to coming down there and getting my bottom spanked. If you want me to come down, you might have to bargain with me.” She could almost hear him grinding his teeth. “I might come down if you promise to hold me,” she offered softly. His chest rose and fell. He looked at her with a look she didn’t understand. “Why don’t you hold me anymore, Duncan?”
“I do hold you.”
“Not like you did before. You hold me like something that’s fragile. Like something that’s already broken beyond repair.”
“That’s not true,” he said, but then fell quiet. His arms uncrossed and he put them on his hips in frustration.
“Come down, right now!”
“No! Come and get me.”
With a curse he hiked himself into the tree. Cait watched half alarmed and half delighted as he scaled the branches more quickly than she ever could. He hauled himself to a stout bough just below her and looked hard into her eyes.
“I miss you, Duncan,” she whispered.
He took her in his arms and kissed her. She moaned. She didn’t mean to, but to feel him really touch her again was almost too much to bear. Her soft pleading sounds seemed to inflame him, and his hands roved over her restlessly.
“Cait...” he sighed when they finally parted.
“Do you still love me, Duncan? I want to be your true wife, like I was before. If you still want me.”
His gaze seared her. She thought he might take her right there in the cold branches of the tree. She would have welcomed him without complaint. But he began to climb down impatiently.
“Come with me. Now. To the room.”
He jumped to the ground and practically yanked her out of the tree, leading her back to the keep at an unforgiving pace. When she became winded, he lifted her in his arms and carried her. She clung to his neck, breathing in his manly scent. Up in his room, he let her down and she felt suddenly shy under his gaze. But she was determined to please him, to make him want her again the way he used to.
“Undress,” he said. “Show yourself to me.”
Cait complied, but she was conscious of the changes in her body, the pronounced bump at her waistline where she could feel the baby move sometimes, a flutter in her middle. Duncan came to her, running his hands over her new shape.
“The baby grows.”
“Yes.”
“It is a beautiful look for you. I hope... I hope...”
He looked troubled. She reached for him. “I’m not afraid of bearing this babe. I’m more afraid of that spanking you threatened.”
He smiled and pointed to the bed, taking off his clothes.
“You should be afraid. You will get a spanking, but...my God. First things first. Lie down, wife.”
She laid back and he came over her, kissing her passionately. He grasped her hands in his and pulled them over her head so she felt completely and totally controlled. Not controlled...safe. He wouldn’t let go. She could feel his hard cock pressing against her, but she wanted it, she craved it. She thought for a moment of Lord Douglas pressing against her, forcing his way into her. This was not at all the same, although Duncan looked down at her worriedly.
“Okay?”
“Yes,” she breathed. Yes, please, please. Take me.
“If I hurt you,” he said, “let me know.”
He was simply insane with desire. He wanted to plunge inside her violently, reclaiming her, making her his own. She sighed and moaned so sweetly under him. How had he resisted her charms for so long?
She wanted him. She wanted him. She clearly wanted him every bit as much as she had before. Why had he waited? Why had he denied himself? He wouldn’t deny either of them a second more. He slid inside her slowly, inch by inch, reveling in the feeling of possessing her again. “Okay?”
In answer, she shifted closer, arching against him. “Please, please...”
He withdrew and surged forward more deeply, drawing from her a shuddering moan. His free hand roved over her, cupping her breasts, bringing the dark pink nipples to his lips to suck and tease. She was so intense, so alive under him. He reached down to cup her bottom, to hold her fast for his demanding thrusts.
“Okay?” he rasped.
Her stifled groan signaled that she was as she writhed under him. She came a moment later, breathless and uncontrolled.
He released her and turned her on her stomach, pulling her onto her knees before plunging back inside. He held her hips in his hands, looking down at her shapely figure. In the light of day, he could see the fading scars there, thin stripes on her buttocks and back. But they made her no less beautiful to him, only more so. Her bravery, her desire, her refusal to give up when all seemed hopeless...her ability to forgive. He loved her. He needed her.
He had been foolish to deny himself that which he needed most on earth. Her smile, her laughter, her affectionate clinginess, he couldn’t take these things for granted anymore. He couldn’t hide away from her, hoping she wouldn’t affect him. She affected him. It was a lost cause. But it was okay, he thought as he drove into her, touching her deepest center, claiming her very soul. It was all okay, he thought as he shook with the pleasure of emptying himself inside her. With Cait, everything would always be okay.
He rubbed the small of her back as he lingered inside her, admiring the sight of her on her hands and knees. She began to shift, but a low sound from his throat stilled h
er, and she resumed her stance, back arched, head down. Only after a long moment did he withdraw his cock and back away. Even then, she lay still as he’d arranged her. He studied her pliant form thoughtfully, running his hand up her thigh to her bottom.
“How white and unmarked you are, Cait.”
She made a faint sound into the bedcovers. He caressed the other shapely globe.
“There is still the matter of your punishment to see to.”
She sighed softly. “I know.”
He leaned close to her, breathing in the scent of her hair as he whispered in her ear. “You remember, of course, it is not to hurt you. It is not only done to cause pain. Not like him...”
“Yes, I know. I know you do it to help me be good.”
“And because I love you.”
“And because you love me. And care about me, and want me to be safe.”
“Good girl,” Duncan said. “You haven’t forgotten.”
No, she had never forgotten, although he had. Everyone had forgotten what love was all about. Everyone but Cait.
“Such a good girl.” He lifted her hands from the bed to place them firmly on the headboard. “Such commendable obedience is rewarded. If you keep your hands there and remain perfectly still for the first ten strokes, you may take the second ten over my lap.”
“Yes, sir,” answered Cait in a most submissive tone.
With a smile he lifted his leather belt from the floor and doubled it over. He didn’t make her wait. And yes, he was perhaps a bit soft on her, but it had been a while since she’d taken any punishment, and she was several months pregnant besides. Still, he managed to give them just enough sting. She fought against the urge to fidget and dodge the blows, her fists going white-knuckled where they wrapped over the edge of the bed. She grew more and more tense, determined to please him. At ten, she sighed in relief.