Where had that thought come from? And why had it aroused him?
He placed her on the bed as soon as they entered the room and once she stretched out beneath the blankets, she threw back the blanket on his side waiting for him to join her.
“Hurry, there is a chill in the room tonight,” she urged.
That gave him an excuse to delay, going to the hearth and adding wood. Both animals slept near the heat. King opened one eye to look at him, then closed it and returned to sleep curled against Princess who snored lightly.
Arran’s arousal didn’t abate, if anything, he feared his anger was fueling it. All he could think about was stripping his wife naked, flinging her legs apart, burying himself deep inside her, and pounding into her again and again until she cried out his name in satisfaction. That was not how he wanted to introduce her to coupling.
He went to his side of the bed and kept his back to her as he disrobed, then sat so she couldn’t see his arousal. He pulled the blanket over him as he slipped under the blankets and turned on his side, away from her.
“Go to sleep,” he ordered.
“And a good and peaceful sleep to you as well,” she said and cuddled against his back and draped her arm over his waist, her hand resting far too close to his aching shaft.
He was never going to get to sleep tonight. Never.
He silently argued with himself to couple with her and be done with it. Back and forth he went, finding endless reasons why he should and endless reasons why he shouldn’t. The one that made the most sense was that their vows had yet to be sealed, but he was reminded with her own words that no one would know if they didn’t tell them.
He was close to deciding on complete surrender when he felt her soft breath whisper against his back in a gentle snore. She had fallen asleep. The decision had been made for him and he silently cursed himself.
Arran decided there and then that tomorrow he would see their vows sealed properly and ease the ache that had been lingering too long in his loins. Maybe first thing in the morning when she was still warm and drowsy with sleep.
The thought was torture, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how it would feel to touch her intimately and kiss those intimate places that were for his eyes only. He quietly groaned, his lips aching to do just that.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think, he silently warned himself. It didn’t work and it felt like endless hours before he finally drifted off, looking forward to morning.
Morning didn’t turn out as he expected. He woke to find his wife gone.
Chapter 14
Arran was about to get out of bed when the door opened and his wife entered smiling and with a basket hooked on one arm and a jug tucked snug in the crook of her other arm.
“Good, you’re awake. I’ve brought us food so that we may share a couple of hours alone before the day begins.” Her smile faded some but didn’t disappear. “I’m assuming you wish to leave for home today after yesterday’s news.”
“I’d be derelict in my duty as your husband and the future chieftain if I didn’t see to the well-being of the clan immediately,” he said, wishing it was otherwise. After reuniting with his family, he’d been surprised at how much he wanted to spend more time with them.
“I understand and I do agree. It is our duty to see to the clan, especially in my father’s absence.” She placed the items she carried on the small table not far from the bed. “But first we will steal a couple of hours for ourselves.”
“And we will not waste a minute of our time together.” He drew back the blanket on her side of the bed. “Join me—but first disrobe.”
Flutters made their way throughout her body and a knot of worry settled in her stomach. This was it. They would make love, something she had been looking forward to, but was now suddenly nervous about doing.
Arran saw her apprehension, her hands clutching the sides of her garment, the uncertainty in her eyes, and the way she nervously nibbled at her lower lip.
“If you prefer to wait—”
“No! No!” Purity hurried to say. “I feel foolish to admit that now that the time is here, I’m a bit nervous.”
“Understandable, and if you are uncomfortable with anything I do, you will tell me and I will stop,” he said, fear of or dissatisfaction with intimacy being something he’d not tolerate between him and his wife.
Purity decided it was best she voice her concerns instead of letting them twist her stomach tighter. “You’ve had many women who knew how to please you. I don’t know how to please or pleasure a man.”