“Never.” It flew from his mouth without hesitation. This he could say and keep always. Never would he think her foolish.
She chuckled. “Even when I asked you to marry me?”
He kept his voice to a whisper. “Brave.”
“You thought me brave?”
He nodded and smiled softly. “Me foolish.”
She chuckled again, her arms going around the back of his neck. “I’ll agree with that.”
He stood and he carried her to the bed. He wanted so badly to strip her and himself naked and spend the night making love to her, but he couldn’t, no matter how badly he ached to do so. He couldn’t risk having his seed take root.
Saber placed her on her feet by the bed and went to add more logs to the fire for the night. He slipped off his shirt when he was done and his boots, seeing that his wife had removed all but her shift.
She hurried into bed holding the blanket back for him to join her and he did.
Elysia laughed softly as they twisted and turned to settle comfortably. “This bed was a good size for Annis and me, but I fear not for us.” She snuggled against him, quite content wrapped in his arms and pressed solidly against him. His body provided better heat than the blanket and in no time she found her eyes heavy with sleep.
Saber lay taut with tension, fighting the overpowering urge to couple with his wife. He was used to the need for a woman that would creep up on him often enough, but it was just that—a need that a quick poke usually satisfied. This was something different he felt, though he couldn’t explain it nor did he understand it. It wasn’t only that this manhood ached for her, but his heart as well. It was a strange feeling and yet a comforting one.
He forced his eyes shut, but unfortunately couldn’t force himself to sleep. He laid there impatiently waiting for the morn.
Chapter 8
Elysia cuddled closer to the warmth as she woke. No chill ran through her like most mornings. She was toasty warm and she wanted nothing more than to stay that way. She slid her leg up under the blanket along the warmth to cuddle even closer and her knee was met with an unfamiliar hardness. She poked her knee against it wondering…
“Oh!” she said and shot up with the help of her hand braced against her husband’s chest. She was greeted with tightly locked lips and an intensity in his powerful green eyes that sent a tingle through her entire body and caused her to shiver. Words failed her and, with the heat of embarrassment staining her cheeks, she scrambled over him only to get her shift caught on his protruding manhood as she went.
“Sorry,” she said as she tried to free herself and only made matters worse. His shaft slipped beneath her shift and poked between her legs, sending a shock of tingles through her that provoked an unexpected moan from her.
His hands suddenly clamped at her waist and she was lifted off him in one large swoop as he rose partially up from the bed and placed her on the floor. Her glance fell on his exposed manhood.
She spoke without thinking. “There is absolutely no way you will fit inside me.”
Saber couldn’t help but chuckle as he swung his legs off the bed and stood, his plaid falling to cover him. He stroked her flushed cheek with his thumb and said softly, “We will fit.”
What was it about this man that made her believe him—trust him?
The words fell easily from her lips. “We will do well together.”
He rested his brow to hers and a soft whisper fell from his lips. “Aye.”
A knock drew them apart, Saber going to the door.
A young lass stood there. “My seanmhair needs the healer. She is ill.”
Elysia stepped around her husband. “What’s wrong with her, Ashlyn?”
“Her stomach is unwell. She didn’t want me to bother you, but I’m worried about her.”
“Go to your grandmother. I will be there shortly,” Elysia said.
She hurried to dress. “I am sorry I cannot see to your breakfast, but I must see to Ashlyn’s grandmother. She is the only one Ashlyn has and she worries over losing her.”
Saber shook his head and waved his hands as if urging her to go.
She grabbed a crock off the top of a small cupboard that housed many of Bliss’s herbs. “Take the syrup and I will fix the brew for your throat later along with my brew.” His firm nod told her he was pleased with both.
Once she was dressed and had filled her basket with what she might need, she went to grab her cloak. Saber reached it before she did and she smiled when he slipped it around her.
She rested her hand to his chest. “I am glad I have you, Saber, and that I can trust you. It means more to me than you know.” She kissed him quick and hurried out the door.