If Elaine had been aroused beforehand, the sight of him standing uninhibited before her only weakened her further. Before she had chance to catch her breath and comment on his scars, for that is what he was intending to show her, Duncan began relieving himself of his boots.
"There are more," he said, hurling the boots across the room, where they landed near his shirt. His trousers and socks quickly followed. And in less than a second, he stood naked beforeher. Elaine's mouth was open, and her face was flushed bright red. She was embarrassed since she had never seen a naked man before. Her embarrassment, however, did nothing to alleviate the ache in her breasts or hergrowing desire.
Duncan, on the other hand, appeared to have no reservations and stood proudly before her, watching her face. Even though she was mortified, Elaine quickly swallowed her astonishment.
“Tell me, Elaine. Who could love a man with such a battered body?” Duncan gestured to himself with animated arms.
Elaine could tell he was trying to hide his pain, but she could also hear a sadness in his tone. This man was slightly broken despite his bravado and leadership. This came as no surprise to her after hearing his tragic story. Perhaps he blamed himself for the death of his family. Perhaps he now felt he deserved to be unloved. Despite the fact that shehad only spent a short time with him, she simply did not accept that.
Slowly pushing herself off the bed, she moved toward him. Though it took some effort to do so, for her embarrassment still lingered, she did not take her eyes off him. How could she make him see that beyond all his scars was a man of beauty and integrity? He had suffered a great loss that had not been of his doing. His scars were a testament to his bravery and in no way made him ugly.
Upon reaching him, her heart was beating so loud in her breast that it was nearly deafening. Elaine slowly lifted her hand, and with the lightest touch, she caressed the taut muscles of his chest. She heard him take in a sharp breath but did not stop. She traced the white slashes and raised skin of his once angry wounds, growing more confident as she continued.
“It is precisely because o’ these very scars,” she whispered, “that ye are so beautiful. Ye are a warrior with a warm heart, protective o’ yer people and willing tae give yer very life, if necessary,” she murmured.
Her fingers slipped across his shoulders as she walked behind him. She traced a line down the thickness of his back. A back that was just as broad and defined, if not more scarred, than the front of him. Not quite knowing what came over her, Elaine suddenly pressed her lips to each scar she saw, softly kissing them. Duncan released a slow grown of pleasure and realizing her actions pleased him, she continued. Moving further down his back, his protruding buttocks strong and solid before her, Elaine spoke again.
“Ye are one of the most handsome men I have ever seen, Duncan,” she breathed, kissing him again. “Ye are a good man,” she moved further down, “a kind man.”
Duncan’s groans now grew louder with his arousal. Taking a step to the side, he turned toward her, his desire and want of her evident by the solid protruding member between his legs. Taking her by the shoulders, he pulled her toward him.
“Ye are driving me quite wild, woman,” he growled huskily in her ear as he pressed himself up against her.
Once more, his lips found her earlobe. And while Elaine gasped and lost herself in the rising ecstasy his tongue evoked, Duncan’s fingers tugged at the string of her skirt. A moment later, it fell away and his hands worked on her corset, all the while, kissing her neck and jawline. Her head had fallen back, completely surrendering herself to the relentless attack of his tongue. Slipping her corset from her body, she soon stood before him in only her shift.
He took a step back and gazed upon her, her face flushed, her lips swollen and every fiber in her body aching for him.
“I want tae see ye, Elaine,” he breathed, taking her shift and lifting it over her head, only to discard it without a care.
If she had not been so elated and aroused, his roaming eyes taking in her nakedness may well have embarrassed her. But she was well passed that point. Now, she nearly welcomed it, for the lust in his expression pleased her.
“My God!” he murmured, his fingers caressing the softness of her shoulders. “Yer skin is like silk.”
Elaine moaned gleefully as he dragged his thumb across her collar bone. His thumb trailed down her breast, and while his touch was soft and slow, the anticipation built like a thunderstorm, reaching an ecstatic peak when he finally moved to her aching nipple.
“Oh, God,” she gasped.
Elaine had never felt anything like this before and did not want it to end. Duncan bowed his head and pressed his tongue against her nipple, his tongue flicking over it incessantly. Shearched her back, pressing her body deeper into him, hungering for more.
“I am going tae make ye feel like nae other man has made ye feel before, Elaine,” he growled, his voice thick with desire.
His hands were at her back now, moving his fingertips up her spine, sending sparks through her body as he caressed her skin. His mouth moved to the nipple of her other breast, teasing her with his tongue, flicking back and forth and once more, eliciting gasps and pants from her.
With no warning at all, he lifted her and carried her across the room. In her ecstatic state, Elaine felt as though she were floating. A moment later, she felt the furs against the skin of her back when he gently lowered her onto the bed. While she expected him to takeher there and then, Duncan took his time. He groaned deeply as he kissed her from her breast to the top of her thigh and back again. Elaine panted and writhed beneath him, desperate for him to fill her.
Grabbing at him and pulling him toward her, she pleaded him with her eyes. Duncan eventually climbed on top of her and slid inside her warm, moist body. He satisfied the part of her that craved him the most. Duncan's thrust was hard and purposeful at first, but when shecried out in pain, he immediately paused, frowning down at her in confusion. For a split second, she thought he might stop, but his lustful expression told her it was too late. Instead, he slowed his pace, rocking back and forth on top of her, gradually pushing inside of her.
The pain soon subsided, and once more, the pleasure that continued to build took her to a place she could never have imagined. As he rolled against her, a building crescendo heightened. She grabbed his shoulders, and her body shook with tension and pleasure and the will for him not to stop.
Elaine climbed higher, holding her breath and pressing her head deep into the bed beneath her—Duncan's hips movingfaster against her. His ecstatic groans only matched her own, as she gasped for air as the friction between their bodies lifted her even higher. A sudden explosion blossomed deep within her as she reached the pinnacle of elation. Duncan followed heruninhibited scream with an almighty howl, arching his back with the final thrusts while veins protruded from his neck and his entire body shook and spasmed.
“My God, Elaine,” Duncan breathed, before dropping himself beside her on the bed.
Elaine was speechless. In fact, she felt as if she was floating. Her entire being had been flooded with the most peaceful of emotions. Shewondered if she ever wanted to leave the place she had found herself in the aftermath of the most incredible experience she had ever had.
The last thing she remembered, before she drifted off into unconsciousness, were Duncan’s strong arms wrapping themselves around her and some covering sliding over her form—his body warm against her naked skin. In his strong embrace, he pulled her closer and pushed in tightly behind her. Elaine sighed with a deep sense of peace. Perhaps it was simply that she was overwhelmed by all that had happened, but a final thought passed through her mind before darkness enveloped her.
I think I love ye, Duncan MacDougall.