"Emma!" Ailig Bennett bellowed as he left his horse in the care of his squire and rushed into his keep. Behind him, the ocean crashed against the shore at the foot of the hills where his keep had been built. He cared little for it or the oncoming storm. He pulled off his leather gloves as his eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the great hall.
Servants scurried around, lighting torches to break the oncoming darkness.
"Emma," he called again. He headed towards the doorway at the back of the wall which would lead to the stairs spiralling to the upper chambers housed in the north tower. The solar was there and no doubt Emma, as well, as she bent over her stitching. He smiled at the thought of pulling his new bride into his arms and unravelling her carefully braided hair.
Would she welcome him with as much vigour as that which coursed through his veins? He'd left her behind on their wedding day, answering the urgent call of his king. On that day he'd hated his liege, but with King Henry's contingent of messengers waiting, he had been unable to tarry.
Today, finally, he would be one with his bride.
Reaching the floor above the great hall, he strode towards his thinking chamber. Another set of stairs within it lead to the solar. "Emma," he called more gently as he crested the top of the stairs.
His bride stood in the large chamber, her back to him as she stared through an arrow slot at the waves below. His breath caught at the sight of her long brown braids cascading to her slim waist. He could not wait to give the bride gift he had purchased for her on his journey.
She spun at the sound of his voice, a smile lighting her face.
Perhaps he could wait to gift her. He would wait until after they'd united. His manhood stirred beneath his heavy knee-length mail, lengthening and thickening in his need for his wife. He had waited so long for her, more than the months this latest call to duty had required. Emma had long ago caught his eye. He had curried her favour in the ways he had learned in the king's courts until her green eyes shone with the love he felt in his middle.
"Ailig," she exclaimed, dashing towards him. Her arms closed around his neck as he lifted her into his embrace. His mouth took hers as one hand lifted to bury in her hair, already pulling loose strands free. She tasted of honey and Emma. He groaned as his lips pushed hers apart and his tongue delved inside, scraping along hers as he reclaimed her sweet mouth. How he'd dreamed of the pleasure while he had been away, this one pleasure he had indulged before they were wed. This one pleasure he'd taken many times after they were wed, the last moments before the king's messengers had dragged him away to his duty.
Emma made a small sound and pressed into him, her arms tightening around his neck. Unlike many noble marriages, theirs was a love match. Indeed, Emma had not been a noble until he'd taken her to bride. She'd been the daughter of a merchant in the village a short distance from the keep. Though he was noble, it had taken some time to claim her. Emma had feared marrying a knight and losing him to battle. As if to feed that fear, the king had called him away immediately. It had ripped at Ailig's gut to see the terror in her eyes.
Today, he would show her he was safe and well and her fear was unjustified. He was one of the king's best knights. He would always return.
"You've had mead," she laughed, when he pulled away to kiss his way along her jaw and down her neck. He nudged aside the fabric of her tunic and nipped the junction where her neck met her shoulder. Emma's breath came in gasps and her head tilted slightly backward to give him better access. Her small hand cupped the back of his head, her fingers flexing into his hair as he aroused her.
"Courage," he told her.
"You need no courage for me, husband."
"Mayhaps, I do."
"Nay. I am eager for you, love. I want you to make me your wife." Leaning back in his arms, she stroked her thumbs along his cheekbones as she gazed into his eyes. Wonder filled her own eyes as she drew the pad of one finger over his bottom lip.
"You have no fear?"
She blushed, looking down. "I wish to be fully yours. Forgive me if that is unseemly."
Unseemly? Sweet Lord, she was everything a knight could dream of for his maiden wife. "Nay, love, I am pleased that you want me."
She met his eyes again, her innocence and curiosity wrapping around him. His brave love.
"I am not afraid. The maids who attend me have told me of the...pleasures of having a man sheathed within. They say the pain is brief."
He felt her tremble as she spoke. Perhaps she wasn't completely free of fear. Soon, she would learn. He would give her such decadent delight. They would lie abed for days, exploring each other.
Slipping his arm beneath her legs, he lifted her into his arms and carried her towards the second set of stairs to the side of her solar which led the way to their bedchamber.
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