Page 47 of Stealing Her Lady's Highlander
“Fancy that!” Margaret giggled. “I have never had a cousin before. Then again, I have never had a husband or a father before today either, so this is indeed a day of firsts!”
When they emerged from the dungeons—all but Seamus, who, it seemed, would never emerge from them again—Malcolm announced to the wedding party what had transpired. When he introduced his long-lost daughter to them and declared that she was to marry Brodie, everyone broke into thunderous applause—even Lady MacKenzie, who tearfully insisted that she always knew Isla was not the right match for her son and could not wait to have this newly-discovered noblewoman as a daughter-in-law.
There was the traditional handfasting. The poor, befuddled, put-upon clergyman—who had rewritten the vows for Brodie and Isla many times over and recited them endlessly to himself in order to ensure the service was without flaw—was at a complete loss for words when it came to a union between Isla and Andrew, let alone Brodie and Margaret.
So each couple exchanged their own simple words of devotion, promising to adore and cherish each other forevermore. Such vows almost seemed to be more sacred somehow, having come from the heart as they had.
Brodie exchanged vows with Margaret, and Isla did likewise with Andrew. When both couples kissed to cement their respective unions, all who were in attendance cheered uproariously.
Music, feasting, and merriment followed the ceremony. Malcolm drank many toasts to his newfound daughter and took Morna to the dance floor many times over. From the way their eyes met, no one who saw them together doubted how overjoyed they were to be in each other’s lives again. There was much talk of Morna returning to the castle as a healer, and in time, perhaps even as a wife to Malcolm...though that may have simply been speculation, as all who celebrated that night found themselves in a romantic frame of mind.
When she spoke of the evening in later years as she did often, whenever she found occasion, Morna espoused only a single regret from that day: that she had not possessed the foresight to bring bottles of wine and mead for the occasion. Even so, she allowed that what was on offer at the castle was “passable,” and she drank a bit more than her fair share.
When the sun finally rose the following morning, everyone said their farewells, and the couples went off to celebrate their honeymoons. Andrew had declared his intention to take Isla to Spain so that he might pursue his fortune there. She was delighted by the prospect and promised everyone that she would write to them almost every day.
For their part, Margaret and Brodie traveled to the MacKenzie castle to begin their new life together there. The entire trip, Lady MacKenzie snored loudly, having drunk far too much wine throughout the night while boasted that one day, her son would be the laird over not one clan but two.
As she napped in the carriage, Brodie and Margaret curled up tightly beneath a blanket, nuzzling each other.
When at last they reached the MacKenzie castle, and the lady of the house had bid them goodnight, the newly-married couple ascended the steps to Brodie’s bedchamber. The experience was almost as new to him as it was to her. Before he had traveled to the MacLeod castle, he had been gifted a larger room so that he might share it with his new bride upon his return.
“Will this suit you?” he asked Margaret.
She smiled, kissing him. “Aye, it will do just fine.”
“We have had rather a long two days,” Brodie pointed out. “If you would like to sleep a while…”
Margaret shook her head mischievously, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Not just yet. Come and lie with me, my dashing husband.”
He went to her, and she took him in her arms, coaxing him down onto the blanket with her. He winced briefly, his injured ribs still troubling him mightily. Unfortunately, they had prevented him from doing much dancing at his own wedding.
Brodie resolved, however, that they would not prevent him from this.
“Here, allow me,” she whispered, gently pulling his shirt up over his head. His midsection was badly bruised, and she cooed, planting a series of soft kisses across them. As she did, she reached up and caressed his broad chest, running her fingers through the tangles of curly hair there.
He sighed happily, and she carefully removed his boots and trousers, exposing every glorious inch of his contoured body. She could plainly see how he desired her, and she lowered herself between his legs, taking him in her mouth. Her lips felt as soft around him as the delicate petals of a rose, and his entire body trembled in a quake of sheer lust.
Margaret delighted in being able to provoke such a response from him, and she put her hands on his knees, digging her nails in slightly to let him know how much she was enjoying it as well. She continued in that fashion until he let out a low and primal moan, and she could feel in the tightness of his body how close he was.
Then she released him from her mouth, sliding out of her dress and joining him on the bedspread.
He began to roll over in order to get on top of her, groaning from the effort of moving his injured body. She put her hand on his chest, softly pushing him back down onto the bed. “There will be plenty of time for that, my love. For now, let me take care of you and pleasure you.”
Brodie nodded, his eyes starry with love for her.
Margaret straddled him, allowing the tip of him to move and tickle against her silky folds. She savored the anticipation in his face, the way he licked his lips as he gazed upon her. He reached up to touch her breasts, his fingertips skating around her erect nipples. Her long hair hung down into his face, brushing against his cheeks like the caress of an angel.
Then she lowered herself down onto him, allowing him to plunge deep within her. She cried out his name, moving her hips against his in a passionate and fervent rhythm. His breath came in ragged gasps, his eyes never leaving hers, not even to blink. They could not stop staring into each other’s souls as their two selves became one.
Their climaxes arrived as one, crashing against each other and mingling, like two powerful churning rivers combining.
They lived the rest of their lives together as that single, beautiful body of water…neither knowing where each ended and the other began.
