Blake seemed to know, though, and for once in her life Seonaid was forced to give up the control of events and allow him to do what he saw fit. Until he suddenly stopped touching her and lifted his mouth from her breast too.
Seonaid released the shoulder she'd been unconsciously chewing at and blinked her eyes open to glare at him. "What?"
Blake merely chuckled at her scowl. He was already scooping her up into his arms and shifting to stand in the tub. Seonaid latched her arms around his neck and held her breath. She was a large woman, tall with solid muscle. Most men could not have lifted her so easily. Blake seemed to have no trouble, but still she held on as he stepped out of the tub and carried her across the room to the bed.
He set her down there and made quick work of removing her gown, then gave her a gentle push that sent her flopping onto the bed behind her.
Seonaid sat up and started to shift backward to make room for him, but she hadn't moved far before he caught her ankle to hold her in place as he climbed onto the bed next to her.
"Stay," he ordered, and Seonaid scowled. It sounded like an order you'd give a dog. And Seonaid was no dog.
"Doona think yer goin' to be able to boss me around jest cause yer me husband," she told him firmly. "I'm no very guid at listenin' to me father and doubt I'll be any better at listenin' to a bossy, arrogant English--aiyyeeeeee!" Seonaid half sat up in shock as he suddenly tugged the ankle he held farther away from the other and bent to place his mouth where his hand had been but moments before. She only half sat up, because Blake--without even looking--caught her with one flat hand at her chest and pushed her back down on the bed.
Seonaid was so shocked, she would have sat up again, but her body was having conflicting reactions and her hips were suddenly thrusting upward into his caress. It was hard to sit up with your hips thrusting that way. Besides, Seonaid was quickly losing the urge to sit up. Now she wanted to grab something and squeeze. His behind came to mind, but it was out of her reach. Most of him was, so Seonaid had to make do with catching the cushion on one side of her and tangling her fingers in the linens on the other as he did things to her that felt so good she thought she might just die from the sheer pleasure of it.
Seonaid wasn't capable of much thought for several moments, since what he was doing was driving the thoughts right out of her. She was aware that she was moaning and panting and making all sorts of indelicate sounds but couldn't have stopped them had she tried. All her energy and focus was fixed on the excitement and tension he was causing inside her. Her body was writhing and thrusting as his mouth and tongue worked their magic, her muscles clenching harder and harder until she thought they must surely snap. At one point it all became too much and she tried to close her legs and force him to stop, but Blake simply caught his arms around her thighs and tugged them farther apart, then redoubled his efforts so that she was sobbing with desperation.
She didn't know what it was exactly he was doing, didn't know why, didn't know what she was supposed to do. She had never felt so out of control or helpless, nor had she ever experienced the tense pleasure-pain he was giving her. Her hips were thrusting into the action, but her head was twisting back and forth on the bed and she could hear herself moaning. That was when she felt something enter her. She didn't know what, because Blake wasn't in the position to do what Lady Wildwood had said he would do, but she didn't really care what it was; all she cared about was the sudden increased tension and pleasure it brought her. Seonaid drove down into the caress and finally felt the tension within her explode. Her whole body seemed to vibrate and shudder and she cried out with the strength of it, her fingers clawing at the bedclothes so desperately, it was a wonder she didn't rend it to bits.
She was aware of Blake straightening, but only on the periphery of her consciousness, as he shifted to move up her body. When he moved to cover her, her hands lifted to hold him of their own volition, just as her mouth opened beneath the demanding kiss when he claimed her lips. Then he slid into her and Seonaid stiffened, her body arching like a bow beneath him, and a startled cry slipped from her lips.
Chapter Twelve
Blake forced himself to remain completely still. He had thought that getting the breaching done quickly and while Seonaid was so relaxed in the aftermath of the pleasure he had given her would be for the best. But the roar that had just ripped from her lips made him wonder if he hadn't been wrong. Now he was encased in her warm, moist depths and his body was eager to move. He was listening to his head instead. It was a difficult task. She was so tight and hot around him, squeezing him, and he just wanted to--
"Are you all right?" he asked breathlessly.
Seonaid tipped her head back to peer up at him, and he noted that she had the audacity to look surprised at the question. "Aye. Why would ye ask?"
"You screamed," he pointed out in a tone as dry as dust.
"Oh." She shrugged beneath him. "It was surprise, and from what Lady Wildwood said I was expectin' pain."
Blake felt himself tense. "You mean you did not feel pain?"
She shrugged again. "No more than a pinch o' it. Nothin' worth mentionin'."
Blake narrowed his gaze on her, unsure whether to believe her or not. "Are you feeling any pain now?"
She raised her eyebrows, then wiggled about beneath him and flexed her muscles before shaking her head. "Nay."
"Thank God," Blake gasped and withdrew a little, then plunged back in again, making her gasp. He managed to make himself stop then and asked, "Now?"
"Now what?" she murmured, her hands moving to his back and holding him as she wiggled beneath him again.
"Are you experiencing any pain, or may I proceed?" Blake truly didn't mean to sound angry, but this was testing the limits of his control. She was so matter of fact and he just wanted to--
"Nay, no pain. It just feels a bit odd."
"Odd?" Blake asked, his eyebrows drawing together. "What do you mean, odd?"
Seonaid shrugged again. "Odd. Just odd. 'Tis all odd to me," she pointed out, then just seemed to realize what he had said and asked, "Proceed? There is more?"
Blake closed his eyes and held on to his patience. "Aye, wife, there is more."
"Lady Wildwood did no mention more," she muttered, then shrugged beneath him and shifted her hips, spreading her legs wider. "But then, she seems to have left out a lot."
"Seonaid ..." he said through gritted teeth.
"Aye?"
"I cannot hold on much longer; pray tell me I may continue."
"Hold on to what?" she asked, then something in his expression must have warned that he was not in the mood for conversation and she said, "Go on, then. Continue."
Releasing his breath on a relieved sigh, Blake withdrew again and pressed back into her.
Seonaid lay still at first. The muscles in her legs, and everywhere in her body, really, were still trembling from what he had done to her before taking her maidenhead. And really, for the first few strokes she hadn't a clue what the attraction to this in and out motion was. Then he changed position slightly and changed the rhythm of his movements, and Seonaid began to take notice. Excitement was building within her again and her body began to clench. Catching her fingers in his hair, she drew his head down to hers, wanting a kiss. He answered the silent demand, fastening his mouth over hers and thrusting his tongue into her mouth in time with his body thrusting into her.