"He was very gentle with me during the bedding...and very quick," she added, recalling his exploding at her touch.

"Oh." Edda's eyes widened and then she patted her hand. "Perhaps that is for the best. Though I would not expect to be so lucky in the future. 'Twas probably just the excitement of the first time with you that had him finish fast."

Merry wrinkled her nose at the warning. While it had been a problem for her last night and prevented her actually accomplishing the consummation, she suspected had they actually been consummating at the time, she would have appreciated his speed. Merry truly saw no joy in the act and believed when it came to unpleasant tasks, the sooner done the better.

"Well." Edda patted her hand again. "I am relieved all went well. When I saw the linens..." She didn't finish the comment, but just shook her head, and then pulled the keep door open and ushered Merry inside, saying, "Come, Cook wishes to discuss the menu for the week ahead and see if it suits you."

Merry managed a smile of her own and allowed herself to be led across the great hall. She tried to walk as normally as possible, but the wound to her thigh made her walk oddly as she tried to avoid rubbing it. Noting the pitying glance Edda was giving her and knowing why the woman thought she was in pain, Merry flushed but said nothing. She was grateful, though, that she would have some time for the cut to heal before having to travel. The wait would also allow her to settle in here at d'Aumesbery, and she was grateful for that as well.

chapter Five.

A lex reached for his drink and somehow misjudged its position, nearly knocking it over rather than picking it up. After adjusting his aim and managing to close his fingers around it, he raised it to his lips, but paused when his eyes slipped to his wife. She, of course, had not missed his clumsiness, and a sigh slid from his lips as he saw the disapproving look she was casting his way. Brodie had been right, she did resemble a fish when she did that.

It had been three weeks since their wedding day, and still they had not left for Donnachaidh. Unfortunately, the planned trip had met with delay after delay. First there had been the week he'd decided he should allow his wife to heal from his drunken clumsiness on their wedding night. Alex had chafed at the delay, but made himself stick to it despite the fact that she seemed well enough after only a couple of days.

However, the day before they were to leave, illness had struck the castle, forcing another delay. It had been a cruel ailment, attacking a body so that the victims spent half their time tossing up whatever they'd eaten, and the other half running for the garderobe. The illness had struck in waves, taking out a couple dozen men, and then taking out another couple dozen when the first were just starting to feel better.

Alex grimaced at the memory, but then shook his head and acknowledged that it could have been worse. While it had kept him and the rest of the men busy trying to pick up the slack their absence left, at least it had not struck them all at once, leaving the castle completely unmanned. Still, he hadn't been able to head to Scotland without leaving d'Aumesbery shorthanded, something he hadn't been willing to do. But now, after two weeks, the illness appeared to have run its course. Unless you counted him. Alex had been suffering his own illness these three weeks since his wedding night, but his symptoms were different from those of his men. His stomach did not cause him trouble and he wasn't running for the garderobe. Instead, every evening he found himself feeling off-kilter and disoriented, sometimes even dizzy. It left Alex slurring some of his words, missing his mug or trencher when he reached for them, and staggering on occasion. In short, it left him appearing as drunk as he'd somehow gotten on his wedding night.

At one point, the fact that the symptoms occurred only at night had made him consider that someone might be drugging his ale at the sup. His wife had been the most likely suspect the moment that thought had taken hold. It had started only after her arrival, and-after his apparent brutality on their wedding night-she'd certainly have reason, he'd supposed. Alex had been so sure this might be the case that he'd entirely skipped drinking anything at all during two evening meals in a row. However, he'd still suffered the symptoms. That had rea.s.sured him and left him again to decide that he must be fighting off some sort of infection, perhaps even the one his men had been battling. If so, the reason he suffered symptoms only at night might be that after a full day of running about, filling in here and there, he was usually exhausted and at his weakest point.

Unfortunately, it was also when he saw the most of his new bride, and he very much feared she was completely mistaking his symptoms for a result of too much drink. Merry had watched him like a hawk every night since their wedding. She had not missed a single slip, stagger, or slurring of words, and he feared she was putting it all down to his being a drunk like her father and brothers. Alex did not blame her after their unfortunate first meeting, but that, too, was d.a.m.ned inconvenient. He'd intended to show her with his actions that he was nothing like her father and brothers; instead this d.a.m.ned illness was simply reinforcing her certainty that he was. He'd considered trying to explain that he hadn't been drinking and that he suspected his symptoms were the result of illness, but doubted she would believe it. Besides, he was having difficulty even attempting to converse with his wife. First there was his guilt and shame over his rough treatment on their wedding night, and then he very much doubted she would believe a word he said anyway. She had grown up with drunks and was probably used to their lies. Even if he pointed out that he didn't drink at the table, she would probably just a.s.sume that he was drinking down at the inn beforehand.

Aside from that, however, Alex found it impossible to speak to his wife for another very different reason. The fact was that as ashamed as he was of his behavior on their wedding night, and as certain as he was that she must loathe him, he couldn't be around the woman without growing as hard as a dead hen. Every night he sat at the table beside her, a need burning inside him and growing with each accidental brushing of arm or hand, each whisper of her voice as she spoke to Edda, and each inhalation of her scent that reached him. Knowing she probably feared and loathed the idea of his touch after the pain he must have caused her on their wedding night, Alex fought that desire. But while he won the battle in his mind and managed not to touch her when he joined her in their bed at night, he was definitely losing it in body. For the last three weeks he'd found himself sporting an erection that just would not die. The d.a.m.ned thing left him swollen and aching and nearly rabid with need. Not even in his youth had he experienced such rampant desire and it was getting progressively worse each night.

In the normal course of events, Alex would have thought this a grand thing. With marriages being business contracts signed and sealed when the individuals were but children, it was a rare thing for a man to desire his wife as he did. And he would have thought himself a lucky man indeed had he not mucked up everything so royally on their wedding night. Now, however, Alex found himself l.u.s.ting after a wife who appeared to loathe him. And the worst part was he couldn't even resent or blame her. He hated himself for the shape he'd been in on their wedding night and what he must have done to her to produce so much blood. He found the matter preying on his mind most days like a venomous snake. Had she pleaded with him not to be so rough? Struggled to be free as his body had pinned her down? Had she wept?

Dear G.o.d, Alex had never in his life mistreated a woman. Not that he could recall, but now he worried if at another time while in his cups he'd hurt a woman. He'd rarely been in his cups, but even once was once too often if it meant he had hurt a smaller, defenseless woman. And how was he to make up for it?

Clearly, he had to. He could not stand a marriage that had become a cold war. Three weeks of it were wearing on his soul already, but he wasn't sure how to repair the damage he'd done.

Alex glanced to his wife as she suddenly excused herself to retire. He watched unhappily as she walked toward the stairs, his eyes sliding over the curve of her back, to the gown swaying around her hips. He wanted to get up and follow her. He wanted to trail her to their room, follow her inside, and catch her by the wrist to pull her back around as he pushed the door closed behind them. He wanted to kiss her eyes closed and then kiss her sweet mouth until the pursed look left, never to return, and then he wanted to strip away her clothes, kissing every inch of pale flesh revealed, and show her he wasn't the monster she thought he was.

Unfortunately, Alex suspected did he try it, Merry would stiffen up and bristle, and while he was sure she wouldn't refuse him, he doubted he could soothe her into relaxing, and if she didn't relax, no amount of coaxing would bring pa.s.sion to life within her, and it would be a stiff, uncomfortable act for both of them. That wasn't what Alex wanted.

Turning back to his mug, he peered down into the liquid it held and fretted over what to do. Barring any more emergencies, they were to leave for Donnachaidh on the morrow, which meant days of travel ahead to reach his sister's new home. Alex didn't want to travel in the cold silence he'd lived with for three weeks, especially with his ever-present erection. Since the wedding, he'd been free of the d.a.m.ned thing only during the day while away from his bride, but they would be together for nearly a week straight during the journey, and he feared that would mean a very uncomfortable ride for him. Also, he didn't cherish the thought of arriving at Donnachaidh with such an obviously unhappy bride.

However, to avoid all that he had to somehow repair things with his wife, and to do that he needed to get her to let down her defenses around him. Getting her to drink excessively was completely out of the question, of course, but the only time she wasn't stiff and p.r.i.c.kly around him was when she was sleeping, and...

Alex paused in his thoughts as he considered that. When she was sleeping, she was warm and soft and had even cuddled up close to him in their bed with a sleepy murmur. It had been torture for him to lie there with her scent in his nostrils and her body warm and sweet against him as he fought doing what his erection urged him to do. But perhaps he shouldn't fight it, Alex thought now. If he kissed and caressed her while she slept and she woke excited, perhaps he could show her that their wedding night had been an aberration and that there was pleasure and happiness to be found in the marriage bed.

"Are you not going to bed early, too, Alex?" Edda's question drew his gaze her way as she continued, "You plan to leave early on the morrow, do you not?"

"Aye," he growled, and stood abruptly. Had he been thinking, he would have recalled the erection presently causing a rather large bulge in the front of his braies and turned the opposite way to leave the table. Unfortunately, he hadn't thought, and standing up placed it right in Edda's face. Her widening eyes and sudden flush, followed by the way she turned her gaze quickly back to her food, reminded him, however, and Alex grimaced as he left the table. He followed his erection above stairs, thoughts and images of what might follow rolling through his head. He would be gentle, he would stir her pa.s.sions, he would- Dear G.o.d, let this work, Alex silently prayed as he reached the door to their room and eased it slowly open. A little breath of relief slipped from his lips when he saw that despite the fact that no more than ten or twenty minutes could have pa.s.sed since she'd retired, his wife was abed and sound asleep. Perhaps it would work out after all.

That hope firm in his heart, Alex quickly snuffed out the lit torch by the door, leaving only the dying fire to light the room, and then-as silently as possible-stripped off his weapons and clothing and eased carefully into bed beside his wife.

Merry was slow to wake and wasn't sure what woke her. At first she thought she was having a warm fuzzy dream, but it was unlike any dream she'd ever before experienced. She was coc.o.o.ned in warmth and semidarkness, just the flicker of the dying fire casting small dancing shadows across the wall before her when she eased her eyes open. They soon drooped sleepily closed again, however, and she released a little sound of pleasure and shifted slightly against the warmth at her back as something slid warm and caressing down over her hip and along her upper leg. The sleepy little sound of pleasure slid from her lips once again, but ended with a low moan as the caress moved back up and continued up her waist and then around to drift feather-light over the lower curves of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s before stopping to cup one and squeeze gently.

Some instinct in Merry was urging her to open her eyes then and wake fully, but she fought it. This was too pleasurable and she didn't wish to wake up and have it come to an end, so she tilted her head back slightly as she felt lips gently brushing the side of her neck. The hand at her breast was kneading and sending an odd excitement tingling through her body. Merry found herself gasping in response, her behind shifting into the hips against her backside and unintentionally nudging a hardness resting there. It brought a moan from the questing lips now slipping up over her cheek and toward her mouth, and Merry could no longer pretend she was asleep. Her eyes blinked open and she turned her head to peer at who she knew must be her husband. Before she could speak, his lips covered hers and his tongue swept in to fill her mouth.

Merry was so startled by the invasion she went completely still, her mind filling with confusion as the combination of his caresses and kiss filled her with a sharp excitement that was almost overwhelming. She remained still and uncertain as his mouth explored hers, her hands balling into fists by her waist as he plucked at her nipples and sucked on her tongue, and then his hand drifted down over her stomach and a new, stronger wave of excitement swept over her, an almost antic.i.p.atory need that exploded into full-blown pa.s.sion as his hand gently cupped the apex between her thighs. Merry gave a small jolt in response, her hips thrusting her against his hand, and then she felt one finger slip between the folds of her most private place, and the excitement spiked to a level that raised fear in her and had her grabbing at the hand to stop him.

Alex immediately stopped his caress, but he also broke their kiss to lift his head.

"I am your husband."

He whispered the words against her lips and she stilled again, uncertainty flowing through her. He was her husband and had every right to do whatever he chose, and really, this was...

"I will be gentle," Alex continued quietly, the brush of his lips and breath stirring little swirls of pleasure inside her despite the fears and anxieties rolling around inside her head. "I am sorry about our wedding night."

Merry opened her mouth to tell him the truth. She would not have him feel bad for something he had not done, and besides, if he continued as he was going he would surely find out the truth for himself. However, before she could speak the words, he added, "I only had one small whiskey that night. That was my intention, but your father must have topped up my drink when I was not paying attention and so I drank more than I intended. I am sorry for it."

Merry's intention to set the record straight about their wedding night died right there and she felt her mouth turn down with disbelief. "I would believe that were it not for the fact you pa.s.sed out drunk the day I arrived and have been drunk every night of the last three weeks since."

Her voice was hard and cold, and Alex responded as if she had physically slapped him, rearing up enough that they could peer at each other. He was scowling, she saw in the dim light, and scowled right back. She would not pretend to believe his lies. He might fool himself, but she would not allow him to think he fooled her.

They stared at each other silently for several moments and Merry saw several expressions flash across his face. Disappointment, resignation, unhappiness. For one moment she thought he might roll away from her and leave off what he had started, and she was surprised to find that part of her was actually disappointed at the prospect. Then his expression turned determined and he said, "I was indeed drunk the day you arrived. Very drunk. The blacksmith insisted on it before pulling my tooth, but it was a singular occurrence. I do not usually drink."

Merry started to shake her head in disbelief and opened her mouth to tell him what she thought of that line, but he covered her mouth with one hand and said solemnly, "'Tis the truth. I am not sure what is happening, but I can a.s.sure you that I have not been drinking myself to drunkenness each night. In fact, the way you watch me, surely you have noticed that I have no more than one ale each night, and that twice these last weeks I have not had anything at all to drink, even mead during the meal, and yet am experiencing some slurring in my speech and disorientation."

Merry considered this silently. She had indeed noticed what, and how much, he was drinking, and had wondered over it briefly, but then had decided that he must have been drinking with the men before coming inside for the meal so that he was drunk before joining her at table. "Then what-?"

"I think I may be fighting off what the men have been suffering. 'Tis the only explanation I can come up with for the symptoms when I have not been drinking," Alex said solemnly, and then admitted a tad wryly, "At one point I thought perhaps someone was drugging my drink, but I did not drink at all for two nights and it changed nothing, so..." He shrugged helplessly. "Exhaustion and fighting off an illness seem the only reasonable explanation."

When her eyes narrowed at the suggestion, he added, "Merry, I realize you do not believe me. And I am not trying to convince you, I am just telling you what I think. Hopefully, this disorientation and slurring will pa.s.s now that the illness is pa.s.sing and I will return to normal. Just...give me a chance, Merry. Let me prove to you through my actions that I am neither a drunk nor the rough animal that I acted on our wedding night."

The words were not a plea, but a solemn request, and Merry stared at him silently, wishing there was more light in the room so that she might better see his expression. At table that night he had slurred and twice missed his mug when reaching for it. She had a.s.sumed that he was once again in his cups and yet he claimed he wasn't, and he had kissed her most thoroughly and there was no hint of alcohol on his breath. Besides, he had not been a rough animal on their wedding night as he had just said, so that part, she knew, was not true.

Merry peered at him for another moment, her thoughts in a whirl, but truly there was little to think about. He was her husband and as such had the right to her body when he chose. As for the rest of it, only time would tell if he was a drunk or not.

Letting her breath out slowly, she released her hold on his hand and forced some of the stiffness from her body, but that was the best she could do. The warm, fuzzy excitement he'd stirred had already died and she was now growing anxious at what lay ahead.

Alex seemed to realize this and didn't react to her silent acquiescence at first. When he slid his hand from between her legs, she thought he would roll over and leave her alone after all, but she was wrong. Instead, he shifted slightly to make room on the bed and then urged her onto her back.

Merry didn't resist, but allowed him to turn her over. However, her eyes were wary as she watched his head lower. When his mouth brushed over hers, she lay still, waiting, but he didn't deepen the kiss as he had the first time. Instead, his mouth trailed away across her cheek to her ear, and she blinked in surprise and clenched her fingers again as he began to nibble at her ear and neck, stirring a lazy excitement in her once more. So distracted was she by the reactions he was causing with the simple caress, it took Merry a moment to realize that his hand was moving again, running lightly along her hip and stomach. She had barely become aware of that soothing caress when his mouth returned to hers again. This time he brushed them lightly with his own once, twice, and then urged her lips open so that his tongue could explore.

Despite her worries about what sort of husband she had, Merry found herself melting under the combination. She was just about to kiss him back when his mouth drifted away and slid down along her throat to her collarbone. Merry turned her head to give him better access, and then bit her lip on a gasp when his hand found and began to caress her breast once more. It appeared her earlier excitement had not died as she'd thought, but the fire had merely been banked for their brief conversation. Now it flamed back to life wherever he touched and kissed her. Pleasure shivered across her collarbone and followed the trail of his lips as they moved over the mound of her breast. It then sparked white hot as his mouth closed over her nipple and he showed her that it was good for more than feeding babies.

Without realizing how it had happened, Merry found her fingers curled in his soft hair, holding his head close as he suckled at one breast. When his now displaced hand moved to the other breast and began to knead and squeeze there, she had to bite her lips hard to keep from moaning at the double a.s.sault. Nothing, however, could keep her body from arching and twisting beneath his ministrations.

By the time he finally raised his head and kissed her again, Merry's mind had given up her worries about her marriage and what sort of husband she had. This was all so new and overwhelming, she had trouble holding on to a thought, so simply let them go and kissed him back. She wasn't entirely sure she was doing it correctly, but emulated his actions to the best of her abilities and hoped that enthusiasm would make up for whatever she lacked in skill.

Alex's response was encouraging. He moaned into her mouth, and she felt his hand slide into her hair, holding her firmly and tilting her face as his kiss became harder and more demanding. Merry responded by opening her mouth further and clutching at his shoulders as her body began to quiver and cry for more. When she felt him shift and his leg slide between both of hers, she thought he would mount her then and instinctively opened her legs to make room for him, but that one leg was all he placed there. Merry was, at first, confused, but then he slid it up to rest against the very center of her and her hips bucked, pressing her against him as a fire burst to life there and began to grow with every movement of his leg.

He was still kissing her, and his hands had returned to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to find and tweak and pluck her nipples. The three things together had Merry in a tizzy of excitement, her body arching and twisting under the a.s.sault as she was driven toward something she didn't understand. Need was pulsing through her, making her crave an end to this madness and-forgetting about their wedding night-she reached instinctively for the hardness pressing insistently against her hip and grasped it, somehow knowing it could end this sweet torture.

Alex stiffened at her touch and broke their kiss on an alarmed gasp. He also reached down to catch at her hand. It was too late, her fingers were squeezing around his shaft and it responded as it had on their wedding night, thrusting in her grasp and-like a cow's udder-producing milk.

Merry stiffened, her eyes shooting to her husband's face even as he jerked and threw his head back with a shout that ended on a curse. It was the curse part that told her she had done something wrong, and Merry released him and bit her lip as she watched him in his throes. She very much feared she'd hurt him and silently berated herself for ruining what had been-up until then-a very exciting experience. And then Alex collapsed against her, his head buried in her shoulder as he regained his breath.

Merry lay still, afraid to move and ruin things further. When he finally lifted his head, she eyed him warily, sure he was about to give her h.e.l.l, but much to her surprise, the first words out of his mouth were an apology.

"I am sorry, Merry," he whispered with a wry shake of the head. "This has never happened to me before."

"'Tis I who should be sorry," Merry said quietly. "I didna mean to hurt ye."

His eyes widened slightly at her words. "Hurt me?" he asked with disbelief, and shook his head. "You did not hurt me. That was wonderful."

She must have looked as confused as this claim made her feel, because he shook his head, and then said, "I fear the excitement was too much for me. I have been sporting an erection ever since our wedding night and unable to do anything about it, and your touch..." He grimaced. "It was just too much. I should have warned you not to touch me, or-"

"Ye mean ye liked that?" she asked with amazement. "But ye looked to be in pain. I thought I'd-"

Alex silenced her with a kiss and then whispered, "Forgive me. I forget how innocent you are. I know your first time must have been painful and you probably think it was for me, too, but I will show you it does not have to be and that what I just experienced was anything but pain." He paused and offered her a wry smile and then added, "Unless you mean painfully embarra.s.sing. I have not given such a bad showing since my youth. But now that it is out of the way, I can concentrate on you."

Merry wasn't at all sure what he meant or how he could possibly claim it hadn't been painful. The man had been cursing but moments ago and she knew there was supposed to be blood. How could there be blood without pain? she wondered, but then her thoughts were distracted as he began to kiss her again. Despite his shout and cursing of a moment ago, there was no lack of ardor to his kisses, and Merry felt her own pa.s.sions shiver quickly back to life as he bombarded her senses. This time it was different. Where before Alex had seemed careful and almost tentative as if expecting her to pull away weeping for him to stop at any moment, this time he was a man on a mission, his concentration and determination apparently on the sole goal of driving her wild with desire.

Alex kissed her hard and eagerly even as he slid his hands to her shoulder and urged her up until she knelt on the bed before him, and then his hands were everywhere. They slid over her back, and then down her arms, and finally up to cup both her b.r.e.a.s.t.s at once. Merry immediately sat up a little straighter before him, a little gasp slipping from her lips as her b.r.e.a.s.t.s rose and pressed into his caress. In response, Alex merely kissed her more deeply, his fingers squeezing and kneading briefly before he broke their kiss to duck his head and catch one erect nipple in his mouth.

A gasp of surprise slipped from her lips, and Merry clutched at his head as his tongue rasped over the engorged nipple, lashing it in a way that made her toes curl where they rested beneath her bottom. Now free, the hand that had been at that breast immediately dropped to cup her bottom. He used that hold to urge her up so that she was upright on her knees, placing her breast at a more comfortable angle before him. Alex then pressed her lower body forward until her hips and pelvis pressed against his chest.

A little unbalanced, Merry grabbed at his head and shoulders and held on. Her breath was coming in little panting gasps as he laved and suckled her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, but it stopped briefly when his hand suddenly slid around and between her legs from behind to brush across the very center of her. When his fingers brushed over her a second time, her breath left her on a little puff of surprised excitement, and Merry found her nails digging into his flesh as he concentrated on driving her wild. Within moments her thighs were shaking and threatening to drop her, and her breathing was a frantic mix of gasps and pants and pleading mewls. This was a part of the bedding Edda had obviously forgotten to mention, and Merry was almost relieved she had. For surely she would have been much more upset with him on their wedding night had she realized what he was depriving her of when he'd knocked himself out.

Alex nipped gently at her nipple, not enough to hurt, but enough to draw her attention back to him and away from her thoughts. Merry lowered her head to peer at him, surprised to see his eyes open and watching her. Apparently, he'd seen her brief distraction and hadn't liked it. She opened her mouth to explain, but the moment she did, Alex released the nipple from his mouth and surged upward to claim her. He had to retrieve his hand from between her legs to do so, and Merry felt a moment's disappointment, but then his hand slid between them to work their magic from the front, sliding urgently over her slick, swollen flesh as he kissed her.

Merry groaned and gasped into his mouth, her hips instinctively thrusting forward. Her eyes popped open with surprise when she reached down to his hip for balance, misjudged, and her hand brushed against a hardness between them. It seemed her husband was excited again, she realized, and then gasped in surprise as he released the hold he had on her head to catch her hand and twist it behind her bottom. The action was to keep her from touching him again, she realized as Alex used their entwined hands to press her bottom farther forward so that her upper body was leaning backward under his and her hips were pushing forward, urging her into his touch. He had her totally in his control now, and Merry found it all a bit overwhelming and almost frightening as her body roiled with the desire he was building in her. A long line of tension seemed to run between her mouth under his and the spot where his hand worked so feverishly and it was growing tighter by the moment. She knew it would soon break and feared what she did not know would happen. At the same time, her body craved it like a starving man craved food. It left her struggling in mind and body, her hips thrusting into his touch while at the same time twisting in an effort to try to escape the caress.

Alex ignored her struggles and answered her thrusts with a more urgent caress that almost made her dizzy with excitement, and then he slid a finger inside her and Merry went still with shock at the alien invasion. In the next moment, she screamed out and jerked in his arms as the tension finally snapped and wave after wave of pleasure roared through her body, leaving her drowning under the foamy surface as he held her.

Merry was vaguely aware when Alex broke their kiss, pressed a gentle kiss to her nose, and then eased her to lie back on the furs on the bed, but her mind was rather taken up with the sensations still pulsing through her. She paid a little more attention, however, when he settled himself between her legs and she felt his hardness nudge where his hand had been moments ago.

She blinked her eyes open and peered at him a bit blankly, wondering what he intended next, and he smiled at her expression.

"See, that was not painful, was it?" he asked softly.

Merry shook her head lethargically from one side to the other, now understanding that the shout and curse had not been because she'd hurt him. On the other hand, it had been much easier for her to make him cry out than for him to make her scream. That was an observation she would have liked to think about, but Alex was speaking again.

"And this next will not hurt, either, now that the first time is out of the way," he a.s.sured her.

Merry's mind cleared abruptly as she realized what he meant to do next and that the first time wasn't out of the way at all. She opened her mouth to explain what had happened on their wedding night, but instead screamed in shock as he suddenly plunged into her, definitely tearing through the maiden's veil.

Alex stilled at once, shock on his own face. He stared at her a moment and then started to withdraw, but she grabbed at his hips to keep him in place for fear of the pain it might cause. The slight movement before she made him stop didn't cause pain, but the way he rubbed against her as he shifted surprised her by sparking her excitement again. Merry avoided the questions in his eyes by glancing down their bodies and then shifted her hips cautiously. Once again there was no pain but a trembling excitement building back to life within her as their angle made him rub against her again.

"Stop moving, Merry, or I'll not be responsible for-" His words ended on a gasp as she shifted beneath him again. Not only did her excitement pulse more sharply through her, but Merry was sure that he grew harder inside her. She raised her gaze to see that his eyes were now squeezed closed as if he was in pain, and his face looked tense.

Curious, Merry shifted her hips again, this time drawing a groan from his lips and forcing his eyes back open.

"Wife," he breathed in warning, but it was a warning she chose not to heed. Merry shifted beneath him again, raising her knees on either side of his hips so that she could tilt her hips more and make him surge into her. That was all it took. Alex's control snapped like a twig. A low growl slid from his lips and then he was raising himself up to kneel between her legs, taking her with him so that she found herself sitting facing him in his lap, her legs around his hips and his body filling her so completely she thought she might split from it.

"What-?" Merry began with confusion, unsure what she was to do in this position, or any position really, and then he clasped her by the bottom and raised her slightly and she breathed, "Ohhh" as his shaft slid partway out of her before he lowered her again and filled her once more.

Alex did this several more times, the angle rubbing him against the nub of her excitement, and then suddenly he laid her back on the bed. He immediately followed her down so that he could drive himself into her more easily. Merry had no idea what she was supposed to be doing, but dug her heels into the bed and arched herself into his thrusts, her hands moving down to clasp his behind and urge him on as he drove them both back to, and over, the brink once more.

chapter Six.

O ur wedding night."

Merry slowly opened her eyes to find herself peering at her husband's chest. She didn't fully recall how she had ended up there. While her mere touch had made him spill his seed earlier, once he'd gone hard again, he'd stayed hard a very long time and proven a vigorous lover. By the time Alex had screamed out his satisfaction, she'd found her own at least three more times herself and had been barely conscious when he'd rolled off her. She supposed he must have then pulled her to rest on his chest. Now she raised her eyes slowly to his face and took in his grim expression. It appeared to be time for explanations.

"On our wedding night," she began, and then paused as his eyes sharpened on her. This was probably going to annoy him, she knew. After all, he-and everyone else-had seen the blood on the sheets and jumped to the conclusion that he'd been overly rough. She truly should have explained matters to him sooner, but- "Merry," he growled.

Grimacing, she lowered her eyes to his chest and began to toy with the hair there as she quickly explained, "When everyone left our room that night, they didna close the door properly. Ye got up to close it, stumbled on yer clothes on the way back, hit yer head on the bed and knocked yerself out."

"I did?" he asked with surprise.

"Aye." Merry nodded solemnly and then rushed on, "I kenned they'd come searching fer the bed linens in the morn and ye were unable to...er..." She shrugged and then continued, "So I cut meself and smeared blood on the linens."

"All that blood was from a cut?" he asked, actually sounding more dismayed now.

Merry nodded warily, and then gasped with surprise as he suddenly whirled her onto her back on the bed and shifted to kneel beside her, his gaze scouring her naked body.

"Where is this cut?"

Merry grimaced but raised one knee, making more of her injured leg visible. Her husband's eyes immediately shot to her thigh and widened with horror.

"Dear G.o.d, woman! What did you do? Stab yourself with a sword?"

Alex was now bending over to look more closely at the remnants of the cut, so missed the face she made at him. It had been three weeks. The wound was healed and now just a scar, a rather large and ugly scar, unfortunately, but a scar just the same. One that was more likely to remind her of this night than their wedding night, she suspected, as his fingers moved gently over the healed wound, sending a shiver up her back.

Trying to ignore that his face was down between her legs, Merry cleared her throat and explained, "I didna ken how much blood breaching a veil would cause and thought overdoing it was better than underdoing it."

Alex's head suddenly swiveled, his eyes stabbing her with accusation. "And you let me think I had caused all that blood on our wedding night?"

Merry bit her lip. "I would have explained, but ye always seemed drunk and-"

Her words died when he raised a hand for silence. A moment pa.s.sed when she suspected he was too furious to speak, but after a moment he ran a weary hand through his hair and shifted to sit at the head of the bed, his back against the wall. Alex then caught her by the waist and lifted her to sit in his lap. Merry peered down at her hands and waited, unsure if he was angry or not. His voice did not sound angry, however, when he asked, "Did I hurt you very badly?"