Dark Enchantment (33 page)

He dropped her hand and took a step back. “The door’s there. Leave if you wish. But do it now. Once our people are wed and the union consummated, we’re like the wolf. We mate for life.”

Her eyes widened. “There’s no divorce?”

His head tilted and he considered her, his gaze pensive. “There’s no need. By sharing our bodies, our minds in the marriage bed, we become bound together spiritually as well as physically. Afterward, there’s no desire to part from one another.
Ever.”

Her heart was thundering in her chest, her breath coming in short, hyperventilated gasps. Just how fickle was the institution of marriage, as she had known it? Couples spoke vows promising “until death do us part” once, twice, three times or more in a lifetime. So, the question was: Was she ready to make a truly lifelong commitment to this man? Did she love him that much?

Oh, yes,
her heart cried out.
Absolutely.

She connected with eyes of sibilant green, his gaze flashing with the knowledge of her frenzied thoughts. Her doubts. And then, finally, her acceptance of him as her husband, her mate for life.

But a fear of the unknown lingered. The man she loved, her husband, was a being from another world, another reality. What did that mean? Who was he, really?
What
was he?

He smiled. “I’m a man,
a mhuirnín
. The man who’ll protect and provide for you forever. The man who will be taking you to his bed tonight.”

The blatant carnality of his words brought a rush of need Arianna had never experienced. She groaned low in her throat. Something inside her had changed, subtly altered. Her inexperience had earlier had her fearing the dangerous edge of this unpredictable man. But no more. It was as if she were connecting now with a part of her feminine nature she had never known. A part that gloried at the thought of his unleashed passion, craved the resounding snap as he lost control.

Through the lust-tinged haze, however, Arianna still had reservations. Her enhanced sense of being notwithstanding, tonight was to be her first time with a man. So no matter how that newly acknowledged part of her yearned to know the fierceness of her husband’s desire for her, her little mortal half needed to trust him to exercise restraint.

It was her insistence on seeing Damien again that had set them at loggerheads. In the new relationship they were embarking upon, they were both hiking through uncharted territory. She, having been thrust into a life, a world her rational mind had yet to even comprehend, let alone fully accept.

Caleb, on the other hand, had been sucked into a whirling vortex of human emotion—love, protectiveness,
jealousy
—the rawness of which he had never experienced before.

Arianna smiled to herself. She could fix this. “Don’t you know it’s always been you for me, Caleb.” she whispered. “Always. Only you. Come look. See.” Stripping her mind of all barriers, she invited him into the very essence of her being. She offered herself to him—mind, body, and soul given freely and without reservation.

Chapter Thirty-four

T
hough she was fully clothed, his wife stood before him naked. She had torn away every shield, every veil, every covering. Caleb’s eyes softened. “I’m incredibly humbled by your generosity,
a ghrá,
” he murmured. “And surprised by your remarkable bravery. Particularly as I’ve been behaving myself like a complete horse’s arse tonight.”

His shuddering breath told her that her guileless invitation, her acceptance of who and what he was, had healed some wounded part of him. By allowing him unconditional access to every corner of her mind, she had demonstrated, without words—in the most intimate way possible—not only her trust in him, but also the irrepressible nature of her love.

Her candor had revealed that, while she cared for this friend, Damien, they had never been lovers. Nor had she shared her body with any other man. She came to him, her husband, tonight a virgin. Her innocence a gift she had reserved for him alone.

He touched his forehead to hers. “How will you ever put up with me,
mo chroí
?”

She leaned back and gave him an impish smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll manage to get you whipped into shape eventually.”

He didn’t return her smile, but instead, deliberately held her gaze. “Now, you look, love of my heart. And See.” Repeating her own words back to her, he opened his mind to her, teaching her their ways. Drawing her gently inside himself, he knew that one glimpse of his heart and soul would reveal the truth of his staggering love for her.

Love.
And he, a man who had believed himself incapable of such
mortal
emotion, he thought with a wry smile.

But there was more to this sharing of souls between husband and wife, an unexpected benefit one might say. Through their mental connection, she also experienced the incredible power of his arousal, his physical need for her intermingling with hers for him. And as her woman’s flesh softened, melted, in preparation to receive him, he shared the experience, his own body growing painfully hard in response.

Caleb kissed her breathless, then looked down at her. “I’m going to love you now,” he murmured, his voice soft but firm. “I’ll try to temper the passion for your first time,
a ghrá
. I’ll try to be gentle.”

Just as he’d skimmed the fact of her virginity from her subconscious, she’d
seen
his concern that he would be too rough with her. That the weeks of sexual frustration prodding his wild and untamed nature might have shredded his self-control.

“I don’t recall asking you for
gentle
,” Arianna whispered as she stepped into him, molding her soft curves against the hard musculature of his body. “I want you, just as you are. All of you.” She moved her hips in a wanton invitation. “And I want you now.”

A throaty, all-male chuckle rumbled from his chest as he bent and lifted her into his arms. “All of me,
a mhuirnín
? Well, we’ll just see about that.”

His mouth covered hers and, instantly, her consciousness seemed to fracture. Everything blinked out of existence, went totally black as if a fuse had blown. In the next instant, she was swallowed by a blinding burst of white light accompanied by a deafening roar. Like a tornado trapped in a wind tunnel. Or the rushing waters of a killer tsunami.

Then, as abruptly as the strange episode had begun, it was over. Deep down in the still functioning part of Arianna’s brain, the small segment not reduced to cinders by Caleb’s scorching kisses, came the foggy realization that she was no longer standing, but lying down.
Beneath Caleb
. Groaning, she ground her hips against the part of him she so desperately needed, her hands roaming his body, head thrashing back and forth on the pillow.

Pillow?
At once, her burned out brain cells did a double take. They were no longer in the study, but in his bedchamber on a bed the size of a football field.

But how? Teleportation?

She opened her eyes to find the room ablaze with candlelight. Exotic fragrances of frankincense and the applewood crackling in the hearth layered the air. The salt-scented mists rolling through the open window made the flickering flames of dozens of candles appear like ephemeral wisps of fine-spun gold. She felt as if she were floating in the clouds, carried along by the chords of the old Celtic melody playing softly in the background. The setting was ethereal, she thought
. Dreamlike.

Oh, God, no.
That would be too cruel. What if the flight home to the States had not been interrupted and she was actually back in Maine in her own bed fast asleep? What if all that had transpired between them today had been only another waking dream?

Caleb stopped kissing her neck, cradled her face in his hands. “Look at me, my love. ’Tisn’t a dream,
a ghrá
.”

“Thank
God
.” She blew out a breath as he kissed her nose. “I was afraid—“

“Sshh…” He interrupted the nervous flow of words by nipping at her lips. He teased her mouth with the tip of his facile tongue, even after she had opened for him. She raised her head, reaching for more, but he pulled back each time, tantalizing her. A low, male chuckle rumbled from his chest as she threaded her fingers through long, raven locks like watered silk and held his head in place. His hand slid inside the bodice of her dress as his tongue met her timid thrusts in an erotic dance as old as time itself.

She whimpered into his mouth as her avid hands got very bus, sliding beneath the hem of his sweater, moving over the warm, hard musculature of his back, then down, skimming the rich, woolen fabric of his trousers, kneading the taut male buttocks, the back of tightly muscled thighs….

She ached to acquaint herself with every inch of this man, who was now her husband. To unwrap the unlikely gift bestowed upon her this day by heaven above.

“What do you want,
mo chroí?”
he asked gently. “Tell me.”

“I want you naked,” she whispered, surprised at her boldness

“Allow me, then,” he said and closed his eyes.

She could feel the intoxicating ripple of unearthly power, an aura that seemed to exude from his every pore. A seductive force that alarmed, even as it thrilled.

It blew across her skin, a wave of energy, an electrically charged breath of air that resurrected the ghost of shadowy reminiscences, of erotic dreams shared. Interludes so fiery, so combustible, that just the memory of them had her body responding like a pile of dried timber struck by lightning.

Propped on his left arm, Caleb opened his eyes and gazed down at her. Her glance swept the length of his body. Totally and completely naked. “How did you…?”

“Lessons for another day. I’ve other things to teach you tonight, wife.” His voice pitched lower, raw and sensual. His hand, which was moving lazily over her hip, up and down her thigh, stopped. His head tipped, brow furrowed. “You’re looking a bit peaked.”

Arianna bit her lip and sighed. “It’s all been a lot to take in.”

His eyes softened. “You haven’t eaten. We’re in no rush, love. We’ve all night…a lifetime.”

“I really don’t want anything to eat.”

“I’ve an idea.” His eyes took on that sexy, mischievous look she loved. “We’ve strawberries and hot dipping chocolate to go with the champagne. I’ll be right back.”

He rose from the bed and crossed the room clad in nothing but frolicking shadows cast by the firelight…and his lusty intentions. Proudly, compellingly nude, he radiated an aura of unfettered sensuality, of raw male power. A whorl of hair dusted his chest, pointing the way downward to the straining rigidity of his erection. She had never seen a naked man in the flesh, much less one at the height of full arousal.
Impressive.

He was back in an instant, champagne flutes and a bottle of bubbly dangling from the fingers of one hand, in the other a basket of strawberries with a small pot nestled at its center. While they sipped champagne and talked, Caleb fed her strawberries dipped in hot fudge. The feeding grew more amorous as he licked the chocolate from her lips. Finally, setting the basket aside, he took her empty flute and placed it on the bedside table. Then he cleaned the stickiness from their hands with a warm, damp cloth that appeared from out of thin air.

“Come. Let me help you with your buttons,” he said, taking her hand and helping her down the wooden bed stairs. Standing splendidly naked in front of her, he tipped his head thoughtfully. And then, so lightly that not a single finger made contact with her dress, he swept his hand down the front of her.

And all the fastenings on the front of the garment slid obligingly out of the buttonholes. Arianna gasped. “Whoa….”

Caleb gave a satisfied chuckle as he parted the fabric, letting it slip off her shoulders and sigh into a shimmering heap on the floor. “Gorgeous.” His eyes heated with approval of the whisper of silk she’d been wearing beneath her dress. A study in seduction, the black teddy clung to every womanly curve and angle, yet tantalized with only a glimpse of the intriguing shadows outlined beneath.

“Turn around,” he ordered softly.

When she just stood there, gentle hands closed over her shoulders and he turned her to face away from him. He drew her into an embrace then, letting her become familiar with the hard male heat of him. “Close your eyes,
a ghrá.
Let yourself feel.”

His hands found her breasts, his mouth the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder met. She moaned as his fingers tugged on her nipples, tweaking them to hard peaks through the thin black silk. “Mmm…. You feel delicious,” he murmured in her ear, as his fingers moved the thin strips of lace off her shoulders. The skimpy scrap of fabric followed her dress into a pool of silk on the floor. “Your skin is like the petals of a rose. So soft. Your fragrance…” he said, breathing in. “Sure, it’s been driving me mad for years.”

He turned her to face him, nothing between them but a black satin thong and matching bra. “Ah, my love, you’ve been a torment these past weeks. Sweet, sweet torture.” His voice hoarse, his eyes burned a brand of possession on her quivering flesh. “I can scarce believe you’re finally mine.”

Arianna felt his hands skim her ribcage. He released the clasp of her bra, letting it slip forward, baring her breasts to his hungry gaze. “And you’re mine,” she whispered, her breath catching on a moan as he palmed her aching flesh, his thumbs drawing seductive circles over her sensitized areolas.

Arianna leaned into him, her body on fire, her soul overflowing with gratitude for the miracle that had been granted them. “I love you so much, Caleb, I feel like my heart is about to burst.” Her fingers mapped out the cut of his upper arms, measured the width of his broad shoulders. Then her open hand teased a flat brown nipple, before gliding over washboard abs. When her thumb dipped into his navel, she heard him swallow audibly. She reveled in his low growl as she went lower, forcing him to endure the exquisite torture of her tentative exploration of the wonders of the aroused male body.

He took her mouth, groaned into it as she stroked him clumsily. Growling, he covered her hand with his. Eyes closed, breath catching in short grunts, he taught her the pace of his pleasure.

“Enough now, love. Stop,” he rasped finally, peeling her hand away. “I’ve been insane with wanting you. I plan to make this last tonight, to love you long and hard.”

Lifting her, he parted her thighs and slid her legs around his waist, reaching behind him to lock her ankles across the top of his glutes. He moved his pelvis against her, matching the rhythm of his tongue inside her mouth.

Arianna pulled away from the kiss, panting. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, hands tangled in his hair, she met his thrusts, rubbing against the part of him she craved like a drug. “Caleb, please,” she whimpered. “I can’t stand it. I need you…
Now
.”

“Patience,
a ghrá,”
he admonished her, his voice revealing the strain of holding himself back. “A woman’s first time can be uncomfortable. I want you ready for me before I come in out of the cold.”

Arianna felt like screaming with frustration
.
She wanted to provoke the brutal carnality that he kept fettered. To unleash the savage, naked passion he was continuing to withhold from her. She wanted to taunt that sleek, feral beast set to pounce. To mate.

And then he was lifting her away from him. The high mattress pressed against her butt as he nudged her onto her back and followed her down, straddling her body. The rough hair of his inner thighs tickled her hips.

He should have been a musician, she thought airily. Because those talented fingers possessed the dexterity of a virtuoso. Plucking here, strumming there, he had every erogenous zone on her body humming with need. Then he turned her, positioning her on her stomach for his pleasure. She could feel the light prickle of chest hair against her back, the weight of his heavy maleness against her backside, as he leaned over her, stretching both of her arms above her head. She shivered with anticipation as he wrapped her fingers around the wooden slats on the headboard.

“Whatever I do to you, you’re not to move your hands,” he instructed in a low, husky voice that sent her senses reeling. “If you do, I’ll stop. Each time. And we’ll start all over again. The personal restraint will serve to enhance the pleasure,
a mhuirnín
. Make it more exquisite, more intense. Will you do that for me?”

“Mmm…” Though she couldn’t muster more than a groan of assent, she possessed, at least, the wherewithal to nod.

In her mind’s eye Arianna pictured the way she must appear to him, sprawled wantonly on her belly between her lover’s thighs. How incredibly
hot
it was. A sensory overload honed to a fever pitch by the knowledge that he was walking a fine line. That he could lose control. Or worse…. Stop what he was doing.

In a limp, lurid daze she obediently kept her hands wrapped around the wood. Not easy as, with lips and tongue and teeth, he nibbled and nipped, soothed and suckled his way down her sensitized spine, over her butt, the back of her thighs, behind her knees, her calves, all the way to her toes. “Caleb… Oh, yes…”