Hannah stared at Slain’s naked chest so close to her that if she puckered her lips she would kiss his hard flesh. It heaved in and out, his solid muscles rising and falling and, for a moment, a brief moment, no more than a blink, she thought she heard the mighty thumping of his heart.

She called on her courage—no—her stubborn foolishness. That was what her mum had called it one time when she was young and had climbed on a horse to ride it, to prove to her father she could do it. It was the first time and the last, she had seen any pride in her father’s eyes for her.

Whatever it was, courage or foolishness, she needed it now.

Hannah raised her head slowly and when her eyes met his dark ones, she stifled a gasp. Anger warred with passion in his dark depths and she wondered what had been the cause of his fury. It was, however, not the time to ask.

“Are you all right, husband?” she asked, hoping to remind him that she was his wife, Slain’s wife.

“Aye, wife, I will be as soon as you shed that nightdress.”

“Your hand,” she said, brushing his remark aside, and reached for it, but he pulled it away.

“Your nightdress… rid yourself of it.”

“Slain,” she said softly, hoping to wake that part of him that was her husband.

“Now!” he demanded and his hands went to his plaid and began to unfasten it.

With his shirt already off and his boots as well, he would be completely naked soon and he expected the same of her.

“If you leave it to me, I will rip it off you.”

Hannah had no doubt he would do just that, so she slipped the nightdress over her head and tossed it aside. It mattered not, since he had already seen her naked. At least that was what she told herself.

A chill sneaked in from somewhere or perhaps it was her courage waning that brought on the shiver that puckered her nipples and turned her skin to gooseflesh. Or was it the way her husband stood staring at her, his eyes slowly taking in all of her.

She felt vulnerable, much too vulnerable and she had felt that way far too much of late. Something inside her refused to allow herself to feel that way with her husband, for if she did so now, it might never change.

Hannah looked him in the eye and began to slowly let her eyes roam over him from top to toe, stopping in the most intimate of places longer than necessary, and finding herself growing quite aroused as she did. Her eyes returned to settle on his eyes and she thought she saw a spark of admiration there.

He stepped closer to her and leaned his face down near hers to whisper harshly, “Are you ready for the savage?”

She did not know where her response came from, but it flew from her mouth before she could stop it. “It is not if I am ready for the savage, but if the savage is ready for me.”

She threw her arms around his neck with a forceful lunge that sent her body slamming against his and if Slain did not throw his arm around her waist and steady them both with his strength they would have tumbled to the ground.

She captured his lips before he could say a word and her aggressive kiss fired his blood and turned his already hard manhood, the results of his eyes lingering on her gorgeous naked body, even harder. She tasted and demanded of him as if she would never be satisfied, and he fed her hunger as well as his own.

He kept his arm snug around her waist and brought his other hand to the back of her head, holding it firm, not letting her move it, keeping her lips locked to his. He maneuvered them toward the bed, stepping back while keeping her tight against him, the feel of her hard nipples digging into his chest, poking, igniting, and firing his loins.

When his leg hit the side of the bed, he tore his mouth away from hers, scooped her up, and dropped her down on it. He was stunned when she spread her arms and legs, welcoming him as he lowered himself down over her.

She showed no fear of him, not an ounce, and she wanted him as badly as he wanted her. His manhood ached for satisfaction, but it was the strange feeling that gripped his heart that he noticed more.

He could easily love this woman.

Not now, not yet, he silently warned himself, but knew the warning did little good.

He took her lips this time, in a kiss so demanding it would frighten most women, but not Hannah, she returned it with a demand of her own. He slipped off to rest at her side so that his hands could touch her, explore her, caress every intimate part of her.

Her hand was quicker, running eagerly down his chest and he jumped when she grasped his manhood, then began to stroke it, as if she was not only familiarizing herself with it but laying claim to it.

What amazed him even more was that he felt her chuckle when he jumped, yet she never broke their kiss. It actually intensified.

He was the one who finally ended their kiss, much to her annoyance, though once he began feasting on one of her nipples that changed and her moans of pleasure heightened his own. He rolled his tongue across the tight little bud and tugged at it with his teeth, eliciting moans and squirms from her.

Though he loved her touching him, he was relieved when her hand fell off his manhood and gripped his arms. If she had continued, he would have climaxed much too soon and that was not what he wanted.

He wanted to slowly enjoy every inch of his wife and seal their union, securing her as his wife forever.

His hand drifted down along her flat stomach, her skin so smooth and soft that he never wanted to stop touching her. And when his hand slipped between her legs to find her wet and ready for him, he almost surrendered to his urgent need.

“Slaaaain,” she moaned his name, though it sounded more as if she begged.

Hannah had never expected to find coupling so intensely pleasurable, though she did not think it would be that way with anyone other than Slain. That she had lost her heart to this man was now obvious to her. She could never lay naked like this, be stroked and kissed so intimately by anyone but Slain.

She trusted him. She trusted him more than she had ever realized.

“Slaaaain,” she moaned again as his fingers found their way inside her and his thumb brushed the nub hiding in her nest of red hair between her legs. The more he stroked her, the more she moaned, the more her pleasure grew.

His mouth left her nipple and moved down along her heated skin and the further down his kisses went, the louder her moans grew. When his tongue flicked across her hidden gem, her body arched and he quickly spread her legs and settled his face between them.

What he did to her next had her definitely thinking him a savage, for he tasted, nipped, and licked, his hands firmly clasped to her backside so she could not move or writhe or even breathe the pleasure was that intense. And if that was what the savage would do to her in his bed, she would welcome him every time.

“Slaaain!” she pleaded with an aching whimper.

He heard her pleading ache, felt it himself, but she tasted like no other woman, sweet as well as potent, a perfect blend that was irresistible.

“Ohhh!” she cried and squirmed, desperately trying to free her bottom from his grip.

She was near to climax and he wanted to be inside her when she did. He moved up and over her, his arm going around her waist to lift her up along the bed until her head rested on a pillow. Then he lowered himself to hover over her, her legs already spread in eager anticipation of him. His manhood was so hard it was easy to slip it between her legs and push the tip gently into her.

Hannah’s moan was more a sigh and she arched her back, wanting more of him.

He pushed further in and she arched higher against him and he slipped deeper in her. She was so wet, yet so snug, and so welcoming. He pushed further in with a bit more force and he stopped when she gasped.

“I hurt you?” he asked, appalled at the thought.

She shook her head, her red hair flaming from the fire’s light. “No. No. Do not stop. Please do not stop.”

He realized he had hit her maidenhead and it was tight. He did not want to hurt her, but it was better done fast or so he had been told since he had never coupled with a virgin.

“Hold onto my arms tight,” he ordered. “It will be over quick.”

Her eyes flew open wide, a spark of concern in them. “I do not want it quick. I want this pleasure to last.”

He could not help but smile. “It is your maidenhead I must take quick. As for your climax, I will see you have more than one.”

Hannah grabbed his arms, loving the feel of his strong hard muscles. “My maidenhead is for you to take, husband, but I beg you do not stop once you do.”

Damn, if her words did not have his manhood throbbing unmercifully, and with one swift thrust he drove into her and he almost stopped when she cried out, but she shook her head and locked her legs around him and tightened her hold on his arms.

He kept a steady rhythm for a few moments to let her accept the fit of him, then he increased it again and again and again, until their bodies pounded against each other.

Hannah gripped his arms tighter and tighter as pleasure mounted throughout her body. It grew and grew and grew with every thrust and so did her moans. Until… her whole body burst with the most exquisite sensation and she shouted out, “Slaaaaain!”

Slain did not stop. He would come, but not just yet. He would see her come again before he did.

Hannah’s moans turned soft, the exquisite pleasure beginning to fade when suddenly it sparked again and she turned wide eyes on her husband.

“You will come again for me, wife.”

She nodded and smiled and her moans began again until once again she burst with pleasure, and he joined her, surprised at the strength of his own climax. It gripped him and rolled through him with an intensity he had never felt before or satisfied like ever before.

After he was completely spent, he moved off her to lay beside her and took her hand in his, and he liked that she curled her fingers around his, not ready to let go of him. His breathing had yet to calm as well as his heart, it thumped a mighty beat, and there was something else. Something he wanted to ignore but was having difficulty doing so.

His wife had actually calmed the savage in him. She had chased away the fury that had raged like a violent storm ready to ravage the land, and what had she used to combat it?

Love.

Impossible. She did not love him. She was being a dutiful wife.

He almost chuckled aloud. It had not felt like duty. It had felt like she could not get enough of him. That she wanted him with as much desire as he did her. Or was it that he wanted to believe that someone would break past the savage within him and love him… all of him?

Hannah rolled on her side, slipping her leg over his, resting her arm across his chest, and placing her head on his shoulder with a contented sigh. She looked up at him. “Can we do this again tonight?”

Once again Hannah left Slain speechless. It took him a moment to push aside his shock, then he gathered his wife in his arms, kissed her lips lightly, and said, “We can do it as often as you want.”

He was startled again when she turned a joyous smile on him, though worried when it was suddenly replaced by a frown. “I will not wear you out, will I?”

He could not help but laugh, a deep resounding laugh.

She jabbed him in the side. “I am serious.”

Her curt tone and scrunched brow told him she was very serious and though he could not keep the smile and light chuckle from his words, he reassured her. “Trust me, wife, when I tell you that you will not wear me out.”

Her smile returned. “Good, I will move my things in here in the morn.”

He would love to have her share his room, sleep with her, couple endlessly with her, but there were other things he needed to consider.

She spoke before he could. “It would be foolish for me to remain in the other room and make so many trips back and forth throughout the night.”

He smiled at the thought, but being more experienced than her knew that was unlikely, though he would not discourage her. “A wise decision,” he said, realizing too late he should not have agreed, but then he was better off knowing where she would be since she could be too curious for her own good.

Hannah yawned, feeling more comfortable and comforted in his arms than she had ever been. Or had it been from making love with her husband? She wanted to believe it was their joining that had brought her a satisfaction and comfort she had never known. She wanted to believe that Slain cared for her, could possibly love her, since she knew without a doubt that she loved him. How impossible it might seem, she loved Slain, and she wanted desperately to spend the rest of her life with him.

Regret poked at her, not for making love with him, but for not telling him who she was before they did. Now their vows were sealed and there was a chance his seed could take root in her, a thought that thrilled her. But would he be as thrilled when he found out who she was? She had to tell him. She could not wait any longer. Not now, though. She did not want to ruin this night with him. Tomorrow would be time enough.

She yawned and shivered, a slight chill running over her. She tightened her hold on her husband when he went to move. “Where are you going?”

“To stoke the fire and then get us snug under the blankets, a storm brews outside.” He kissed her cheek and slipped out of bed as reluctant to leave her, as she was to let him go.

Hannah remained on her side, her head resting on her arm as she watched her husband tend the fire. She kept her eyes fixed on him. She wanted to tuck this moment away in her memory and have it there to recall, should this be the last time they shared such a precious moment. She did not want to think that way, but after the last few months of hell, the healer’s words to her mum had proven all too true… life was unpredictable. She did not know what tomorrow would bring, she only hoped she would share it and all the days to follow with Slain.

She stretched her arms out to him as he approached the bed and her heart swelled at his smile and the look of affection in his eyes, the fury that had raged in them before completely gone.

He tucked her against him close after covering them with the warm wool blanket.

“You will share the morning meal with me?” she asked.

“Aye,” he said, softly and found himself looking forward to it. He wished he could spend more time with her, but there were important matters for him to see to. His months of planning would finally see fruition and he could let nothing stand in the way, not even his wife.

Over the morning meal, Hannah planned to confess her identity and be done with it, and see if it would change anything between them. Tonight she would enjoy every moment with her husband and pray that tomorrow changed nothing.

She turned sleepy eyes on him and saw that his eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted, a soft breath coming from them. She eased her head up and pressed a faint kiss on his lips, not wanting to wake him and let a soft whisper spill from her lips, “I love you, Slain, and always will.”

With her head settled on his chest and her body tucked close against him, she drifted off in a peaceful sleep.

Slain opened his eyes after her body went limp against his in sleep.

She loved him.

Her words thrilled him and worried him. Now was not the time to have someone fall in love with him or for him to fall in love. She could be used against him and he would kill, as he had done, anyone who dared harm Hannah. If he had not owed a debt, he would not have wed, not now. To have wed Hannah to settle a debt was not fair to her, though honesty had him admitting that the debt had been an excuse to have what he wanted… Hannah.

The night he had saved her from that fall, stripped her of her worn garments, he knew he wanted her. The more he came to know her, the more she intrigued him, the more he wanted to know.

Not the time for love.

His mum had enjoyed telling him how she had helplessly fallen in love with his father and always finished with, love arrives when it wants, but it is up to you if it stays.

There was not a shred of doubt in his mind that he wanted Hannah to stay.

He would have to be more cautious in his plans and once it was done, once he stripped Ross MacFillan of everything just as Ross had done to his father and see that miserable, lying step-son of his dead, then, and only then, could he start a life with Hannah.

His eyes drifted closed, though sometime in the middle of the night he woke too Hannah stroking his manhood. It was a quick joining, since she had turned him so hard. His need could not wait and either could hers.

He woke her next, teasing her nipples with his tongue while his fingers pleasured her.

It was another quick joining since Hannah pushed him on his back and climbed on top of him. He helped her ride him, but when her climax drew near, he took charge, lifting her off him to drop on her back and spread her legs to enter her, her protests turning to moans as he thrust into her eagerly.

Sleep wasted no time in claiming them again and even the slashing rain and wind pounding at the windows did not wake them.

Hannah stretched herself awake and winced at the soreness between her legs, then smiled thinking it had been worthwhile. She turned, reaching for her husband’s warm body and found the bed empty.