“Ah, weel, best we get some sleep as I feel we will have a lot to do come the morning.”
David stood up and went to the door to set the plates and tankards outside. To his delight one of the serving maids was there collecting other things set outside the doors, and he requested the full breakfast for two in the morning plus a small jug of cider for the night.
She returned with an admirable speed, so he gave her a coin in thanks, and he set the jug and small tankards on the table. Her prompt cheerfulness was quickly explained when she made it clear she thought they were Camerons. David did not correct her because he did not want their real names mentioned where Robert might overhear.
Locking the door securely, he stripped off his clothes, washed up with the water and cloth left out for guests, and then went to the bed. He kicked at Niall, who was taking up more than his share of the bed, and then settled down. It was going to be a long night, he decided. He had too many questions and no answers. David knew they would prey on his mind for most of the night. It was time for them to find out the fate of Aunt Maggie and then get home.
*
Mora was just climbing into bed when Gybbon slipped into her room. She just smiled and he began to strip out of his clothing. Although she knew it was bold, she could not stop watching as he undressed. He truly was a fine-looking man. Lean yet well-muscled and all of it covered in smooth, slightly swarthy skin with only a few scars.
When he was naked, and she was trying very hard not to stare at his groin, he reached out and yanked off her shift. Mora squeaked and slid down beneath the covers. Her sudden attack of shyness faded when he grabbed hold of her and held her close.
Leaning into him, she decided she really liked the two of them sharing a bed. He was warm and the sound of his breathing or his heart beating was comforting. She knew what they did was wrong, but she simply could not find the heart to care.
Gybbon doubted she had any idea of how badly he wanted her. He was very pleased that she had not backed away after their last time together, but welcomed him into her arms again. As he smoothed his hands over her slight yet temptingly curvy shape, he kissed her and kept kissing her until she got that faintly dazed look in her eyes that he liked.
Nudging her onto her back, he began to kiss her breasts. Plump and soft, they filled his palms, her nipples growing hard and inviting quickly. He took one into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue and sucking on it. Mora made a noise and arched into him. He kept at her until she began to writhe beneath him, then began to kiss his way down to her stomach.
Mora threaded her fingers in his hair and tried not to pull on it. She pushed away a touch of fear of how much of her he was seeing and concentrated only on how he made her feel. Then he kissed the inside of her thigh and she shuddered. The feel of his hair brushing against her groin was similar to a light caress and she closed her eyes, promising herself that she would not consider what he was doing or seeing but just enjoy what he was making her feel, how his kisses made her blood run hot, and how his touch made her breathing grow shaky. Then he kissed the red curls between her thighs and her body jerked in shock, but before she could react and push him away, he tightened his hold on her thighs slightly and began to torment her with his tongue.
When he kissed her there as if he was kissing her mouth, she felt her body begin to tremble faintly. Mora remembered that from the last time he had bedded her. She knew she was nearing the edge of that fall that had left her panting and weak. She called his name and realized she was whispering, but the way he began to kiss his way back up her body told her he had heard her.
Finally, he pressed his forehead to hers and eased himself inside her. “Pain?” he asked.
“Nay. None.”
“Ye have no soreness?”
“Nay. None,” she said, and reached down to clasp him by the buttocks and push him toward her.
He chuckled and began to move. Mora wrapped her arms and legs around him and held on tight. Gybbon kissed her even as he began to move harder and faster. Mora decided she loved the feel of him moving inside her, even loved the feel of holding him as they were both naked. It was odd for she was actually very modest, had always been so. Then that feeling that she suspected she could come to want all the time started to sweep over her and she tightened her hold even more, rising to meet him, and he thrust hard a few times until she cried out.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the strange rush of feeling in her thighs and the release of the tense ache low in her belly. Her grip on him eased as it all slowly slid away leaving her warm and content. Releasing him when he slipped away, she then tensed as he returned to wash her off. Placing her hands over her face, she attempted to just ignore that very practical act after such pleasure.
Gybbon got into bed and pulled her into his arms. “Dinnae fret so, sweetling. ’Tis better to do that than to just lie about in the mess.”
“One shouldnae have to consider mess after such a thing.”
“Few things in life dinnae have some mess,” he said, and nuzzled the side of her neck. “One of those hard facts of life. We are a messy lot, we people.”
“Sad. I dinnae understand any of this anyway, so I shall take your word for it.”
“Thank ye.”
She patted his chest. “Ye are welcome.” She smiled when he laughed, then blushed because she suddenly had a question she was not sure she should ask. “Is what ye did, weel, normal?” She ignored his choked laughter.
“Aye. Why?”
She shrugged and began to lightly stroke his belly. “I was just curious. I also wondered if it is done to men.”
His entire body tensed. “Aye, in a way. Some men with a wife back home try to claim it is nay being unfaithful to have a woman do that instead of making love to them.”
“I doubt the wife thinks so. I saw an army once and I saw the wagons following it. The hard women always follow the army. My mother used to cluck and condemn them, nay because of what they did to make a living but because they did it with husbands. I did wonder at the time if my da was one of the husbands she thought of, but I didnae ask.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“Aye. I dinnae think I really wanted to ken anyway. Then Da would have just been a mon instead of Da, if that makes any sense.”
“It does. Suddenly he has all the faults of any mon, is nay better than the cooper down the road.”
Mora nodded as she gently caressed him down his chest and over his taut belly, inching ever closer to his groin. Then taking a deep breath, she slipped down that little bit more and lightly grasped him in her hand. He jerked but did not pull away.
As she thought of doing what he had done, he kissed her and Mora knew she could do it. She might not do it well, but she could try. The moment his kiss ended she began to kiss her way down his body. She could feel him tensing beneath her and prayed it was not because she was doing something wrong. When she reached her goal she ran her tongue over him and he groaned. Taking that as approval, she continued, even slipping her hand between his legs to caress that other part of him. As curious as she was interested in giving him pleasure.
When she kissed the top he caught her head in his hands and suddenly he was in her mouth. Her shock came and went quickly and she began to imitate his movements in her body. Then she gasped when he grabbed her foot and swung her around so that he could torment her again. When that feeling began to sweep over her again, she gasped, and then he tossed her to her back, plunging into her with no hesitation. Mora sat, then took his hint when he grabbed her by the hips and began to move her. She rode him and was soon rising to those strange heights all over again.