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He had to show her how marvelous this could be.

It started when his hand moved to the dark curls between her legs. She was quivering, her body instinctively hot for him. Titus gently inserted a finger into her virginal passage, and Esme was so wet that there was no pain or tightness at all. In fact, she groaned softly and brought her knees up, reacting to his touch, opening her legs wide for the primal mating ritual to begin.

Realizing that she was ready for his entry, Titus could no longer refrain from claiming her. Lifting himself up, Titus’ lips found Esme’s mouth once again as he carefully guided his manhood into her tender, virginal walls.

Thrusting gently with his hips, he seated himself halfway on the first thrust and completely on the second. Beneath him, Esme gasped softly at the sensation of his enormous member inside her, but so distracted by his sweet kisses and the feel of his body that all she could do was encourage him. It was the most natural of things, his body buried deeply within her as it was always meant to be.

Esme was so highly aroused by Titus’ touch that by the third or fourth thrust, she cried out at the thrill of a climax. Titus could feel her wet heat throbbing around him, milking him for his seed, and it was a struggle not to answer.

He would, but not now.

At the moment, he simply wanted to savor their first coupling.

It was more than he had ever dreamed of, her heated, wet body responding to his as he’d never known a woman to respond in his entire life. He wanted to experience her, just a little, before succumbing to the inevitable.

His thrusts were measured and deep as he held Esme’s pelvis against his, his mouth on her lips. As he continued making love to her, he could feel another climax wash over her and still another. Esme was gasping beneath him as if she couldn’t breathe, her body stiffening as wave after wave of rapture coursed through her.

Finally, Titus allowed himself to climax, filling her womb with his hot seed. Even after he released himself, he continued to grind his pelvis against hers and felt her ripple with climaxes. He’d lost count after the first few. His hands and mouth were all over her flesh, her breasts and shoulders, and anything else he could manage to touch.

As he lay on top of her, still joined to her body, he knew that this had been the most miraculous experience of his life. He’d had women before. But until now, he’d never really understood what it was like to experience the act as it was meant to be. Before, it was simply about satisfying an urge.

But now… now, it was about expressing love.

Nothing he had ever sampled had ever come close.

“I love ye, Sweet Bee,” he whispered. “Ye’re my everything, sweetheart. Never forget that.”

Exhausted and overwhelmed, Esme opened her mouth to reply but ended up dissolving into tears. Concerned, Titus lifted his head to look at her, but she covered her face with her hands. Worried, he held her close.

“What is wrong?” he whispered. “Did I hurt ye?”

She wept softly, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer. “Nay,” she said, kissing his chin. “You did not hurt me. Not at all. I just never knew this would be so beautiful. You are everything to me, too, Titus. You always will be.”

Her words filled him. Such simple words, but of tremendous impact. It was a moment he wanted to live in forever, a world where he was loved and wanted. A world away from the halls of Culroy and the Fields of Mars.

This was his world, with Esme, and he would never leave it.

They slept.

CHAPTER TWENTY

“They departed and I saw them head down the hill, but they’ll be back. I can feel it.”

Clegg was standing with Axel at the gatehouse of Caelian Hill, listening to the man’s report as the sun began to rise in the east. The clouds from the night’s storm had rolled out, leaving a pastel sky and a glorious landscape.

A new day was coming.

So was a new challenge.

“We have had times when guests and patrons have become a nuisance,” Clegg said. “But I agree with you, Axel. Ayr and his son will return. At first, I felt it for Titus, but now I feel it for Esme. I told Titus to marry the woman and he did.”

“Just now?”

“Just now,” Clegg confirmed. “He has asked to be moved south with his new wife, and I have decided to move him to The Tri at Berwick, as far away as possible from Ambrose Stewart and his appalling son.”

Axel nodded. “I will prepare an escort if that is your wish,” he said. “But I would suggest we move them out quickly.”

Clegg nodded. “Agreed,” he said. “This morning, in fact. But until they are clear of The Cal, it is my sense that they must be protected. Axel, I want you to tell Cam and Brody what we are doing. Have them create a group of elite warriors willing to protect Titus and Esme while they remain here and until we can move them out of Scotland. I suspect Ayr is only after Esme at this point, and if he is able to get his hands on her, we will lose Titus. And I do not want to lose him, because where he goes, his friends will go, and we will have a mess on our hands.”