Highland Games

Chapter Seven

 Sometime later when the sun had disappeared from the sky and been replaced by the moon and her stars, I found myself lying in James' bed, his arm wrapped tightly against my waist. His lips gently brush against my shoulder before trailing up my neck, his warm breath dancing across my skin. I melt into his touch, letting him pull me closer to him, until there was no space between him and I. 

"What are you thinking about my love," he whispers into my ear, before his lips find my skin again. My breath catches in my throat as his lips begin to slide down my spine, as one of his hands brushes up my thigh, his callouses rough against my delicate skin. "Or have I rendered you speechless," I can feel his smirk grow against my skin, instantly causing the hairs on my arm to stand up. 

Longing for his lips to be on mine again, I roll onto my back as I reach for his face, needing for him to mold himself against me. The second our lips meet I find myself wondering why they had ever separated in the first place. How could I ever stand in the same room as him again and not have him be this close? 

I go to run my hands through his hair, but just as my hands reach the base of his neck, there is a sharp knock at the door. Much to my displeasure, James pulls away from me, but not before pressing a soft kiss to my nose. I begin to cover myself with blankets as he throws on his robe before answering the door, completely unfazed by this disturbance. 

A small group of servants enter, some holding glasses of whiskey and wine while others bring in platters of food. They quickly place and set up everything on a small table with chairs in the corner of his room before rushing back out, none of them even glancing towards me. James locks the door behind them before turning back towards me, his hand outstretched for me to take. 

"I hope you don't mind, Mary, but I figured we might need some refreshments to replenish us," he smiles wickedly as he walks towards the bed, his hand still held out. I slide out of bed and take his hand, my heart warming at this act of kindness. I go to reach for my nightgown which was still laid out on the floor, but James quickly shakes his head as he pulls me towards him. 

I raise my brow as I place my hands against his chest, which was still covered with the robe. Before he can say anything I quickly untie it, smiling as my hands move to his bare chest, his skin warm against mine. He laughs as he cups my cheek in his hand before he attempts to place a simple kiss on my forehead, but I tilt my head up so that he meets my lips. 

He laughs as his arms wrap around my waist, and I move my arms to wrap around his neck. "You're still a little over dressed," I whisper against his lips as I gently tug on his robe, "perhaps I can be of assistance." My hands deftly slide it off, my lips never leaving his for a second. A small smile forms on my lips as his body molds to mine, everything fitting perfectly into place. 

He begins to take a step towards the bed, but the moment his feet start to move, my stomach growls loudly. My cheeks burn red as I pull away, my eyes darting to the food which I could now smell, and then back to him. "Come on my love, let's eat," he nods his head towards the food as he pulls away and I follow behind me, realizing how hungry I truly was. 

He and I sit down next to each other as we look at the spread of food before us. I realized that this was the spread of food that we were meant to eat at our reception tonight, which meant that he must have thought of this before the wedding. My heart warms as he begins to eat, motioning for me to do the same. 

There is a moment of silence before he speaks up, "Has Scotland lived up to your expectations? I know that our court is not as decadent as the one you are used to, but I hope that you will enjoy it." There is a waver of hesitancy in his voice, as if he's scared to hear what I'm going to say, but still he asks. It is true that the Scottish court is more rugged than the English, but to me it was all the more beautiful because of it.