Page 46 of When a Highlander Vows
He added more softly, “It is I who am nae good enough for ye, and I need ye to remember that. Bad blood flows through me, and it is best if ye keep yer distance. I wouldnae wish ye to be hurt or tainted by me.” He paused, breathing slowly.
His hand trailed along her arm, and he saw that her breathing was steady. “Sunshine?” he said, turning to look at her face, but she’d fallen asleep.
He leaned back to lay on the other side of her, putting his arms above his head, staring up at the canopy of her bed.
Dear God, I hope she dinnae hear all.
He wanted her to hear that she was beautiful, that he wanted her, but he did not wish her to hear the dangerous yearning in his voice. How every moment in her company was drawing him closer to the edge, and he wouldn’t need much convincing to topple over the side.
Caitlin awoke at dawn, and instantly, her head ached, and she made a small sound of pain, cursing aloud at her foolishness in drinking far too much.
But she jumped at the sound of a throaty chuckle. “I like the way dirty words sound on yer tongue, Lass,” he said, and Caitlin whipped around.
“Lucas,” she said, looking him up and down, trying to think how he could be in her bed, with her.
He sat up on one elbow facing her. Being this close to him, his face a little swollen from sleep, his hair and beard a little unkempt, his chest bare, Caitlin wanted him more than ever. Her fingers itched to touch the bare skin.
“What are ye—” she stopped herself when her memory sparked.
When the image of their kisses the night before flashed through her mind, she put a hand over her eyes. It was too embarrassing. She’d begun the kiss, and he’d stopped it. She was humiliated, showing herself to want him with a desperate passion that was not returned.
“Dae ye remember, Lass?” he asked, one finger moving down the bare half of her arm. “Last night?”
“Aye,” she said with a nervous swallow. She was still turned away from him, for she noticed her bodice was undone, and she flushed with new embarrassment.
He’d kissed her and not just on her lips. He’d practically feasted on her breasts, and she’d wanted him to do more, so much more, but she had not been enough.
“I’m sorry,” she stuttered.
When his hand fell to her waist in a gentle grasp, he said softly, “Sunshine, I daenae ken what ye are sorry for.” She saw a corner of his mouth lift up in his usual smirk. “Dae ye still think I daenae want ye?”
Her mind told her that he did not want her, that he was merely giving into foolish passions or being kind to her because of how much she wanted him. But the look in his eyes as he stared down at her was different. It spoke a different message.
“Aye,” she said weakly, wanting to follow the logical path.
Logic was the best way to keep her heart safe. If he left now, she could repair it and be whole again. They could put all of it behind them, and they’d never have to speak of it ever again. He could find a woman truly worthy of his heart and his kiss.
“Well then,” he said, turning her so that she lay under him, encased between his strong arms that he placed on either side of his head. “If ye will allow me, I will show ye just how much I want ye.”
Her eyes moved from his face down his bare, muscled chest, to the swell at the front of his kilt. She had felt that last nightand even before. There’d been a hardness between his legs that pressed into her as they’d kissed. When her gaze returned to his eyes, she saw he was awaiting her answer.
This is a far better sight to wake up to than the bed canopy.
Unable to utter the words, she merely nodded before Lucas’ mouth found hers once more. Quickly, her desire rose as if it had only been waiting in the background, and her hands clung to his neck as he angled her head to deepen the kiss.
A longing awoke from deep within her, and she wanted to press him closer to ease the ache throbbing from between her legs. His kiss moved from her mouth down her neck and chest, where he kneaded first one breast, then the other, suckling a little on each.
“Such beauties,” he said before moving lower, gathering her heavy skirts up to a point high on her legs, reaching underneath to remove the layer of underclothing until it fell into a heap on the floor.
Was this what it meant to be taken?
With his eyes on her, he reached between her thighs, and she gasped when she felt his fingers at her entrance, moving over her seam with an unendurable slowness.
“Lucas,” she said, arching against his hand, not knowing what he was doing but wanting more. “Please.” The entreaty surprised her for she did not exactly know what she was asking for.
Grinning, his thumb brushed the tip of her opening, and she jerked a little at the wave of pleasure that ran through her. He slid first one finger and then another inside her until she lay back on the bed, eyes closed, a near scream ripping from her throat. Never had she been touched this way, not even by herself.
“So bonny,” he said in a thick voice, leaning closer to where his fingers moved in slow strokes, going in and out of her, curling as they slipped inside.
