Page 74 of When a Highlander Vows
Turning toward the door, he thought for a few more seconds before he made his decision. He slipped on his trews, and then left the chamber, closing the door softly behind him. The hallway was dark, the candles having gone out long ago. There was still a light grayness in the corridor, though. It always hung in the castle at night and the mixture of the moonlight as well as torch light from outside that slipped in through the narrow windows.
He found her chamber, and he opened the door and quickly shut it behind him. He heard Fallows stir, lifting his head up. But then, noticing it was his master, Fallows put his head back down again, breathing out.
“Sunshine,” he whispered in the darkness, coming to the edge of the bed where he found her facing toward him in sleep.
She stirred and looked up, jumping a little before she recognized him. “Lucas, what in God’s name? Ye scared me to death!” she whispered, but he could see a smile on her face from the dim light of the dying hearth.
“Sorry, but I couldnae sleep. I want to be with ye.” With another grin, she moved back, and after removing his clothing, he slid in beside her, pulling her close.
Once he put his arm under her, she tucked her head under his chin, and from her blonde curls, he could smell that rose scent again. He breathed in deeply, before kissing the top of her head.
She made a soft sigh and spread her hand over his bare chest. Her one leg curled over his, and he smiled at how easily she formed herself around him. It felt right, safe, and warm, and he closed his eyes, feeling not so empty and lonely anymore. How could he feel empty with her in his arms? In seconds, he fell asleep.
In the morning, he awoke when Caitlin wriggled against him. When his mind registered the feel of breasts against his chest, he snapped his eyes open. Looking down, he could see that he washard as a rock and standing straight up, very eager now that a shapely female body was curled up next to him. When he looked at Caitlin, she was still asleep, her brown lashes fanning out across her cheeks. He watched her for a moment, amazed at her loveliness.
Freckles dotted across her soft pale skin, her golden hair falling around her, and her pink lips parted as she breathed slowly and deeply. But his eyes kept moving downward to where her silken shift gripped her curves, pressing her breasts forward so that he could see the shape of her nipples.
His mouth watered to taste them. He had tasted them once before but now he wanted more. His hand stroked her back, and she moaned, shifting toward him, her eyes still closed. Smiling, he continued, thinking this a lovely way to wake up. This was the way he wanted to wake up for the rest of his life, if he didn’t mess it up. Her hand moved down his chest, and he realized she was no longer asleep when her hand slid under the sheet to grasp him.
When he gasped, Caitlin opened her eyes, and a slow grin crossed her face. “Ye minx!” he cried, and she laughed just as he slid her underneath him, making her break her hold on him.
“I was enjoyin’ ye tryin’ to wake me with yer touch. But I have been awake for a long while, unable to think about much else with ye so close to me. Whatever happened tae ye nae wantin’ to come in last night? Afraid that ye would disturb me rest?”
He grinned, leaning down to breathe in her scent again at her neck, placing a kiss there. “Well, now we have rested,” he argued.
Her arms laced loosely about his shoulders, and she said, “As much as I want ye here, I think if ye are goin’ to stay, then ye must bolt the door. I daenae wish Arla to come and see us like this.”
“Aye,” he said with a wink, out of the bed like a shot.
But when he got up, he heard Caitlin gasp, and he realized how much he had come to trust her. Because for the first time, he’d turned his bare back to be exposed to another. And by now she’d seen the ridges of long, painful scars on his skin.
Caitlin knew she shouldn’t have gasped. At least not audibly. But she couldn’t help it. Not only was he a perfect male specimen, and his buttocks were wonderfully muscled and strong. But on his wide, strong back, he had ridges thick and scarred. They were undeniably the lines of the lash even if he was a little blurred to her vision. She had known some of his past and of whatever demons he had to deal with. And yet she was still surprised at how many scars there were.
How could a father do that to his child? Or rather how could anyone do that to anyone? It made her want to cry for the boy Lucas had been. To bring him into her arms and comfort him. To remind him that he was worthy of love and deserving of it. Shecould now see even more why Lucas was so afraid to love and to be close.
“Lucas,” she said, sitting up.
Slowly, he bolted the door and turned around. On his face was an unreadable look, and she was glad that he had not rushed to leave, although running away naked would have made quite a scene.
“I suppose ye want to ken about these,” he said.
“Aye, but ye daenae have to tell me now. It can wait.”
She smiled at him, hoping he would come back to her bed. She wanted his strength and warmth, to feel his skin against hers, even if his back was scarred. She was surprised she had not felt them before in their encounters. This was not the first time he had been naked from the waist up in front of her.
He hesitated, but then thankfully, he walked toward her again and she saw him in all his glory once more, his length hard and pointed at her. But he was wary, afraid of something.
Sitting up even more, she removed her shift, eliciting a gasp out of him as well, and she tossed it to the floor. “Come,” she said. “I want to feel ye. Ye daenae need to tell me now.”
He leaned over her and took her mouth, the kiss strong and insistent from the first. His tongue stroked into her, and shefelt instantly boneless as she licked him back, her fingertips exploring him, even the new territory on his back.
He’d winced at first, but then he relaxed into the kiss, melding their bodies together. But he did not stay there long, moving his kiss from down her neck to her breasts. In a swift motion he grasped her and moved so that he was under her and she on top of him, leaning her hands on his chest.
“Come closer,” he said, and she cried out when his large hands grasped her breasts, his thumbs each stroking the pointed nipples, making her lift her head up and close her eyes, the sensation moving from her breasts all the way down to her toes.
Sliding down her body a bit, he pulled her down so that her breasts hung right in his face. With a hungry growl, he took one nipple into his mouth, kneading and sucking as he worked it with his tongue, moving to the other to do the same.
Caitlin’s eyes were closed shut so tight as she gave herself into the unique pleasure. He had touched her there before, but he had not given as much time or attention to them, and she had no idea that his mouth there could make her wet and warm, waiting for more. The sounds his mouth made against her breasts made her feel wicked and wanton, and she bucked against him, begging for more.
