Page 22 of Kidnapped By her Highland Enemy
“I’ve never put much stock into marriage,” Maisie said, reluctantly. “I supposed that if I were to marry, t’would be to one of me faither’s allied son, just for marriage’s sake.”
“Ye never expected happiness to come with it?” Lucas asked.
She slowly shook her head, “I hardly ken what happiness is.”
His hand reached to her face, “Will ye let me show ye then?” Lucas’s eyes dropped to her lips, and he looked as if he wanted to kiss her. Inch by inch he drew her closer and Maisie made no protest when his lips met hers. A shock jolted through her as his mouth opened on hers, and she felt her heart begin to beat faster as his tongue flicked against her lips, teasing her, inviting her, challenging her for more.
Maisie slid her hands up the front of his shirt, feeling his muscles in his chest tauten, and circling her arms around his shoulders, she kissed him back with a boldness she had not known she had, drawing his tongue into her mouth.
She felt his sharp intake of his breath as desire surged in her own veins. Her soul stirred, longing for something she did not know or had ever experienced. A slight breeze brushed her cheeks, bringing with it the familiar scent of heather from the hills beyond, seducing her every bit as much as the man in her arms.
He pulled the ties of her hair moments before his fingers plunged into the thick masses, pulling her fully against his hardening body, demanding more. He pulled away only for them to breathe before his lips were on hers again.
This second kiss was even better than the first. Stronger, wilder, as if tempting them to succumb to temptation in the end. But to continue down the reckless path would be completely thoughtless, yet she could not find the strength to pull out of his arms.
His hand swept from her waist to the center of her back, pressing her to the hard planes of his chest, then sliding lower, over her hip, to grasp her bottom and angle her hips to his—where she felt the rigid length of his erection under her.
“So bonnie…” Lucas murmured thickly, pulling away from her kiss-bruised lips. “Breathtakin’.”
While reeling at the feeling of his desire for her, Maisie shivered on his lap. She leaned into him, inhaling a deep, trembling breath and her arms found their way around Lucas’s back. It took every ounce of restraint in her heart to whisper, “We should stop.”
8
In turn, Lucas slid his hands down her spine to the feminine curves at her waist. Hungry desire radiated throughout his body—over every inch of flesh and deep inside. Longing inflamed his heart and shot straight to his groin.
Maisie possessed the traits he wanted in a woman, and he knew if they kept on, he would find more. Forget the tears, all he had to do was meet her gaze and he’d give her the world. He wanted to show her pleasure, take her to places of passion and watch her blossom as she experienced all that womanhood had to offer.
His hand slid to her buttocks and gripped her as she moaned and pressed against his turgid erection. Lucas wanted her on his bed… but she was right, they had to stop, or they would end up being reckless.
Pulling away, he pressed his forehead in the crook of her neck and sucked in deep breaths. His arousal was still thrummingthrough his blood and while his hands gripped her thighs, he forced himself to calm.
Releasing his hold, Lucas let out a shuddery breath. “Aye, lass, we should.”
Maisie was no common wench to be bedded and then shoved aside, and even more, he had no doubt that she was yet a virgin; her shock at his first kiss had attested to that. Her dignity and proud bearing alone bespoke a high birth and refined upbringing, yet she had a high-spirited soul that broke any illusion of her being timid.
Nay, he would go slowly with her, not only because he longed to see passionate desire for him burning in her golden eyes, but also because he wanted her to find pleasure in his arms. He bent his head, his lips tracing a feather-light path down the long column of her throat, and she shivered suddenly.
“I ken after this, we’ll have to meet on a different footing,” he said with his hands making soothing circles on her thigh. As the fire in him began to ebb, Lucas held her closely. “The feud will have to go, lass, I promise ye that. As soon as I discover who is behind this treachery, we will straighten this feud out once and for all. We’ll have peace.”
“For that to happen, one family will have to fold,” Maisie said, a miserable look on her face, he knew she felt it would be her clan. “We both ken yer clan is the superior one, and if mine has to be humbled to stop this bloodshed, that is how it is, I suppose.”
Shifting her to sit on his side, Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they gazed out at the rolling seas. “Aye.”
As time slipped by, Maisie began to doze away on his shoulder and Lucas got to thinking. Could it be that the lass he had been looking for had been under his nose all this time? Her hair fluttered in the wind, the shining mahogany strands a halo around her face. Her lashes were resting on her cheek and the rose hue that colored the arches drew him, just as much as her lips.
When the wind got gusty, he gently lifted Maisie into his arms and carried her sleeping form back to the house. Taking the stairs, he rested her on her cot and then lifted a blanket over her.
“I might be wrong about ye,” he murmured, then headed out, closing the doors behind him.
On the floor below, Oliver met him. “My laird, I ken it’s time for us to take another scouting mission in the towns beyond.”
“Are ye sure?” Lucas furrowed his brow. He refrained from looking up to where Maisie rested because he did not want to leave her, but while he didn’t do so, he knew Oliver realized it. “Do you think anythin’ will change?”
“It’s been a sennight and a half,” Oliver said. “Word has to be going around, but if it’s good or bad, we must ken about it so we can prepare what to do when we get back to the clan.”
“Aye,” Lucas nodded. His friend was right. They had to know what they were going to go against when they did go back to the clan lands. “Yer right.”
“Ye do like the lass,” Oliver said plainly.
