Page 41 of When the Laird Claims
But it only seemed to encourage him to come even closer as he leaned down over her, laying her flat on her back. It was more thrilling than she could have anticipated, just like the other night. She was trapped, and yet her anticipation of what was about to come next was high enough that she almost felt dizzy with sensation.
“Is that right?” Arran teased, his lips barely touching the skin of her chest and neck as he spoke, warm breath panting between them.
She could feel him then, pressing against her inner thigh, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was just as affected by their little sparring match as she was. It was also very effective in calling her out on her lie, because they both knew that she desired that very much. Even though she knew that she should never want such a thing, and that it was likely condemning herself to ruin for even thinking about it.
“Yes,” Victoria uttered, gathering up enough courage to make eye contact with him. “Nothing at all.”
“Ah, a sore loseranda liar then? Didnae expect that from such an esteemed lady,” Arran continued with a touch of sarcasm at the word “lady”.
“I have no idea what you are referring to, sir.”
“Kiss me, and see if ye can lie to me face again. I much prefer ye flustered and off guard,” Arran muttered, his lips hovering just above hers now, waiting for her to close that last bit of distance between them.
She knew that she should not cave, that she was merely just doing what he wanted her to do, but how could she deny herself when shedid,in fact, desire so much more from him than what she had gotten from him thus far?
19
“Is the kiss to be your prize?” Victoria asked, still breathless from their sparring bout.
Arran narrowed his eyes, impressed and frustrated in equal measure that she could torment him so effortlessly. Her words brought her lipssoclose to his, but this was another sparring match entirely, to see who would break first.
“Part of it,” he replied. “The rest of my reward will be more… mutual.”
He had not stopped thinking about the taste of her, to the point where everything else paled in comparison. It was a wonder he had been able to get anything done at all with the memory of her sighs, gasps, and moans echoing in his mind over and over. But being so close to her again, touching her again, even in the name of teaching her how to protect herself, had stirred him up to such a degree that he would drive himself mad if he did not give her pleasure again. And in doing so, satisfy himself too.
“Is that so?” Her lips finally grazed his, just enough for her to be the one who caved first. The hint of a kiss.
It was all the encouragement he needed to claim his prize. He kissed her hard and hungrily, his hands cradling her face, while his body pressed close to hers to let her feel the effect that she had on him.
As if they had moved on from sparring to grappling, Victoria’s arms slipped around him to grasp handfuls of his shirt, her fingernails lightly raking his back. Did she know he liked it when she did that? There was something about pleasure and pain that intoxicated the mind, but he would not go there with Victoria. For her, he would give only pleasure.
They kissed as if he had been away at war for a year, fast and frantic.
Would she meet me at the gates like this?The thought pleased him, for he had often envied the men in his war party who had wives waiting, and how those wives would run to their husbands and kiss them as if there was no one watching.
Somehow, the idea of her being his and the images playing in his mind intensified the rush of desire that thundered in his veins. He held her tighter to him, kissed her harder, let his hands wander the perfect contours of her body while she melted into him. Her body seemed to move with his touch as if they were in a dance, leaning into the caress of his palms, arching her back when he ran his hand up her spine to cradle the nape of her neck.
She had become a temptation that he could not resist, and maybe, if he had been a wiser man, he would have taken that moment to put distance between them once more. But when it came to her, perhaps hewasa fool.
“If ye think this is how ye can distract me while we’re sparring…” he purred close to her ear, before he grazed his teeth across the soft lobe.
She trembled in his arms, a quiet gasp leaving her lips. “Is it working? Are you… distracted?”
“Aye.” He kissed down the curve of her neck while his arm slid around her waist.
As he let his lips tease the smooth skin of her bosom, he began to lower her to the ground. Her arms suddenly looped around his neck as if she feared he might drop her, but, as he had already promised, he would never allow any harm to come to this beautiful woman.
“The grass!” she gasped, as he lay her down.
“It’ll grow straight again,” he said with a smile. “It’ll only be flattened for a while.”
She laughed at that, a sweet and musical sound. “I meant, it is cold! And it is wet!”
“Would ye prefer to stop?” he asked wryly.
Biting her lip, she shook her head. “I would not deny you your reward, even if I am not certain you actually won.”
“Och, lass…” He feigned a tut and covered her mouth with a fierce kiss, as he lay down on top of her. That would certainly deal with the cold part of her complaint, but he would have to think of something creative to contend with the wet part.
