Page 98 of The Highlander's Kilted Bride
He carefully tipped up her chin with a knuckle that wasn’t dirty and lowered his mouth to hers. Charlie’s hands stole around his waist as she let out a happy sigh, sinking into his embrace. Kade held her lightly, relishing the softness of her luscious mouth.
The first time he’d kissed her, he’d been all too aware of how vulnerable she was and of the risks they were taking. So he’d forced himself to hold back. Now, though, all doubts were resolved and he knew what he wanted.
He wanted Charlie, for the rest of their lives.
For long, delicious moments, their mouths played with each other. Kade had never felt so much for a woman. It was a passion that set his heart throbbing with longing and his body vibrating with need. In this tumbledown old chapel, dappled with sunlight and shadow, he felt something shift, something deep and elemental. He’d finally found his forever lass, the one he would never let go.
When he teased along the seam of her lips, she responded with an eagerness that almost took him out at the knees. He slipped inside, savoring a hint of sherry, along with a warmth and sweetness that was all Charlie.
She hummed deep in her throat and gripped the fabric of his coat. When she drew back a few seconds later, Kade almost groaned. But then she traced the shape of his mouth with the delicate tip of her tongue, sending fire through his veins. Instinctively, he responded by capturing her lips, pouring all his need into the kiss. Charlie wriggled closer, her slim body pressing against him, driving every rational thought from his brain. There was only his beautiful lass—and a desire that would take a lifetime of passion to satisfy.
For a lunatic moment, Kade thought about pulling her down onto the soft, moss-covered ground and having his way with her.
Idiot.
He clamped down on his rampant desire, easing back to nuzzle her lips with a gentle caress. This was neither the time nor the place for lovemaking. And he’d be damned if he rushed things, both for her sake and for his. But, oh, she tempted him, and—
When a faint sound penetrated his consciousness, Kade forced himself to retreat. Charlie’s eyes fluttered open, and she smiled dreamily up at him, her lips plump and rosy from his kiss.
“Why did you stop?” she murmured.
“I didn’t want to, but I think I heard voices.”
Charlie’s eyes snapped wide open. “Mamma! We’ve got to hurry.”
She brushed passed him and ducked under the archway. Kade followed.
“Oh, Lord,” she said, glancing down at herself. “We both look a mess.”
He studied her. “Mostly just the hem of your skirt, but your hair is looking a bit dusty. Best you get your hat on.”
She’d bent over to retrieve her hat from the stack of slate when Kade noticed a massive, disgusting spider crawling up the back of her skirt, heading for her waist.
“Hold still,” he said firmly.
She craned around to look at him. “Why?”
“Spider on your back.”
Carefully, he started to brush it off, scooping it off the swell of her backside and then whacking it into the dirt.
“Mr. Kendrick!” yelped an all-too-familiar voice. “What are you doing?”
Kade spun on his heel. Glaring at him from the other side of the clearing were Lady Kinloch and Angus.
“My lady,” he said. “I didn’t see you there.”
“Obviously,” she replied in a horrified voice. “Mr. Kendrick, why was your hand on my daughter’s . . . er, form?”
Charlie rammed her hat sideways onto her head and took a hasty step forward. “It’s fine, Mamma. He was only—”
“Why are you so disheveled, Charlotte?” her mother interrupted. “Andwhywere you bent over in so . . . so unseemly a fashion?”
“Aye, that’s what I’d like to ken, too,” Angus barked. “Yer lookin’ mighty guilty there, laddie boy. With ye and Miss Charlie sneakin’ off, I hope there’s nae been any canoodlin’ amongst the gravestones.”
“What?” Lady Kinloch all but shrieked.
“Not now, Angus,” Kade warned, glaring at his grandfather.
