Page 46 of Abducted By the Highlander
“Ye do not understand.”
“Why wouldn’t I? Are ye going to say something insulting now, Hugh?”
He gave a reluctant grin. “I wouldn’t dare and that’s the truth. But ye don’t know—” He clamped his jaw and briefly screwed his eyes shut before stealing whatever shred of decorum she retained with the intensity of his fierce gaze. “Ye don’t know how I burn for ye, everyhour of every day. How I dream of ye at night and wish there was a way to make ye mine forever. Ye’ve stolen my good sense and my heart, but nothing can come of it. And it’s tearing me apart.”
His tortured words spun through her mind and sank deep into her heart, a spellbinding confession the likes of which she had never quite dared to dream. How could he believe there was no future for them, when they were so in accord with the certainty that they belonged together?
“I do know,” she whispered. “For I feel the same. How could I not? Ye’re my soulmate, Hugh Campbell, and there is nothing ye can do about it.”
He cradled her face and even with the thundering backdrop of the rain against the cliffs, the sound of his harsh breath filled the cave with spine-tingling promise.
“I’ve nothing to offer ye.” Raw agony filled his voice, and she clutched desperately at his wet shirt in case he had the mad idea of pulling away from her. “I cannot risk ruining ye, mo ghràdh, when I can’t give ye what ye deserve.”
She knew what he meant. He wouldn’t risk giving her a bairn, when he couldn’t offer her marriage. Stubborn man. To be sure, he couldn’t know there wasn’t a risk of her falling pregnant this day, but why did he need to be so adamant that they were destined to always be apart?
It wasn’t something she had ever envisaged saying to a man. Not even to Hugh who, to be fair, was the only man she’d ever wanted anyway. But it seemed it couldn’t be helped. She only hoped he understood without her needing to explain the specifics.
“Ye will not ruin me.” Her voice was scarcely even a whisper and even though she trusted Hugh with her life, she found she couldn’t hold his gaze and instead focused on his mesmerizing chest. “My moon time is due within the next day or two.”
Lord, her face was burning. She should have kept quiet. But if shedidn’t explain things to him, his honor would never allow him to take what she so wished to give him.
The silence hurt her ears but just as she couldn’t bear it any longer, he slid his finger beneath her chin and raised her face so once again their gazes locked.
“Moon time?” His voice was hushed and mortification twisted through her. Did she truly need to enlighten him? She wasn’t certain she was up for the task.
But she had to try. She dragged in a ragged breath and gathered her courage. “I won’t conceive yer bairn, Hugh.”
Comprehension slowly dawned in his eyes. “Are ye sure this is what ye want, Roisin?”
“I am. I’ve only ever wanted ye, from the first moment I saw ye in Sgur Castle.”
He cradled her face, his thumbs stroking her cheeks and her breath stalled in her throat. “In a cave?” His voice was rough with desire and shivers of need coursed through her. “’Tis not how I imagined taking ye, Roisin.”
“Then it will be something different to remember.”
His laugh sounded tortured. “As if I’d ever forget this.”
She wound her arms around his neck and the blanket fell to the ground. Her wet clothes clung to her, and she longed to be free of them but even now, alone here with Hugh, she wasn’t certain she had the nerve to simply strip in front of him.
He claimed her mouth, and she dug her fingers into his hair, holding him close. His tongue teased her unmercifully as his fingers loosened the ties on her bodice, his touch sending hot spikes of need between her thighs.
With a frustrated groan, she tore blindly at her clothes and felt him smile against her lips.
“’Tis not funny.” Her words were slurred, and he kissed her again, as though he wished only for her to lose her mind.
“Wait.” His whisper burned her flesh, before he hastily spread the blanket on the ground. She wriggled out of her wet things until she stood before him clad only in her chemise, and he sucked in a harsh breath as his gaze roamed over her. “Ye’re more beautiful than any of my dreams of ye.”
Heat suffused her, warming her from the inside out. Even her damp chemise seemed to burn her skin. “And so are ye.”
Tenderly, he lay her on the blanket before unwinding his plaid and throwing it over them both, enclosing them in a warm, dry cocoon, and she gasped her delight. “’Tis like we have slipped into a forgotten corner of the world of the fae.”
“Ye’re the only fae I need.” Hugh loomed over her, his plaid draped over his head and shoulders and pooling on the ground around them. He nibbled kisses along her face and neck, and his fingers delved beneath her chemise, easing the material up as he caressed her hips and waist. She shuddered, gripping his shoulders as pleasure spun through her. He inexorably inched higher until he cupped her tender breasts.
Roisin breathed shakily as Hugh lowered his head and teased her nipple with his tongue. His warm breath dusted her sensitized flesh and then he sucked her aching peak into his mouth, and she pressed her knuckles against her lips to stifle her groan of need.
He wrapped his hand around her wrist and pushed her arm to the ground. “Don’t.” His voice was hoarse as he lifted his head just enough so he could gaze into her eyes. “I want to hear ye, Roisin. Don’t hold back.”
She rasped. When he resumed his torturous teasing, she couldn’t have kept silent even if she’d wanted to.
