“I see.” He didn’t at all. But somehow he wasn’t surprised.
She nodded. “I needed to speak with you somewhere private. Guest chambers often have squints so that chiefs can hear what visitors say when they don’t know that someone is listening.”
James slanted a look up at her, amused.
Castle Haven did have one or two guest chambers with spy holes.
“And what is it that’s so secret?” He wondered if she meant to confess that she’d come here to seduce him.
She peered down at him for a long moment. “It’s more intriguing than secret.” She dipped her fingers into the jar of soap and used a washing cloth to begin scrubbing his shoulders. Her touch sent shivers up and down his back. Hot desire, swift and sharp, so that it was all he could do not to pull her into the tub with him.
He closed his eyes when her hand slid around to the place where his heart pounded. Then she slipped lower, her fingers skimming across his abdomen, the pleasure becoming almost unbearable.
She leaned closer, soaping him. “See you, I-”
“Have a care, lass….” His voice came rough, his need for her stirring in a way she’d soon discover if her questing fingers inched deeper.
“There’s a ghost at Castle Haven.” Her words hit him like ice. “I saw one in your hall. A maid who looks like your sister and-”
“You err.” James shot to his feet, sending water splashing everywhere. “You saw a curl o’ peat smoke.” He willed it so, not wanting Scandia and her doom anywhere near Catriona. “We’ve no bogles here.”
He stared at her, amazed by her calm. “No’ now, no’ ever.”
Cold dread sluicing him, he scrambled from the washing tub and grabbed a towel, rubbing himself vigorously. He threw the drying cloth aside, standing naked before the fire.
“You should no’ have come here.” He shoved both hands through his hair. If his clan’s tragedy-bringer caused Catriona a shiver of sorrow, he’d singlehandedly tear down his castle’s walls to banish the she-ghost.
“And” – he tried not to see how water from the bath had dampened her gown, making her bodice and the folds of her skins cling to her shapeliness – “if you’d do what’s best, you’ll leave my chamber now.”
Catriona shook her head. “I think not.”
Her gaze dipped where it shouldn’t. Her breath caught and her eyes widened. She could still feel the hard, muscled warmth of his skin beneath her fingers. Each sweep of her hand over his flesh had made her want him. Now, seeing his bold masculinity, stunning desire consumed her. She drew herself up, trying to tear her gaze away.
She couldn’t.
She only stared, reliving how she’d just soaped him, feeling and caressing. If she’d touched him there….
Leaving was impossible.
As if he knew, his eyes darkened. “You’re on the ice again.”
His gaze lowered to her damp bodice and her breasts grew heavy again, just as they had in the stair tower. Her nipples tightened and sweet warmth spread where he was looking, making her ache.
He made no move to cover himself. But he did gesture to the door. “Go now, lass. Be gone while I can let you.”
“And if I stay?” She lifted her chin, daring.
“Then the ice breaks.” His gaze drifted over her now, making her tingle. “You plunge into the cold depths and drown.”
She shivered, her insides melting. His dark, naked, readiness excited her, making her dizzy. Just watching him look at her as if he were drinking in every inch of her, savoring her, pushed all other thought from her mind. She forgot his castle ghost, the centuries of clan feuding, even the King’s trial by combat.
“MacDonalds never drown.” She spoke boldly. Hot blood rushed through her veins and the drumming of her heart demanded courage.
“And I” – she met his gaze, starting forward – “swim better than most.”
She saw his hands clench, the beat of his pulse at his throat. “I hope that’s true.” His gaze strayed once again to the locked door. “Because if you cannae, it’s too late. You’re in the water already.”
“Do you regret pushing me from you earlier? I do see” – she looked there again, feminine pride thrilling – “that you want me.”
He made a sound low in his throat, almost a growl. “I’d shove you out the door now, if I could. Make no mistake, lass, you dinnae want this.”
“Pah.” She went over to him, sliding her arms around his waist, loving the feel of him warm and naked against her.
He frowned, not saying anything.
Taking his silence for encouragement, she rubbed her hands up down his sides, reveling in the smooth, hard feel of his bare skin beneath her fingers, hoping her touch might persuade him to kiss her again.
But he only tossed back his still-damp hair.
She leaned in closer, the feel of him making her tremble. Giddy pleasure swept her, blurring everything, making her dizzy. Swaying, she grasped her necklace, curling her fingers around the ambers, seeking their strength. She knew she wasn’t in danger, but she could feel the stones’ heat, hot, solid, and scorching her fingers.
But she didn’t understand why the ambers burned her hand when her necklace felt so cool at her throat. Her fingers were on fire, the stones’ heat pulsing into them, insistent, thrumming, and-
“O-o-oh!” She leapt back, releasing James’ male piece as if its fiery hardness had scalded her.
He had the gall to laugh. “I was waiting for you to notice. Though” – he stepped back and she could see what she’d done to him – “I was also hoping you might keep on. I did enjoy you holding and stroking me.”
“Holding and stroking you?” She stared at him, her eyes so round he couldn’t help but laugh again.
“There’s no other way to call what you were doing.” He grinned. “I vow I ought to be offended that you didn’t realize where your hand had landed, but it felt so good, I couldn’t bear to stop you.”
“It felt good?” She cast a skeptical glance where, moments before, she’d been rubbing and squeezing him so rousingly. “My hand?”
He grinned. “Hands can feel wonderfully good.” He reached for hers, turning it palm upward and then using the edge of his thumb to lightly circle her palm. When she gasped, startled by the tingles that rippled all through her, his grin deepened and he pushed back her sleeve so he could use the tips of his other four fingers to trace circles up and down the inside of her wrist.
Catriona stared at him, unable to speak.
The pleasure curling through her, the delicious tingling, was almost too exquisite.
“Dear God….” She squirmed, unable to stand still.
“Those tingles” – he looked at her and she saw that he knew what she was feeling – “are nothing compared to how you made me feel when you rubbed me. I can show you how good that feels if you’ll let me?”
“You made me feel good in the stair tower.” Catriona couldn’t lie. Her nipples had tightened, straining against her bodice, wanting his caress again. “I know what-”
“Nae, you dinnae.” He shook his head, slowly. “You’ve only dipped your toe in the water. To swim, is to feel me rub you where you rubbed me.”
Catriona’s world stopped, then spun madly.
She swallowed. “You want to touch me there?”
He nodded. “I want to touch you there, and everywhere. But only if you let me remove your clothes” – he reached for her bodice ties, undoing them – “and if you’re able to trust me completely?”
“Ahhh….” She did desire him. That seemed justification enough.
And she had thrilled to his hands on her breasts earlier. The sensations he’d made ripple up and down her arm. She couldn’t imagine such pleasure in the intimate place he meant to touch.
Or maybe she could, because the idea was stirring such tingles there now.
And they did feel good.
“You must tell me, Catriona.” He’d finished unfastening her bodice. But rather than sl
ip the gown down her shoulders, he reached for her hands, lacing their fingers. “Say the words. Tell me you want me to touch you.”
“I do.” She trembled with longing even now. “Aye, I do, James. Touch me, please. Just as you described, there, and everywhere.”
“So be it.” He pulled her to him, kissing her hard and swiftly. Then he lowered his head to nuzzle her neck, nibbling the sensitive skin there and sending shivers of excitement spilling all through her.
“O-o-oh….” Her knees went weak and she would’ve swayed, but then she felt a rush of cold air and gooseflesh rose on her skin and she realized he’d stripped her as naked as he was.
“Come, lass, you’ll soon be warm.” He swept her up in his arms, carrying her across the room and lowering her gently onto the bed.
She waited, expecting him to lie down beside her, but he stepped back from the bed and stood looking down at her, the heat in his eyes making the tingling awareness between her legs almost maddeningly glorious.
As if he knew – that he could make her feel this way just by looking at her – a slow, very wicked smile curved his lips and he set his hands on his hips, unashamed of his own nakedness, which she could see quite well in the candlelight and the glow of the moon streaming through the windows.
“Now comes the good part, Catriona.” He stepped closer to the edge of the bed’s high mattress. “I’m going to touch your breasts again.”
And he did, letting his fingertips glide across her bared skin, skimming the upper swells, then tracing ever-smaller circles round and round until he reached her nipples. He looked down at her as he rubbed and toyed with her nipples, each touch sending jolts of intense pleasure streaking straight to the center of her.
“O-o-oh, don’t stop.” She squirmed on the bed coverings, wanting more, but not knowing what. “Please, don’t stop, James. Please.”
“So you like this?” He leaned down to kiss her, slow and leisurely this time. He slid one hand into her hair to grip the back of her head so that he could deepen their kiss, plumping and kneading her breasts with his other hand. “Open your mouth, lass,” he breathed the words against her lips, then rewarded her with a bold sweep of his tongue, deep inside her mouth, when she did as he bid her. Again and again, he let his tongue twirl and tangle with hers, slowly, languorously, as they shared breath and sighs.
When he broke away, standing again, she felt bereft.
“Dear saints, don’t stop kissing me.” She reached for him, but he stepped back, just beyond her grasp. “It felt so good. You’re right – all of it feels better than-”
“It feels good because I….” He shut his eyes, breathing deep. “It’s good, lass,” he began again, “because we’re no’ just in the water now. We’ve been swept into the ice floes.” He looked at her again and his face was fierce, almost savage. “I’ve wanted you, wanted this, for years. You’re mine now, feuds be damned. And, by God, I want to pleasure you from now into eternity.”
“And you are.” Catriona was sure she couldn’t take much more pleasuring. Her entire body was already aflame, quivering with the most wondrous sensations. Then James reached down to slide his hand along the side of her hip and she nearly shot off the bed.
He grinned, looking down at her. “That’s my sweet lass, so responsive….”
She bit her lip, staring back up at him. Waves of deeper, more intense tingling began washing through her, each new crest seeming to pool low in her belly, near to her thighs. When she drew up her knees and started to rock her hips, his smile turned devilish.
“Open your knees for me, Catriona.” He touched each knee lightly, gently urging them apart. “I want to look at you. And I can only do that if you let me. Will you? Can you open your legs wider? Just a bit more, so I can see all of you?”
“Oh, God!” Catriona writhed on the bed, his words making the pleasure almost so good it hurt. “I-I can’t stand it, James, I can’t….”
“You can, and beautifully.” Locking his gaze on hers, he let his fingers glide up her inner thigh. “Just feel, lass, feel me touching you now.”
And he did touch her then, teasing his fingertips oh-so-lightly across the soft curls of her femininity. Then – she cried out – tracing one finger right along the very center of her.
“Agggh!” She lifted her hips off the bed, sure she would burst apart any moment. “Oh, James, please….”
“I will please you, aye.” Now he did stretch out beside her, rolling her gently onto her back, but keeping her knees spread wide. “This is what you need.” He let his fingers play over her, teasing and tantalizing. Then he touched a circling finger to a spot that sent bolts of intense pleasure spiraling everywhere.
She reached for him, but he’d moved down on the bed. Raising his head to look up at her, he licked the very place he’d been rubbing so exquisitely. He held her gaze and began flicking his tongue back and forth over that one little spot until she couldn’t stand it anymore. The fiercest sensations yet crashed over her, sweeping her away in a maelstrom of delight that dimmed everything around her except James and the delicious intimacy.
“That’s enough.” His voice was harsh as he pulled away from her. “I’ll no’ be-”
“You will, too.” Catriona reached for him, curling her fingers firmly around his still-hard need. Her own need still felt tender and swollen, the hot melting inside her banishing caution.
“I’ve loved you longer than you know” - she guided him to her, thrusting her hips until he swore and began to push inside her – “and now I’m of a mind to show you how much.”
And she did, seeking his lips, then sighing contentedly when he slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her fiercely. He reached down between them, stroking and rubbing her as he finally thrust deep.
“Odin’s balls!” He stopped at once, dragging his mouth from hers, his entire body tensing above her.
“What?” Catriona froze, mortification sweeping her. “Am I… is it, not good?”
“No’ good?” He stared down at her, his eyes dark with passion, his face set in tight, rigid lines. “Sweet lass, were it any better, you’d unman me.”
Catriona relaxed, relief washing through her. She clung to his shoulders, shifting her hips against the stinging tightness inside her. But the pain wasn’t as great as she’d heard, and the intimacy of it – feeling James hardness so thick and hot inside her – sent rippling waves of pleasurable heat spreading through her.
“Don’t stop now.” She gripped him harder, digging her fingers into his shoulders. When he still didn’t move, she lifted her hips, rocking against him until he swore again and began thrusting slowly in and out of her.
“Sweet mercy!” He grabbed her chin with one hand, cupping her face and kissing her roughly. He thrust his tongue deep into her mouth, matching the hot rhythm of his strokes. Faster and faster, each plunge of his body into hers rushed her closer to the hot, whirling pleasure that threatened to darken the world around them.
She started to slide, shattering as she slipped into the darkness. From somewhere distant, she heard him groan and call her name. ‘Catriona,’ he’d cried, then more fervently, ‘his love,’ in Gaelic.
At least, she thought that’s what he’d said.
Already, he’d pulled away from her. But just as he rolled onto his back and she would’ve snuggled against him, someone else called out for her.
“Catriona!” Alasdair’s worried voice came from afar, muffled by the heavy oaken door.
“I know I saw her come this way….” It was a female’s voice this time – Isobel’s – and drifting just past the bedchamber. “Perhaps she’s gone to one of the other guest chambers and not the one I readied for her?”
“Could be.” Alasdair was all reason, as always. “Aye, that’ll be it. Where did you say….”
The voices faded, Alasdair’s and Isobel’s footsteps dimming as they moved down the corridor.
James had moved, too.
And he’d done so with such speed that Catrio
na hadn’t even seen him leap from the bed. But he had, obviously, for he was dashing about the room, snatching up her clothes and throwing them onto the bed as quickly as he plucked the garments off the rush-strewn floor.
Catriona sat up, not liking the look on his face. “What are you doing?”
He glanced at her, the horror in his eyes chilling her. “I’m saving your good name, is what I’m about!”
She blinked. “My name?”
She’d believed he’d be offering her his.
After this, what they’d done together. She’d even been secretly practicing the sound of Catriona Cameron. She’d ran it through her mind again and again on the long ride from Blackshore.
Now…
“Make haste, lass.” James had her shoes now, waving them at her. “There’s a secret passage behind thon tapestry.” He gestured with her slipper. “It leads down to the corridor you already know, but opens into the castle guest chambers on the way.
“Isobel prepared one for you.” He dropped to his knees before her, grabbing one of her feet and shoving it into her shoe. “It’s the third door you’ll pass. I’ll take there now and no one will be the wiser. But we must-”
“Hurry, I know.” Catriona yanked her other shoe from his hand and crammed her foot inside. “But I’ll find the room on my own, thank you. And” - she snatched her gown from the bed, pulling it on as she marched for the door – “I’ll go the same way I came.
“I, you see, am not shamed by what we’ve done.” Grabbing the drawbar, she yanked it free. “I wanted to be on those ice floes with you. And now…”
“Catriona!” James strode forward, reaching for her. “You dinnae understand. I only want to-”
“Have your pleasure” – Catriona whipped open the door, sweeping out and slamming it hard – “and now you have. But you won’t again.
“Not ever.” She fastened her bodice laces as she hurried down the corridor, blotting her ears to the angry curses coming from behind James’ closed door.
He’d spoken of ice floes.
If he dared glance at her again, she’d teach him about blizzards.
Sins of a Highland Devil: Highland Warriors Book 1 Page 16
