by Jarecki, Amy
“The devil with them,” he growled as he strode to the bed. He carefully laid her atop the mattress and kneeled over her. Naked. Virile. Masculine. “Just don’t dig your fingers into my back,” he whispered as he nuzzled into her neck.
A cry caught in Audrey’s throat. With a look this man could make her shudder from her head to her toes, could make her tingle all over, her breasts swell and her womb ache with longing. For days now she’d yearned for him to touch her, yearned for him to act upon the smoldering desire in those dark eyes. He’d held her in his arms once, denied himself to bring her pleasure.
And now he kneeled over her, the extent of his desire powerful and demanding. Seeing him naked made her crave his touch. Made her wanton. Made her thirst to reach the pinnacle of passion he’d taken her to before when they’d been locked in his chamber in Edinburgh. Her appetite for him grew unquenchable, and moreover, she craved to show him the same pleasure he’d bestowed upon her.
His kisses ran down the length of her neck, and a low chuckle rumbled from her throat, sultrier than she’d ever heard her voice before. She couldn’t close her eyes. Reid was far too beautiful, and she wanted to take in every muscle and scar. She wanted to run her fingers down the ridges of his abdomen and through the tawny curls from which his manhood jutted.
He untied the bow of her shift, and his lips traveled to her breast, taking the tip into his mouth. He wasn’t as gentle as before, but urgent and demanding. Audrey arched up with a sharp gasp as his tongue swirled around her sensitive flesh. He moaned, causing waves of delightful tremors with the rumble of his voice. In two tugs, he pulled her shift over her head. And suddenly not a stitch of clothing separated them.
With a gulp, she had to ask before she exploded with need. “May I place my hands on you?” she asked in a whisper.
He stilled his lips on her breast while a whistle of air caressed her taut nipple. Then the corner of his mouth turned up in a devilish grin as he met her gaze. “If you lay a single finger on me, I’ll not be able to draw back when the heat grows too hot.”
Her tongue tapped her lip. “’Tis not too hot already?”
“Nearly.” He licked her nipple. “But I’m still in control.”
And I want to be.
Wickedly, she touched the center of his chest with her finger. A gush of heat flooded between her legs at his shuddering reaction. Her eyes widened as she scraped her teeth over her bottom lip and watched him tense as she slowly traced her finger downward. As her finger continued on its torturously slow path, Reid’s breathing labored, his eyes half closed as if he was trying to restrain himself from showering her with kisses…or something far more provocative.
Her fingers trembled as she brushed them over the tip of his manhood.
A feral growl erupted from the depths of Reid’s throat, and he arched his back with a shudder.
Audrey stilled her hand. “Did I hurt you?”
“Nay.” His voice came out hoarse.
She lightly brushed her fingers along his shaft. “Does it feel good?”
“Too good.”
Another low chuckle rumbled through her throat. She’d finally discovered a way to give this man pleasure. Oh, yes, she needed to understand more of this side of him. “Good like when you touch me?”
“Better,” he whispered and met her gaze with fierce intensity. “Wrap your fingers around me.”
She did as he asked, surrounding him in her hand like handling warm steel. “Show me.”
Covering her hand with his, he guided her, taught her how to slide up and back in a steady rhythm. His breathing came in gasps.
Audrey tensed. “Am I hurting you?”
“Not at all.” Pulling away, he rocked back on his haunches and ran his hands along the curve of her waist. “But I cannot lose control.”
“I like it when you do.” She reached for him, but he caught her hand, his eyes growing darker still.
“I want to kiss you, lass.”
She liked his idea. But he didn’t kiss her lips. He slid down the bed a bit further and swirled his tongue in her navel. “And I want to make you come again and again.”
“And make love with me?”
“Aye.” He glanced up. “If you’ll have me.”
“I want you to.” Since the day Reid pulled her from Wagner’s galloping horse and cradled her in his arms, she knew how much she wanted this man. Now she must convince him to want her, too. If she declared her love too soon, he might stop.
He slid down a bit further and brushed her nether parts with the pad of his thumb. He’d touched her like that once before, and Audrey had oft thought of little else. She trembled with unabashed anticipation.
He placed a palm on her abdomen. “Trust me.”
“I do.”
But rather than use his fingers, he licked her. Crying out with a gasp, she rocked her hips. In no way could she stop, not while he stirred a ravenous fire within her and claimed her mind, body, and soul. His finger slid into her core, his tongue lapping faster, driving her to madness. Up and down Audrey rocked her hips until, cresting with a wave of euphoria, she arched her back. Her thighs shuddered as she found glorious release.
When at last she opened her eyes, he kneeled over her with a grin spread wide on his face. “You are so fine to me, lass.”
She smoothed her hands over his beautiful chest. “There are no words.” She glanced down to him, and a renewed spike of longing surged through her insides as she slid her hands to his shoulders. “There’s more, is there not?”
“So much more.” His teeth raked over his bottom lip as his damp hair shrouded one eye. “The first time can be painful.”
Her tongue slipped to the corner of her mouth. Reid was a large man, but he’d been so gentle with her, how could lovemaking hurt? “I want you. All of you.”
“You have no idea how much your words make me feel like a man.”
“You are a man. My man.”
Crinkles formed at the corners of his eyes as he lowered himself over her. The head of his manhood brushed her core, still wet with longing. “I want it to be good for you.”
She slid her hands down his arms, careful to avoid his back. “It will be.”
Audrey held in her gasp as he slid inside. Yes, it stung, but she would not deny him. Ever so slowly, he pushed inside until he filled her wholly. Staring into each other’s eyes, they froze for a moment, connected, joined and filled with love. Her passion rising, Audrey swirled her hips.
“Mm. If you keep doing that, I’ll burst.”
Wickedly grinning, she swirled faster. “Is that not what you want?”
“It is.” He matched her, making deep thrusts.
Audrey’s desire ramped up with the speeding of his breath. Who knew the effect she could have on this man, on this earl? He might have wanted to wed her to another, but now she knew, without a doubt, he was the only man for her. Holding on to his shoulders for dear life, together they rode the maelstrom of passion. Just after she shuddered and found paradise, Reid slipped out and spilled into the linens. “Och, mo leannan. I cherish every moment I can hold you in my arms.”
* * *
Reid pulled the musket down from the mantel and ran his fingers along the barrel.
Audrey wiped her hands on her apron. “We never did go shooting together at Coxhoe. And this is a hunting cottage, after all.”
He grinned. “I reckon we could use some fresh meat.”
She licked her lips. “Venison on a spit?”
“Mm, my mouth is already watering.”
“Shall we take the horses?”
“I thought we might hike up the crag and have a gander. Mayhap come across some tracks.” He found a pouch of musket balls. “Would you be up for a climb?”
“I’d enjoy it.”
Och, how he loved it when she smiled. The primitive cottage brightened, making him feel buoyant. Her wee grin made him feel as free as an ordinary man sailing a boat on the open sea. Reid slung the musket’s strap ove
r his shoulder and led her out the door.
Audrey looked up, the sunlight capturing flecks of silvery blue in her eyes—colors he’d never noticed before. “You wouldn’t have been able to do that a few days ago.”
He arched his brows at the musket. “You’re right.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Not overmuch.” He wasn’t about to admit that it did.
The climb up the crag was steeper than it had looked from the clearing, but Audrey kept pace, holding her skirts up to her ankles. It made his heart swell to be able to lend her a hand as they picked a path up the crag.
At the top, Reid tugged Audrey up beside him.
“Heavens,” she said, her voice filled with awe. He loved how her expression filled with wonder, her cheeks rosy from exertion.
“Aye, my sentiments as well.” The scene was almost as breathtaking as the woman standing beside him. Below, the loch stretched lengthwise, almost like a still river cutting through a pair of majestic peaks, blanketed with grass and peppered with trees. For miles and miles, jagged mountains stretched to the clouds, each one daring them to pass over her treacherous cliffs.
“’Tis so vast. I never imagined.” Audrey held fast to Reid’s hand. “I thought we’d traveled so far from Blair Atholl, we’d nearly crossed the mountains.”
“Och, we’re still in the southern range.”
“And your home is in the north?”
“Up past Inverness, aye.”
Releasing his hand, she turned in a circle. “There are so many places for deer to hide.”
“There are.” A bit of scat caught Reid’s eye and he crouched down to examine it. “This is fresh.”
“They’re close then.” Shading her eyes, Audrey joined the hunt. “A print.” She raced ahead. “And another.”
Reid looked beyond her, but saw only trees. “Go on then, we’ve picked up the trail, there’s naught to do but follow.”
She glanced over her shoulder with a happy grin, then started down the hill, pointing. “This way.”
Reid followed, enjoying watching her lift her skirts and lithely leap over rocks as she maneuvered around shrubs of heather and broom. Audrey reminded him of a meadow nymph, lovely, happy, and without a care. She ran ahead up the crag and, at the tree line, she circled her finger above her head and pointed.
Reid readied the musket and hastened after her. With his next blink, he saw it, too; a glimpse of tan fur moved through the foliage. A thrill darted through his blood as he lined up his sights and crept ahead.
The deer stopped and looked, her ears shifting forward. Her nose twitched.
As he planted his feet, Reid’s finger closed on the steel trigger. He held his breath to ensure a steady aim and squeezed, the shot making the butt kick hard into his shoulder. His ears rang as he waved his hand and cleared away the smoke and smell of char. Blast. He’d missed. Branches cracked in the distance as their quarry escaped.
Behind him, Audrey shrieked.
Tumbling from above in a shower of rocks and debris, the lass came to a rolling stop under a bush of yellow gorse.
“Good God.” Reid’s heart flew to his throat as he lowered the muzzle and ran toward her.
“Ow.” She tugged her arm away from a nasty thorn and rubbed.
“Are you hurt?”
She scooted away, the gorse catching her skirts as if it had teeth. “Mayhap a scratch here and there.”
“Stay put,” he said. The damned briar had her trapped. “Allow me to release your gown.”
She bobbed her head in a nod, as if she was trying to keep tears at bay.
Dropping to his knees, he began the task of gently pulling the wool away from dozens of thorns. “My heart nearly stopped when I saw you falling.”
She smiled and swiped at a scrape on her chin. “Sss.”
Reid cringed. “You are hurt.”
“No.” She looked at the line of blood on her fingers. “Nothing that won’t heal in a day or two.”
He pulled her sleeve away from the last thorn, then smoothed his palm over her skirts. “And to think I believed you to be a delicate rose when we first met.”
She chuckled. “Even roses have thorns, my lord.”
He tweaked her cheek with the tips of his fingers. “Upon every passing day you surprise me with something new.”
“And you as well.” Audrey cupped his face, circling her fingers around his cheek. “Though I shaved you this morning, your stubble has grown anew.” Then she scratched with her nails like she might do to a pet. “I like the roughness of it.”
Reid lowered his gaze to her lips. A welcome pull of desire coiled deep inside.
She emitted a sultry chuckle. Moving her fingers behind his neck, she drew her lips to his.
A low growl rumbled from Reid’s throat. He liked it when she took command. And being with Audrey in the wild with a cool breeze whipping her long, silken locks across his face heightened his need for her. She must have felt it, too, because her hand deftly slipped to the hem of his kilt.
He waggled his brows as he captured a tendril of her hair. “You have a hankering to charm the dragon beneath my sporran, do ye, lass?”
Her eyes flashed wide with mischief. “A dragon, is it now?”
Releasing her hair, he toyed with her skirts, inching them ever higher while she moved onto his lap. “But ye ken I like to explore, too.”
He coaxed his hand between her thighs, and she parted her legs ever so subtly. “That sounds amusing. Possibly even more invigorating than the hunt.”
“Och, far more.” When at last his relentless fingers found her quim, she gasped, and Reid muted the sound with his mouth. He slid his finger inside her using her moisture to tease the pearl that could drive her to ecstasy. Audrey mewled like a cat as, beneath her bottom, he grew hard.
As she glanced downward, her breath caught. “It seems you were successful on your quest while my hands have become idle.”
He chuckled. Aye, she could talk like that all day. Between them, he tugged his kilt up and exposed his shaft.
“Mercy.” She slowly wrapped her fingers around him, making his balls clamp taut. “You’re as big around as my wrist.”
A pulse of pleasure gave him a shudder. “You ken what a man wants to hear, lass.”
She ran her fingers up, then down. “Can it be done…um…here?”
He nodded. “Straddle me.”
A sexy gasp caught in her throat as he grasped her by the waist and lifted as she shifted her legs, sliding her wet core along his cock.
He thrust his hips flush against her. “Do you want this?”
“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly.
When her tongue slipped across her lips, Reid groaned, the erotic scent of her womanhood washing over him. A gust of wind tantalized his exposed skin, heightening his need. Reid claimed her mouth with ravenous swipes of his tongue. Brazenly, Audrey guided his cock inside her. She was so wet, he could come with a single thrust.
He clamped his fingers around her hips. “Look at me, Audrey.”
Those deep blue eyes turned darker as they stared at him. With his hands guiding her hips, he used languid strokes to control the rhythm. Her breathing sped as she rocked up and down, then arched her back and took him deeper. Reid’s eyes did not leave her bonny face, but his lips parted while his breath came in short gasps. So erotic was their bond, he’d not last more than a few more strokes.
Throwing her head back, Audrey’s short gasps of ecstasy came quickly. The pressure built. Reid forced the tempo faster. A cry caught in the back of her throat. Though he nearly burst in unison with her peak, he clenched his bum cheeks and held fast until her quivering subsided. Then, after two deep thrusts, he bared his teeth and forced himself to pull out, bellowing like a savage.
Collapsing against him, Audrey ran delightful kisses along his neck. “You’ve turned me into a wanton woman.”
He chuckled. “And I’ve become a slave to your wiles.”
She rested her
head on his shoulder. “I wish we could stay here forever. It’s as if we’re the only two people in all the Highlands.”
Reid ran his palm up her back and held her in a tight embrace. If only there were some way he could make her wishes come true. If only he could spill his seed inside her and claim Audrey as his own. But there was the matter of his father’s promise. He’d ignored the situation long enough, and continuing to do so would serve no one. When he returned to Brahan, he would summon his uncle and attempt to negotiate an amicable resolution…as soon as he cleared his name.
Chapter Thirty-One
As the days passed, Reid’s injuries began to bother him less. Every day, to regain his strength, he swam, chopped wood, and practiced sparring against a post. Every night he cast his guilt aside and reveled in Audrey’s arms as they made love into the wee hours. It was a time of healing and a time to build his strength, to redevelop the muscles that had slackened during his misery in prison. One day without exercise was noticeable. A fortnight combined with his injuries? It would take him twice as long to recover and rebuild. Perhaps three times.
When thoughts of the future came, he pushed them away, refused to think of anything but the now. Alone in the cottage in the midst of the Highlands, it was as if he and Audrey were the only two people in all of Christendom. There in the wood, the cause, clan and kin, and all the reasons why he couldn’t have Audrey as his own faded into oblivion. For the first time in his adult life, he didn’t allow himself to think about the outside world and all that was wrong with Britain. He didn’t care about the Occasional Conformity Act. That James was being pigheaded about remaining faithful to the pope didn’t matter. Not now. Even his uncle Cromartie and the pact between the two septs of MacKenzie clans didn’t matter. There in the wood, they were removed from the political posturing that had incited wars on two continents. If only they could remain there forever. If only thoughts of his duty would continue to remain at bay.
Aye, Reid had nearly convinced himself he could hide with Audrey forever until the Marquis of Tullibardine rode into the clearing with his Highland army in his wake. A visit that shattered Reid’s oasis of happiness.
