by Amy Jarecki
Do it. Kiss me with the same fervor and passion you showed me in the wood.
Sliding her hand to his shoulder, she did not avert her gaze while she moved closer. Dunn dipped his chin while his big hand tugged her closer. “God save me, Lady Mairi, I want to kiss you.”
Her heart soared as she wrapped her hands around his neck and rose on her toes. Their lips met with more fervor than before. This was not a sweet kiss, but a savage joining that expressed more emotion than words could express in a lifetime of writing. She might not be a practiced kisser, but Mairi learned quickly. When he swirled his tongue, she matched him. When he gave a little suck, she did as well.
The deeper he probed, the greater her need. Something coiled deep inside grew insistent, heightening her desire. Every inch of her flesh was alive and craving more. He rubbed his hands up and down her back, coaxing her body flush to his. Her breasts molded against his powerful chest. His hands slid downward. Mairi’s fingers sank into thick bands of sinew while Dunn’s fingers cupped her bottom and pulled her even closer.
Something long and hard pressed into her abdomen, bringing a flood of hot moisture between her legs. Mairi’s eyes flashed open as she gasped, suddenly realizing exactly the effect she had on him. Aye, she’d heard the talk among the servants at Castle Leod. She’d seen animals mate and knew how men were different beneath their kilts. And everyone knew men were made the way they were to mate with women.
She just wasn’t quite sure how it was all accomplished. Right now, the doing of it didn’t matter. All she knew was she wanted Dunn to hold her in his arms and press his body against her and kiss her until she could stand no more.
Still dizzy, Mairi dropped her head back and moaned while his kisses trailed down her neck like feathers. “My flesh is afire.”
His lips stilled. “Has the fever returned?” he asked, concern rolling in his voice as his warm breath made gooseflesh spread down her spine.
“Nay, nay.” She moved a hand to his cheek and cupped it reverently while she studied his rugged features. “’Tis on account of you, Dunn. You have ignited a fire deep inside me.”
He chuckled—a low, deep rumble that made her heart thrum. As if possessed by surreal forces, she arched her back, pressing herself closer to his hardness.
More, more, more!
Dunn’s hot lips continued downward while his fingers worked loose the ties at the front of her garments. A hint of alarm registered in the back of her mind, but all she could do was hold on for dear life. “Wha-what are you doing?” she asked breathlessly, trying to regain a modicum of control.
“I’m kissing you, lass.”
Good Lord, how did he raise her passion simply with the tone of his voice? Just when she thought she could endure no more, his tongue swept over the top of her breast while his finger flicked over her sensitive nipple.
Again, she gasped. When he covered her nipple with his mouth and suckled her, her defenses fell with a maelstrom of euphoria. Her knees went limp as she gave herself over to the power of his will.
Chapter Seventeen
Dunn thought he was in control, thought himself able to steal a single kiss and cool the raging passion that had lurked beneath his skin ever since he’d battled the dragoons and raced for the Highlands with Mairi between his arms. He wanted to woo the lass slowly. He wanted to be in complete command. But with his every stolen kiss, his control slipped further into oblivion. Good God, her wee sighs, her hips grinding into his cock—everything about this woman made him ravenous and totally, unequivocally, exceedingly unable to stop.
Could he take the chance and reveal the love he’d bottled up for years? He’d asked for a kiss, and she did not shy. The desire reflected in the lady’s eyes showed him what she wanted, and when he’d finally lowered his chin and kissed her, in his arms she turned to potter’s clay.
It took him less than three ticks of the mantel clock to slip her kirtle from her shoulders while he continued to ply her flesh with kisses. Arching her back and giving herself over to his seduction, she didn’t seem to notice as he unlaced her stays. Ample breasts bounced free beneath her chemise, making him harder than forged steel. His hands and lips roved over supple flesh with only a thin bit of holland separating his fingertips from her. But it wasn’t enough.
Hot and potent desire coursed through him. Unable to help himself, he worked loose the tie of her chemise and slipped his hand inside. His mouth continued across the silkiness of her skin, languidly tasting her. Every swirl of his tongue increased his desire. Seed leaked from the tip of his cock as at long last he cupped the fullness of her breast. Incredibly soft, pert, and perfectly round, her nipple drew tight, begging to be suckled. Demanding to be kissed. Dunn happily obliged. Gasping, Mairi dug her fingers into his back as her body arched into his cock. With his mouth full of divine and pure woman, he moaned and moved with the rocking of her hips.
The woman he’d loved for years swooned in his arms like one possessed, begging him not to stop. Holding her upright, he looked toward the bed. Hell, he looked at the floor as well. But a woman as fine as Lady Mairi must be treated with reverence and care. Gently, he lifted her into his arms, carried her across the floor, and rested her on the mattress.
When her head touched the pillow, she looked at him with seductive, half-cast eyes.
He grinned. “Do ye ken how desirable you look?”
She raised her arms. “I need more of your kisses.”
“I want to kiss you forever.” He climbed beside her and nuzzled into her neck. If only he could slide between those feminine thighs and claim her once and for all. Instead he rubbed his cock against her hip. “And I want to do so much more.”
Mairi rolled on her side and thrust her mons forward, connecting with his erection. Her face took on not only passion but also a visage of challenge. “W-would you ravish me, sir?”
Her words came out breathlessly, but there was no mistaking her meaning. Dunn hadn’t lost his sanity enough to take her like a harlot, though. Aye, he wanted Mairi, but he knew what taking her virginity meant, and the price of one hundred guineas on his head might possibly quadruple—unless he convinced her to reconsider, to vow to be his forever.
Nonetheless, it was the heat of passion making the innocent maid reckless. He knew it, but she did not. It was his responsibility to douse the fire under the steaming kettle. Now.
“I would never ravish you, m’lady.” He kissed her, weighing his next words carefully, praying they would not be met with scorn. “If you consented to lie with me…ah…it must only be with the understanding that we marry.” The last word hung in the air while neither he nor she took a breath.
“Marriage?” she asked at last, her voice shaky. Dunn held his tongue while she toyed with a lock of his hair, her eyes drifting away from his gaze as if a hundred thoughts swirled in her mind.
“I…um.” She traced his finger along his jaw while her lips parted. “There is one thing I must know first.”
Did he have a chance? “Anything,” he replied all too eagerly.
“When you offered for my hand…was it out of pity?”
“Never.” He reverently smoothed his palm over her silken tresses. “Even when you were betrothed to Seaforth, I secretly wished you could be mine. I love you. You must believe I want you to be my wife. I did then, and I do more than ever now.”
“Good gracious, you do.” She placed her palm over his heart, her eyes welling. “And unknowingly I hurt you with my callous refusal. If only my father would have expressed the depth of your sincerity. He told me you were merely acting on your duty. I never dreamed you truly wanted to marry me.”
“Believe it, lass.” He traced his finger around her breasts. “Bonny doesn’t begin to describe you. To me you are a goddess.”
She stilled his hand, and then her gaze dipped downward and back up. “Please. I want you to make love to me.”
Lord save him, he wanted her more than anything he’d ever wanted in all his days. “I want you to be
my wife.”
“I do, too. But my father…”
“What you desire is all that matters. What you, Lady Mairi MacKenzie, wish in the depths of your heart is the only thing that can influence my actions.”
“My wishes?” She giggled. “Da has never considered my wishes.”
“Though I respect your father, I covet neither his station nor his wealth. I do not fear him or what he thinks he can do to me. My only concern is for you and your happiness, m’lady.”
“I want—”
Touching his finger to her lips, Dunn silenced her. “Afore you answer, think on it. If you want me, it will nay be easy. Your father and your kin could be lost to you forever. But I swear, even if I am forced to turn my back on Seaforth, I will never turn my back on you.”
Her eyes shifted while her lips pursed. “You are more a man than my father, and I can no longer imagine myself without you.”
With her words, Dunn’s heart soared. “I love you, Lady Mairi.” Before she answered, he captured her mouth, plunging his fingers into her hair, and showed her how much she meant to him. His lips wandered across her cheekbones to her tiny earlobes. She shivered and sighed as he kissed her neck and found his pleasure between the glorious valley of her breasts. As he worshipped her, his fingers inched her chemise up over her thighs, blessing him with the intoxicating fragrance of a woman aroused. When he stripped off the undergarment, he rocked back and feasted his eyes on her magnificence—long, slender legs, a flare of hip, a coppery nest of curls. A spike of desire hit Dunn so hard, his ballocks squeezed, making him come too close to losing his seed.
“No woman on earth is half as bonny as you, mo leannan.”
She sat up and reached for his belt. “I must see ye bare.” With a flick of her wrist, his kilt pooled around his knees. Mairi’s lips parted as she took in a breath, staring at his erect cock. “You are so…so large.”
He liked having her eyes on him, liked the admiration in her voice. “And I’m all for you. Only you, lass.”
As she lay back down, her hair sprawled across the pillows. “Then show me.”
Good God, with one stroke of her lithe fingers, his balls would explode. Needing to slow his fervor, he rolled beside her and gazed into her mesmerizing eyes. “Are you certain?”
She nodded, her gaze drifting to his manhood. “More certain than I’ve been in a long time.”
He ran his finger around her nipple, aching to be inside her. “It can be painful for the first time. I-I do not want to hurt you.”
“A wee bit of pain will be worthwhile if it binds me to you.” She kissed him, her lithe fingers reaching down and brushing the tip of his cock.
Dunn sucked in a ragged breath.
“Sorry.” Pulling her hand away, her eyes grew wide. “Did I hurt you?”
“Nay,” he managed to utter, coaxing her hand back down. “Feel me. Feel my length. See how much I desire you.”
“Do you like me to touch you…ah…there?”
“Aye, it drives me mad.”
“Mad?”
Dear God, how could he think with Mairi milking his cock? With a feral growl, he moved atop her and kneeled between her legs. “Let me show you pleasure.”
“Please.”
Parting her curls, he brushed the pad of his thumb over her wee button.
Gasping, Mairi arched her back. “My stars. What—how—good Lord!”
He grinned, swirling his thumb in a languid rhythm. “Close your eyes and allow yourself to feel.”
She did as he asked, and when her hips worked in concert with his thumb, he slid his finger inside her. “Think of me entering you.”
“Mm,” she moaned, her face enraptured.
He added a finger. “I will stretch you further than you think is possible.”
The rocking of her hips sped. “Please. I want it. I want you.”
Barely able to control himself, he held himself over her and slid his member up the channel of her parting. Back and forth he tempted her, his thighs shuddering while her hot moisture spilled over him.
As Mairi opened her eyes, she arched up and caught the tip of his cock at her entrance. Dunn’s breath caught. Smoldering, completely aroused woman took ahold of him and looked him straight in the eye. “Take me,” she whispered.
Jesus Saint Christopher Christ, he could come right now. He clenched his buttocks and tried to think of anything but plunging into her depths and burying himself to the root. Good God, he needed to make this the most memorable experience of her life. Show her the heights of pleasure. “I’ll try to be gentle,” he growled, trying not to sound too gruff.
She nodded, her hips continuing their seductive swirling rhythm. Christ, he was supposed to be the one seducing Mairi, but without a lick of schooling she’d proved an expert. Slowly, he pushed inside.
She sucked in a gasp.
Dunn froze. “Am I hurting you?” His hips rocked back. “If you want to stop…”
Mairi’s fingers clamped into his bum. “I like it.” With a firm tug, she urged him deeper while she made little gasps beneath him. By the saints, he adored this woman. He ground his back molars, his body shuddering, demanding release. But he denied himself while, ever so slowly, he slid into the length of her. When his tip reached a pillowy soft wall, he gazed into her sultry eyes.
“This is the nearest I’ve been to heaven.” Aye, the torture of waiting, of going painfully slow, was all worthwhile as he held himself buried deep in her—joined as man and woman in the most intimate discovery known to humankind.
She rocked her hips beneath him. “We are one. It is a miracle.”
“Aye, but you must come.”
“Come?”
“As the pain ebbs, swirl around me. Find the spot that will drive you wild, and rub.”
“Fast?”
“As fast as you want, lass.”
While she rode him, her breath speeding, her face flushed with rapture, Dunn’s ballocks clamped so tight, he forced himself to suck in deep breaths to keep from spilling. Until Mairi’s eyes flew open, a cry catching in her throat. In an explosion of pure passion, frenzy claimed his mind. With Mairi’s deft fingers kneading his backside, he lost all control. Her cries echoed in Dunn’s ears, driving him over the top. Her wild scent ensnared him. Stars flashed across his vision.
Faster and faster he thrust. Mairi moved her hands up his back as she clung to him. And now that she’d reached her peak, he was free to drive with fury. Out of control, his breathing sped, his heart hammered. All at once the burst of euphoria flooded him. His body quivered with strain. His cock convulsed as he bellowed, “Mairi!” After one more deep thrust, he forced himself to pull out as he crashed into the wave of glorious release.
Dunn held himself over her, his head dropping forward as he fought to catch his breath. “Lord have mercy,” he growled, while his heart began to steady.
Pushing up on his elbows, he raised himself high enough to regard the wildcat’s face. Her lips swollen and slightly parted, her heavy-lidded gaze, red hair in a mass of tangle. Mercy, she defined rapture. Her Ladyship bewitched him mind and soul, and he would fight heaven and hell to make her his. He would fight the Earl of Cromartie. If it came down to it, he would face off with Seaforth himself.
With a satiated moan, he trailed kisses down her neck. “Was it good for you, mo leannan?”
She cupped his cheeks between her hands. “Never in all my days did I imagine such pleasure.”
“You are the world to me, Mairi.” Breathing deeply to catch his breath, he rolled to his back and pulled his woman atop him. “Ye ken I adore you.”
She rested her head on his chest, swirling her fingers over his chest. “And I you.”
He cradled her with love swelling in his breast. He closed his eyes against the power of his emotions. Aye, the woman in his arms made him swell with pride—made him want to be a better man. A man of whom Her Ladyship would always be proud.
* * *
Brimming with joy, Mairi fl
oated through the next several days. Rarely did Dunn leave her side, though he still wouldn’t allow her to venture outdoors. They did explore the keep, which had more rooms than Castle Leod. Fortunately, she no longer missed her freedom. Now she knew why they sang ballads about love consuming a soul’s mind and body. Oh, how the laird knew how to fulfill a woman’s desires…in so many astonishing ways.
During an hour when Dunn had gone to tend to his affairs, Mairi sat in the window embrasure reading a book about the uncomely Mooth-Toothed Meg and her improbable union with a borderland laird. She’d only managed to read the first chapter when the braw Highlander of her dreams burst through the door. “Mairi, I hope you are hungry for the evening meal.” He wore a dress tartan, complete with velvet doublet, silk waistcoat, and lace cravat.
She set the book aside and studied him quizzically. “As a matter of fact, my stomach growled not but a minute past.” Craning her neck, she looked around him. “I do not see a tray.”
He made a sweeping gesture with his arms. “We shall take our meal in the banqueting hall.”
“Aye? Will there be guests?” She clapped her hands together. On the tour she’d been impressed by the banqueting hall. The chamber consumed the entire first floor. The stone walls were adorned with life-size family portraits and tapestries. Nearly the entire room was filled by an enormous table.
“It will just be the two of us. I’ve asked the lads to rearrange things a bit.”
“Tell me, will we need parchment and quill to communicate from opposite ends of the table?”
He chuckled. “I do not think I could bear to be so far away from you through an entire meal.”
