“I am never comfortable around ye,” she admitted. “And I cannae help the way I look at ye. Ye are beautiful.”
Slowly, he joined her on the bed and covered her body with his. As his weight settled on top of her, she automatically reached for him, but he cuffed her wrists and placed them above her head. “No touching, and if ye doonae comply, I will have to restrain ye.”
Sucking in her lower lip, she wiggled under him and watched in fascination as his eyes darkened. “Sorry,” she whispered. “I do want to touch.”
“Later. When I am inside ye, ye can touch all ye like.”
Inside her. Yes. She wanted that. “Then get on with it!”
Laughing, he leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. “First ye want to seduce me and then ye tell me to get on with it. Ye are sending mixed messages.”
“Connor!” she all but shouted in frustration.
He kissed her, and it was anything but the soft kiss that he’d given her before. No, this was urgent, demanding, and when he settled his body on top of hers, she felt his manhood between her legs. More than anything, she wanted to touch him, but she kept her hands fisted in the pillow, mindful not to touch, while his mouth commanded hers.
“I need ye wet.” He trailed his kisses down her throat. “Yer body soft and ready.” They moved further down to her chest.
Her breath caught in her throat as his lips skimmed over her nipples. Curling her toes, she wondered at the pleasure shooting through her body. How could it so quickly want again?
“And I want to find out just what ye like,” he said huskily before he licked a nipple in his mouth and gently suckled. Arching her back, she moaned.
“Ye like that?” he teased and moved his mouth down. As his tongue dipped into her belly button, her body quivered. “And that?”
His hands curved around her hips as he moved down and kissed her thighs. “Later, I am going to taste ye.”
“Taste me?” she asked weakly.
Looking up, Connor smiled wickedly. “Aye. Doonae worry. Ye will like it. But right now, I am nearly out of my mind for want of ye.”
He slipped a finger inside of her and stroked. One first, and then he added another. With each thrust, she moved her hips, wanting him to go deeper, wanting that friction a little harder.
“Connor...” She couldn’t do as he asked. Pushing herself, she reached for him. His shoulder. His arm. She didn’t care. She just needed to touch him. “Connor, please.”
“So wet. For me.” Then a little aggressively, he was back over her and burrowing her into the bed, his mouth fused with hers. “Wet for me because ye are mine.”
His erection pressed against her entrance, and she widened her legs to welcome him. He nudged, slowly, carefully, and entered her.
With a gasp, she stilled and stared up at him. “Easy, lass,” he whispered. “It may be uncomfortable at first, and I have no wish to cause ye any pain.”
Slowly, he pulsed, shifted, and pushed. Inch by inch, he filled her. It was uncomfortable. A strange sensation as she stretched, but he was careful.
And then, with a groan, he pushed. “Moira, ye are so warm and tight.”
“Connor…”
“Give me a minute. Give yerself a minute.”
Silently, she waited, and discomfort eased. Moving her legs, she tested the sensations, and they both moaned a little as she moved again. Purposefully.
“Aye, lass. I have ye.” Pulling out, he pushed in again, and there was only pleasure. A slow spiral of beautiful and delicious pleasure.
“More,” she demanded. “More!”
Then, there were no words. As they moved together, she learned. She molded herself to his body, wrapped her arms around him, and surrendered herself fully to the movements that made them one.
Connor. Her first and only love.
Naked and open under him, she felt vulnerable to everything. To the seduction of his body, the power in his touch, the need in his eyes. As they kissed and caressed, she lulled herself into believing that they could be what they once were. This could be the marriage that she had always hoped for.
Sweat coated her skin, but she clung to him, refusing to let go of the dream, refusing to let go of him. “Wait, Connor. Too soon. Too soon!”
“Let go, Moira. I promise ye that ye can have me all night. Just let go, darling. I need to feel ye. Please.”
As if she could stop the break in the crescendo of pleasure building up inside of her. As she snapped, and flooded, she muffled her scream by burying her head in his shoulder.
One thrust. Two. He rode her through her orgasm until he anchored himself to her, shuddered, and spilled himself inside of her while he moaned her name.
12
The dawn came all too soon. A cold chill hit his back, but his front was nice and warm from the body curled up next to him.
A body that had managed to tug most of the covers to her side of the bed.
“Small price to pay,” he whispered to himself as he slowly pushed her hair out of her face. Moira was still deep in the throes of sleep, her chest rising and falling peacefully. He wanted to kiss her awake and fill his hands once again with her flesh, but they’d been up for most of the night exploring each other. She’d need her sleep.
Still, he stole a few precious moments staring at her. When he’d first laid eyes on her, he’d been bowled over by her. Now, she was older, harder, but she still stole his breath.
Last night had been unlike anything he had ever experienced. They fit together so naturally. She was eager, passionate, and he’d done anything and everything to hear those soft moans.
Just thinking about it had him hardening again.
Growling, he slowly forced himself away from her and out of the bed. He’d get dressed and get some fresh wood for the fire so when she did wake, it wouldn’t have to be to a cold chamber.
“Now that is a sight to wake up to,” she said huskily from behind him. Sleep clung to her voice, but when he turned, her eyes were open, and there was a seductive smile curled over her face.
“Ye should be sleeping.” Dressing quickly, he sat on the edge of the bed and let his hand linger on her hip. “I will make sure that the servants and my sister doesnae bother ye.”
Yawning, she sat up in the bed. The sheet fell from her body, and he groaned as her perfect breasts appeared. “Ah, my sweet. Ye are too tempting for words, but I know ye must be sore.”
“Aye, but ’tis not so bad that I wouldnae say no if ye climbed back in this bed.”
“Nights only,” he reminded her, and his heart dropped when a shadow fell over her expression. He wasn’t trying to push her away but just remind her of what she wanted. “And I wouldnae hurt ye, Moira. Promise me that ye will rest today.”
“I cannae make that promise. I am strangely energized.” Clutching at the blanket, she covered herself again. “I am to spend the day with Helena so I can help out around the keep.”
“Are ye all right with that? We hadnae spoken about that. Helena will be more than happy to continue her duties.”
“No.” Moira shook her head. “I ran the Hamilton keep for years. ’Tis not as large as here, but it willnae be any trouble. The cottage is close. Unless ye doonae want me to spend so much time in the keep?”
“Ye are the mistress now. Ye may go where ye please.” Leaning down, he kissed her forehead. “I have some things that I need to look after this morning, but I will start on the cottage this afternoon. It looks like the roof needs replacing, and the soil in the back needs to be turned. The furniture will need replacing. Are ye willing to wait?”
“Aye. I cannae explain it, but the cottage feels like a good fit. Like I need to be there.”
He needed her to be with him, but he swallowed his disappointment and nodded. “Then I will see ye tonight. I’d like to dine privately with ye for dinner. Will that be all right?”
“Oh, aye!” She nodded happily. “I didnae spend much time at the communal meals, so a private dinner will be nic
e.”
He made a mental note to give her a chance to bow out of the communal events so she would feel more comfortable. Then, with one last lingering look, he abandoned his warm bed and the luscious wife inside for the chill of the Highland morning and work that was piling up for him.
By the time he made it to Miriam’s cottage, he was aching and in desperate need of a bath. The day’s work had taken far longer than he had expected, but he’d promised Moira that he’d start work on the cottage, and he wouldn’t break his promise.
“Laird.” Lorna, one of the inhabitants of the neighboring cottage, was waiting for him. “She said that ye would return today.”
“Who said that? Moira? Grace?” Connor asked. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation but Lorna and her husband Alistair were one of the clan elders, and they deserved his respect.
“Of course not. The spirits that still haunt the cottage,” Lorna said pleasantly.
Wonderful. Not her too. “I wasn’t aware that ye could also see the dead,” he said a little grumpily as he set his tools down.
“They are lonely now that Miriam is gone, so they come to talk to me now,” she said airily. “I regret that I could not be there for yer wedding, Connor. My back aches something fierce if I travel too far, but I hear that ye are installing yer wife here. That isnae what a laird is supposed to do with his wife.”
“I made certain promises to make Moira my wife,” Connor said shortly. “This cottage makes her happy.”
“Ye still feel guilt for what ye did.” Her voice was soft and her eyes filled with compassion. “Has she not forgiven ye?”
“Forgiven me? Aye, but trust me? Nay. I doonae believe I will ever have that, but here, she will be safe and happy. I can give that to her, but first, I have to fix up this cottage.” He looked at her pointedly, trying to convey that he did not have time for conversation.
“Send yer lovely wife to me in the morning. And yer sister as well. I would like to break my fast with some female company.”
With one hand on her skirt and the other on her walking stick, she walked away relatively quickly for someone with a back problem.
“I am the laird,” he muttered to himself. “I am the one who commands others.”
Shaking his head, he entered the cottage to move the broken furniture aside. As he bent down to grab the table, a small breeze flowed through the cottage.
Turning to close the door, he stilled.
The door was closed. As was the window.
Air shifted around him and he breathed it in. Suddenly, he felt strangely calm and peaceful.
The odd moment didn’t last long before the door banged open and Nathair and Clyde stormed in. “What are ye doing just standing there? I thought ye were working on the roof?”
“I was moving the furniture out. ’Tis going to make quite a mess when we get started.”
Clyde shrugged. “Most of the furniture looks rotted. It’ll be trashed.”
“Aye, but Moira wants to clean it herself, and I willnae have her moving the furniture. Stop questioning me and help already,” Connor grumbled as he glanced around the cottage. “And help me check for holes. The wind is getting in when it should not. I willnae have my wife catching her death!”
“Ye know where ’tis not windy?” Nathair countered. “The keep, and yer bed, where yer wife is supposed to be.”
Connor’s head pounded. If one more person told him where his wife was supposed to be, the night patrol would double in size.
The roof turned out to be in better shape than he’d first anticipated, and they’d gotten most of the work done that night. By the time he returned, he found both dinner and a bath drawn in his chambers.
Moira perched on his bed with one of the ledgers in her lap. Looking up at him, she gave him a shy smile. “Hello. I was told that ye usually bathe before dinner, but ’tis late, and I feared that ye might be hungry. I can have the dinner reheated if ye would like to bathe first or the water reheated if ye’d like to eat.”
He’d walked in tired, cranky, and sore, but the moment he laid eyes on Moira, all of that melted away. His gaze on hers, he stripped off his filthy shirt. “I believe I shall bathe first, but I am hungry. Would ye feed me while I bathe?”
“Feed ye?” Her eyes narrowed until his hand went to the buttons of his tartan, and then he saw something in her face. “Ye are late because ye were working on my cottage, so I suppose that is a fair trade.”
Blushing just a little, she turned to the pot of stew on the table. Naked, he stepped into the tub and submerged himself while she spooned out the stew. Dragging the table and chair over to him, she sat and held out the bowl.
He eyed it. “I believe I said to feed me.”
“Ye are not a child. Ye can feed yerself while ye soak in the tub.”
Smirking, he took the bowl. “Then ye will help me wash when I am finished. To save time.”
He didn’t miss the flush or the fact that she didn’t say no. Oh, he loved that Moira was so eager to play.
“So Helena is a formidable woman,” she said as she settled back with her own bowl of stew in her hand. “I doonae believe that she likes me vera much.”
She wasn’t wrong. The older woman was used to doing things her way, and she didn’t like change. “I will have a word with her.”
“Not necessary. I believe she was warming up to me some. The only way we will work well together is if there is some respect between us, and there will be no respect if my husband fights my battles for me.”
“All right,” he said softly as he watched her. Suddenly, he wasn’t as worried as he was before. She would find her place in his clan just fine because she was a fighter, and she would go after what she wanted.
His own wife was a formidable woman. He hoped that she understood that.
“Did Grace spend the day with ye?”
“Aye. And Ainsley. She wants to be helpful while she is here. I believe she needs it, so she wanted to see if there was some duty that she could undertake.”
“’Tis not necessary,” Connor said absently. Did Moira know how enticing she looked as she broke off a piece of biscuit and popped it in her mouth? “May I have a bite? I don’t want the biscuit to crumble in my bath.”
After contemplating for a moment, she broke off a piece of the biscuit and leaned over. Gripping her wrist, he slid his mouth over her fingers, using his tongue to caress them as she gasped softly and released the biscuit in his mouth.
Satisfied, he released her and sat back into the water. “Thank ye.”
Clearing her throat, she returned to her stew. “I have been thinking about refurnishing the cottage. I do have some coin with me, and if ye will give me the name of a talented carpenter, I will pay them to build me some furniture.”
“Save yer coin,” Connor said instantly. He already had someone in mind to help with the new furniture, and he would not have her spending her coin. “I already planned to speak to Mungo in the morning. He has some pieces already that I believe will work well, and he enjoys the work, so he’ll love to make the rest.”
“Vera well. Then I would like to commission yer seamstress to make some new dresses for myself and Ainsley. We are currently sharing Grace’s wardrobe.”
“Commission the dresses. I will pay.”
Narrowing her eyes, she frowned. “Connor…”
“Yer money is not to be spent on things ye need, lass. I am yer husband, and I can provide for ye. Spend yer money on trinkets and gifts, but not on necessity.” He would not let it be said that he could not provide for his wife.
Things were tense for a moment, but she relaxed. “All right.”
“The lady who lives next to the cottage, Lorna, has a wish to meet ye and speak with Grace. She has invited ye to break yer fast with her in the morrow.”
Her eyes lit up with delight. “I would like that vera much.”
Connor watched her closely. She was so beautiful when that smile reached her eyes. Her whole face glowed. He wished the
re was something he could do to put that smile on her face.
“I doonae know that Grace will feel the same way,” he said after a moment. “I doonae wish for Ainsley to feel left out, but she was not part of the invitation.”
“She mentioned going riding in the morning, but we will do something with her afterward. She will understand.”
Just like Moira understood. Here she was, the new wife to a husband who had exiled her, forced to live with the sister who hadn’t had her back, and shelter the friend who’d witnessed everything. He’d never met anyone quite as strong as her.
So strong that she’d built a wall around her, and he had no idea how to break that wall down. How to make her see how truly sorry he was. How much he still cared for her.
How much he wished he could love her.
“Water is still warm,” he said suddenly. “Join me.”
Pausing, she stared, eyes wide. Then, slowly, she sat her food down and stood. Undoing the sash around her dress and the buttons, she loosened the shoulders until it slipped to the floor. Dressed only in her simple white shift, she picked up the skirts and stepped in on the opposite side, sitting on the lip.
“Is that as far as I can get ye to come?”
“Aye. If I get in with ye, the water will slosh over the edge and make a mess,” she pointed out. “But my feet were aching and the warmth feels nice on them.”
Leaning forward, he deliberately splashed some water on her dress and tried not to stare as the fabric along her thighs grew transparent and plastered to her skin. Connor took her ankle and straightened her leg as he leaned back. She watched in confusion until he pushed his thumb along her arch.
Moira’s mouth dropped open, and she moaned a little. “Connor,” she whispered. “That feels wonderful.”
“Tell me about yer day,” he urged her, loving the way her breath caught as she spoke. “Tell me what ye think of my keep.”
Using his other hand, he applied more pressure to her ankle as he rotated her foot. Moira sucked in her lower lip and shimmied just a little closer.
Highlands’ Forbidden Deeds Page 26
