by Mary Wine
“Come here, Shannon.”
“Why?” It was a foolish question, for the look on his face told her what he was wanting. Yet he didn’t look at her with disdain or superiority for asking. His expression lacked any smugness at all. What was there was something that she longed for: it was the look of a man who wanted her, just for herself.
“I want ye to come to me because I caught you both times I’ve kissed ye. So today I’m asking ye to come to me and offer me yer sweet lips.”
Her cheeks heated, but her lips tingled with anticipation. She leaned around a tree, remaining behind it while staring at the laird asking her for a kiss. He was a handsome devil, now that he was taking the time to charm her. “And if I tell ye nay?”
“Well then, I’ve heard it said the third time’s the charm.”
He abandoned his lazy stance, pushing away from the tree he leaned on incredibly quickly. There was no darkness to hide him now, and it was startling to see how fast he closed the distance between them. Determination was etched into his face, and his eyes full of anticipation.
A soft shriek crossed her lips as she straightened up. That proved to be an error, for it placed her in the open, making her an easy target. A grin curved his lips up before he opened his arms wide and bent his knees. He looked every inch the Highlander about to capture his chosen prey. Torin scooped her up, picking her right up and off her feet without a single hesitation. His arms closed around her, satisfying the longing she’d struggled against. Delight filled her senses as she felt his strength truly surrounding her. It was more pleasurable than she’d imagined, more sensual than any imagining ever could be.
“Since I’ve caught you, I will claim my prize.”
There was no doubt about what he wanted from her. His hand captured her thick braid, but she lifted her chin before he began pulling on her hair to gain her compliance. She craved his kiss and could not deny it. In fact, she didn’t want to resist the urge anymore. She felt fate breathing down her neck with the promise that soon Douglas would arrive to pass sentence on her family.
Torin’s embrace was a haven from that dark reality. His arms were unyielding and capable of giving her every bit of support she needed. Pleasure flowed from his touch, but she wasn’t close enough yet. She angled her head so that he could press a kiss against her mouth. Sweet and bold, he licked across her lower lip before sealing his mouth over hers.
It was not a delicate kiss. He demanded complete possession, pressing her mouth open while his hand retained a hard hold on her braid. He wrapped the rope of her hair around his hand to keep her captive to his will.
Yet she was a willing prisoner. In truth, she was eager to embrace the man who held her. All those who had forbidden her to touch and be touched were too far away now to impose their will on her. Freedom was as intoxicating as whisky.
Her hands reached for him, seeking out the open collar of his shirt and the bare skin that had teased her. The first touch of her fingertips against his skin drew a shudder from him. Shannon gasped, the small sound breaking through their kiss momentarily. All her fingertips felt abnormally sensitive. She was aware of each one as they made contact with him. He was so strong, and yet his skin was smooth and soft. She sent her hands farther into the open shirt until she found his collarbones and then the warm column of his throat. A soft male sound rumbled up from his chest. It was only a tone-on-tone sound without structure, but it conveyed his enjoyment. That bit of knowledge intoxicated her further, to know that her touch gave him cause to make sounds of pleasure, just as his did to her. It placed them on an equal footing, a position that she had never expected to be in.
He lifted his head away from hers. A soft sound of disappointment crossed her lips, but he didn’t heed it. He broke away from her grasp completely, leaving her body quivering with the loss. There was a sharp snap and pop as he pulled on the tie that held his claymore against his back. Hard purpose was etched into his expression. The look should have frightened her, but it didn’t. Instead she stared at him in fascination and slight disbelief.
For the first time in her life, she truly felt pretty. No words might have convinced her, only the look on his face. It was hard and taut, not soft or gentle as a song might have her expect. Yet that suited her far more, because it was his strength that drew her to him.
He swung the sword off his back in a fluid motion of his large arms. His eyes stared straight into hers in challenge. She stood still, her breath frozen in her lungs while he set the weapon aside. Understanding was plain. There were few reasons why a man such as he would put his sword aside. Not for a quick tumble, and not for a woman who he’d forget the moment his kilt dropped back down over his spent cock.
He reached toward her, doing it slowly now to gauge her response. It was another challenge, and it drew a twist of excitement from her belly, the anticipation building to an almost-unbearable level. She shivered when his fingers made contact with her. He stepped close in response, startling her with how intensely aware he was of her every response.
Truly, she had not understood what intimacy was before. It was becoming harder to know where he began and she ended.
“Kiss me.”
His voice was deep and husky but still edged with authority. It was that commanding edge that gained her attention. The impulse to tease him returned.
She rose up onto her toes and tilted her head. Excitement lit his eyes, but she pressed her lips against his jawline and sank back down.
He frowned at her, but there was a twinkle in his dark eyes that betrayed his enjoyment.
“I see that I will have to be more detailed in my requests.” His fingers tugged on the ties that drew her overgown into shape around her body. “That could be most interesting.”
Her outer gown loosened. She felt the giving of her garment like a splash of cold water against her bare skin. His fingers captured the fabric and drew it over her head before she finished gasping.
Whatever she’d considered saying about his removing her clothing died when she looked at his expression. His gaze had dropped to her chest, his dark eyes fixated on the points of her nipples where they raised the soft fabric of her undergown. Her overgarment fluttered toward the ground, completely forgotten. Torin reached for her but not too eagerly. His hands spanned her waist, gently grasping her body once again.
“Come here, Shannon. I’ve spent too many hours dreaming of having you in my embrace.”
He didn’t want to move slowly. A muscle was twitching along the side of his jaw, telling her how much self-discipline he was employing not to grab her.
There was another thing she had not expected. No woman did, for it was a man’s nature to take what he wanted. Torin wanted her; desire flickered in his eyes, while his hands smoothed a path across her ribs and onto her breasts.
He cupped them both, closing his hands around the tender curves. She shivered with enjoyment. The sensation raced down her back and into her passage. Both of her nipples were drawn tight into hard nubs that throbbed softly. Hidden between the folds of her sex was another point that pulsed with the same racing beat as her heart. He gently teased each peak with his thumbs, rubbing back and forth over them while closing the last step between them.
His body brushed up against hers, restoring the sweet, intoxicating cloud over her senses again. She lifted her hand and pulled at the ties that kept his shirt closed. When she’d loosened it enough, he reached up and tugged the garment over his head. It fluttered to the ground behind him, but she lost interest in watching it.
His bare chest was much more to her liking.
Up close, he was more magnificent than he’d been, standing on the boulder.
“Touch me, Shannon, for I’ve seen in yer eyes that ye want to.”
“That’s true.”
His command wasn’t necessary, because she was hungry for life’s pleasures. Nothing short of bindings on her wrists wou
ld have stopped her from reaching for him. She needed to touch him. Too many hours of thinking about it had left her desperate to discover what the reality felt like.
His eyes closed when she laid her hands on him. His expression became one of intense male satisfaction. It was fascinating, and it made her bold. Smoothing her hands along the hard ridges that covered his breast, she felt every bit of strength that she’d felt in his embrace.
“If I die right now, I’ll go happily, for yer touch is perfection.” He opened his eyes and pulled her against him with a solid arm around her waist. Her hands ended up trapped between their bodies, and there was something in his eyes that said he liked knowing that she was helpless in his hold for the moment. It was a subtle male need to show her his strength. What surprised her was the way she responded to it. Passion blossomed into full desire. She was suddenly aware of how much she craved having him press down on top of her. Carnal and wicked as it was, she could not deny how much she wanted to be taken.
He leaned down and pressed a hard kiss against her mouth. There was no teasing now. His tongue probed the seam between her lips, prodding her until she opened her jaw for him to thrust it down into her mouth. Her body craved the same penetration. Her hips flexed toward him without thought, instinct guiding her motions. Behind the pleated folds of his kilt, his cock was hard. Her entire being craved knowing what it would feel like inside her. Hunger clawed at her to stop teasing and rush toward what lay ahead.
Torin was done playing, it seemed. His kiss was full of demand, but he broke it off in order to strip her undergown from her. The afternoon air was suddenly not as warm as she’d thought. She felt the chill of it brushing along her bare legs and arms and across her belly and breasts. Hesitation gripped her, and her arms came up, trying to cover her nudity. One crossed over her breasts, and the other lay across her belly so that her hand might guard her sex from his keen gaze.
Torin scooped her up before she realized he meant to. Sweeping her feet off the ground, he turned before sinking to one knee. She shivered, but not in worry that he’d drop her. It was a ripple of sensation followed by another as she became aware of how good his bare skin felt against her own. Where his shirt was missing, he was warm, almost hot against her. The soft male hair coating his chest felt just harsh enough against her skin. He laid her down on top of their clothing, pressing her onto her back and following her until he was stretched out alongside her.
“It’s nae May Day, but I refuse to spend another night waiting to claim ye.”
“Claim me?”
His words were arrogant and edged with pride. One hand boldly cupped her bare breast while his expression became tight with hunger again.
“Aye, lass, claim ye. I swear I’ll be the only lover ye have.”
She stiffened, disliking the chains his words tried to bind her with. Lifting her hands, she pushed at his wide chest.
“I never promised ye anything of the sort, Torin McLeren.”
He refused to budge, stubbornly remaining exactly where he was, with her breast held in his grasp while she tried in vain to dislodge his larger body.
He leaned down until his warm breath teased her moist lips. “Of course ye haven’t, lass. But I have nae had the chance to show ye just how good a lover I’ll make yet. Once I do, ye’ll have no desire for any other.”
“Ye’re an arrogant brute.” Her words didn’t sound sharp, but she still frowned at him.
He smirked at her. “Nay, lass, what I am is confident, and you’ll learn to appreciate that facet of me personality.”
Shannon hissed at him and pushed harder against his chest. “So you say.”
His thumb brushed over her nipple, sending a hot shaft of desire through her. Her arms lost a great deal of their strength. His expression became less mocking and far more intense.
“’Tis something I’d far rather prove than mince words over.”
She hoped so…
Hot and thick, passion beckoned to her. She didn’t want to think, didn’t want to have to talk, because it drew her away from the sweet intoxication that allowed her to forget about everything beyond what her flesh craved.
Torin didn’t disappoint her. He leaned down and sucked her nipple deeply between his lips. Her back arched, while a startled cry passed her lips. The heat was searing. But the pleasure was so intense, she could not remain still. It was like a living thing trapped inside her; she had to arch and reach out for him.
He pressed her onto her back, the pile of their shed clothing making for a comfortable spot to lie. His mouth teased her nipple, sucking hard on the tender point before the tip of his tongue began to worry it. The afternoon air was no longer chilly; it was a soothing coolness that eased the burning heat that was licking its way along her. Torin smoothed a hand down her body, teasing her belly for long moments before venturing lower. Her thighs closed, but he teased the curls that lay on top of her sex, toying with them while that spot that throbbed just beyond his reach begged her to spread wide so that he might ease the ache there.
He lifted his head from her breast, and the air was cold against the wet tip of her nipple. Hard and hungry, he stared at her.
“I am going to be yer lover, Shannon.”
His hand moved lower, pressing her to relent and part her thighs.
“Only because I want ye to be. ’Tis my choice, Torin.”
Sitting up, she reached for his head and held it between her hands while she kissed him. Mimicking the motions he’d used, she pressed his lips apart to tease him with her tongue. He moved to support her with a hard arm across her back. But he only kissed her back, never taking the lead away. She thrust her tongue deeply into his mouth, sliding it along his own and shivering at the way it made her clit pulse. There was no way to keep her thighs together any longer. The folds of her sex felt too swollen to be crushed closed. Allowing her thighs to spread felt natural and correct.
“I’d not have ye any other way, Shannon.”
He rolled over her, stopping on the other side of her body. Only now her thighs were held open by his body, one of her knees bent and raised so that her thigh lay beneath his waist. He propped his forearm near her head, trapping one of her arms behind his back.
So easily she was placed at his mercy. He watched her while his hand smoothed over her belly again, stroking her with delicate motions while his dark eyes glittered with approval.
She hadn’t really been in control before, but it had felt like she was. A very clever deception to mask his strength and draw her toward him.
“Did ye mean what ye said?”
His hand had reached her mons again, making it far too difficult to think.
“That ye are here because ye choose to be?”
Her lower lip went dry when he fingered her slit. Just a slight touch of one fingertip against that so-forbidden place. She arched but could not move away.
“Did ye mean it, Shannon McBoyd?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I did, but I’m rethinking the matter now that ye are throwing my last name at me.”
“Use mine.”
His finger had frozen, making no movement. Her body protested, urging her to arch toward him to gain friction against her clit. He leaned down, covering her body with his own. Bare chest to bare chest, she sighed with pleasure. Never had she suspected that her body might find so much enjoyment all at the same time. Torin pressed a soft kiss against the side of her neck and then another and a third. Little ripples of delight raced across her skin.
“Say my name, Shannon. If ye choose me for yer lover, call me by my name.”
“Torin.”
He lifted his head to stare into her eyes. She knew what he wanted, could see the demand shimmering in his dark eyes. But there was also hunger there; she could see him struggling to contain it.
“And that is the only name that I’m interested in taking for my lover. Tor
in and Shannon. If ye want the rest, get off me and we’ll compare our colors, or ye may go and negotiate with my father for me.”
“It is the first time ye have called me by name. Can I nae take a moment to savor the sound of it on yer lips?”
And he enjoyed it. Another bit of hidden power that she had not expected to wield. But it affected him deeply. Lifting her free hand, she gently stroked his face, smoothing her fingers over the hard line of his jaw to where the muscle began to tic once again.
“Kiss me, Torin.”
He didn’t hesitate. His mouth found hers, his lips moving insistently over hers. His hand began seeking once more, this time delving between the folds of her sex until he found her clitoris. Fire and pleasure flashed through her, so intense, she gasped. Her head fell back, her eyes closing as the sensation became so blinding, there was nothing to do except allow it to consume her.
He rubbed gently at first but gained speed while she gasped beneath his touch. Time seemed to stop while her ears were filled with the sound of her blood rushing faster and faster. Her heart beat at a wild tempo, and her lungs struggled to keep pace. Her passage felt empty, so much so that it ached with need. Her hips arched upward, seeking to take his finger inside her. But he pinned her beneath his form, keeping her in place while his fingers continued to torment her.
Need and hunger became too much to bear. She cried out because there was no way to contain the boiling emotions. She needed something so badly, she jerked and arched in an attempt to gain it. Her belly was a knot of tension that was pulling tighter and tighter, until it suddenly burst in a fiery explosion of white-hot pleasure. It felt like she was falling, and she didn’t care if she ended up dead when she reached the bottom of the abyss. There was too much pleasure. It flooded her, washing over her from her belly outward and then returning to her passage, where everything became a soft glow of contentment. She collapsed against the ground, opening her eyes to see the sky turning pink with sunset.
“That is the reward that lovers sneak away to gain, lass.”
