by Mary Wine
“Don’t tease me.”
He shrugged and crossed the floor back toward her. Sensation rippled across her skin, an awareness that happened instantly just because he was near once more. He reached up and trailed the tips of his fingers across her cheek. It was tender, and she felt it so deeply, her eyes filled once more with unshed tears.
“I think that is exactly what needs doing, Shannon. A wee bit of teasing. Our time together has been too full of things that neither of us can control. In another time, we could have met at a spring festival and enjoyed teasing one another.”
She sighed. The image his words conjured up was a feast for her starving soul. But he suddenly dipped down and scooped her off her feet. He cradled her against his chest, her weight doing nothing to tax him at all. In fact, there was a look of satisfaction on his face while he looked down at her.
“I am starving, woman, and our supper is growing cold.”
Shannon swatted at one of his large shoulders. “Put me down, Torin. I can walk very well.”
He cradled her effortlessly and only smiled at her frown.
“There is a certain comfort in knowing that I can move ye where I please, sweet Shannon. Maybe I’ll share a few of my ideas with ye after we’ve eaten. I believe we’ll need our strength for where my thoughts will lead us.”
She gasped, but it was not in outrage. Anticipation began to flicker in her belly as he deposited her in the chair. He slid it back close to the edge of the table without any strain.
“Ye are a wicked man. I believe I should fear for my soul for the effect ye have on me.”
Torin sat down across from her and reached for the linens that covered the trays. Steam rose up when he pulled them off, and the scent of hot meat filled her nose. Her belly rumbled low and long in response. Torin laughed at her.
“Wicked I might be, but ye are my co-conspirator, madam. Ye don’t fear my insanity; ye welcome it because it pleases ye.” He looked up at her. “Greatly.”
That single word, uttered in his brassy tone, sent a quiver down her limbs. It was the tone that he used when he was deep inside her, the sound that she heard when pleasure was about to consume her.
Her belly growled again, interrupting her thoughts. Torin chuckled.
“We’ll have to be returning to that idea ye were just thinking about, my sweet.”
He began using a large knife to move thick slices of meat off the center tray and onto the plates; the enjoyment showing in his eyes made her laugh softly. One dark eyebrow rose in response.
“There is a boy inside ye sometimes.”
“Aye, and he wants to take ye out to roll in the new spring heather.”
Shannon waved a single finger back and forth. “That is not something a boy would be thinking about.”
Torin swallowed what he’d been chewing and offered her a roguish smile. “Well now, lass, the boy is stuck inside the body of a man, so ye would be getting the best of both. The toying and the rolling as well as whatever else I can entice ye into doing.”
She couldn’t resist the urge to smile, and her eyelashes fluttered too. A soft blush stained her cheeks in spite of the fact that he had already had her. Somehow she’d thought that gentle seduction was only for maidens. Torin grinned at her before ripping a round of bread in half and offering her one side. At her father’s home, she had never eaten alone, always taken her meals in the crowded hall. Tonight the simple act of taking bread from another’s hand felt intimate. She noticed the way his fingers held it, and the way her eyelashes fluttered once again when she took it from him.
“I find that I like the combination quite well.” She lifted her eyelashes to stare into his dark eyes. “The one of boy and man.”
He liked her compliment. Enjoyment flickered in his eyes while he ate. Her hearing became more sensitive, her ears noticing every sound. She was focused on her company, watching him in a manner that she seemed to want to only do with Torin. She finished eating before he did, and sat back in her chair with her hands wrapped around a goblet of rich wine. Shannon sipped at it slowly but felt heat moving through her veins anyway. It wasn’t the wine that sent fire flickering across her skin; it was the certain knowledge that Torin wanted her near. He’d had her and still longed for her company. Teasing, he’d said. Now that sent the sweetest rush of delight through her. It soaked into more than her flesh; it filled her heart, because it was more than lust. This went beyond the passionate needs of the body. Maybe there were no words, but in a way that was what made her notice her feelings all that much more.
It was startling, making it impossible to remain so still. Standing up, she left the wine behind. She was intoxicated enough on just her company. The sun had set, but the night was clear, allowing the stars to twinkle in the velvet of the dark sky. She leaned out of the window to enjoy the view. The candles died behind her, casting the room into darkness.
Torin wrapped his arm around her, cutting the chill with his body heat. The scent of fresh bread clung slightly to him, but what she noticed more than anything was the scent of his skin. Clean and masculine in spite of the fact that she would have been hard-pressed to explain what made it masculine. He smelled strong and capable, and she found it deeply attractive. Her heart began to beat faster, and her lungs filled more quickly to keep pace. That drew more of his scent into her senses, doubling her awareness of him. He lifted one finger and pointed toward a boulder that was sticking up above the surface of the water.
“I like to swim out to that rock and stand there with nothing but the night surrounding me.” His arm tightened around her, and she felt the press of his cock against her bottom through her thin dressing gown. “But ye know that, don’t ye, Shannon?” His voice was a dark whisper against her ear. She shivered as passion began to lick its way across her skin. She rubbed her bottom against his cock, gently teasing him in return.
“I thought ye were the manifestation of legend, all washed in moonlight.”
“I will happily play the part ye wish, my lady.”
He scooped her off her feet once again, cradling her against his body so that she could feel his heart beating against her side. The moonlight painted the floor in silvery waves, across which Torin carried her his way toward the bed.
He placed her on her feet and tugged off the dressing gown. The air was soothing against her skin. She enjoyed being nude, and she climbed up onto the bed before Torin finished tossing the garment over a chair.
She froze there, poised on all fours. Torin made a soft sound that was more of a growl than anything else, but it struck her as praise.
“Ye could demand that I get on my knees, and I swear I’d do it so long as ye promised to remain just like that, lass. Bare and welcoming in me bed.”
She should have felt awkward. Her breasts hung down, and the moonlight illuminated her like an animal roaming the dark. Maybe she was more beast than human, for it was true that she was seeking what she craved.
“I cannae picture ye on yer knees, Torin McLeren.”
He reached out and cupped one of her breasts. It was a soft touch, gentle and smooth, but she shivered in response, her nipple contracting into a tight peak.
“Then watch me.”
He climbed onto the bed and knelt in front of her, his powerful body poised, his chest a mass of ridges that rippled down to where his cock stood up. The head was crowned with a thick ridge that she recalled tasting.
“Seeing ye on yer knees is suddenly much more appealing.”
“Is that so, lass?”
She stared at him in the dark, their gazes locking while she felt her heart accelerating yet again. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears, but her senses were also keen enough to hear the slap of the water against the stones in the loch.
More than anything she was aware of the man waiting for her touch, so still, but only because he wanted her to reach for him. It would be simple for him to t
ake her. But that was not what drew her to him. This desire to have her come to him summoned her forward, crawling toward him across the surface of the bed. His hands curled, but he remained in place, waiting on her whim.
Her attention lowered to the hard flesh standing so tall between his thighs. Lowering her body until she rested on her belly with his knees on either side of her shoulders, she reached out to walk her fingertips up the length of his cock. He sucked in a breath that whistled between his set teeth.
“Humm…” There didn’t seem to need to be an actual word, only a sound that communicated her playful mood. She paused on the soft skin that sat just beneath the head of his cock. Playing with the spot, she listened to his breathing become rough.
“Be careful who ye call wicked, woman. At the moment ye qualify for the title more than I.”
“Possibly… but is that a complaint or a compliment?”
“I’ve nae yet made up my mind on the matter.”
His tone was edged with challenge. Shannon rose to it, leaning down to allow her tongue to travel the same path that her fingers had. He jerked, the hard muscles moving in a snap of reflex in response to her actions. A curse sailed over her head in a rough tone that was almost too deep to understand.
But she comprehended the reason behind it.
She was driving him toward the same insanity he so often did to her, unleashing sensations so intense, holding still became a battle of will against flesh.
It was the greatest compliment she’d ever received from a man. She could not recall any praise that impacted her more deeply.
Wrapping her hand all the way around his staff, she opened her mouth and closed her lips around the head. Her tongue began to play across the smooth skin, licking through the slit to taste the small drop of salty seed that had already arisen there. She cupped his sac with her free hand, rolling it gently while her tongue continued to flick around the crown of his cock. She relaxed her mouth and took more of his length inside. A large hand captured the back of her head, and his hips thrust gently toward her, driving even more inside. But it didn’t bother her, she was absorbed in the sounds of male pleasure her touch wrung from him.
“Enough, lass.”
Torin wasn’t going to leave the matter up to her. He pulled her head away from his cock, and she looked up to see his face drawn tight. She continued to finger the spot under the head of his cock, and a tic appeared along the side of his jaw. Determination glittered in his eyes.
“Two may play at that game, sweet Shannon.”
“What game is that?”
Her thumb slipped easily over the wet skin of his cock, drawing another harsh sound from his lips. His hips gave a short thrust toward her, and he growled with frustration.
“The game of seeing who might outlast the other. The battle of temptation.”
She pushed her hands against the surface of the bed and rose up onto her knees. His expression softened, turning to one of hunger. His gaze traveled to her breasts, and he reached for them, cupping each tender globe in a gentle grasp. He passed his thumbs across the hard tips, back and forth, sending ripples of delight down her body to her pearl. The small point pulsed, keeping the same tempo as her heart.
“I dinna want to play games, Torin.”
All she wanted was to be closer to him. Agreement flickered in his eyes, and he slid his hands down her sides and toward the twin halves of her bottom.
“Aye, lass, I share that same desire.”
He pulled her forward, lifting her up so that he might impale her. Her knees slid easily onto either side of his hips, and his cock pressed deep into her passage as he controlled her descent onto it. Shannon wrapped her arms around his neck, gasping as his flesh stretched her wide once more. So hard and yet so satisfying. His hands remained around her bottom, lifting her up so that his cock slid free up to the tip, and then he allowed her to sink back down until he was buried inside her to the hilt.
She moaned, unable to contain the rapture.
“Sometimes, slow is better.”
Torin wrapped his arms tightly around her, binding her to his body with his length contained inside her. He pushed up off his knees and placed her back against the bed.
“But I need to feel ye beneath me.”
She shivered, her flesh enjoying the idea his words sparked in her mind. There was no way to explain it, but she wanted to feel his strength on top of her. His body covered hers, wider, harder, and more powerful. It reduced her to a state of pure sensation. There was nothing but the feeling of their skin pressing together, nothing but the way she could feel his heart beating on top of her own. But most of all, there was the steady thrusting of his hips, driving his cock deeply into her body. He didn’t hurry but kept his pace even. Her body wanted to quicken the motion, but Torin refused her that, keeping to his steady rhythm. It kept her poised on the edge of pleasure, neither fulfilled nor disappointed. Each thrust slid across her throbbing pearl, drawing the need inside her tighter.
“Torin… I can take no more…”
Her voice was unrecognizable, husky and hungry for release.
“Aye, lass.”
He gripped her hair, holding her tightly in place, and gave her what she craved. His body thrust faster, driving her easily over the edge into the rapture that she sought. It swirled up around her, drowning out everything but the driving hips of her lover. His cock swelled and burst against the mouth of her womb, spurting his hot seed into her. Pleasure raced from her belly out to every point of her body and then back once more. The fingers in her hair curled tightly while Torin pressed his hips toward her, and the bed kept her still for the last drops of his seed.
Their hearts beat frantically against each other, separated only by skin and bone. Torin rolled onto his back but pulled her along with him, binding her against his body.
“Ye will share my bed, Shannon, the entire night.”
“A lover has to ask, not demand.”
He toyed with her hair, running his fingers through it before grunting.
“If ye have any strength left to try and leave my bed, I will be happy to ask ye to make love again, sweet Shannon.”
“That was no’ what I meant, Torin.”
He pressed her head back against his shoulder when she tried to raise her face. The effort was too great, so she let him have his wish.
“But it is what I meant, lass. Move away from me if ye have the strength, and I will chase ye.”
“Brute.”
He chuckled, and her eyelids slid shut. Her lips were curved into a soft smile, contentment glowing around her like the light of a candle in a black room. She was suddenly free of her cares, and her body took the opportunity to sink down into slumber, where there was nothing save for the warm arms holding her.
It was perfection.
Eleven
“Good morning.”
Shannon opened her eyes and blinked. She turned her head toward the window that had never been covered last night to see the horizon turning gold. Torin reached toward her and placed his hand in her hair.
“I adore yer hair. It is more radiant than any crown.”
Shannon groaned. She sat up and reached for her hair, wincing when she pulled it over her shoulder. It was a true mess from her having slept with it unbound.
“Do nae worry. Baeth will have someone set it right. I wish I had the time to do it myself, but the day holds work that needs doing.”
Shannon jerked her head about to look at Torin. The man was already dressed, just pulling his plaid over his shoulder.
“I dinna want people waiting upon me because I shared yer bed. That would make me a whore.”
His face darkened. He drew in a hard breath before caging her with his arms set into the bed on either side of her.
“A man does nae cuddle with a whore. He fucks her up against a wall or over a tableto
p and tosses his coin on her the second his cock is spent.”
She gasped. “Ye needn’t be so crude.”
“And ye need to stop rejecting what fate has given us. Do ye think such passion is common?”
“Lust is common and a deadly sin.”
Torin pulled her from the bed, allowing her feet to touch the ground. He looped one arm around her body, holding her against him. The scent of his skin filled her, and her heart accelerated in response.
“Lust is common, but it does nae cause yer heart to race.” He placed his hand over her chest, his fingers seeking out proof to support his words. She watched his expression transform when he gained what he wanted. His eyes narrowed, and his lips curved up. It made her throat tighten and tears threaten to fall down her cheeks. No one had ever looked at her tenderly. He suddenly took her hand and flattened it over his own chest. Beneath his doublet and shirt, she still felt the palpitations of his heart, and there was no missing the fact that it was faster than normal.
“Ye see, Shannon? That is nae something that comes along often. I wanted ye in my bed last night for more than the coupling.” He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss against the delicate skin of her inner wrist. A moment later he was moving toward the door. He paused before opening it, looking back to stare at her.
“I want ye back tonight, Shannon, and I hope ye’ll think the matter through, because I swear that ye are a fool if you keep tossing happiness aside. The Douglas will arrive soon enough with a battle that we’ll both have to pray we win.” His expression returned to being harsh. “’Tis a battle I swear I will nae lose, and ye will nae tell me that ye do nae want my protection.”
He closed the door behind him to keep her from replying.
That was a kindness, because her knees quivered. She sat down on the bed surprised by the fear that suddenly rose up to attack her.
Why did it matter now?
The reason was not hard to discover. It was right there in her chest, just as Torin had noticed. Her heart was full of new feelings; ones that she had never suspected might be so powerful. She wanted to live, but not just for herself. There were suddenly so many things that she needed to do before life left her.
