In Bed with a Highlander (McCabe Trilogy 1)

He wouldn’t. Surely such a thing wasn’t at all decent.

Oh, but he did.…

His mouth found her heat in a lusty, carnal kiss that made every muscle in her body twitch and convulse as if she’d been struck by lightning.

She should tell him he shouldn’t. She should tell him he couldn’t. She should offer instruction on the proper way to do things, but dear heaven, she couldn’t think anything at all beyond don’t stop.

Please don’t stop.

“I won’t, lass,” he murmured against her most intimate flesh.

Her legs had gone stiff and unyielding around him, and he gently forced them back apart.

“Relax.”

She tried. Oh, but she tried, but his mouth was making her daft. And then his tongue found her, so hot and erotic. A wash of indescribable pleasure soared through her belly as he lapped at her entrance. Her vision blurred and she twisted her fingers into the covers until they were bloodless and all sensation fled.

She had no control of her body any longer. She arched mindlessly, and her legs shook, the tremors working to her thighs until she was a mass of quaking flesh.

“Ah, you’re ready for me, lass.”

His voice deepened to a hoarse, almost desperate tone. She chanced a look down to see him staring at her, his eyes bright and savage looking.

“I am?” she breathed.

“Aye, you are.”

He moved up her body with speed that surprised her. He cupped her bottom with one hand and settled his body between her legs. She could feel him, hot and unbelievably hard, nestled against her opening.

Then he leaned down and fused his mouth to hers. This time she didn’t hesitate, nor did she think to instruct him on the proper way of kissing. She opened her mouth and devoured him before he ever had the opportunity to demand she did so.

“Hold on to me,” he rasped out between hot, open-mouthed kisses.

She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and dug her fingers into his back. She kissed him. She tasted him. She absorbed him, breathing him in with each gasp for air.

Before she even realized he had moved, he had lifted his hips and slid inside her the barest of inches. She stretched to accommodate him and then wondered how she’d been able to do so.

He kissed her again and then rested his forehead to hers, their eyes so close, all she could see was the thin ring of green that surrounded the dark pupils.

“Relax,” he said again. “I won’t hurt you.”

She raised her lips to meet his. This time their mouths met in a delicate dance, the tenderest of touches. “I know.”

And she did know. Somehow, she knew that this was different. There was no rush. No unpleasant shock to her senses. Her body melded to his, surrendering to his power and his need. To her need.

His hips moved forward with infinitesimal slowness. She opened around him as he slid deeper. The fullness overwhelmed her, but it wasn’t pain or surprise that rocked her body.

“Almost there,” he whispered.

Her eyes widened as he went even farther and then he stopped, lodged so deeply within her that she couldn’t breathe. He surrounded her, gathering her in his arms, holding her close as he began moving, a slow, seductive rhythm that had her mad with want.

The muscles in his back rippled and bulged. Her fingers danced across his flesh in a fr, seducc pattern as she sought purchase. Something to anchor herself with when she was adrift in a storm.

His movements increased, faster and more forceful. Their sighs caught and mingled in the air heavy with the scent of their loving.

“Wrap your legs around me,” he directed. “Hold me tight, lass.”

She wrapped her entire body around him until she was sure they were so inexorably entwined that they’d never come apart.

The burning sensation increased until she stirred restlessly, frantic for … release. Breathing hurt, so she didn’t, and her chest protested, but she held on, reaching for something she had no sense of.

And then she came apart, unraveling like the threads in an unfinished tapestry. She screamed, or tried to, but Ewan’s mouth closed over hers, and he swallowed her frantic cry.

She had no control of her body. She couldn’t think. Could only feel, helpless to do anything but lie in Ewan’s arms as he murmured soft words against her ears.

Utterly bewildered by what had occurred, she fixed unfocused eyes on her husband as an expression of agony creased his face. He gave one more mighty thrust, seating himself deeply within her body. Then he slumped over her, pressing her into the mattress as he gave her his seed.

She nestled her face into the hollow of his throat, so sated and completely boneless that she considered staying in bed for the next year. Ewan rested over her for a long moment before finally easing his weight from her and rolling to the side.

He gathered her into his arms and stroked her hair. Then he pressed a kiss to her temple and let his cheek rest against the side of her head.

Her befuddled mind couldn’t make sense of what had just happened. Only one thing struck strongly in her mind.

“Ewan?” she whispered.

It took him a moment to respond. “Aye, lass?”

“I was wrong.”

He stirred, rubbing his face against her cheek. “What were you wrong about?”

“You’re very skilled at loving.”

He chuckled and then hugged her tighter to him. Yawning broadly, she snuggled deeper into his arms and closed her eyes.

Chapter 16

When Mairin awoke, she was momentarily disoriented. She blinked away the fuzziness. Her head still felt muggy but her body, while only a little stiff and sore from her bruises, was surprisingly warm and sated. Limp, like she’d enjoyed a prolonged soak in a steaming tub of water.