All the way up to his chambers, she lectured him about taking better care of himself. How else was she to impress upon him the seriousness of his injuries? ’Twas no small scrape he’d suffered. If the cut had gone any deeper, it would surely have gutted him. He would have bled to death long before he could have sought aid from her.
She shoved him inside his chamber and then slammed the door behind them.
“You’re mad,” she said. “Completely and utterly mad. Now we must get those boots off you. How on earth did you get them on? It must have been agony. And your tunic.”
Alaric eased onto the edge of the bed and extended his foot to her.
“You want me to take your boots off? You put them on. You can bloody well take them off.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you have what could possibly be the most outrageous, delectable, enticing, incredible mouth?”
She halted her tirade and stared dumbly at him. “I—you—what?” she sputtered.
He grinned, making a dimple appear in the side of his cheek. Lord, but the man was simply irresistible.
“Come here,” he ordered, crooking his finger at her.
Too befuddled to do anything but obey, she closed the distance between them and came to stand between his thighs.
“That’s better,” he murmured. “Now come closer.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in until his mouth was a breath from her bosom. That knowledge did peculiar things to her ni**les. They hardened and stabbed relentlessly at the bodice of her dress, and they ached as if they’d been stroked by fire.
“You won’t ignore me and pretend I’m not here,” he reproached. “You won’t shut me out.”
She placed her hands on his shoulder and looked down at him with a look of consternation. “Is that why you came out of your chamber?”
“ ’Twas the only way to get you to attend me again,” he said lazily. “Think you I’d put on those boots just to get a breath of fresh air when it’s fair freezing out there? You were right, lass. Those boots damn near killed me.”
Something twisted in the region of her heart and she shook her head helplessly. “You sore try my patience, warrior. I had tasks to attend to this morn. Including getting the right of things from your brother, and then Mairin showed me around the keep. ’Tis important to meet the people I’m expected to tend to.”
“Your first priority is me. I find I don’t like it when you’re away, lass. You’ve become as important as the air I breathe. Don’t venture far next time. I find I think daft thoughts when left to my own devices.”
She sighed. “I think what you are is spoiled. Has anyone ever told you nay?”
“I’m sure they have but at the moment I cannot remember.”
“I’ll tend you, warrior. You give me no choice if you are to survive. Your impulsiveness is going to kill you.”
The triumph in Alaric’s eyes sent a giddy thrill down her spine. He pulled at her waist, running his hands up to her nape, grasping and then lowering her until his mouth was on level with hers.
“I know you told me not to kiss you, lass, but I should warn you that I’ve never been good at taking directions.”
Chapter 13
He sensed her surrender after a short hesitation, and he took full advantage, pulling her closer until their lips touched. For a moment he remained still, simply absorbing the sensation of her delectable mouth against his. Then he pressed in, moving sensuously over her mouth, harder, deeper until they both gasped for air.
He swallowed her breath, savored it, and then returned it. It was as if he breathed her. Absorbed her into his body and she became a living part of him.
Light and delicate, her hands smoothed over his shoulders before cupping his nape. Whether she realized it or not, she gripped him and pulled him into her. She kissed him greedily, fanning the already out-of-control flames licking over his body.
He rubbed his tongue over her upper lip and then flicked inward to run along the inside seam of her mouth. Her tongue crept out cautiously to touch his and he moaned when they finally met and rolled. Playfully at first but then more urgent as if they couldn’t get enough and wanted more.
His hands slipped to her face, cupping her and holding her as his fingers delved into her hair. He had too firm a grip. He held her too tightly but he couldn’t let go.
He took her whole, devouring her mouth. His tongue thrust deep in a perfect imitation of what he wanted to do with his cock. As hot and moist as her mouth was, as heavenly as she felt, he could only imagine how her tight sheath would surround him with fire and welcome him into her depths.
He had to drag himself away. He was perilously close to spinning her around and pinning her to his mattress. He’d throw up her skirts and have her right here and right now. It was no way to treat her. She deserved a slow and gentle wooing. A lover’s kisses and sweet words. She deserved to be told how beautiful she was and how she made him feel as though he were the only man in the world. The last thing he wanted for her was a quick and brutal rutting.
His pulse pounded as he pulled his mouth from hers. “What you do to me, lass,” he whispered, each word painful through his tight throat.
It was as though he’d swallowed shards of glass. His skin felt too tight. His body was too heavy. His c**k was about to burst out of his trews, and his wound ached like hell fire. And he wanted more of her with every breath he had.
This wasn’t him. What he felt bordered on obsession. Nay. Not bordered. It was true obsession. He’d nearly gone mad when she’d left his chamber and hadn’t returned. He’d gotten up from his bed, sweating and swearing with each movement. He’d paced his chamber, looked out his window, listened at the door, anxious to hear her light footsteps.