She gasped at the raw desire his words elicited. Her body felt suffused with heat, and she was embarrassed to acknowledge she was at a loss for words. “Then take me,” she pushed the words past her lips.
His silence unnerved her. What was he thinking? “What are—?”
“Why are you not married to Salop?”
She stiffened, then forced her limbs to relax. “Our agreement was cancelled by my father after my accident. Salop did not object.”
The muscles in his shoulders twisted as he waded further out into the lake with her. “I see. Did you love him?”
“Why are you asking me this?”
“Did you love him, Willow?” he demanded softly.
She shook her head. “I have only ever felt such depth of affections for you,” she admitted without any reservation. She had never been ashamed of how she felt about Alasdair.
A soft kiss brushed against her lips, then he spoke, “Trust me for today. Relax with me. Let me be your guide in the water. Let us converse and relearn each other.”
She nodded, absurdly pleased with the idea of learning everything about him. “You should know I am not interested in marriage.”
Tension shifted through his frame, and the fingers still holding her hips tightened on her flesh perceptibly.
“I do not believe I mentioned marriage.”
Curiosity filled her. “You are comfortable with us having an affair?”
“Though I think of nothing but you, your smiles, and your lushly curved body, I will not take you. You deserve better than a quick romp, or to be a mistress.”
Amusement curled though her. “I cannot remember offering to be your mistress.”
His arms came around her, and he spun them, taking her deeper until the water rose to her chest. “You tempt me so damn much,” he said roughly. “Wrap your legs around my waist.”
She complied and encountered a rigid hardness that caused the sweetest throb in her center. She moaned deep in her throat as he pulled her closer, rubbing against a spot that caused her to almost jackknife away from him so intense was the pleasure. His hands slid up her side to gently cup the underside of her breasts.
Palpable sensual tension arced between them. “Kiss me, Alasdair.”
“No.”
She wriggled, he hissed and pulled her even firmer against the hard ridge of his arousal. The valley between her thighs throbbed with startling intensity. Impatience bit at her and Willow released his shoulders and slid her hands through his damp hair. She grabbed a fistful and tugged lower.
He laughed, and she leaned forward and bit his chin.
“Bold, aren’t you?”
She licked the spot she bit, and he went still. She then placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth and trailed kisses to his ear, so there could be no doubt of her words. “I desire you to touch me, to kiss me, because I crave something more in my life. I want this ache between my legs to be filled.” She snaked one of her hands between them, shifted a bit to create space, and cupped his hardness.
He groaned, and she smiled.
“This is what I want to fill me. Not because of the past and pain that still lies between us, and not because I feel fear. But because I feel something more than fear and doubt for the first time in years, and I only feel that with you.” She paused and squeezed his thick length harder.
“I am not seeking a quick romp, or to be your mistress. I am seeking pleasures with a man I trust to be gentle and kind. If you’ll eventually desire marriage for besmirching my honor, walk away, for I will not consent to anything greater than this burning passion.”
Silence. God awful silence at her declaration and Willow desperately wished she could see his features. A lump grew in her throat.
Then he leaned close, so close their lips brushed, and whispered, “Take a deep breath.”
Chapter 6
Every emotion Willow felt was reflected in her eyes. He had seen her doubts at his silence, her passion when experiencing his touch, and her slow outrage at his whispered ‘Take a deep breath.’ But Alasdair did not hesitate. He lifted and dumped her deeper into the water. Though she spoke with such certainty of her desire, artlessness glowed around her, and her air of innocence was wonderfully alluring.