The transcendent glow receded under carnal demand. He lay in the arms of the woman he wanted more than life. And the urge to possess her was invincible.

Her eyes were closed, and her hands stroked up and down his back. He did his best not to crush her, but he must be heavy. He rose on his hands and began to move with sensual purpose.

As he slid back, her eyes opened. Earlier, she’d looked tested, uncertain. Now the unalloyed surrender in her expression filled him with relief.

Her fingers dug into his biceps. “Don’t go.”

His laugh wasn’t much more than a grunt. “I’m not going anywhere, lassie.”

Charlotte tilted her head back and exhaled in leisurely pleasure as he shifted forward. Easier this time. Wonder slammed through him, as he felt again that unparalleled sense of welcome. They were a perfect fit.

The next time, she angled up to meet him. He groaned, need surging like an ocean. His thrusts became less controlled. Through his urgency, he sensed her rising towards another climax. Her breath emerged in sobbing gusts, and she met every stroke with a sigh of greeting.

Bu

t he reached a point where his own need became paramount. Since he’d met her, hunger had seethed inside him. Now it transformed into a primitive storm, blocking out all but the drive to completion.

When his release came, it started in the soles of his feet and rushed up through straining legs. It burned through his buttocks and loins, and squeezed his lungs to pain. Light flared behind his eyes. His mind turned black and turbulent. His balls tightened to agony, and as he thrust hard into her for the final time, everything blasted to incandescent flame.

Through the wild tempest, he heard her cry out in astonished joy. Then there was only hot, blind, throbbing ecstasy.

Exhausted, emptied, elated, he caught her up against him and rolled to his side. She was shaking. So was he.

Lyle lifted leaden lids to discover a world that might look the same but had changed forever. Charlotte’s disheveled blond head was buried in his chest. It took him too long, floating in the blissful aftermath, to realize that she was crying.

Horror blasted his satisfaction to ash. He reared back and placed his hands on either side of her head, forcing her face up until he could see her eyes.

“Mo leannan, mo chridhe, I’ve hurt you. I’m so sorry. I tried to be gentle, but you were like fire in my arms. I acted like a damn barbarian. Will you ever forgive me?”

She regarded him with drenched eyes as a frown drew her brows together. “Ewan, what on earth are you talking about?”

He dug his fingers into her thick, warm hair. “You’re crying,” he said flatly, sick with guilt.

Her lips turned down in disapproval. “I suppose you expect me to tell you why.”

“For God’s sake, just tell me I didn’t hurt you.” He leaned forward and traced kisses across her brow and down her temple where he felt the deep beat of her blood.

“You didn’t.” Her hands encircled his wrists. “Well, a little. At first. But then…”

“Thank heaven,” he breathed, kissing the salty moisture from her fluttering eyelashes.

Under his wandering lips, he felt warmth flood her cheeks. “Then it was wonderful.”

“Nonetheless you cried.” He drew back to stare into her face, trying to see past her beauty to what went on in her mind. “Are you lying to make me feel better?”

She released a choked laugh and tried to avoid his gaze. “When have I ever tried to make you feel better?”

“When have you ever cried?”

“Oh, curse you, Ewan. Can’t you leave it alone?” With some difficulty, she tugged free and sat up.

“Not when you’re unhappy.” He rose until he sat in front of her.

She scowled. “You’re going to make me admit it, aren’t you?”

By the second, guilt and worry faded. In their place came a great happiness that turned the whole world golden. “Admit what, Charlotte?” he asked, hoping like hell he hadn’t mistaken where she was going.

She swallowed, her slender throat working. Her voice was low and vibrant with emotion. “I had no idea it could be like that. You made me feel things I never imagined were possible.”

Tags: Anna Campbell Historical
Source: readsnovelonline.net