Chapter 17
Thalia settled onto the small straw bed in the corner of the room. The quilted blanket was soft beneath her fingers, and she ran her hand over the small squares.
Truthfully, the cabin was not as bad as she had expected. She had pictured something more run-down and empty from the brief story Finlay had told her, but it was quite cozy.
Finlay was working at the fireplace. It seemed like Daisy had tried to start a fire but had failed. There was some pre-cut wood near the opening, and Finlay was just arranging it so that it would light properly.
He still had not yet told her what he wanted to talk to her about. He had only declared his intentions, and then he had turned away from her. She was beginning to feel a bit restless.
“Are ye goin’ to tell me why we are stayin’ behind?” she asked.
Finlay struck a rock against the stone, and sparks flew from the edge. The tinder ignited, and he blew on the small flame to encourage its growth. When he was satisfied, he rocked back on his heels.
“This is the cabin where I found her.” He finally turned to look at her, his expression more guarded than she had ever seen it.
“From the story ye told me, I had thought it would be worse,” Thalia admitted. “I’m glad that’s nae the case.”
Finlay laughed once, but there was no amusement in it. It sounded more like he was choking.
“When Daisy started runnin’ away, one of the places she would go was here.
After the first time, I came here and tried to make it more comfortable for her.
” He grimaced, his lips pulling back against his teeth in a snarl.
“When I found her, it was filled with nothing. It was cold, bare. Nae even a bed. It was more of a dungeon than a child’s room. ”
Thalia turned away from him. It was worse than she had thought, and she felt ashamed that she had tried to make lighter of such a serious situation. “That’s awful.”
“Aye,” he growled. “She was so small, the only dress she had was falling off her body. Nothin’ but skin and bones. Can ye imagine it?”
Thalia nodded. She could imagine it too well, and her heart broke again for the little girl.
Finlay crossed the room and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His eyes blazed with a fury she was unaccustomed to seeing from him, and it made her tremble.
“I should kill yer uncle for what he said. I want to kill him,” he hissed.
“Ye are… angry,” she noted. “That’s understandable. I’m angry at him, too.”
“I’m nae just angry, I am furious!” he gritted out, his grip tightening on her chin. “Ever since ye came back into me life, it seems like all I can be is fuckin’ furious.”
She slapped his hand away and pushed to her feet. “Is that why ye asked me to stay behind? Just so ye can yell at me? I’ve already apologized a dozen times. If ye want me gone, just say it so we can be done with it!”
“Ye think I want ye gone?” He leaned over her, his face so close that their noses almost touched. “If I wanted ye gone, I would have turned ye away long ago.”
She scoffed. “I daenae understand ye. Ye say all I do is bring out the worst in ye, yet ye still want me around. Why?”
He exhaled, closing his eyes and shaking his head. When he opened them again, the fire had dimmed slightly and was replaced by something different. Something more akin to how he had looked at her that morning in his bedroom, or later that day in the gardens.
“I cannae stop thinking about ye.” His hand cupped the back of her neck. “Even after yer family offended me daughter, even after yer infinite meddling, even after almost costin’ me a war.”
He was so close that she could feel his hot breath against her lips. She didn’t dare move. She couldn’t even breathe.
He bent his head lower and brought his nose to her neck. He breathed in deeply and placed a soft kiss on her clavicle.
“Ye smell like lavender, lass. It’s drivin’ me mad.”
The words burned against her skin, and she instinctively tilted her head for more. She wanted him to kiss her again, to hold her and never let go.
His nose brushed against the nape of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. Flames spread from her stomach, crawling up her chest and through her body.
Her eyes fluttered closed as she gave in to the sensation. There was no one around this time. No servants, no family, no one who could interrupt them. She sighed audibly, the sound turning into a low whine that made his grip tighten.
He brought his face close to hers again. His hand stroked her jaw until his thumb brushed against her bottom lip. She stared up at him through heavy-lidded eyes.
Even in the dim light, she could see his pupils had dilated. The black depths shone with the flickering light of the flame. It was as if her own desire was being reflected back at her.
“Do ye remember all those years ago when ye openly challenged me in those gardens? That was very stupid of ye.” He chuckled, low and rough. “I’ve been thinkin’ about that night ever since ye returned to me. I daenae ken what it is, but I want ye. I want to possess ye. All of ye.”
Then his lips were on hers.
She threw his arms around his neck, while his moved down her back. He kissed her hungrily, tugging at her lips and swallowing her breath so she was left gasping and panting with need. They were pressed as close as they could be, and yet it was not enough for her.
His mouth moved to her jaw, her neck, placing open kisses that left scorching heat in their wake. She moaned, unable to fully express with words how she was feeling. It was too much, and at the same time, it wasn’t enough.
“Finlay,” she whispered breathlessly. “Finlay.”
He pulled back, looking down at her with hazy, clouded eyes. For a moment, she feared he would stop again, just like he had put a stop to all the other times they had gotten close like this. Instead, he flipped her around so that her back was to him and began to loosen the laces of her dress.
His fingers moved with expert precision, and her dress fell away and pooled at her feet, leaving her in nothing but her shift. She looked back over her shoulder at him, and he hooked one finger under her chin as he pressed another kiss to her lips.
“Get on the bed.” He murmured the words against her lips, but she felt the command in them.
She did as she was told, crawling onto the bed obediently. She sat up against the wall and waited for his next order.
“Lie down.” The words came out as a growl, and again, she obeyed.
She spread herself out on the quilt beneath her, her eyes glued to him as he unbuckled his sword belt and set it against the nearby wall. She expected him to start undressing. Instead, when he joined her, he was still fully clothed.
He hovered above her, planting his hands on either side of her head. Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.
“Are ye…” She licked her lips, gathering her thoughts enough so that she could get the question out. “Are ye going to take off yer clothes, too?”
“Nay,” he whispered. “If I do, I willnae be able to stop until I’ve taken ye completely. I still have enough of me wits about me to keep that from happenin’.”
She felt a wave of disappointment, but it quickly faded as he crawled down her body. His hands pulled at the hem of her shift, and she lifted her hips, allowing him to pull it up and over her head until she was left bare.
A wave of self-consciousness flooded her, and she instinctively tried to curl in on herself, covering her breasts with her hands. He grabbed them gently, pulling them away and back to her sides.
“Daenae hide. Let me see ye, lass.”
She should have felt embarrassed, but as his eyes roamed over her body, she felt nothing but the thrill of excitement. He looked at her like she was the only thing he wanted to look at ever again.
Their eyes met, and before she knew it, he was covering her mouth with his own again.
She bloomed under his touch as one hand came up to stroke her breast. He had touched her there before, but there had been fabric between them.
This time, she could feel the warmth of his hand, the rough calluses on his palms as they brushed against her nipple, and the sensations sent a shock of pleasure through her that had her back arching off the bed.
He moaned into her mouth, and she opened up eagerly, sucking on his tongue when he plunged it inside. His hand continued to stroke her breast, and his fingers circled her nipple experimentally.
Each touch sent tremors through her, and she writhed helplessly beneath him. He squeezed her nipple between his thumb and index finger, and she gasped as the brief pain gave way to an overwhelming pleasure.
He released her lips, giving her a wicked grin as he moved his mouth to her other breast. His lips and tongue played over her skin, and she moaned and sighed as she surrendered herself to the sensation.
He had told her once that there was pleasure in surrender, and she believed it now. It was a relief, giving herself over to him, and he rewarded her in kind.
When he seemingly had enough of her breasts, he pressed wet kisses to her stomach, moving down to her hips, then her thighs. His hot breath brushed her center, and the shock of it was so overwhelming that she pushed away, squirming up into a sitting position.
“Thalia…” He brought his hand back up to cup her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her skin.
“Sorry.” She shook her head. “It was just… surprising, is all.”
“Do ye need me to slow down?” he asked, his voice still rough, but his tone was gentle.
She stared at him through heavy-lidded eyes, and his gaze held nothing malicious. He may be a wolf, but there was so much more to him than that. She trusted him, and she knew he would never do anything that would hurt her.
“Nay,” she finally said. “Ye daenae need to slow down.”
He kissed her again, pressing his lips chastely against hers.
“Hold onto me,” he ordered.
Thalia wrapped her arms around his neck. One arm snaked around her middle, and he pulled her up into his lap so that she was straddling him. The other hand slipped up her inner thigh before settling between her legs.
Her whole body shook as his fingers slid against her heat. The pleasure before was nothing compared to what she was experiencing now, and she grasped frantically onto his back as if it could cool the heat that was threatening to swallow her whole.
Her hips moved against his fingers of their own accord, finding a rhythm that felt at once unbearable and all-consuming. A tight, hot ball built in her stomach, and as it grew, so did her cries of pleasure. They echoed across the cabin until it was the only sound that could be heard.
“That’s it, lass,” he whispered in her ear. “Let go. I got ye.”
The tension in her body snapped all at once, and ecstasy like she had never known flooded through her. She sighed, her body going limp as she came down from her high.
Finlay kissed her neck, her cheek, her lips. She returned his kisses weakly, not yet fully recovered from her climax.
He lifted her and gently laid her back on the bed. She panted, watching him as he kissed his way down her chest and stomach again. He had not fully taken her, she knew, but she could not imagine the act feeling any better than how she felt now.
“How do ye feel?” he finally asked, as if sensing where her thoughts were headed.
“Incredible,” she breathed with a chuckle.
He smirked. “Do ye want to feel it again?”
“Again?” she gasped, and he laughed at the look of shock on her face. “We can do it again?”
“Aye,” he purred. He settled himself between her legs, and this time she was prepared for the feel of his hot breath against her sex. “I can make ye feel like that many times.”
The confidence in his voice sent more tingles through her body and made all other thoughts fly out of her head.
The next instant, his mouth was where his fingers had been a moment ago, and she threw her head back as a new wave of pleasure surged through her.
He was relentless, and before long, she reached her pinnacle again, crying his name over and over.