Chapter Thirteen #2
To prove her words, to herself and to him, she lifted up on her toes and, taking his head in her hands, drew his mouth down to her.
This time she explored his mouth, using the tip of her tongue to outline his firm lips.
When he opened, she tasted all that he was.
Rob moved closer, lifting his cloak open and wrapping it and his arms around her.
His body was all hardened muscles and she felt safe.
He made her feel that way. Then, the sound of shuffling feet made her pull back.
She had completely forgotten the guards.
She’d forgotten they stood on top of the battlements of his keep.
She’d forgotten herself. Rob kept her wrapped in his cloak as the guards passed them on their rounds, so she did not have to acknowledge them.
Lilidh pulled free once they’d passed and were far enough away not to hear their words.
‘Have you changed your mind, then?’ Rob asked as he watched her with eyes filled with desire. She smiled at him, for she heard the undercurrent of worry in his voice as he asked.
‘No,’ she said, shaking her head. She had not. ‘But it is cold here and I prefer no witnesses to what happens between us.’
It was not as though every person living or staying in Keppoch Keep did not already think them lovers.
Or think that Rob had not taken advantage of her favours while sleeping in his bed together.
Most of them even believed his hard use of her the cause for her limp.
Somehow, though, she suddenly felt shy about letting them see that it was real.
She lost her breath in the next moment as he bent over, lifted her into his arms and carried her to the doorway.
Lilidh encircled his neck with her arms, but he held her securely as he made his way down the steps towards his chamber.
She tucked her head down against him as he waited for one of the guards to open the door.
A smile played on her mouth as Tomas asked if she was well.
The slammed door in his face was the only answer Rob gave. A hearty laugh echoed across the chamber as Tomas gave his reply.
‘Are you well?’ Rob asked as he let her feet touch the floor. ‘Your face?’
‘Does not pain me,’ she said as she allowed Rob to remove her cloak and toss it aside. Now inside, now that the moment was nigh, her nerves struck.
He’d refused to marry her because of the damage to her leg four years ago. Would it diminish the desire he felt for her now? How would he react to the sight of it when they joined?’
‘But something worries you,’ he said, lifting wind-loosened hair out of her face and lifting her chin so he could look at her. He winced and she knew the various bumps and bruises were quite visible now. ‘We can stop now. It is your choice.’
‘I thought I was a prisoner without choice?’ she asked.
‘You are a prisoner. But in this matter between us, you have but to say the word and I will not.’
Did she want this? Truly? Looking at him now, knowing that everything would change as soon as her family arrived and that she would never get this chance again...
Yes, she did.
‘Which things will you not do, Rob?’ she asked coyly.
He’d whispered wicked promises to her as he touched her and stroked her body those times before. Now she wanted to hear those promises once more and she wanted to feel all that she should have—so she would have the memories of it when she left.
Her body filled with a sense of anticipation as he walked behind her and stood so close they almost touched.
She could feel his breath on her neck and he untied the strips holding her hair into a thick plait and unravelled the length of it.
The movement of his fingers as they slid over her scalp and into the tresses, separating and then mixing the strands all the way down to its ends tickled and excited her.
Rob avoided touching her injury, yet seemed to massage every inch of her head.
He lifted the length of her hair to one side and touched his mouth to her neck there. Shivers shot through her at the warmth of his mouth. Then he leaned her head away and kissed the cord of muscle between her head and shoulders, making her gasp at its sensitivity.
‘I think I should just learn your body before we do more,’ he said in a husky whisper. She felt her body ready itself for his attention, which she hoped would be soon.
Then he moved his hand across her, gently touching her before coming to rest on her breast. Pulling her back against him, he cupped the fullness of her and flicked his thumb over that sensitive nipple.
She arched against him, against that part of him that had come to life between their bodies.
With her trapped under his arm, he bit her neck then, gently along that delicate cord until she gasped over and over.
When he slipped his other hand around to rest on her hip and then caress her thigh, she let go and leaned against him fully, allowing him to touch where he would.
Her head fell back on his shoulder and his breath grew ragged against her ear as he continued to touch her.
Her hands fell to her side and in a bold move, she placed them on his legs, revelling in the firmness and strength of his body.
He moved then, the proof of his arousal hard against her, hissing in a sharp breath.
Then, just as her body urged her to completely surrender, the fear took hold and she pulled away from him. Breathing hard, she turned to face him, for she needed to see his eyes when she asked that question that plagued and terrified her.
‘Is this just another way to shame me, Rob? Will you use my desire against me as you did before?’
She took in a breath and let it out quickly, pushing out the real question as fast as she could before she lost courage. For under it all, the humiliation she’d suffered due to his cruel words and rejection was something she did not think she would survive again.
‘If you did not want me before, and because of my leg, how can you want me now?’