Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Arianna scarcely understood when desire had rooted itself so deeply within her, only that it now pulsed warm and insistent beneath her skin.
Ian’s mouth on hers lingered like a spark that refused to fade, and each glance he gave her stoked it higher.
She had once thought herself composed and cautious, yet her body betrayed her with longing she could not tame. It was not only his strength that drew her, but the way he watched her as though she were something precious and fiercely guarded.
She shifted on his lap in the dim carriage, her fingers curling into the front of his coat. “Ye look at me as though ye mean to devour me,” she whispered.
“Mayhap I do,” Ian replied, his voice roughened by restraint.
Her heart thudded hard against her ribs. “Then daenae stop,” she breathed, surprising even herself.
She leaned forward first this time, claiming his mouth with a hunger that startled her. The kiss deepened slowly, unhurried but fervent, his hand firm at her waist while hers traced the line of the scar along his jaw. She felt the strength in him, the power.
“Ian,” she murmured against his lips, her breath warm between them.
“Aye, lass,” he answered softly.
Her hands slid to his shoulders, feeling the solid breadth beneath his coat. The carriage rocked gently, but she hardly noticed, consumed by the warmth building where their bodies met. His mouth trailed from her lips to her cheek and down the curve of her neck. She shivered.
“Ye tremble,” he observed quietly.
“I cannae help it,” she confessed. “Ye make me feel… undone.”
A low sound rumbled in his chest at her admission. He drew back slightly, studying her flushed face in the lantern’s faint glow. “Ye’ve been on yer feet half the day,” he said after a moment. “Yer legs must ache from all that runnin’.”
She blinked in surprise at the shift in his tone. “A little,” she admitted.
Without another word, he adjusted her carefully, guiding her to sit sideways across his lap. His large hands slid down to her calves, lifting one gently. “Let me,” he said.
Her breath caught as his fingers pressed into the muscle just above her ankle. The pressure was firm yet soothing, his thumbs working slow circles that sent warmth spreading upward. She leaned back against the carriage wall, eyes fluttering closed. His hands move higher and higher onto her thigh.
“Ian,” she whispered faintly, unsure whether it was protest or praise.
“Too much?” he asked, though his hands never ceased their steady motion.
“Nay,” she breathed. “Daenae stop.”
He worked upward under her skirts, pressing his hand against her inner thigh with patient strength. Each slow pass of his hands drew a soft sigh from her lips, the tension easing under his touch. She had not realized how much she wanted his touch until that moment.
“I want to pleasure ye til ye release,” he murmured.
She opened her eyes to find him watching her intently. “I didnae ken ye were so attentive.”
“There’s much ye daenae ken about me,” he replied quietly.
His hand moved higher, careful and respectful, until it rested on her sweet center. She gasped.
The warmth of his palm seeped through the fabric of her underthings, and she felt cherished rather than claimed. The simple act of his tending to her stirred something deeper than lust, it awakened trust.
“Why do ye do this?” she asked softly.
“Because I want to,” he answered without hesitation. “Because ye deserve gentleness as much as fire.”
He moved his hand to the waistband of her pantellettes and down into her warmth.
“Oh, Ian,” she moaned.
Her throat tightened at that. She reached forward and brushed her fingers through his hair.
“Ye surprise me,” he said.
“Aye,” she said, a faint smile touching her mouth. “I surprise meself.”
He moved his thumb with slow strokes down her rosebud. Arianna wiggled under him. She had never felt such a feeling before. It thrilled her as she felt the blood rush between her thighs.
A pulse throbbed deep in her belly. She found herself opening her thighs wider. Ian sucked in a sharp breath of air at the movement.
“Ian,” she said, voice low and steady now, “I daenae fear what comes next.”
His gaze darkened, though tenderness remained there. “Nor should ye.”
With those words, he picked her up and set her down on the seat. Arianna found herself with her legs wide open and Ian positioning himself under her skirts, and he tore at the layers of fabric until her underthings lay in a pile on the carriage floor.
Suddenly, she felt his mouth on her core between her thighs. She tensed up with a gasp.
“Ian,” she said.
“Trust me, lass,” he groaned.
Arianna dug her fingers into the carriage seat back as she felt his tongue press against her pearl. She moaned loudly. The rocking of the carriage only added more movement and the brushing of his lips against her.
“Mm, I told ye I wanted to taste ye, lass,” he said.
Now she fully understood what that meant by wanting to taste her. The heat moved through her with that thought.
The throbbing sensations mounted inside of her with each stroke his tongue made. Her breath caught. She lifted her hand and pushed it into his hair.
“Ian,” she whispered. “Daenae stop.”
Encouraged, she let her fingers drift into his hair, combing gently through the dark strands at his temple. His hands slid to her waist, steady and possessive, drawing her closer. The contact made her stomach flutter, a warm ache spreading outward from where their bodies met.
“Ye feel so strong,” she murmured.
“I am strong,” he moaned, his hands tightening slightly at her hips. “But I’d never use that strength against ye.”
“I ken that,” she whispered.
His kiss against her moist petals was slower than before, unhurried yet full of intent. She sighed softly as his mouth claimed her sweet center with reverent heat.
Her fingers threaded through his hair as she pressed him closer. Each pass of his tongue left her breathless, her skin alive where he touched.
“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against her.
“I willnae,” she answered, her voice trembling with honesty.
He licked her again, deeper this time. It made her body weak.
“Ye’re beautiful,” he said gruffly.
Her cheeks warmed, but she did not look away. “Only because ye look at me as though I am.”
Her hands traveled down from his head to his shoulders, squeezing gently, savoring the breadth and solidity of him.
“Oh, oh, something is happening to me,” she moaned.
“Let it happen, lass. Daenae fight it,” he groaned.
His tongue moved faster and faster. The deep pulse within her moved to a throbbing force that built up until it exploded.
“Oh, Ian,” she said. “I cannae think when ye hold do this,” she confessed softly.
“Then daenae think,” he murmured. “Just feel.”
She did. She felt the warmth of a flood release from her. It left tingles in its wake. She felt the gentle squeeze of his hands at her waist and his mouth softly kissing her between her thighs.
“I didnae expect this,” she admitted. “To feel this so fiercely.”
“And I didnae expect ye to want me at all,” he said.
“Ye were wrong.”
Arianna felt the awakening within her not as something wild and reckless, but as a flame tended carefully by his hands.
Arianna’s breath had barely steadied when a daring thought slipped past her restraint.
“And how,” she asked softly, “might I please ye in return?”
A low groan rumbled from his chest before he could stop it. He positioned himself back on the seat. He dragged a hand down his face as though composing himself. “Woman,” he muttered, voice strained, “ye test the last of me restraint.”
Her lips curved despite her nervousness. “’Tis a fair question.”
“Aye,” he conceded, shifting beneath her as the carriage wheels crunched over gravel. “But it will have to wait.”
She blinked. “Wait?”
He leaned toward the small window and exhaled sharply. “We’re about to pass through the castle gates. If ye value what little composure we have left, we’ll save that lesson for another night.”
Realization struck her like a splash of cold water. She gasped softly and glanced down, suddenly aware of her disheveled state. With a flustered sound, she hastily smoothed her skirts, tugging the fabric into place.
“Oh heavens,” she whispered, spotting a stray undergarment on the carriage floor. She snatched it up quickly, cheeks blazing as she tried to tuck everything back where it belonged.
Ian’s laughter filled the carriage, deep and amused. “There’s no hidin’ that flush on yer cheek, lass.”
“Daenae look at me,” she protested, though she could not meet his eyes.
“As if I could look elsewhere,” he teased.
She shot him a mortified glance. “Ye’re insufferable.”
“And yet,” he said, leaning closer as the carriage slowed, “ye were askin’ how to please me not a moment ago.”
Her breath hitched. “Ian.”
He softened then, brushing his knuckles lightly over her heated cheek. “Another night,” he murmured. “When I can give ye me full attention.”
The carriage rolled to a stop, and though her heart still raced, a different kind of anticipation now fluttered inside her.