Chapter 34
Ailis stared at the hard, tempting flesh for so long that she nearly missed the sound of Killian’s quiet laughter. A surprising sound that proved to be more distracting than the sight of his intimidating manhood.
She raised her gaze to find him smiling at her.
“I already told ye, love,” he said softly, pulling her to him. “I’ll be gentle. Do ye trust me?”
She nodded, looping her arms around his neck.
“Then trust me,” he said, dipping his head to kiss her fiercely.
She surrendered to the graze of his mouth and the glide of his tongue and the press of his arms, kissing him back with equal fervor, relishing the sensation of his bare skin against hers.
Nothing between them, pressed so close that his warmth seeped into her, the chill of the autumn morning forgotten.
As the kiss deepened, his hand slipped between them, smoothing down the curve of her stomach until he found that secret source of pleasure once more.
The slow strum had her gasping against his lips, her hips bucking, her desire soaring to the point where she wanted him now, without delay.
“Oh, Killian,” she moaned, her fingernails raking across his skin. “Oh, love… oh…”
Seemingly spurred on by the sound of her bliss, Killian began to kiss away from her mouth. His lips trailed down the side of her neck before navigating the slope of her collarbone and dipping to capture a pink nipple in his mouth.
She cried out as he sucked, a current of exquisite bliss rippling through her, feeling the pull in every nerve and muscle and limb, driving her toward ecstasy.
Just then, he paused his strumming, his fingers sliding through her slick folds. Her breath hitched as, timed to the searing suck of his mouth, he pressed his fingers inside her, his thumb resuming those stirring strokes on her bud.
“Oh, love…” she gasped, her entire body thrumming with pleasure, so many sensations at once making it hard to think, to breathe, to imagine that anything existed beyond him and the way her whole being wished to surrender to him.
It was, perhaps, the first time in her life that she believed she had the right to be happy and to experience all of the good things in the world after so many years of being confined behind castle walls.
Killian was her beacon in stormy seas, guiding her toward the light, toward the good, toward the promise of joy and pleasure and a life worth living.
She clung to him as he lavished his attention on her, overwhelming her in the best possible way with wave after stirring wave of raw bliss. All gathering together to create a surging tide of euphoria that rose higher with every touch and kiss and suck and caress.
And then, that delicious tidal wave struck, in a rush so powerful that she would have lost her balance if Killian hadn’t had his arm around her.
“Oh, me love,” she panted, holding him close. “Oh… oh, love…”
She cried out his name and held on tightly, her fingernails digging into his back as pleasure pummeled through her veins, her entire being swept away to a place of pure ecstasy.
Killian sought her mouth as bliss overwhelmed her, kissing her hot and hard and fierce, keeping her anchored through the wonder of her conclusion.
And as her pleasure began to ebb, leaving behind warmth and the smoldering embers of bliss, he picked her up.
She gasped and held on tightly, a breathy laugh escaping her lips as he slowly sank down onto the sand.
Keeping her close, he quickly arranged his plaid into a blanket and laid her on it, the press of his naked body against hers coaxing another gasp from her.
Her breath caught at the brush of his manhood against her bud, her hands running up his muscular chest, while her eyes held his. She had never wanted anything more than she wanted him, at that moment.
“This may hurt a little,” Killian told her gently, brushing a lock of hair from her face. “If it’s too painful, tell me and I’ll stop, and I’ll pleasure ye in every other way I can.”
She swallowed thickly, her heart beating so fast, her body still tingling from her first climax.
“I trust ye,” she breathed, excited and nervous in equal measure, and desperately trying to remember the things Kristen had told her about what came next.
“Daenae think too much,” a voice whispered in her head as Killian moved between her thighs.
Sudden pressure prompted her to grip his arms, her hips trembling with the impulse to buck and take him into herself.
But he seemed conscious of her nervousness and slowly moved his hips, his manhood gliding through her sodden folds, brushing over that electric bundle of nerves to stir her up into a fresh frenzy.
“I want ye,” she moaned, her back arching up off the makeshift blanket. “Oh, I want ye…”
Pressing a kiss to her lips, he pulled his hips back and then eased inside her.
Her breath hitched, her eyes closing at that unfamiliar, delicious sensation. There was a slight sting, but it was nothing compared to the swell of pleasure that it elicited within her, a balm to the faint pain of taking him inside her for the first time.
“Are ye hurt?” Killian asked in a husky voice.
She moaned, shaking her head. “Nay… nay, I’m nae…”
He slowly sank deeper until he was buried inside her to the hilt. There, he stilled for a moment to let her get accustomed to the new feeling and perhaps to give him a moment to compose himself.
Just when she was about to move, to feel more of him, he pulled back, withdrawing from her welcoming, eager heat.
Indeed, she feared he would withdraw completely, denying her the feel of him deep inside her, when he slowly rocked his hips forward, filling her up again.
“Oh, me love,” she moaned, pulling his head closer so she could kiss him with everything she had.
He kissed her back in kind, his breathing ragged, his groans stirring her up in ways she hadn’t thought possible.
His pleasure stoked hers, as if they were two bonfires burning close together, the flames of one joining with the flames of the other until they were both engulfed in it, creating one inferno of pure passion.
Yet, she could tell that he was holding back, being just as gentle as she had asked him to be. Each slow stroke was a wonder, soothing the initial sting until it faded, leaving only pleasure and heat and the desire for more.
“Faster,” she whispered, wanting to be entirely at his mercy, feeling the full intensity of their union.
He smiled against her mouth, and as he withdrew, he didn’t ease back inside her inch by glorious inch. He thrust into her with such abandon that she cried out his name until it echoed across the bay.
Her hands ran down the rippling muscles of his back until she found his firm buttocks, gripping the hard flesh to urge him deeper, while her own hips rose to meet his thrusts.
They moved together as one on the makeshift blanket, tangled and consumed by one another, their sawing breaths mingling between feverish kisses.
Indeed, Ailis couldn’t get enough, her whole body responding to his touch and his thrusts and his kisses and his caresses, her back arching, hips bucking, her lungs burning, as the deliberate brush of him against her swollen bud sent lightning bolt after lightning bolt through her.
The storm gathered, building toward the conclusion of all conclusions.
“Killian… me love… oh… oh, God… Oh!” Her entire body seized as the wave crashed, more intense than anything that had come before.
She didn’t even try to breathe, her head swimming as pleasure rushed and rushed in a great torrent. Her legs began to shake, and her back arched off the blanket, her eyes closing, her fingernails clawing at his back as that glorious, divine feeling pounded through her veins.
All the while, Killian plunged into her, sparking new currents of bliss with every urgent stroke. Listening to his groans, she urged him on, tilting her hips to take him deeper into herself, wanting him to feel what she was feeling.
“Oh, lass,” he growled. “Oh, love…”
He thrust harder, and then he stilled, his mouth finding hers in a slow and fiery kiss as his hips jerked. Ailis cried out as she felt him pulse inside her, that throb drawing out her climax until, with a sparking ebb, her pleasure began to recede.
But there was no disappointment that it had ended, only the thrill that she could enjoy him, enjoy this, whenever she desired.
Killian collapsed on top of her, his arms sliding beneath her in a heavy embrace that she welcomed, her arms wrapping around him in return. She could have stayed like that all day, safe beneath his weight, with his manhood still inside her.
“Nay, daenae,” she protested as he lifted himself up and slowly withdrew, bringing a little gasp to her lips.
He chuckled, low in his throat. “I’ll crush ye if I daenae.”
“So crush me,” she begged as he rolled onto his side and pulled her to him, pressing a kiss to her hair.
“I could never do anythin’ to hurt ye, love,” he told her, a smile on his face. A smile so radiant that it made him look even more impossibly handsome.
And he’s mine.
Ailis sighed contentedly and peered up at him. “I love ye,” she said, unafraid.
His smile widened, his eyes gleaming. “As I love ye.” He bent his head to kiss her lips. “Lady MacNairn.”
She chuckled, kissing him more deeply, then pulled back to whisper, “To a new era.”
“To a new era,” he echoed, brushing her hair from her face. “To an era of peace and love.”
She melted into his embrace, her desire swiftly building again as she kissed him and murmured her love confessions to him.
Perhaps sensing her yearning, Killian rolled onto his back and pulled her with him. As she sat astride him, he wrapped his arm tight around her and pushed to his feet, holding her to him.
“What are ye doin’?” she yelped, wrapping her legs around his waist so she wouldn’t fall.
“Puttin’ ye in the sea before ye get any notions,” he replied, smirking. “Let the cold water cool ye off.”
“Hey!” she protested, laughing. “I daenae need coolin’ off.”
He waded into the crystal clear water with her, the shock making her gasp, but she couldn’t deny that it was refreshing, caressing her feverish, tingling skin.
Once he was up to his waist, she gently released her grip on him and drifted a short distance away, feeling her way through the water. Remembering her one lesson with him, she turned onto her back and, with legs and arms splayed, she grinned as she finally managed to float.
It was the fear makin’ me sink, she realized, taking in the beautiful blue sky as the water held her.
“I told ye that everyone could float,” Killian said, appearing above her.
She smiled up at him. “I’m nae afraid anymore.” A soft, contented sigh left her lips. “It’s… peaceful.”
“Aye, it is,” he agreed as he bent down to kiss her.
For a second, she felt herself begin to sink, but Killian’s hand came to rest beneath her, holding her up, refusing to let her sink too far in the water, as she kissed him back.
At that moment, she felt truly safe, perhaps for the first time in her life. But more than that, it felt like the two clans would finally be safe, with a peaceful future stretching out ahead of them all.
“I love ye,” Ailis murmured, so happy she thought she might burst.
“As I love ye,” Killian replied, lifting her out of the water and into his arms. The only place she wanted to be.