Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I t was a bold request and Kathleen could hardly believe she had managed to make it. For all her fearlessness, for all her desire to do everything the men in her life did, when it came to such matters her inexperience got the better of her and she struggled to make her wants known.
But the words had already spilled between them and now it was only a matter of time before Blaine gave her what she craved—or rejected her.
She didn’t know which was more likely. She waited with bated breath as Blaine hesitated, his lips twisting into a grimace as though he was fighting with himself.
One breath turned to another until Kathleen began to worry she would start to hyperventilate. She forced herself to remain calm, even as the tension between them grew and grew, and by the time Blaine finally moved, it was almost suffocating.
But then she felt the soft press of his lips against hers and she couldn’t help the low, shuddering moan that escaped her. It was chaste, tender, and Kathleen was certain it would have remained so if it was up to Blaine, so she decided it was time to take some real action.
Leaning into him, Kathleen pressed her body against his, her arm coming up to wrap around his neck and hold him close. Much to her surprise and relief, Blaine responded immediately, his hand finally curling around her hip, the grip tight and possessive and better than anything Kathleen had ever experienced before. She had craved that touch for so long that now that she had it, there was no real relief to it; she only wanted more from him and she was determined to get it.
Parting her lips, Kathleen invited Blaine to deepen the kiss. When his tongue pressed past them, a surge of arousal coursed through her, the feeling so sudden and all-encompassing that she moaned loudly, much to her embarrassment. Blaine, though, immediately responded with a moan of his own, as if hearing her express her pleasure brought him pleasure, too.
Kathleen was surrounded by him—his body, his scent, the soft sounds he made as their lips locked together again and again. He was a solid wall of muscle against her, his chest and stomach firm under her hand as she allowed herself to explore his body. When she reached his waist, she let her hand slip onto his back and then up to his shoulders, feeling every small movement he made under her fingers.
Wetness gathered in her core and Kathleen couldn’t help but squirm in Blaine’s arms. In that moment, she didn’t care about any warnings. She didn’t care about all the horror stories she had heard that cautioned young noble girls like her against surrendering themselves to pleasure. All she wanted was to feel more of Blaine, to see if he was right when he claimed such things could be just as pleasurable for a woman as they were for a man.
If it was anything like those times she had dared touch herself furtively in the bath or in the darkness and privacy of her own room, then it was certainly worth it.
Her body seemed to move of its own accord, knowing how to seek pleasure. She hooked her leg over Blaine’s hip and he was quick to slide his hand to her rear, his fingers digging deep into her flesh as she writhed against him. His thigh, firm between her legs, gave her just enough pressure to alleviate some of her need, but it was not enough. She felt constricted by her dress and frustrated by the lack of any real stimulation, her hips working tirelessly to chase some more of that maddening friction only for it to never be enough.
When Blaine tore himself away to look at her, Kathleen gasped, realizing for the first time that she was so busy kissing him she had forgotten to breathe .
“There are ways,” he said, “fer me tae pleasure ye without ruinin’ ye.”
Kathleen’s response was immediate. “Please.”
“Are ye certain?” Blaine asked, sounding just as desperate as Kathleen felt. For the first time, when he rolled his hips against her as if he couldn’t help himself, she noticed the hardness in his trews, his manhood pressing enticingly against her thigh.
She nodded fervently, eager to have anything Blaine was willing to give her. Once he had her permission, he wasted no time before he pawed at her skirts, pulling them up to her waist along with her shift until her legs—and her mound—were bare.
Heat flooded her cheeks instantly, but her embarrassment was overshadowed by her lust for Blaine. When his hand smoothed over the length of her thigh, caressing the skin and gripping onto her flesh, she forgot all about her reservations and surrendered to him completely, letting him roll her onto her back and nudge her legs wider.
“Such a good lass fer me,” Blaine whispered in her ear and a rush of wetness coated her core at the praise. “Let us see ye. ”
As he spoke, his hand reached up to tug at the neckline of her dress, insistently pulling it lower and lower, to reveal her breasts. He didn’t bother with undressing her completely. He only pulled it low enough for her nipples to peek over the fabric, rubbing against the edge of it with every breath she took in a way that drove her wild.
“So bonnie,” he said, taking a moment to lean back and gaze at her. Then, he dipped his head low and traced a line over the swell of her breast with his tongue until he could circle the hardened nub of her nipple with the tip.
It was a sensation unlike anything Kathleen had ever felt before. Blaine’s breath was hot over her skin, but when he withdrew, she felt the air’s chill even more intensely where his mouth had been. The change was so sudden that it drew a gasp out of her, but then he did it again and again, drawing her nipple in his mouth to bite and tease at it.
Arching her back to chase the sensation, Kathleen tangled her fingers in Blaine’s hair, tugging gently at the strands. Blaine moaned in response, the sound reverberating right through her body, which prompted her to do it again—this time harder. Blaine pulled off her with a grin, letting his head tilt back as she pulled, his eyes glinting with mischief.
“Ye’re a menace,” he said. “But I dinnae ken why I ever expected anythin’ else. ”
Kathleen laughed softly, some of the tension bleeding off her shoulders. She had been so high-strung at the thought that this was truly happening that she had stiffened up despite herself and her best efforts. But Blaine’s amusement and the soft touch of his hand on her body put her right back at ease. She followed the movement of his fingers with her gaze, down her chest, her stomach, before they finally disappeared under the bunch of fabric around her hips to brush once, gently, over her mound.
Her breath was cut short. Blaine had barely touched her at all, but her opening pulsed with need, wetness gathering there with every passing moment. When Blaine finally traced the seam of her folds with her opening to find her dripping with desire, he moaned, letting his head fall forward until his forehead rested against her chest.
“Ye’ll be the death o’ me,” he said. Ever so slowly, his fingers began to trace small circles over the seam of her, teasing a spot that sent wave after wave of pleasure through her. “How’s that?”
“Good,” Kathleen gasped, her legs falling a little wider as if they had a mind of their own.
“How about this?” Blaine asked as he dragged his finger down her folds to her entrance, gathering some of her wetness to spread it over her skin .
Biting hard on her bottom lip in an attempt to silence her unbridled moans, Kathleen nodded. “Good… so good.”
Blaine settled close next to her, their bodies pressed together as he whispered in her ear. “I wish I could show ye just how good it can be with me inside ye. I wish I could sink intae ye an’ never leave.”
Kathleen wanted it, too; she wanted it more than anything, but she still had enough presence of mind to know that it was a terrible idea. So, she was determined to get as much as she could, even if it meant never feeling Blaine inside her.
Pressing one more kiss to her lips, Blaine shifted until he was lying between Kathleen’s legs, her thighs bracketing his head. Kathleen had thought it impossible before, but now her cheeks heated even more, the thought that Blaine could see everything, embarrassing her so much that she tried her best to close her legs—only for Blaine to push them open once more.
“Relax,” he told her. “Let me taste ye.”
Taste me?
In all the conversations she had heard from the maids, this had never been mentioned, nor had the healer told her anything of the sort. She understood what Blaine meant when his tongue darted out to press against her opening, soft and warm and more pleasurable than she could have ever imagined.
Crying out in pleasure, Kathleen held onto him once more, keeping his head between her legs. She felt him chuckle against her but then he dove right in to his task, dragging the flat of his tongue over her again and again.
Kathleen could only writhe underneath him, her thighs shaking and her body arching, chasing the sensation. Pressure built deep within her, coursing all over her body. After all the tension between them and her desire building up over the days, Blaine’s ministrations brought her quickly to the edge, her orgasm crashing suddenly over her.
She shook with the force of it, her core pulsing rhythmically as her thighs tightened around Blaine’s head. He worked her tirelessly through it, licking at the oversensitive flesh softly to coax every last drop of pleasure out of her, and only pulled back when Kathleen’s body finally relaxed completely, all her energy draining right out of her.
Even afterwards, she trembled with the aftershocks. She could have never known such pleasure was possible—and now that she had gotten a taste of it, she didn’t know how she could ever live without it .
As she rested there, basking in the afterglow of her orgasm, Blaine pulled down her skirts and carefully adjusted her dress to cover her breasts. Once he was done, he pressed a kiss to her neck and pulled her close, holding her as she lay there, her limbs heavy and entirely useless.
Belatedly, she realized she had been the only one to reach her peak. Blaine, though, seemed perfectly content to simply hold her and Kathleen wouldn’t know where to start with giving him the same treatment.
Before she could agonize over it for too long, Blaine spoke, deciding it for her.
“Go tae sleep,” he said. “We have a long day ahead o’ us on the morrow.”
He said nothing more and neither did Kathleen. After a few minutes, she could hear his breathing turn deep and slow even, showing her that he was asleep. Kathleen didn’t have as much luck, though; thoughts raced relentlessly through her mind—what would happen now? Would things change between them? What did it mean for them?
She didn’t have the answers to any of those questions, and so they tormented her for the better part of the night, until sleep finally claimed her.