Chapter 14 #2
“I am not Sorcha,” she whispered.
His grip tightened reflexively, pulling her a half step closer.
“Nay,” he said, voice dropping. “But ye would do the same. Throw yerself into the fire and expect me to stand idle.”
“And what would you have me do?” she challenged softly. “Sit behind these walls while people suffer?”
His jaw flexed. “I would have ye live.”
The words landed heavier than either of them had expected.
She did not pull away from his hold. Instead, she stepped closer, close enough that her warmth wrapped around him.
“You cannot cage me to soothe your grief,” she said, though her voice softened. “I will not be punished for loving our people enough to help them.”
Anger, then fear, flickered in his eyes, then something far more dangerous. His free hand came up, bracing against the wall beside her shoulder, trapping her between his body and the stone without quite touching her.
“It isnae punishment,” he murmured. “It is survival.”
Her breath tickled his throat. “Yours?” she said. “Or mine?”
He did not answer.
For a long moment, they simply stood there, his hand still wrapped around her wrist, her fingers still resting over the steady beat beneath his ribs. The tension between them stretched thin, humming.
She tilted her chin up, defiant even now. “You cannot command every breath I take, Kayden.”
His gaze dropped to her mouth before he caught himself. The movement was quick, but it shifted the air between them.
“Daenae tempt me to try.” The words came out darker than he had intended.
Her lips parted ever so slightly.
He released her wrist abruptly, as though the contact had burned him, but he did not step back. Not yet.
“Ye need to go,” he said, voice rough, though it lacked its earlier command.
She did not move.
“You cannot open yourself like that and then send me away,” she murmured. “Not when I finally see you.”
Something inside him faltered at that. His hand hovered near her waist, uncertain, wanting and refusing in equal measure. For a heartbeat, it seemed he might pull her closer. Instead, he turned his head slightly, jaw tight with restraint.
“I am nae something to be studied or fixed,” he grunted.
“No,” she replied softly. “But you are something to be understood.”
The silence that followed felt heavier than any argument. And far more dangerous.
“Let me stay, please.”
She stepped into his space, and he picked her up effortlessly. He carried her through the door and into her room. Then he gently put her down next to her armoire.
He looked into her eyes, reading the hurt in them. “Daenae mistake survival for cruelty, mo shùilean donn.”
She stared back at him, and he almost lost himself in her beguiling eyes. She took a step forward, her hand reaching out to him. He froze, not wanting to give her a reason to touch him.
“I know what the redcoats did was awful. But I am no redcoat, and we are not all the same.”
He shook his head. “I didnae say ye were.”
“But you keep me at arm’s length because that is how you see me, is it not? I am just a sassenach to you, and you believe that is how our people see me.”
He let out a loud sigh. “I am nae keeping ye at arm’s length out of any… misguided hatred. Why can ye nae understand that and stop trying to defy me at every turn?”
“Then why? Why keep me at arm’s length? Why would you care if a sassenach fell sick? Why does it matter more than helping yer people?” She took a step towards him so that they were a mere hair’s breadth apart. She lifted her head to look him in the eye.
He huffed in annoyance. “Ye arenae just a sassenach, Lilliana. Ye are me wife.”
Before he could think about it, his hands shot out to grasp her arms and pulled her into him, knocking over the side table. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him, the creamy swell of her breasts rising and falling with every quick breath.
The air thickened between them, and both their breaths were coming short.
“Lilliana…” he breathed, before swooping down and pressing his lips to hers, unable to resist any longer.
He expected her to push him away, but her lips parted, letting him in. She moaned into his mouth, and he wrapped her legs around him. His hand slid around, cupping her bottom, and he felt her breasts press against his chest.
She wriggled her arms free, snaking them around his neck and holding on tight. He grabbed her thighs, urging her legs around his waist so he could carry her easily.
She whimpered and moaned, writhing so hard against him that he could not help his arousal. He carried her to the bed and dropped her gently onto the covers.
She stared up at him, gown askew, her legs bared. Kayden took her in. She was a sight to behold. One nipple was peeking over the neckline of her dress. Her hair had fallen loose and cascaded down one shoulder.
She was a vision, and he could not resist her any longer.
“Lilliana…” He leaned down and captured her mouth with his, the tangy taste of lemon cake she had eaten for dessert still lingering on her tongue. He wanted to lick the taste right off her before he consumed the rest of her just as thoroughly.
He maneuvered himself between her legs as he kissed down her neck, pulling her neckline further down so that her breast bounced out.
He covered her nipple with his mouth, moaning with hunger as he suckled. She bucked and shivered, whimpering and muttering incoherently.
“Kayden…” The word punched out of her as if she were in pain.
He lifted his head to look into her flushed face. “Do ye want me to stop?”
Slowly, reluctantly it seemed, she shook her head.
He slithered downwards, pushing up her skirts so he could burrow beneath them. He was suddenly burning with the need to taste her, craving her in a way he had never experienced before.
Pushing back her knees and placing her heels on his back, he dove between her legs, flicking his tongue out to taste her dripping warmth. Her nub was swollen, and he grazed it with his teeth—enjoying the sound she made as a result—before taking it into his mouth and suckling.
She gave a small scream, and he pulled back, just far enough to lick it, his middle finger sinking into her warm wetness as he did so.
“Kayden.” Her hips bucked, and she whimpered.
He hummed against her nub before lifting his head to watch her as his finger pumped into her.
“Ye like it, lass?” he rasped.
She gave a loud moan, head whipping from side to side as her back arched off the bed. He grinned, returning his attention to her sex.
Her moans grew louder and more erratic, and her nub swelled beneath his tongue. He knew she was close to climax. He redoubled his efforts, hands digging into her hips as he slurped at her sweet nectar, swallowing it down like it was the most delicious ambrosia.
Her cries grew louder and louder as her body undulated with feeling. He could not deny that he enjoyed watching her pleasure build and build until she came to completion on his face, her hot thighs squeezing his head before shaking apart in boneless repletion.
He straightened up, watching her pant, her belly rising and falling rapidly, one breast exposed, her gown wrinkled. She looked debauched, and he was proud that he had done it.
Her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something, but she seemed too satisfied to do more than lie on the bed and breathe. He straightened her gown and sat up, not sure what he was waiting for.
“I… still wish to go to the village tomorrow,” she rasped.
He narrowed his eyes at her before getting to his feet and marching to the adjoining door. He stepped into his room and slammed the door shut behind him.
That is quite enough for today, he told himself, thoroughly infuriated and still aroused.