Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Och, Malcolm, ye make me want ye so much, I never kent I could feel like this,” she breathed, greedy for more of him.
She pressed herself against his chest, weaving her arms around his muscular neck and tangling her fingers in the dark laces of his hair, pulling him closer, entwining her tongue with his in a frantic dance of pent-up desire.
Her entire body was alight now, every particle of it burning, quivering, craving more of his touch.
Her breathing quickened as her curious fingers traced his many battle scars, and she reveled in the power that seemed to ooze from his very bones. She needed more of him. She hardly knew what possessed her, but she suddenly wanted them naked, their bodies pressed together, skin on skin.
“Malcolm, let’s take off our clothes. I want tae feel ye against me,” she murmured against his lips, eliciting a low, raw groan from his throat that only stoked her excitement.
“I couldnae agree more,” he murmured, maintaining the kiss as he rose, lifting her with him, and carried her over to the enormous bed with a few swift strides.
Gently, he laid her down on the coverlet.
Then, while she watched in excited anticipation, running her tongue over her lips, he shucked off the rest of his clothes, until he stood before her in all his magnificent glory.
She gasped in wonder, drinking him in. For her, he was the epitome of masculine beauty, from his tousled curls and the hard, sculpted planes of his face and dark, stubbled jaw, to the way his broad chest tapered into the muscle-ridged vee of his waist, to his long, powerful legs.
But her gaze was inevitably drawn to the huge shaft of flesh springing from its nest of dark hair at the apex of his muscular thighs.
“Omigod, Malcolm, ye’re so… big!” She had seen men naked before in the infirmary, but nothing remotely like this. “How…” She hesitated, gesturing with her eyes at his manhood. “… however will it fit inside me?”
His grin widened. “Dinnae fash yersel’ about that, lass. He’ll fit all right, and bring ye much pleasure as well.”
She blinked at him uncertainly, wanting to believe him, feeling an odd pull of excitement as she stared at the thick column of flesh pointing at her.
He paused, his brows knitting and his grin fading to a look of concern. “Though there may be a wee bit of pain at first, and some blood as well, ye bein’ a maid still. But only little, and it will pass quickly. I promise I’ll nae hurt ye, but if ye’re nae sure we can stop.”
The sincerity of his concern made her not fear what lay ahead. She smiled and held out her arms to him. “I trust ye completely, Malcolm. I dinnae want tae stop. I’ve never wanted anythin’ more in me life than I want ye.”
His grin broke out once more, hungry and wolfish, as he advanced on the bed, his manhood bobbing almost arrogantly as he moved.
“I’m happy that ye want me, lass. ’Tis the same fer me.
Ye dinnae ken the trouble I’ve had keepin’ me hands off of ye,” he murmured huskily, climbing on the bed and coming close to her on his knees.
He hung over her on his forearms and kissed her deeply, making the burning ache between her legs even hotter.
When he broke away, he said teasingly, “Well, lass, here’s me stark naked. ’Tis yer turn now.”
“Aye, all right,” she said, hardly able to wait to feel his skin against hers and dare to touch his swollen manhood. But when she went to sit up to undress, he placed his hand on hers to stop her.
“Nay, Cat, that’s fer me tae dae. Just lay back there and relax.”
She obeyed, and had the exquisite pleasure of him undressing her, starting with her kirtle, which he drew over her head and cast aside.
Then, he lifted each leg in turn and slowly rolled down her stockings, pressing a trail of small, tantalizing kisses to her bared flesh as he went, to her calves and behind her knees.
His palms glided up her thighs, making her gasp as they danced teasingly close to her burning sex and then away.
At last, she lay trembling before him in naught but her shift.
He drew her to her knees, until they were kneeling face to face on the bed.
Then, with a deliberate slowness that had her quivering all over, he took hold of the hem of her shift and raised it up, exposing her naked flesh inch by inch.
She surprised herself by lifting her arms so he could pull it off over her head.
He flung it away, she neither knew nor cared where, for she was mesmerized by his reaction.
He let out a deep groan as he stared at her, his gaze filled with awe... and something else more deeply primal and much more exciting to her as his eyes traveled slowly over her body.
“Och, Catriona, d’ye have any idea how beautiful ye are?” he whispered, his eyes lingering on her breasts, her nipples already standing to attention beneath his heated inspection.
“If ye think me beautiful, then I’m happy,” she told him sincerely, never having felt so beautiful or desired in her life.
Reaching over, he stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, sending thrills racing through her.
She pressed her cheek into it, nuzzling his fingers.
Soon, they were trailing down her cheek, stroking her ears, her neck, her throat, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.
“Ye have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he went on admiringly, his fingers combing through the long auburn tresses and arranging them over her shoulders.
“And such pure, white skin, ’tis like silk.
” His fingers skimmed her collarbone, and she breathed in sharply, her nipples suddenly hardening to such a degree, they hurt with the longing for him to touch them.
“I love yer hair as well, ye are beautiful,” she replied, reaching up to stroke his thick dark locks, her desire mounting.
“Me? Beautiful?” he said with a soft laugh. “Dinnae let Ewan hear ye say that, or I’ll never hear the last of it.”
She laughed too. “Aye, he daes like tae tease ye. But I dae find ye beautiful, Malcom, whatever ye say.”
She melted under the warmth of his smile.
“Och, I’ve waited so long fer this. Let me feast me eyes on ye, Cat,” he murmured, leaning back a little way and reaching out to run both palms over her shoulders and arms, then tracing the indent of her waist, the round curves of her hips, cupping her behind, and squeezing her buttocks until she thought she would either faint or burn up from the sheer bliss of it.
“Beautiful, just beautiful,” he exclaimed softly to himself, his hands drifting over her belly and further down, to where the aching need was centered.
“Och, dear Lord!” Catriona breathed, swaying slightly as pleasure rippled through her from head to toe at his gentle exploration.
She shivered in anticipation as his hands moved upwards, his fingertips tracing a path to her breasts.
When he cupped them and squeezed them gently, she threw back her head and moaned, the flames inside her leaping ever higher.
“They fit just right in me palms, like they were made fer me, mmmh, so soft and warm,” he said, clearly entranced.
Catriona watched him through slitted eyes, savoring the way he seemed to relish filling his hands with her flesh, just as she was reveling in the pleasurable sensations his touch was giving her.
She gasped aloud as his thumbs flicked teasingly across the hardened tips.
The aching need between her legs grew stronger as heat and moisture pooled there.
“Och, Malcolm, it feels so good when ye touch me,” she whispered breathily, resting her hands on his brawny shoulders and arching her back, offering her breasts to him, yearning for more of his magical touch.
“Ah! Ah! Och, Malcolm, aye,” she moaned when he bent his head and his mouth closed around her nipples, sucking first one, then other, while squeezing her breasts close together, his bristly chin rubbing against her tender flesh.
Her hands wandered over him too, stroking through his hair, across his wide, brawny shoulders and down the silky, warm skin of his muscled back, tracing the scars they encountered. His swollen shaft butted against her as if in search of the warm place it craved.
Malcolm laid her gently down and bent over her.
His hands lingered at her breasts, while his head dipped and his mouth moved downwards, making her gasp and arch her back as he trailed tiny kisses down her belly with tantalizing slowness, until his lips brushed the patch of hair where her thighs met.
Caught in a daze of pleasure, Catriona nevertheless stiffened slightly when he shifted himself and knelt between her legs, sliding his palms between them and prizing them apart.
He must have sensed it because he whispered, “’Tis all right, lass, I’ll nae hurt ye, I promise. I only want tae look at ye and taste ye and give ye pleasure.”
Taste me? Och, heavens above!
Catriona, trusting him implicitly, trembled in anticipation of whatever was coming next.
Malcolm grinned wolfishly at her whilst running his hands slowly up and down the whole length of her legs, his knuckles just grazing her sex teasingly, setting it tingling.
He kissed and nibbled at the soft insides and backs of her thighs, and she could not stop small moans of bliss from bursting from her lips.
“Och, ye like that, eh?” he murmured, his eyes twinkling at her.
“Mmm, aye, I dae,” she whispered, feeling in danger of dissolving clean away from the sheer pleasure he was giving her.
“Well, lass, mayhap ye’ll like this even more.”
She let out a little shriek when he suddenly gripped her by the hips and pulled her towards him. The intent look on his face as he gazed down on her exposed sex made Catriona shiver almost uncontrollably as she lay back.
She felt his warm, heavy breaths brushing her sex. A little scream burst out of her when his head lowered and she felt his tongue at her center.