Chapter 26 #2
“Come to love you?” Her arms stole around his neck. “Ridiculous, wonderful man! I do love you, Callum. I love you so much I scarcely know what to do with myself.”
He closed his eyes and let her words flow over him, sink into him, and wind their way around his heart before drawing her close and lowering his mouth to hers. He held her against him and kissed her with the velvety darkness enveloping them, and the stars twinkling above.
When they broke apart at last they were both panting. Freya’s cheeks were flushed, her lips a dark pink and swollen from his kisses, and he’d never seen, never even imagined anyone as beautiful as she was.
His North Star.
“You’ll have me, Freya?” He caught a loose lock of her hair and brought it to his lips. “You’ll be mine?”
“I already am, Callum.” She laid her hand on his cheek and rested her forehead against his. “I’m already yours.”
His heart gave a wild leap at her words, and he drew her closer, into the warm circle of his arms, and they remained there as the night grew darker around them, a sky filled with stars above them.
He couldn’t have said how long they remained there, quiet in each other’s arms. Perhaps it was a moment only, or perhaps it was a lifetime, but at last she eased away from him, a soft smile on her lips.
She held out her hand. “Come with me.”
He took it and let her lead him down the winding turret staircase to the second floor, and from there to a closed door at the end of the corridor.
She opened it and tugged him inside, then closed the door behind them.
She leaned against it, a deep flush staining her cheeks as she met his gaze. “This is my bedchamber.”
He rested his forehead against hers, his grin widening. “I thought it might be.”
They gazed at each other, letting the moment of anticipation draw out until he could bear it no longer. It felt as if a lifetime had passed since he’d last held her, and slowly, gently he drew her into the circle of his arms.
She pressed her slender body against his and twined her arms around his neck. “My bedchamber, and my, ah … my bed.”
Good Lord. Had there ever been a more tempting sight than Freya MacLeod with her pink cheeks and tousled curls? He slid his hand down her back and rested it just above the delicate arch of her back. “Do you want me, Freya?”
Her flush deepened, but she met his gaze, and her answer was there in the clear green depths of her eyes. “More than anything, Callum.”
“Then touch me.” He took her hand and pressed her palm over his wildly beating heart. “Please, sweetheart.”
She ran her gaze over him, from the top of his dark head to the toes of his muddy boots. Whatever she saw in his face made her breath quicken, and a half smile quirked his lips at the heat in her eyes.
She was trembling a little, her slight body swaying in his arms, but there was no hesitation in her touch, no doubt in her eyes as she slid her hand down his chest to his lower belly.
He sucked in a breath as the hard plane of his belly jerked under her touch.
She paused for an instant, then leaned forward and pressed her parted lips to the base of his throat.
“Yes, love.” He threw his head back, a groan falling from his lips. She’d hardly touched him, yet his body felt as if it were bursting into flames. “Freya.” He cupped the back of her neck, encouraging her with his husky groan. “You feel so good, sweetheart.”
She pressed closer, her hands sinking into his hair as she nibbled at his neck and throat, leaving a trail of fire across his skin everywhere she touched.
Dear God, she was lovely, her shy kisses the sweetest thing he’d ever felt, and she was his. He didn’t deserve her, yet somehow, she was his.
This incredible woman who was beautiful both inside and out, wanted him.
“I love you, Callum,” she whispered, her voice more breath than sound, the warm drift of it stirring the hair near his ear. “I don’t …” She curled her fingers, fisting his shirt, her breath catching. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come for me.”
“I’ll always come, Freya.” He took her chin in his hand and tipped her face up to his. “I’ll always come for you.”
She took his hand, her green eyes soft in the dim light. “Then come with me now.”
She kept his hand in hers as she led him toward the bed and perched on the edge of the mattress. “Will you … I thought we might … will you stay here with me?”
She cast a glance at him before looking away again, her cheeks scarlet and her lower lip caught between her teeth, as if she truly thought he might refuse her. Didn’t she know he’d never refuse her anything it was in his power to give her?
He wanted to give her everything.
“Yes, Freya.” He dragged his thumb across her cheekbone. “There’s nothing I want more than to stay here with you.”
She smiled. “Then come to bed, Callum.”
He took her face in his hands, leaned down, and pressed a long, sweet kiss to her lips.
She made a low, protesting sound when he pulled back, but it died in her throat when he slid his arms free of his coat, and let it drop to the floor.
He struggled out of his boots, then stripped off his shirt so he stood before her, bared to the waist.
“Oh, that’s … you’re …” She stared at him open-mouthed, her cheeks on fire.
“That’s a pretty flush, Freya, but if you blush any harder, you may tumble into a swoon.”
She darted a glance at his face, her lips curving in a smile, but her attention quickly returned to his bare chest. Her gaze roamed over him, assessing every inch of exposed skin. “This is nice,” she murmured, reaching out a hand to caress the trail of dark hair low on his belly. “It’s so soft.”
He bit back a groan at the innocent caress and let her explore him, his muscles tensing and releasing with every sweep of her hands and fingers over his skin. When she lowered her hand and patted the space on the bed beside her, it was all he could do not to snatch her into his arms and devour her.
But he was careful with her, so careful when he stretched out on the bed beside her and took her gently into his arms, because she was precious—the most precious thing he’d ever held—and he wouldn’t hurt her for the world.
She gave him a shy glance before leaning closer, and pressing a kiss to his chest, directly over his heart. He cupped the back of her neck, his breath stuttering in his lungs as he held her against him, her mouth cool and soft against his burning flesh.
“Mmmm,” she murmured, nuzzling his neck. “You smell good.”
He choked on a laugh. “You must be besotted with me if you think I smell good after three days of hard riding.”
“I am besotted with you. But you do smell good.” She dropped a kiss on his stomach. “You smell like …” She paused to consider it, then shrugged. “You smell like you.”
“Hmmm.” He ran his fingers through her wild curls, slipping the pins from her hair and murmuring with approval as the long locks spilled over her shoulders and down her back. “Do I taste like me, too?”
She grinned down at him, tracing her fingers over his lips. “I suppose there’s one way to find out.” She leaned over him, her eyelids heavy, and pressed her mouth to his in a sweet, tender kiss that made his breath quicken and his heart leap in his chest.
But it wasn’t enough. With Freya, one kiss was never enough.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and urged her closer, until she was on top of him, their legs tangled together, then he nipped gently at her lower lip until she opened for him with a gasp.
He surged into her welcoming heat, his tongue sliding against hers in a sensual dance until they were panting.
He took her lips in one hot, desperate kiss after another, his hands buried in her hair, and dear God, he could never get enough of her scent, her taste, and the little sighs and gasps that fell from her lips. Had he ever wanted anyone as much as he wanted her? Had he ever imagined—
“Wait, Callum.” She tore her lips from his and pressed a restraining hand on his chest. “We can’t … this is wrong.”
“Wrong?” Had he somehow misread the situation? She seemed eager, but she was an innocent young lady. Had he frightened her? He leapt off the bed and backed away from it, putting some distance between them. “I beg your pardon, Freya. I thought—”
“Wait.” She clambered up onto her knees in the middle of the bed, her eyes wide. “Where are you going?”
“I, ah …” Damned if he knew, but somewhere away from the temptation of her. “Is there another bedchamber—”
“No! I don’t want you to go, Callum.” She took his hand and tugged him back to the bed. “I meant it’s wrong that you’re …” She waved a hand at his bare chest, the blush that had so charmed him earlier washing over her cheeks again. “Undressed, and I’m still wearing all my clothes.”
He let out a breath, relief washing over him. “Yes, so you are.”
She pushed the pillows aside and presented him with her back. “Will you unbutton me?”
His hands shook as, one by one, he slowly loosened the long row of buttons on the back of her dress, revealing one inch of soft, creamy skin after another in the most erotic unbuttoning of his life.
“There. That’s better.” She beckoned him forward with a crooked finger. “Come back to bed, Callum, and kiss me.”
He vaulted across the floor and into the bed in one leap and pressed a kiss to her laughing lips before easing her back against the pillows and tracing the creamy swells of her breasts spilling from the top of her shift.
The faint pink of her nipples was visible underneath the thin cotton, and he circled one of the rosy tips with his thumb. “So pretty.”
“Oh.” Her lips parted on a soft cry, her head falling back against the pillows.
“Does that feel good, sweetheart? Mmm, yes. You’re sensitive here.”
“Yes, I … oh, that’s so …” She was squirming against the bed. “My goodness.”
Her breath came in uneven pants as he stroked her nipples, caressing the stiff peaks with gentle fingers until they turned a deep pink, and hardened for him.
He held her gaze as he lowered his mouth to her breast, pausing to drop a kiss over her heart before taking one of the turgid peaks into his mouth to suckle her.
“Callum.” Her back arched and she sank her hands into his hair, clutching at him to hold him against her breast. “It’s so … oh. I—I don’t know what to do.”
“Not a thing, sweetheart. Just let me pleasure you.” He laved his tongue over her nipple before taking the other straining peak into his mouth. “You’re so soft here.” He stroked the sensitive skin of her upper thigh in a soothing caress, then he let his hand drift higher, higher …
“Oh, oh …” Freya’s breath tore from her lungs in a stuttered gasp as petted her with gentle fingers, opening her to find the center of her pleasure.
“Is that good, sweetheart?”
“Yes, I … please, Callum.”
He tugged at the buttons of his falls, nearly tearing them off entirely, then stripped out of his breeches and tossed them over the side of the bed. Freya’s shift quickly followed, and then she was in his arms, and God, what a sight she was, with the flush of passion on her dewy skin.
He stretched out between her legs, murmuring to her as she moved restlessly against him, the tantalizing heat at the apex of her thighs coming closer to his straining cock with every twitch of her hips, but he held himself ruthlessly in check, pausing for long moments to kiss her as he cradled her face in his hands. “Do you want me, Freya?”
“Yes. Please, I—I need you.”
“Open your eyes.” He hovered over her, the tip of his cock poised at her entrance, gazing down into her flushed face. “Look at me, Freya.”
Her eyelids fluttered open, and then she was there with him, her green gaze holding his, a gasp falling from her lips as slowly, carefully he sank into her damp heat.
Once he was fully seated he went still, brushing her damp hair from her forehead as he waited for her to grow accustomed to the sensation of him inside her.
He’d had lovers before, but never—never—had it been like this. Her arms slid around his neck, and she tightened her legs around his hips, her warm breath on his face and her soft, fragrant skin surrounding him.
“You’re mine, Freya,” he growled against her lips.
“Yes. Please, Callum.” She gave a tiny nudge with her hips, and then he was moving—her hot, damp flesh enveloping him, deeper with each stroke, the exquisite pleasure of being so close to her—part of her—tearing a groan from deep inside him.
“You feel so good, sweetheart. I’ll never have enough of you. ”
“All of you, Callum. I want all of you. Everything.” Her hips jerked, and she let out a breathy moan that made him wild.
He quickened his thrusts, his strokes careful, steady, sweat beading on his forehead as he ruthlessly held off his own release, his hips stuttering with the effort not to thrust wildly inside her, not to hurt her.
He would never hurt her, not for anything.
“Callum!” She cried out and arched against him, her slick heat pulsing around him, tight and wet and hot, the pleasure so exquisite he couldn’t speak, but buried his face in her neck as his climax ripped through him.
“I … my goodness,” she murmured when her breathing calmed. “That was … I had no idea.”
He pulled back to look at her. Her lips were swollen and red from his kisses, her cheeks pink, and the green eyes he loved so well half hidden under her heavy lids. “Is that a compliment, Miss MacLeod? I can’t tell.”
She gave him a languid smile. “That is very much a compliment, Mr. Ross.”
They lay there for some time, whispering to each other and listening to the waves crashing into the rocks below. Freya rested her head against his shoulder, her hair a wild tangle of red curls, and he traced her spine with his fingertips until at last her eyelids grew heavy.
He pressed a tender kiss to her lips and murmured, “Sleep, sweetheart.”
She let out a contented sigh, and within moments she’d drifted into a deep sleep, the smile still lingering at the corners of her lips.
Callum didn’t sleep. He held her in his arms and watched as the slice of sky visible through Freya’s window lightened, and the stars disappeared into the red-gold light of early morning.