Chapter 38
Skye couldn’t stop staring at his face. Not the scar—she’d long since stopped seeing it as something to flinch from—but his whole face. It was unguarded, every wall he’d spent seven years carefully building finally gone.
It felt like being handed something too precious to hold properly, something she was terrified she might drop.
She had never thought he was going to come here, let alone confess.
“Dougal, I love ye too.”
He made a choked sound.
Their lips met, soft at first, then deepening as though neither of them could bear to be gentle a moment longer.
“Ye daenae ken how happy it makes me to hear ye say that, Skye. I can hardly believe what I am hearing,” he murmured, resting his forehead against hers, both still breathless from the kiss neither had been willing to break. “Tell me what changed. I need to hear it from ye.”
“Ye ken well enough what changed, Dougal.” Her voice came out unsteady, and she hated it, hated how thoroughly he could still undo her with nothing more than his forehead pressed against hers and the low, rough timbre of his voice.
“I want to hear it all the same. I daenae want to guess, Skye.”
She pulled back just enough to look at him properly, trailing her eyes over his face. No mask, no armor left standing between them anymore, nothing hidden.
His hands found her waist and drew her close once more, and she allowed herself to relax.
Skye could hardly believe that this was happening. She was not going to pinch herself again because it would just be silly, and she certainly did not want to embarrass herself in front of the man she loved more than anything else.
“Ye’re nae so bad with words, if only ye’d make up yer mind to use them.”
“Perhaps.” His mouth curved, and she felt it more than saw it, his lips grazing the corner of her jaw. “But there are things I’d rather show ye than say, if ye’ll let me.”
She should have hesitated. A month ago, she would’ve told him about her rule, would’ve built the proper distance again as she’d trained herself to do whenever he came too close to her. But now there were no more rules between them. There was nothing left to be protected, nothing left to pretend.
“Then show me,” she murmured.
He tensed beneath her touch, having waited for her permission all this time, and then he kissed her again.
He took his time, kissing her so deeply and so thoroughly that she struggled to catch her breath. When he lifted his hands to the laces of her dress, she did not resist. She only hugged him tighter, because for the first time in her life, she wanted not to think but to feel.
“I love ye,” he told her again, making her blush.
“It’s so strange to hear ye say that,” she admitted with a weak laugh.
Dougal grinned. “I can understand why, but ye should get used to it because I willnae stop saying it. I’ll say it every day if that’s what it takes.”
She ducked her head. “Who kent ye had such a way with words?”
“Only because of ye, Skye. I daenae think I’d be capable of such words without ye inspiring me.”
Skye was about to rise on her tiptoes to kiss him when she heard a scuffle outside the door.
Dougal chuckled and stepped aside so she could walk over to the door and open it. There stood Freya and Emily, looking quite shamefaced at being caught eavesdropping.
“Freya. Emily.”
Freya smoothed down her skirts. “Skye, Emily and I were just passing by.”
Skye sighed. “Passing by?”
“Aye, very slowly,” Emily added, not helping in the slightest.
Skye wasn’t truly angry. Freya and Emily just wanted to make sure she was all right. Still, she was not going to let them off so easily.
“For a rather long while,” she drawled. “With yer ears pressed against the door.”
Emily at least had the decency to look down at her feet. Freya, however, lifted her chin. “We heard shouting earlier and came to make sure ye were well. That’s all.”
“There was no shouting.”
“Might’ve been dramatic sighing, then,” Emily offered. “Hard to tell through the wood.”
Dougal, who was standing behind Skye, cleared his throat, torn between mortification and amusement. “I look forward to speaking with ye both at dinner tonight.”
Skye looked over at him.
Skye looked over at him. "I look forward to it as well, though I suspect it'll be more interrogation than conversation."
Kaden had to be convinced to let Dougal stay, but he was no match for his two sisters and his wife.
Skye got ready for bed that night, and Dougal waited for her in the room he had been given. No one was going to interrupt them now. He would make sure of that.
Slowly, the door opened, and Skye stepped inside, looking vulnerable and wanton at the same time. Her hair hung down her back in long waves, brushing teasingly against her thin nightgown. It was so thin that the pink of her nipples was visible through the fabric.
Her cheeks burned, but she tried to hold herself together. She didn’t want to look any more frightened than she already felt.
“I am… nae completely ignorant of what goes on between a man and woman when they lie together,” she whispered, her blush deepening.
“Ignorant isnae one of the words I would ever use to describe ye, Skye,” Dougal replied, his voice low and steady.
He held out his hand to her. She hesitated for a moment, then walked over to him and placed her small, dainty hand in his.
“I will do me best to make it comfortable for ye,” he assured her.
She worried her lower lip between her teeth. “Shall I lie down?”
He chuckled softly. “If ye wish.”
She gave him a strange look but trusted him enough to climb onto the bed. She lay back against the plush pillows, her heart hammering in her chest.
“If ye have any objections, please daenae hesitate to voice them,” he said.
“Dougal, do ye truly think I would hold back any of me objections?” she asked, a small spark of her usual fire returning.
He chuckled, undoing the ties at the front of her nightgown to bare her pert breasts to his gaze. The cool air made her nipples pebble. Without warning, he lowered his head and took one nipple into his mouth. Skye let out a soft gasp, throwing her head back to expose her delicate neck.
Dougal released her nipple with an obscene wet pop and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. This one was deep, hungry, and real. Skye hesitantly opened her mouth, allowing his tongue access.
When he broke the kiss, her cheeks were flushed with pleasure, her lips swollen. The look in his eyes made her stomach flutter. He smiled wickedly and pushed up her gown until it pooled around her waist.
Skye whimpered, instinctively spreading her legs and bending her knees. He settled between her thighs, and the first press of his tongue against her sex tore a soft whine out of her.
“Oh my,” she cried out.
Her words melted into a moan as he sucked gently on her bud. Her hips bucked as if they had a mind of their own.
“If ye are still capable of words, then I am nae doing a good enough job,” Dougal murmured.
He dove back in, licking and teasing her while slipping a finger inside her. She gasped, her inner muscles rippling around him. He let her adjust and then added a second finger, careful not to rush her.
Soon she was a writhing mess, bucking her hips and chasing the building pleasure.
“Oh!” she screamed, her inner muscles clenching tightly around his fingers as a powerful orgasm tore through her, leaving her trembling and breathless.
“How do ye feel?” Dougal asked, his voice rough.
“Good,” she replied with a nervous smile.
He took off the rest of his clothes. Skye propped herself up on her elbows, her eyes widening at the sight of his erection.
“Will it hurt?”
“It may cause some discomfort,” he replied honestly. “If ye wish to stop?—”
She shook her head quickly. “N-Nay. I want to continue.”
When he positioned himself at her entrance and slowly pushed inside, she let out breathy little gasps, trying to adjust to the stretch. He slid into her carefully, inch by inch, until he was seated to the hilt.
“Are ye all in?” she gasped.
“Aye,” he groaned.
He captured her lips in a deep kiss and began to move. At first, it felt strange, but as he quickened his pace, the discomfort gave way to sparks of pleasure.
“I am nae a delicate flower,” Skye blurted out.
That was all the encouragement he needed. He thrust harder, and her cries grew louder. She clung to him tightly, her arms wrapped around his neck. Every time he hit that perfect spot inside her, pleasure surged through her entire body.
Dougal’s rhythm broke. He growled against her lips as he came, burying himself deep.
She felt the first hot pulse of his release flood her, warm, thick, intimate, and the sensation tipped her over the edge.
Another orgasm crashed through her a moment later, sharp and overwhelming, making her arch hard beneath him and tremble as it rolled through her in long, shuddering waves.
Every nerve in her still sang, aching and alight all at once.
Dougal pulled out slowly, careful with her, and she felt the loss of him keenly, her body still trembling as he gathered her against his chest, his heart hammering beneath her cheek.
They lay together, catching their breath. Dougal felt a strange mix of emotions as Skye drifted off to sleep beside him, wondering what the morning would bring.
He watched her for a long while, the candlelight softening her features, and thought that loving her had cost him nothing at all, and given him everything.