Hannah froze. ‘No.’
Killian’s gaze leapt from her cheek to her eyes. He nodded. ‘Ah. And now we’re back to secrets. Some scars leave greater wounds on our soul than our skin. Later maybe?’
Never.
Hannah pressed her lips together and stayed silent.
His fingers delved into her hair, and he urged her face closer, pressing his mouth against hers.
Finally!
It was a relief to be pulled out of her mind and into a riot of sensations. This time, his kiss was far from chaste. He plunged his tongue into her depths. Hannah tasted whiskey and mint.
She twisted her torso to face him more fully. Resting one hand on his shoulder, she marvelled at the feel of his muscles as they flexed and twitched beneath her fingers. Her other hand drifted up, getting lost in his thick curls. She tugged gently and when he moaned, she pulled harder. This is what she craved. To stop thinking and just feel.
He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, his bite sharp enough to flirt with pain. It was glorious. She gripped his head and scraped her teeth over his top lip.
‘Straddle me.’ He lifted her, creating space for her to spread her thighs on either side of his lap. Her shift crept higher, exposing her ankles, calves, and knees to the night as she complied with his request. The fire warmed her back.
He deepened their kiss. Strong fingers pressed against the small of her back, pulling her closer to him until the ridge of his cock rubbed her cleft. His rough cotton pants created delicious friction against her delicate core. Hannah gasped as he rolled his hips up. The only thing separating where he ground himself against her intimate flesh was his breeches.
He nibbled down her neck, across her collarbone. ‘Will you remove your wrap?’ Looking up at her, his eyes partially hooded and darkened by desire, Hannah was struck by his beauty.
She didn’t hesitate. Stripping off her flannel wrap in a frenzy, she heedlessly threw it on the floor. Her shift draped off one shoulder. Looking down at herself: her nipples were smudges of dark pink, peaked against the translucently thin cotton. She should be embarrassed, but desire emboldened her, and she arched her back, offering her breasts to him like a sacrifice.
The raw hunger in his eyes reminded her, she was no sacrifice. She was a goddess, and he was in her thrall.
Killian dipped his head and sucked her nipple through the material. The contrast between his hot mouth and the wet cottonagainst her puckered flesh was overwhelming. Hannah moaned and leaned her head back, pushing harder into him.
He nipped and suckled until Hannah was sure she would fly into a thousand pieces. While his mouth was occupied with one nipple, his fingers dipped under the loose neckline of her nightgown and found the other. Demanding fingers pinched and squeezed, flicked and rubbed. Fissures of pleasure sparked and smouldered low in her belly, rippling out in waves. She rubbed her aching core against the hard flesh of his cock. Something sharp and sweet came alive.
Her world narrowed to his mouth, her breasts, his fingers, and her rolling hips. She was chasing something, pursuing it as ruthlessly as any criminal until ecstasy expanded in an explosion. She cried out, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Power and need coalesced in a conflagration of sensation that coursed through her, igniting every nerve ending in her body. Even her toes tingled. The pleasure washed through her in waves that slowly ebbed to a buzzing hum.
‘What just happened?’ Hannah whispered against his temple. She had heard of transforming religious experiences. Now she understood.
He pulled away from her. When she opened her eyes, he was watching her. Air sawed harshly in and out of his lungs, and his cheeks were dark with colour. ‘You found your climax.’
An aching emptiness echoed deep within her, a poignant counterpoint to the pleasure effusing her body. ‘That was… consuming. Amazing.’
She shifted and felt the hard ridge of his erection.More. Instinctively, she knew this was only a piece of something much greater. And she wanted it. All of it.
Killian pressed his lips together in a tight line and hissed.
Hannah was intimately acquainted with pain. She understoodhow to deliver and endure it, so she recognised the signs in others. Awareness dawned. ‘You’re hurting. Oh, God. Did I do that to you?’ She clambered off his lap and backed away. Her gaze locked on his lap, and she was horrified to see her wetness on his breeches. ‘I’m so sorry.’
His smile was closer to a grimace. ‘Don’t be sorry. Watching you fly apart was…’ he didn’t finish his sentence but shifted again, wincing as he did.
‘I must have done something wrong if you’re in such pain.’
‘You didn’t do this. Well, perhaps inadvertently, but you don’t carry the blame.’
‘I don’t understand. What happened?’ Hannah was trained to inflict injury, but she didn’t relish the idea of hurting someone unintentionally. Especially not Killian. Not now.
‘It’s not so much what happened, but what didn’t.’
Hannah shook her head. ‘You’re speaking in riddles. Please, tell me plainly what caused this so I can avoid doing it again.’
‘That’s not possible.’
