She loved him. She loved Oskar Galbraith, the fire-haired, bad-tempered, brave, loyal, wonderful, complicated man that he was. The fact that the revelations about his past didn’t change how she felt was the first clue. In fact, those revelations only solidified the feelings that had been creeping up on her during their time together.
Sure, he a had a past. He had a dark past that had scarred and shaped him in ways that many people would not have survived. And if he hadn’t gone through those things, if he hadn’t been forced to do the things he’d done, would he be the man standing before her right now? The man who had begun to knock down the wall she’d built around herself and let the light in? She didn’t think so.
And now he was kissing her and Lily’s thoughts were bursting into fragments and blowing away. Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer as their kiss deepened. She had never felt anything like this. It was like coming home after a long journey, like finding something she never knew was missing.
When they finally parted, Oskar rested his forehead against Lily’s, their breaths mingling in the quiet space between them.
“Lily,” he whispered, his voice husky with emotion. “I love ye.”
Her heart lurched at his words, a warmth spreading through her as she gazed into his eyes, seeing the truth and vulnerability laid bare before her. “I love you too, Oskar,” she replied softly, her fingers intertwining with his.
Without breaking eye contact, he swept Lily off her feet effortlessly and carried her over to the fireplace where he laid her on the thick rug. He followed her down, kissing her again, until she was on her back and he was kneeling over her, one hand braced by her head. His lips explored her, leaving a trail of fire along her jawline, down her neck, and across her collarbone.
But he lifted his head, a shadow of doubt in his eyes. “Are ye sure this is what ye want?”
She didn’t answer with words. She showed him. Reaching up, she cupped his face in her hands and then ever so softly kissed him all over his face. His eyes slid closed, a soft hiss escaping his lips.
“I’ll take that as an ‘aye’,” he murmured.
“Please do.”
Oskar’s movements were slow, deliberate, as he began unlacing the front of her dress. Lily gasped as his hand slipped beneath, sliding across her skin, and arched into him as goosebumps rode across her body.
Oskar took the opportunity to slip the dress from her shoulders and then tug it over her hips. Lily kicked out of it, leaving her naked but for her panties. Oskar’s eyes darkened at the sight of her, something like hunger reflecting on this face as his gaze roved over her, traveling from her face, down her body, and back up again.
He bent his head and took one of her nipples into his mouth, sucking and nipping with his teeth. Lily gasped, tangled herhands in his fiery hair and arched her back at the deliciously, almost-painful sensation.
Taking his cue from her reactions, Oskar dipped lower, scraping his lips across her midsection, circling her navel with his tongue and laying tiny, sensual kisses along the ridges of her hips.
In response, Lily’s nerve endings burst into flame. She felt her skin heating, felt tingles of something like electricity burning across her skin, and heat pooling in her stomach and between her legs.
Oh hell. What was Oskar doing to her? She didn’t need to tell him anything. He instinctively seemed to know what she wanted, what she needed, as though her body was a book that he read effortlessly.
His attentions drifted lower, down her stomach and the very top of her thighs where her legs met her body. He tugged her underclothes down her thighs and discarded them on the floor, his fingers dancing lightly over her skin.
Sliding his hands beneath her backside, he lifted her slightly, moving gently, and then dropped his lips to the sensitive spot between her legs and went to work.
It was like lightning. Lily’s moans were soft, high-pitched, almost desperate. She tried to gasp out a plea, a demand, but nothing came out.
“Oskar,” she finally managed to gasp through the spiraling haze of sensations that were spinning through her.
He didn’t let up, instead picking up the pace, his mouth working rapidly. She tangled her hands in his hair as that haze of sensation began to grow.
Her breaths were coming in short bursts now, her heart pounding furiously in her chest. She could feel the heat building, threatening to engulf her.
“Oskar...” she gasped, her voice hoarse.
He looked up at her, his eyes dark and intense, his expression a mixture of hunger and tenderness. He nodded, understanding the unspoken plea in that word.
He plunged inside her, his fingers replacing his mouth, working her expertly. Her moans grew louder, more desperate.
“Oh...” she cried out, her voice echoing through the room. “I’m gonna...I’m gonna...”
Her body tensed and she let out a loud cry as a wave of pleasure washed over her, stronger than anything she’d experienced before. He continued to stroke her until the last tremors subsided and then propped himself on one elbow beside her.
“My God, Lily,” he rasped, his voice thick. “Ye are so beautiful.”
“Oskar...” Lily replied, her eyes meeting his with a mixture of embarrassment and desire. “I...I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never felt anything quite like that. That was amazing.”
