“Why don’t you smile like this more?” He whispered, but wanted to kick himself when the smile dropped.
“I’d rather not make all my defects obvious,” she muttered.
“Defects?”
“My teeth.”
“Are you missing some?” Kieran pressed on her chin as though he might examine a horse’s gums. He was aware she wasn’t; he would have seen the gap by now if she was. She swatted at his hand.
“Nay. I don’t care for how they look.”
“How they look? I haven’t noticed aught aboot them.”
“That’s because I rarely smile with my mouth open.” Maude huffed as she recognized he wouldn’t let the matter rest until she explained. “I have a gap between my top two teeth and my bottom two are a little crooked and overlap at the top.”
“Let me see.” Kieran’s request was in earnest. Maude looked at him as though he sprouted a second head and shook hers. “Let me see, buttercup. I will eventually.”
Maude rolled her eyes but pulled her lips back in a parody of a smile. The imperfections were so slight, Kieran wouldn’t have noticed them if she hadn’t drawn his attention to them. It was his turn to shake his head. He stepped closer to Maude and twirled a few loose strands of her hair around his finger. His other arm snaked around her waist as he drew her against him. If he would be away for several weeks, possibly a moon or longer, he would be sure she remembered him.
“The only thing you succeeded in doing is making me want to taste your mouth.” He lowered his head toward Maude but paused before their lips met. “Has a mon ever kissed you?”
Maude shook her head. A voice in the back of her head wanted to snap “of course nae. What other mon has ever wanted to?” But the sight and smell of Kieran pressed against her filled her senses, and a moment later, she tasted him. His minty breath wafted to her as his lips pressed against hers. For several heartbeats, the kiss consisted of only their lips touching, but he swiped his tongue along the seam of her mouth and pushed it forward with a gentleness that made her give in.
His words about wanting to taste her floated back to her, and she was curious to discover how that would work. Maude already tasted the mint on his breath. She was certain it was from him, even though she had chewed on a sprig on her way to the stables. She opened her mouth, and his tongue dove into her mouth. The sensation was strange, but pleasurable. She moaned in surprise at how much she liked it. The sound encouraged Kieran to pull her fully against his body. The fingers that captured her hair released the strands to cup her jaw. The arm around her waist was like a steel band holding her against him, but he didn’t need to grip her. She had no intention of pulling away. Instead, her hands flattened against his chest but were soon roaming over the broad expanse as his muscles shifted and bunched under her touch.
Kieran pulled her onto her toes as the kiss continued. His hand slid from her jaw, along her neck and over her shoulder, grazing her breast before gliding down to her waist and eventually her backside. The sensation of kneading the ample flesh released the beast within. He backed her against the stable wall, pulling her hands free from his chest. He grasped her wrists in one of his much larger hands and trapped them against the wall over her head. His other hand went back to her bottom. He stretched his fingers wide and feared he would spill his seed as he squeezed. He pulled his mouth away long enough to murmur a confession.
“If you were my wife, I’d have my way with you, right here. Do you feel what you do to me?” He pressed his rod against her mons, and when she shifted with restlessness, he once again pulled her onto her toes, slipping his thigh between hers. Maude moaned once again, and Kieran’s conscience screamed to let her go before he tossed her skirts. But the small noises she made only chipped away at his control. She twisted her wrists, and he released them in favor of kneading her breast. He was certain he leaked as her breast and bottom spilled out of his hands. Her hands once again roamed over his chest before snaking around his neck.
“What are you doing to me?” She panted when she ripped her lips away, trying to catch her breath before diving back in for more. She was a quick study. Her tongue dueled with his, and even pressed into his mouth. He taught her how to stroke her tongue along his and to tangle them together, but when she tentatively sucked, he accepted he lacked the fortitude to hold back. His cock throbbed as his seed jetted within his breeks. He palmed her backside in both of his hands and rocked her against his thigh. He refused to take his pleasure without ensuring she found hers. She picked up the rhythm and altered it to meet her own body’s need. When her nails scored along his scalp and her other hand fisted his leine as her body tensed, he realized she was experiencing her release.
“I’m introducing you to passion, and helping you find your release.” Kieran answered her question at last.
“That was---that was---was---I don’t even know how to explain it other than I can see that it can be addictive.” Maude’s grin was back in place and Kieran’s heart skipped, knowing he was a rare recipient of her toothy smile.
“I’m happy to feed that addiction, buttercup.” He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek. “I hope you can wait until I return.”
Maude peered into the stormy gray eyes and saw doubt for the first time.
“Do you fear that now I know what passion feels like, I’ll seek someone else?”
“Yes.”
She tugged on his leine until he lowered his head enough for her to initiate their kiss. She was ravenous and aggressive. Kieran hardened again as he pressed her against the wall once more. She nipped at his lip and swept her tongue through his mouth, tilting her head to find a better angle to explore the depths of his satiny cavern. He pressed his thigh between her legs once more but gripped a thigh and lifted it to rest on his hip. He rocked against her. His groan vibrated through her chest. They pulled apart only when they both couldn’t last another moment. Maude wasn’t sure if the lightheaded sensation was from going too long without a deep breath or from the power of Kieran’s kisses. She suspected it was as much the latter as it was the former.
“I don’t want anyone else. You’re the only teacher I want.” She frowned as a concern registered. “What aboot you? You didn’t get your turn.”
Kieran chuckled before giving her a peck on her lips. He lowered her foot to the ground and stepped back. He used his hand to point to the front of his breeks. While his grin remained in place, his face heated. He hadn’t spilled his seed like that since he was an adolescent, but he hadn’t been that overcome with lust since he first began coupling.
“You needn’t worry aboot that, buttercup. I found mine before I even brought you to yours.”
Maude covered her nose and mouth with her hands, so all he saw were eyes wide as saucers. She dragged her hands over her mouth to her chin.
“Ye canna go aboot like that,” Maude didn’t realize she had slipped back into her burr. “It’ll leave a stain. Everyone will ken when ye get off Peat.”
Kieran grinned at how horrified Maude appeared. He stepped back but leaned forward to whisper in her ear. He dropped a kiss at the corner of her jaw as he had the night they met. “Dinna peek, lass. Ye dinna want to see more than ye can handle.”
He turned away and reached to unclasp his plaid from his shoulder but missed a step when a quick swat landed on his backside. He swung around, but Maude’s hands were tucked behind her back as she rocked on her toes, a questioning expression on her face that would have been convincing if she wasn’t trying to swallow her lips to keep from laughing.
