Move away, Iseult.The more time she spent with Kieran, the more her defenses dissolved. No matter how badly she wanted him, Kieran wasn’t a man with a future to give her. It wasn’t wise to let herself love him.
She leaned her head against his broad chest, and his breath rose upon her nape. He was unraveling her sensibilities, taking her sense of reason apart. He was going to leave, but they had these last few days together. Was there harm in acting upon her desires?
His hand caressed the side of her face, a dark hunger rising in his eyes. “Was there something else you needed?”
I need you.
She didn’t speak, letting her actions answer for her. Her hands moved beneath his tunic, touching his bare skin. She traced rigid muscles and a scar that ran across his ribs. Raising herself up on her tiptoes, she touched her lips to his.
His mouth covered hers, kissing her with unsuppressed heat. Work-roughened hands caressed her waist, sliding down her skirts to touch her thigh. Slowly, intimately, he slid his palms over her bottom, bringing her close to him.
Iseult wound her arms around his neck, her body melting against the feeling of his hands upon her. He kissed her again, his tongue invading her mouth the way his body had joined with hers the night before.
“I wasn’t going to touch you,” he whispered, his mouth moving over her skin.
“I know,” she replied, shivering when his hands moved over her thigh and toward the place where she wanted him most. She moaned when his fingers rubbed the fabric of her gown against the nub of her womanhood. “But I wanted you to.”
One last, stolen moment. A chance to be with him before she could remember all of the reasons why they shouldn’t be together.
His kiss became wild, a tangle of mouth and lips. Like a craving, she couldn’t get enough of him.
“I shouldn’t do this, either.” He unfastened his trews and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist. A moment later, he penetrated her, and she cried out at the sensation of him stretching her. Her breasts swelled, the nipples tightening as he plunged deep inside.
His mouth ravaged hers, and all the while he kept up a steady rhythm pumping inside her. Desire built up so tightly, she clutched at the back of his hair.
He slowed down suddenly, watching her with hooded eyes. Lifting her slowly, she felt every inch of him before he filled her again. It was torment and heaven at the same time.
Grinding her hips against him, she tried to make him increase the tempo, but instead he impaled her with such lingering strokes, she bit her lips to keep from crying out.
She closed her eyes, fighting against herself.Don’t love him, don’t love him.He wasn’t going to stay. It was foolishness to lose her heart over this man.
But her body welcomed his, joining as though they were meant to be together. He lifted her up, caressing her with each stroke, as though he wanted to mark her for his own.
The wave caught her so unawares, she convulsed against him, crying out in fulfillment. A few strokes more, and his own release caught up with hers.
Kieran lowered her to the grass, still inside her. She couldn’t catch her breath, couldn’t move with the satisfaction he’d given her. Physically, they could not have been closer.
With swollen lips, she kissed him again, blinking to hold her feelings together. “If we find—” She closed her eyes, trying to hold the pieces of her optimism together. “No,afterwe find Aidan,“ she amended, “I don’t want you to leave us.”
He looked away, as if the grass were infinitely more fascinating. “Iseult—“
“Let me finish. You say that you can offer us no future.” She hesitated, unsure of whether to reveal so much of herself to him. “But I want to go wherever you do. Be with you, no matter what befalls us.”
Kieran withdrew from her body, his face showing no emotion. As he straightened his clothing, he said, “You don’t know what you are asking.”
“I’m asking you to give me a chance. I—“ She caught herself before she spoke words that revealed too much of her feelings. “I care for you.”
His arm caught her around the waist. “Look at me, Iseult.” His face was hard, unforgiving. “There are no second chances for men like me. I am nothing.”
“Do you think I care whether you’re a slave or a king? It doesn’t matter.”
“It does, Iseult. It matters to me.” There was absolute conviction in his voice. She hadn’t known that he would deny himself a wife and family if he couldn’t provide for them.
If he loved you, it wouldn’t matter whether or not he had land,her heart warned. It was devastatingly clear that he didn’t care enough.
He released her, and her skin felt the loss of his warmth. She took another step backwards, her throat burning. Suddenly, she felt so weary, she wanted to sink down and close her eyes.
“After we find Aidan, I want you to forget about me,” Kieran said. “Find a man who will give you the home and children you deserve.”
