She sat there daydreaming so long, the soap in her hair dripped into her eyes. The sting was immediate, and she splashed water over her face to clear the suds away. Blindly reaching for the pitcher to rinse with, she froze when a blast of cold air hit her back. She whipped around, her neck popping as she looked behind her so fast, and froze when she saw Clay. He was standing at the door staring at her. What was he doing back so early?
Her heart raced when he shut the door, cutting off the frigid air filling the room. Their gazes met when he removed his hat and coat, the look in his eyes making something low in her stomach clench. Her eyes ran the length of him, stopping just below his belt. The longer she stared, the tighter the material seemed to stretch across his flesh, a growing bulge letting her know he wasn’t unaffected by seeing her.
She turned around, staring into the fire, the flames dancing as the cold draft still stirred the air in the room. Raising her arm, she covered her exposed breasts before bringing her knees up to her chest. “I didn’t think you’d be home so soon.” Hearing a reply was impossible. She chanced a look over her shoulder. He had a book in his hand and set it down before crossing the room to the tub.
Her heart rate increased as he neared her. The rational part of her brain told her she should make him leave. But the other, the part that Callie had whispered to all day, kept her lips sealed.
Turning away, she stared at the fire again, closing her eyes as she tried to talk herself into—what—she didn’t even know. There wasn’t time to think of it further, as a light touch to her shoulder brought her eyes open. Clay lifted the pitcher from the floor and dipped it into the water, filling it before tilting her head back and pouring it over her soapy hair. He dipped the pitcher again, his fingers gliding through her hair as he poured water over it to rinse the suds away.
You need to stop him. The rational part of her brain screamed inside her head that this wasn’t proper, but as the water ran over her hair again, she closed her eyes.
Clay continued to rinse her hair, his fingers dragging through the long strands. The water ran over her shoulders, and even though her breasts were mostly covered, she wondered what he could see of her. Her heart raced, more so when he leaned forward and kissed her shoulder, then the side of her neck.
His warm breath against her skin made her shiver. She stilled when he sucked her earlobe into his mouth, feeling the pull clean to her toes, her breath catching as he peppered hot kisses on her skin, tingles traveling from the spot he was kissing straight to her breasts before going lower. No wonder Callie was such a naughty girl. If nothing more than a few kisses on her neck felt this wonderful, what would the rest feel like?
But that wasn’t the question whispering through her mind as he peppered kisses across her neck. No, that voice in the back of her head whispered, was she bold enough to find out? And what would he do if she did?
He should stop, but her soft moans made it impossible.
Entering the house to see her in the tub had left Clay frozen in place with the door open long enough for her to notice the temperature change. She hadn’t yelled at him for walking in on her. Instead, the shock on her face had changed as her eyes lowered. His cock took notice, and all rational thought fled as all the blood in his head started traveling south.
He could see the tops of her breasts, the mounds plump from where she was trying to hide them, and he’d never wanted to touch someone as badly as he did her. When he’d taken the pitcher from the floor and squatted behind her, his thoughts hadn’t strayed past rinsing her hair, but his gaze had been riveted to the flow of water over her breasts, and lowering his head to kiss her neck had given him an even better view. Now those kisses felt insignificant. Her neck was a poor substitute for where he wanted his lips to be. He wanted to feel her nipples against his tongue, bury his head between her legs, and feast.
If her sisters could see them now, they’d have Ewan chase him off with that sword he liked to carry around, and even then, he wasn’t sure he’d run. He was too far gone, his cock aching to the point of pain.
His eyes closed, blocking out the sight of her. He had to stop this. She hadn’t told him to, but she hadn’t given him permission to take such liberties either.
He placed one last kiss on her neck before pulling away and standing. He should leave. Go visit Liam so she could finish bathing, but before he had time to do it, she suddenly stood. Water sluiced down her back and ran over her heart-shaped bottom. He groaned at the sight of it. It was perfect, the small dimples just above her cheeks drawing his attention.
“Can you get me the drying cloth?”
Her soft voice cleared his head enough to look away from her. He saw a large cloth lying on the armchair behind him. It looked more like a sheet to him, but turning to hold it out to her made him freeze, his breath catching as she stepped from the tub and faced him. For once, she wasn’t blushing as she looked at him, but he was pretty sure he was as he stared at her.
Breasts that were a perfect handful met his hungry gaze, her nipples a soft pink and pebbled hard. His eyes lowered to her taunt stomach, then to the thatch of curls at the apex of her legs. His body felt as if lightning had struck him as he stood there staring at her, and he was in front of her in two steps.
The drying cloth forgotten, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his body and kissed her, their teeth crashing together before his tongue dipped into her mouth. Her arms came up around his neck, her hold on him tight as she kissed him back, her fingers threading through his hair as she held him to her.
He ran his hands down her back to palm her bottom, pulling her body flush against his own, and knew she had to feel his erection, but it was hard not to react to her like this. He’d been dreaming of her since the moment he saw her, and now that she was in his arms, warm and naked, he was lost.
Despite the challenges life threw at her, Daisy was bold and so beautiful she made him ache just looking at her. He knew he didn’t deserve her attention, let alone her kisses, but her trust in him as she bared her body to his hungry gaze humbled him. He loved this woman beyond reason, and if her actions at the moment were any indication, maybe she loved him back.
She broke the kiss with a gasp, her breath panting out as she looked up at him with swollen lips, her eyes glistening in the firelight. Lowering her arms, he felt the loss of her when she moved away from him, but she didn’t go far. His fiery gaze roamed the length of her body, looking his fill before she reached for one of his arms, pulling his hand from her bottom, and instead of pushing him away, she brought it up to her breast.
The heat of her skin nearly scorched him, her puckered nipple like a brand against his palm. It was perfect. He gave the rounded mound of flesh a light squeeze before his thumb brushed her pebbled nipple. Her eyes fluttered closed, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth as he lifted his other hand, cupping her other breast.
He thumbed her nipples until she made a small sound in the back of her throat, his name whispered in the stillness. She looked him in the eyes before leaning up on her toes to kiss him again. He grabbed her right leg, dragging it up his thigh, running his hand down the length of it before cupping her bottom in his palm. She moaned and ground her hips against his own. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into her or why she was acting like this, and wondered if Callie had spiked her coffee while he’d been gone. No, he didn’t taste whiskey on her tongue. She was as sweet as she always was, so this was something else. This was her, wanting him, and he’d make sure she had no doubt he wanted her in return.
He let go of her leg and turned her, backing her up the two steps to the armchair, kissing her as he guided her down to sit. He fell to his knees in front of her, her legs parting just enough for him to slide between them, and when he broke the kiss, looking down at her, he tried to calculate in his head how long it would take to get that ring from the mercantile.
Her hips were wide compared to her tiny waist. He slid his palms up the length of her thighs, and her body shuddered. Her skin was soft as silk against his hands. His fingers danced over her stomach, her breath catching as he cupped the underside of her breast. With a look up at her, he caught her eyes and leaned forward, licking her right nipple before taking it into his mouth.
Her breath hitched, the sound she made loud enough for Liam to hear if he was still awake. He lifted his head and put a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. She nodded and almost succeeded as he sucked her nipple back into his mouth. He flicked it with his tongue, and her back arched, pushing her breasts closer to him. Her breath came in short pants as he kissed, licked, and sucked her nipple. Her mouth was open, her eyes riveted to him when he looked up at her. He switched to the other, palming the one he’d given so much attention to, his thumb stroking her nipple as he sucked the other one into his mouth. He never took his eyes from her face, and her legs moved restlessly against his side.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she held his head to her. He inhaled a deep breath, the scent of her arousal strong, and lifted his head long minutes later, sitting up to grab her hips. He looked down the length of her body. The wet curls between her thighs made his mouth water to taste her, so he pulled her bottom to the edge of the chair before spreading her legs wider.
He met her gaze and mouthed the words, “Tell me to stop.” He placed a small kiss over her heart and said it again when she didn't reply, and yet again before placing a kiss above her navel. He repeated the phrase as he kissed his way down her body to make sure she understood what he was saying, and his heart raced when the tight curls covering her sex tickled his chin. and she shook her head, no.
She’d kill him if he stopped.
