6
That dark and angry expression was back in his eyes, and his face was like carved stone. He was a man clearly opposed to marrying again. In a way, it made her feel more at ease. She was certain when she’d seen that wanting look in his eyes on his first night here that it had meant something dangerous. Now, with his anger at Struan for trying to arrange a marriage for him, she understood that he was not being foolish in feeling more for her than he should.
More than either could allow.
“I can understand why he would do such a thing, Iain. Ye are a man yet in yer prime. Ye are connected by blood and oath to the chieftain of the powerful MacKillop Clan. Ye have much to offer a woman and her family looking to make an advantageous alliance.”
“So I have been told,” he said.
Robena walked past him and poured them both some ale. Handing him one of the cups, she realized he wished to talk more than he wished to tup. She smiled at that, for most men did not spend their precious coin to sit and talk with a whore. Shefound she liked these times as much as she did the other things they did together.
“My thanks,” he said, holding the cup up and nodding to her. He drank deeply as she realized that was another thing she liked in him—his willingness to acknowledge service and servants. Watching as he took another mouthful, she could not remember a time when Struan had offered thanks to anyone who did his bidding. Other than to Anice.
The fire would begin to ebb soon, so she grabbed up the blanket, tossed it over the others already on the pallet, and climbed under the warm layers. As she slid towards the wall and placed pillows behind her back, she held up the covers for Iain.
They’d spent many hours just like this—sitting on the pallet, discussing this or that, coupling when the urge came over one or the other or both of them. He finished the last of the ale and tugged on his belt. With the fire behind him, his shape outlined by the flickering flames, she watched as his body was exposed.
She’d seen worse and she’d had a few better, but none affected her as his did. As he pulled his shirt over his head, she remembered the feel of the muscles in his thighs and knew how hard the muscles in his arse would feel as he thrust into her. She liked to cup them with her palms. He turned to put his garments aside and the whole length of his prick could be seen against the fire’s light. She would need both hands to wrap around that.
“Are ye hungry, lass?” he asked as he watched her face. Walking towards her, he offered, “Do ye need something to eat?”
Robena could not help herself for she laughed aloud at his words. He’d meant them kindly, truly he had, never considering their other meaning. But then Iain had never been a coarse man when it came to fleshly desires and needs. He frowned for a moment, and then understanding struck and he joined her in laughing. He knelt on the pallet and climbed next to her, hiscock creating a tent of the covers when she tugged the woolen blankets over the both of them.
“So, you do not wish to marry again?” she asked as he settled next to her. Iain moved in close, sliding his arm behind her and shifting her so they touched. His warmth flowed off him, adding to her comfort. She hadn’t known how cold she’d become until he was next to her.
“I have sworn for the last five years that I did not wish to,” he admitted. He reached around her to clasp her hand in his, entwining their fingers.
“Are ye changing yer thinking on it, then?”
Before he answered her, he reached his other hand down and rested it on her belly. Even through the blankets, she could feel the heat of his touch. His long fingers splayed out, some over her belly and some nearer to the curls between her legs. Though he did nothing more, she found it difficult to breathe.
“If I found the right woman, aye, I would think on it,” he said, his words now spoken close to her ear.
He shifted, and his cock pressed against her hip under the bedcovers. Now he began to swirl his fingers lightly over the covers, but she felt every movement as though he touched her flesh to flesh.
“Not Struan’s cousin?” she managed to ask in halting, affected words.
“Nay! Not Gunna,” he said. “If I marry again, ’twill not be that woman.”
“Good.” The word escaped her lips.
“Good? Ye dinna wish me to marry, then?” he asked, his voice teasing her as much as his relentless, gentle caresses did.
He made no pretense about his motives, for he pushed the covers down and caressed her breasts. The rough skin on his thumbs made her ache as he rubbed her nipples.
When he leaned down and took the tight point of flesh into his mouth, she lost the ability to think. His teeth clasped it and he licked it with his tongue while his lips sucked hard. The moan that echoed into the cottage could not be helped or held in. She grabbed his head with her free hand, holding him there. When he lifted his gaze to hers, the wickedness in his blue gaze foretold of the pleasures ahead.
“So, I shouldna marry again?” he asked as he lowered his face once more to torment the other nipple. He slid his hand down now, down and down until he spread his fingers over her curls. Her legs fell open at his caress.
His every touch sent her wits scattering, and her ability to think just disappeared. “Lass? Ye dinna wish me to marry?”
“If ye marry, we willna do this,” she finally said. “Any of this.”
She pulled free of him, pushed him on his back, climbed over him, and slid onto his length. He reached up and guided her hips down, hissing at the sheer pleasure of the friction inside her. Then she rode him, easing up and down, faster and faster. He filled her and it felt good to her.
“Ye would refuse me?” he asked as his breathing quickened.
She lost her concentration for a moment at that question, and he took advantage of it. Taking hold of her waist, he pushed up and rolled over, thrusting in deeply when her back hit the pallet. He was tall enough that he could rest his elbows next to her shoulders when they were like this. He smoothed her hair out of her face and stared at her. As she shifted her hips to allow his prick in deeper, she gave him her honest answer.
