“Ye make me desperate.”
He kissed her and Emily murmured her pleasure. The way his naked body was pressed all along the length of hers would be impossible for her to describe. Every brush of his warm, taut skin and crisp hair made her pulse dance madly and her desire for him grow until she ached.
Then his mouth left hers and he kissed his way down to her breasts. He kissed her there and then suckled her like a babe. The ache she suffered from centered itself low in her belly, and Emily was shocked when she realized she had been rubbing herself against him. She was just discovering that that motion felt very good when he slid his hand down over her stomach and between her legs. She cried out softly when he slid a finger inside of her.
“Ah, love, ye heat up for me so quickly, thank heaven,” he said against the swell of her breast.
Emily could not think of what to respond to that and then forgot about even speaking when he replaced his finger with that part she had no name for. With a quiet cry of pleasure she wrapped her legs around him.
Iain moved slowly at first, holding on to just enough control to keep his thrusts slow and deep. Emily’s breathing grew faster and uneven and then her body tightened around him. He caught her cry of release in his mouth then continued to kiss her as he thrust harder, faster, and found his own pleasure. Pressing his forehead against hers he managed to keep most of his weight off her as he rode it out, then he pulled away and rolled to the side. It was an effort but he wrapped his arms around her and tugged her hard up against his side, pleased to feel that she was as wrung out as he was.
For several minutes they just sprawled there, their breathing growing more steady.
Emily began to come to her senses and then wondered if she should say anything.
Unfortunately, she could think of nothing to say. Although her knowledge of such matters was not enough to fill a thimble, she had once heard a woman speak of pillow talk. The woman had been quickly hushed, however. So what did one say after such an event, she wondered.
Iain rolled onto his side, saw the faint line between her brows, and said, “Oh, I forgot to clean us off. Be just a moment.”
Already blushing, Emily watched as he walked over to the washbowl, poured some water in, and wet a rag. The man was completely comfortable walking around naked. She wished she could have such confidence but she had already tugged the sheet up until it covered her. He washed, rinsed the rag, then marched back and cleaned her off. Emily thought her face would burst into flames, her blushes felt so hot. After he rinsed and set aside the rag, he crawled back into bed and pulled her into his arms. It took a moment but then she realized he was stroking her back much the way he stroked a nervous horse.
“What are you doing?” she asked, putting her hands on his chest and pushing herself up enough to see his face.
“Weel, ye were looking a wee bit discomforted,” he said.
She looked down at his chest and idly petted flat the hair sprinkled there. “I am unaccustomed to doing this and know none of the rules.”
“There are rules, are there?”
“I am certain there must be.”
He cupped his hand under her chin, tilted her face up to his, and brushed a kiss over her mouth. “The only rule is to be sure ye give each other pleasure.”
She sighed and rested her cheek against his chest. “That seems impossibly simple.”
“Not everything can have a set of rules to it, love. There are rules all round this, and we’ve broken most of them, but none for the act itself except to give pleasure and not hurt each other.”
Emily thought about all the rules they had broken and she ought to be deeply ashamed. Yet, she was not, not in the slightest. All she felt was some unease because she did not know how this man she had given herself to felt about her. He so easily called her “ love” but she doubted he meant it as she would like him to. The fact that she loved him made his lack of love words, and the promises that came with them, all the harder to bear.
She sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest and ignoring how the action bared so much of his tall, muscular body. “I best slip off to my own room now.”
Iain sat up and pulled her into his arms. “Why? Neddy is staying at the O’Neals, aye? There is no one to ken ye are missing from your own bed.”
“But we have already done that,” she protested weakly as he tugged the sheet away and began to kiss her breasts.
“Are ye sore?”
“No.”
“Then I think we should take advantage of our time alone as it is so rare.”
* * *
Emily slowly opened her eyes and was disoriented for a moment. Then she recalled where she was and turned her head to see Iain sleeping soundly. Glancing toward the window she saw the dim light of dawn starting to color the sky. She slid out of bed and yanked on her shift. Gathering up the rest of her clothes, she crept out of the room and dashed across the hall to hers. Once inside, she tossed aside her clothes and climbed into her own bed.
She could not believe she had stayed the night with Iain. That was risky and probably foolish. Now she was painfully aware of how alone she was in her own bed. She craved his warm body next to hers, the way he idly curled an arm around her waist and tugged her close. It was a mistake to have stayed the night with him because now she would be plagued by all she did not have.
Like his love, she thought, then cursed. She could not be sure what he felt for her aside from lust and she had overheard enough talk to know a man could feel lustful toward many ladies. Emily wondered if there was a way to prompt him to declare himself but quickly shook aside that thought. He might tell her he did no more than lust after her and she could not bear to hear that.
