He was losing her, losing his chance to hold her while she cried. She was going to turn and leave when all he craved in this moment was her body pressed against his. Hell, but he suddenly couldn’t take another breath without touching her! Acting on instinct alone, he wrapped his fist around her arm. Her bones felt so delicate beneath his grip, as if he could break them with almost no effort at all. She tensed. Looked up at him warily.
“Ye didna say why ye cry.” He pulled her a little closer, and he could feel the heat from her body, smell the sweet scent of her skin.
She shook her head and looked away, denying him her secrets. He felt frustration rising hot and tight in his chest. And lust. Undeniably, always, lust for her. He could no longer contain it all. He gripped her other arm so that he held her captive before him, pulling her against the length of his body as he did so. She looked up at him with large, luminous eyes, and for a moment he forgot to breathe. Then, before he even realized what he was doing, helpless to stop himself, he lowered his lips to cover hers.
Damn.
The shudder of heated awareness thrilled through his body with a power he could not have dreamed.
He tilted his head to deepen the kiss, sweeping his tongue along her lips until she opened to him. A low growl came from his throat as he took her mouth, harder now, lost, completely forgetting himself. His hands rose to let his fingers sift through her silken hair, holding her still, ensuring that her mouth could not leave his. A small voice in the back of his mind was trying to remind him that he wasn’t supposed to be doing this: kissing this woman as if his very life depended on it. She could be his enemy, after all. But God, it felt so damn good! And she was kissing him back as if though she wanted him too, as if she would let him take her, right here like this. That thought had him groaning against her mouth as his cock surged even harder and he rolled his hips against her, desperate for the sweet friction of her body.
Dusk had long since fallen, and an owl swooped down from a nearby tree as it flew off in search of prey, startling them both. Drust pulled away from her, dazed, his breaths coming short as if he’d just run a dozen miles. His eyes swept over her red, swollen lips and heavy-lidded eyes with a sort of removed fascination.
What have I done? Hell…
He had broken the kiss, this time. But now things would never, ever be the same for him, not even if he were to leave tomorrow and never look back. In this moment, he had been forever ruined for the life he had before.
He could not turn back time and take back the knowledge of how that kiss had felt. Now he would crave it forever, that feeling of… what? His whole body aflame with pleasure and lust, peace and ecstasy? How could he go back to his life at Creagmor, knowingthateven existed? Knowing that there could be so much more…
His cock was so hard and aching that he could hardly think for wanting relief. But there would be none forthcoming. He was not alone. He would have to suffer.
Willa was studying him, as if gauging his reaction, afraid he might lose his head.
“Come”, she said softly. “Let’s go in.”
Like the fool he had apparently become, Drust followed her.
Chapter 11
Willa peered out from the darkness of the bedroom where she had gone to put away her shawl and boots. She watched as Drust shifted in his chair and adjusted the front of his breeches, wincing as he did so. Poor man must be bloody uncomfortable, especially since he’d been in that condition so often lately. His honor was certainly not bringing him any relief.
But I could…couldn’t I?
Yes.I could.
With her heart beating in her throat, she walked into the room and stopped directly in front of Drust. He looked up at her and shifted again in his chair uncomfortably.
She tilted her head to the side, watching him, gathering her courage before she lost her nerve. “You look as if you’re in pain. I can take care of that for you.” She took a step closer, her lips quirking into a little smile. “I don’t like to see anyone suffer…”
Drust made a startled sound, his lips parting in shock. He shook his head, running his hand lightly over the sight of his wound, as if deciding that’s what she must have meant.
“No, I’m fine. I hardly feel it anymore now, ye did a fine job, lass. There’s only pain when I move too fast, and even then it’s less every day.”
She gave him a bemused smile. “I’m glad, but that’snotwhat I meant.”
He looked up at her, bewildered. “What did ye mean then?”
She let her gaze fall meaningfully to his lap, and the obvious bulge there. His eyes flew open wide and he sucked in a breath.
“No. Absolutely no’! I’ll no’ touch ye.”
She knelt on the floor beside him and looked up at his beautiful face, his long tangled locks falling around his shoulders, making him look more than a bit untamed. Then she rose up on her knees so that her lips were only inches from his. “You don’t want me? Tell me you don’t.”
Drust narrowed his eyes. Damn her!
He licked his lips as if they’d suddenly gone dry. “I think it’s obvious to both of us that I do, lass. I am a man and ye are an attractive woman, and ‘tis a natural thing. But I am no’ some beast that I canna control my baser urges.”
“Ah, of course.” His eyes were dark with hunger, sparking with need. His whole body was tense, taught as a bow string, and he was holding himself carefully back from her, denying her what she wanted most. Oh, what would it take to make him break?
