“Thatisa pity. Why? Do you not have a home, a family?” She paused. “A woman of your own?” She hoped he hadn’t heard the slight hitch in her voice.
He turned slowly to look at her, leaning back against the sill. “Aye. I have a home and a family. I told ye that, before.”
“But they don’t make you happy?”
He looked away.“I…“
Happy? In truth he had never beenhappy,exactly. Content perhaps. No… he was always too restless to be content. He loved his brothers, defended his home and his own with his very life. But there had always been something missing, an emptiness that could never be filled, no matter how hard he tried. And women? There had been plenty when he was younger, fewer and fewer since. None at all for more than a year. And in truth he hadn’t really missed them. For a long time, he had taken his release in willing arms, but it had never been anything more than that; or perhaps he was expecting too much. A connection, a pleasure not just of his body, but of his soul. To be inside a woman and feel… as if he were home at last. When his brother Bren had found all of that with Faith, Drust had been happy for him… but a part of him had also been jealous.
I felt that way, when I kissed Willa…No.Kissing her had been wonderful, but he must have since embellishedit in his mind. It couldn’t have been all that he thought… and he had been angry at the time, his emotions running high.
Angry because another man had touched her.Jealous? Had he ever been jealous of a woman before? Not that he could remember. Suddenly he had to know… would die if he did not…
He turned his gaze to her to find her still looking at him, studying him.
“Willa, come here to me…” He took a deep breath as she did as he asked, slowly crossing the room until she stood before him. And there it was, the inexplicable pull. He raised his hand to cup her cheek in his palm. She didn’t move, just watched him, her eyes questioning. Hopeful. He tightened his grip and pulled her closer, lowering his mouth to capture her lips. She opened to him, and on a groan, he claimed her with his tongue, thrusting deep.
Aye, there it was, the same overwhelming sensation. Warmth, peace… passion that he knew would build to an intensity he’d never even dreamt of, the longer he kissed her.
She’s yours.Take her… Claim her…
Though his cock had been half-hard nearly all day, now it surged at once to almost painful fullness, and he groaned again at the sudden overwhelming ache. His kiss grew harder, more aggressive, and he knew he must be bruising her tender lips. But she was kissing him back as if she couldn’t get enough. Her tongue swept his in a maddening rhythm, and she pressed up onto her tiptoes as if to come closer. His hand slid to her breast and squeezed. She made a small sound of pleasure and instantly he needed to hear more. He wanted nothing more than to make her come for him, to be the man that could make her fall apart in his arms. Not breaking the kiss, he began backing her towards the small bedroom.
Willa kissed Drust with all that she had, all that she was. This is what she wanted, what she had been craving since the first time she saw him. Somehow, her body had known him even then. When the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed, he pushed her down onto it, pressing her back against the pillows. Oh God, would he take her? Her heart raced with hope. She wanted him to claim her, had never been more certain of anything in her life. Somehow she knew that if Drust was hers, everything else in her life would eventually fall into place… he was her key, her anchor.
He knelt before her on the bed, looking at her with such hunger that she almost shuddered. He was so big, so strong. He could crush her in an instant, and yet she had never felt safer than when he was here… even when he had been still too weak to leave his bed. She lowered her eyes to the front of his breeches, and her hand reached out to touch him there. He groaned as if in pain and threw his head back, and she wanted to kiss the contour of his jaw where the harsh masculine lines met the more vulnerable length of his throat.
Though his breathing grew labored, he pulled her hand away and reached for the edge of her skirts, pushing the fabric up round her hips until she was bared to him. He leaned forward to kiss her again, turning slightly onto his side as his hand slipped between her thighs. Already she was wet and aching for him, and her hips rose instinctively to meet his touch. Her whole body seemed to rise up off the bed, straining to be closer to him. He slipped one finger just inside of her while his thumb expertly stroked her. She could not stop the whimper of pleasure that rose in her throat. Her hands twined in his long, silky hair as she poured all of her passion into kissing him, her hips moving of their own accord, faster and faster against his hand.
Never had he been so close to losing control of himself. He was thrusting desperately against Willa’s hip, as his cock hungered to slide into the moist heat that gripped only his fingers. He knew somewhere in the recesses of his mind that only the breeches he still wore kept him from doing so. She was tugging at his hair, kissing him so hard, driving him wild with her sweet passion, closer and closer to the edge. He stroked her faster, his fingers sliding easily into the wetness, setting off all of his most primitive instincts. He felt her body tighten, arching up from the bed. She broke the kiss and cried out as shudders wracked her body. When at last she went limp beside him, he released her and in desperate need, fumbled at the ties of his braies. She opened her eyes, watching as he managed to free himself from the constraining fabric. He closed his eyes, grimacing as if in pain.
“Please…” he said through gritted teeth.
Willa felt a rush of disappointment that he was not going to claim her, that instead he was asking her to relieve him with her hands, not with her body as she had hoped. Still, she rose to kneel before him, wrapping her hand around his cock. It throbbed in her hand and he growled at the contact.
“God, so close! Dinna stop now…”
She lowered her mouth to him and swirled her tongue around the tip. He bucked against her.
“No! No, I canna stand it… Doona tease… I need to…”
She stroked her hand firmly down his length, at the same time brushing her teeth gently against the head of his cock and pulling with her lips. With an anguished roar, he exploded into her mouth, and she could feel each of the violent spasms beneath her hand.
When at last they ended, he collapsed onto the bed, drawing her down with him and into his arms, pulling her back into his chest. How long they lay together on the bed, Willa didn’t know, but just when she thought Drust must have fallen asleep, he spoke softly near her ear.
“I dinna ken what ye do to me, lass, but I fear I will never have enough. And lass, I’ve never been so frightened of anything in my life.”
She smiled because she could feel that he was already growing hard again, his erection pressing into the small of her back. She rocked back against it and he hissed through his teeth. She could stay like this forever, wrapped in his arms. But he had said nothing of staying… nothing of keeping her.
“You’ll be leaving soon,” she ventured reluctantly. “You’re nearly well enough.” She tried to keep her voice steady. Hoped he didn’t hear the slight quaver. She turned halfway and nestled her face into his warm, smooth chest, inhaling the musky scent of man and desire. His scent always made her heart flutter in her chest, but more so now. She breathed it in again and felt the dampness gather between her thighs. She touched her lips to the hard planes of his chest and licked him softly to taste his skin. His cock pulsed hard against her belly, and he sucked in a harsh breath.
Drust’s arms tightened around her just a little. “Aye, quite soon. Perhaps tomorrow, if this rain lets up. The next day at the latest.”
She raised her head to look at his face, trying to read his intentions. Trying to be brave.
“Do you have to go so soon?”
“Aye, I do. My brother must think me dead. I dinna ken what happened at home, and he may even need my help. I am healed enough to make the journey. I have no more excuse to linger.”
