“We need to get away from this place, lass. And then I canna wait to claim my just reward. Properly. And with great relish”, he added with a cocky grin.
Allia wasn’t at all sure how he could be thinking of kisses and rewards after he had just taken the lives of at least one, and probably several more men; was in fact still covered in their blood. But then, he seemed so light hearted sometimes that it was easy to forget he was a warrior. A very skilled and deadly warrior. A dangerous man who could kill in a heartbeat. Or flirt with a woman so that her knees went weak.
Eian retrieved his dagger and wiped it clean, while Allia glanced away. Then he held the blade at the ready it as he led Allia cautiously out of the room and into the dark, windowless hallway. They climbed a set of wooden stairs before emerging into a short corridor and then out into the starlit night. Allia figured she must be a little bit in shock, because somehow the bodies and blood strewn near the entrance to the building didn’t faze her, at least not while her hand was wrapped in Eian’s much larger, stronger one. He had killed to protect her, and even though they were still not out of danger, she had never felt quite so safe.
Eian led her swiftly away from the fortress and into the wood, where they walked a short distance before he leaned closer to ask in a low voice “Are ye all right, lass? Do ye want me to carry ye?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine. Now.” She shuddered, because if he hadn’t come for her when he did, she would have been raped… or worse. And she could very well have been carrying the child of Murdo McDermont. She had known at Lochain that that man wasn’t quite right, but she should have known he was allied with the dark. How could she not have known? Perhaps she had, and she had been too cavalier, thinking she could watch out for herself. She had forgotten that she had grown up in a safe, secure world. Here… things were different. She had learned an important lesson, and she wouldn’t forget it. A shudder went through her, and Eian squeezed her hand a little tighter as they hurried through the trees, both still fueled by adrenaline.
It was nearly an hour later before they came to the place where Eian had left his horse. Dair was waiting patiently, and gave a whinny when he saw his master returning. Eian smiled and stroked the stallion’s soft muzzle with a sigh. It had been a bloody night and he had had to kill far more men than he would have liked, but none of that mattered now. He had found Allia, and she was safe. In that moment, he honestly didn’t care if he ever saw another living soul again, as long as she was with him.A kiss…Eian turned to her. He held her by the arms and his hands trembled just a little in anticipation. He couldn’t wait another minute. No power on this earth was going to stop him from claiming the kiss she had promised him.
She was looking up at him in expectation, her eyes fathomless windows to her soul that he could gaze into forever… if his body didn’t crave hers so desperately. Just looking at her like this, his cock was hard as iron and his balls positively ached to spill his seed deep within her. He lowered his mouth slowly towards hers, excitement welling up within him until he shook with it. Always before she had pulled away before he reached her lips, and he prepared himself once again for rejection. Not that rejection was going to stop him this time, not now that he finally knew his own mind. He would have what she had promised, whether or not she had truly meant it at the time. He was holding her to it.
His fingers unconsciously tightened their grip, willing her to let him kiss her. Closer… his heart raced. He could barely breathe. Somewhere in his mind he knew instinctively that this would be no ordinary kiss. There was something more at play here, something beyond the realm of the ordinary. Something that he knew he should not even try to understand. All he knew was that right now, he needed to kiss her more than he needed his next breath. He leaned in closer, until finally their lips met. Softly at first, searching, seeking. But as a sharp thrill raced at lightning speed through his blood, Eian forgot everything else and was soon taking her mouth hungrily, almost savagely, the drive to possess the one woman he wanted above all else drowning out what was left of his rational thought. It wasinsanity, this kind of wanting. Nothing he had ever known before even came close. And nothing ever would again. He had to have her, to possess her, this one woman above all others. A kiss would never, ever be enough.
His arms tightened around her as he sought to pull their bodies closer together. The softness of her breasts pushed against his chest and a low growl of both pleasure and hunger escaped his throat. Before he could stop himself, his hands had followed the graceful lines of her back to grasp her hips and pull them firmly against his. He shifted slightly until the length of his rock hard erection pressed against her. Aye, justthere. God, nothing had ever felt this good! Nothing had ever felt sonecessary. He was quickly losing control, and he didn’t even care. It was madness, what she was doing to him. All he wanted, all he could think about, was mating with her, making Allia his, spending himself deep inside of her body again and again…
Something was tugging at the edge of his consciousness, and he fought to push it away. Nothing could stop him from claiming this woman as his own, he was so ready, so desperately starving… nothing… A small fist pounded at his chest, bringing him floating back slowly to the surface of his mind.Nothing of course, accept Allia herself.
“Stop!” She was breathing hard, and her cheeks were flushed, her lips red and kiss-swollen. “I said stop, Eian!”
No! Not stop… anything but stop! His own breath came in panting gasps, his body protesting as he loosened his grip. He forced himself to gain some semblance of control. “What is it lass? What’s wrong?”
“I said one kiss.”
He couldn’t help it, he reached for her again, pulling her closer. He was so hard and aching… “But…”
“No.”
Eian drew in a deep breath through clenched teeth, but dropped his hands to his sides, his face etched with confusion and frustration. “Why?” he asked huskily. “At least tell me why.”
She shook her head. “I can’t do this. I thought I could, Eian, but I just can’t.”
Eian relaxed just a little. Maybe she was a little inexperienced, afraid. He knew about that… knew how to put a woman at ease and then seduce her with his body and his mouth and his hands. He could drive her wild with lust until she wasbeggingfor him to take her. His stomach suddenly twisted into a knot. Somehow, that would be so very wrong with Allia. Somehow, just getting what his body needed would never be enough. He wanted… something else. Something more.Everythingshe could give him. He wanted nothing less than her heart…her love.
“Allia, I… I would no’… I mean, I would be gentle wi’ ye… we could go slower… I’ll only kiss ye for now lass, ye taste so good…”
Allia struggled to stop herself from falling back into his arms, because right now, she wanted nothing more. “No. You don’t understand. This is about trust. About me not wanting to be…. I don’t want to be just another one of your women, Eian.”
She had thought that maybe she could use him just as he was bound to use her, but after that kiss… she knew she was already in way too deep. If she let herself get any closer to him, she would fall so fast and so hard she might never recover. And right now that scared her out of her mind. If she gave herself to him, it would be the most incredible experience of her life. But when he got bored with her and moved on… she would be like a shell of the person she once was. How could she ever move on fromthat? He had the power to shatter her heart into a million tiny pieces that she could never hope to put back together. He was just that good, and she was just that much already in love with him. Her instinct for self-preservation was telling her to run as fast and as far as she could, but her heart was telling her to rip off all his clothes and make love to him until they both collapsed. How could she ever reconcile such extremes of emotion? And yes, she was tired, too. The adrenaline from their escape was wearing off, replaced by a bone deep weariness.
Eian eased himself away from her, battling his most primal instincts, even though his entire body was on fire, burning for her as if she had set a spark to dry tinder. Anger welled up from somewhere deep inside, though whether it was anger at himself or her, he didn’t know. What he did know was that he’d give up every single one of those other women, every last meaningless tup and empty kiss, to have Allia just once. Just one damn time! Why could she not see that?
“They meant nothing to me”, he told her earnestly. “Nothing.”
She shook her head. “That’s just the problem, Eian. I want to be more than nothing.”
His hands fisted at his sides. Hell, he couldn’t do this! All of the sweet words of promise and seduction that had fallen so easily from his lips for so long were worthless now. Hollow. False. Right now, he was so far out of his usual depth that he just might drown. For once, he had no idea what to say to get what he wanted… what heneeded. And damn but he had neverneededthis badly before.
With a sigh, he held up his hands in defeat, afraid that he might end up saying something he would regret. He could figure this out, he just needed a little more time to think. “Then let’s at least put some more ground behind us tonight. I’ll take ye back to Lochain. Back to yer uncle. We can get to ken one another better, and then ye can decide.”
She nodded slowly. “All right. Thank you. And Eian…”
“Aye lass?”
She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for the rescue. You saved my life back there. I won’t forget it.”
He gave her a long look. “Allia love, I could do no less.”
