Allia smiled. He had thought her no longer a virgin, and still he had wanted her. That told her all she needed to know and more. She sat up next to him and drew her hands across the smooth hardness of his chest, kissing him there. “I wasorderedto stay a virgin, and I was too afraid of the consequences to do otherwise. But you didn’t hurt me, Eian. Quite the opposite. My first time was perfect, and I’m glad it was with you.”
She eased her leg over his so that she straddled his thighs and her breasts crushed against his chest as she leaned closer to kiss him. “Are we bound to one another now?” she whispered.
“Aye, we are.” Eian couldn’t help the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth at the thought. “And I never thought I could be this happy. Now I ken what my brother was talking about when he found his mate. I used to think he was crazy, but if this is madness, I’ll take it and be glad.”
He cupped her head in his hands and kissed her, his cock already growing achingly hard against her stomach, as if he hadn’t just come so hard he nearly died of it just minutes before. God, he needed her again, and the passion between them was already spiraling out of control once more. He rocked his hips against her, moaning at the tremor of pleasure that shot through him. His hands slid over her bare skin, exploring every part, then pausing between her thighs. His fingers moved deftly over her soft flesh until she was sobbing helplessly beneath him, begging for him to take her again. He kissed her hard as he took both of her wrists in one hand and held them over her head. The arch of her body against his made him grit his teeth and hiss with desire. This was what he had dreamed about, Allia, warm and willing and pinned beneath him at his mercy. And unbelievably, the reality was even better than the dreams had been. He leaned in to capture her mouth as he slowly thrust himself into her, groaning at the exquisite carnal pleasure of it. He managed to keep the achingly slow pace for only a minute before his thread of control snapped once more, and he was pounding into her with a fierce need. But she met him stroke for stroke, thrusting her hips up to meet him and taking it all, until she threw her head back and cried out. Eian looked down at her, and he loved that she took such pleasure from his body.
“Oh god, Eian…” her nails sunk into his back as she let go and he reared up, balanced on an edge that kept climbing impossibly higher and tighter… until finally he fell, his whole body shuddering with the release.
After, they lay together under the night sky and looked up at the stars, heavy limbed and finally sated, at least for a while.Eian was silent for some time, lost in his thoughts.
Allia reached up to stroke his cheek, and he nuzzled his face into the palm of her hand. But his silence was making her uneasy. “Eian, you don’t regret this, do you?”
He looked at her, startled. “No! How could I regretthat? My god, that was… the most stunningly beautiful moment of my life.”
“Then what were you thinking about?”
He gave her an adorable smile that curled up the corners of his lips and revealed the twin dimples in his cheeks. “I want ye to have my babe.”
“What?” Allia turned her head to look at Eian, stunned. A few short weeks ago, she never would have thought Eian Mac Coinnach would say something so… strangely endearing.
“I think it would be the most beautiful thing in the world to plant my seed in ye and watch ye grow round with my child. I canna wait. And then to see ye suckle him just here.” He cupped her breast in his hand. “Only he would have to share ye with me. I am no’ that generous a man.”
“But we’ve really only just met, don’t you think it’s a little soon to talk about… children?”
“No lass, no’ too soon at all.” In one smooth motion he rolled atop her and gathered her to him so that she could feel the hard length of his erection against her thigh.Again? “I have always been a man who kens what he wants, when he wants it. I want ye, and I want a babe.”
She smiled.That was probably the sexiest thing any man had ever said to her. “I don’t think my uncle would be at all pleased with you. I think he has other plans for me.”
Eian scowled. “I dinna care what plans he has for ye. Ye’re mine now. He can go to hell for all I care.”
Allia felt almost giddy with happiness. Whatever else her uncle thought,thiswas why she had come back. For Eian. Shewashis. But he was hers too. And she was no longer afraid of him breaking her heart, because she knew with certainty that she held the same power over him. Uncle Leon would be angry at her for ruining whatever his plans had been, but he’s just have to get over it, because she had finally come home.
“I’m glad I decided to come back”, she said, almost to herself.
“Why did ye leave… was it me? Did I frighten ye?” He seemed genuinely concerned that he had.
“No. I… I was just trying to find out where I really belonged. I thought maybe it was there…”
“Och no, lass. I could have told ye, if only ye’d asked. Ye belong here with me.”
Chapter 10
Allia came awake with a start, opening her eyes to see what had woken her so suddenly. The sun was already well up, and the first thing she saw was Eian crouched in front of her, dagger in hand, his body tensed to attack. She sat up quickly, clutching at the edge of the woolen blanket to cover her bare breasts, and looking around in confusion. That’s when she saw the three men on horseback not thirty feet away, regarding the two of them with varying degrees of anger and amusement. Mostly amusement. She recognized the colors they wore, and the faces were vaguely familiar as well. These were her uncle’s men.Damn, she was caught… And worse, the two of them were caught together. Naked.
She tugged at Eian’s arm and whispered to him before he did something that would land the two of them in even more trouble. “No, wait…”
He sighed and cursed repeatedly under his breath. Then he looked to the waiting men, rising swiftly to his feet while wrapping his kilt around his waist, fastening the belt with a defiant tug. Allia couldn’t help but look at all that she had never before seen in the light of day: a smooth bronzed chest with chiseled muscle and washboard abs. And the tattoo she could now see was the outline of a rather fierce looking dragon, drawn in the Celtic style. The entire effect was a stunning display of perfect male flesh that made her wish the guards gone so she could explore every inch in the sunlight. Eian’s mouth quirked up at the corners when he caught her looking. He winked, and she smiled back at him.
“At least turn yer backs to let the lady dress”, he told the Lochain men.
One of them, who must have been in charge, laughed cynically. “We’re none of us fools, Mac Coinnach. Ye’ll no’ be out of my sight until I ken ye willna run off. The laird will want to deal with ye personally when we tell him what we found here.” His satisfied smirk told him just how much he was going to enjoy personally delivering the news to Leon.
Allia bit the inside of her cheek in frustration. She wanted to say‘It’s not what it looks like’, but she doubted the guards were that stupid. Perhaps she should have run off with Eian last night when she had the chance. But then, she didn’t want to cause trouble for his family, either.
“Fine.”Eian put his hands up in surrender and walked over to stand near the horses. He held out his wrists and one of the men tied them with rope.
Allia gasped. “Eian, no! What are you doing?”
