His gaze dropped back to her feet. “Nay harm,” he said quietly.
Before he could look up again, she pulled her foot from his hand. The loss of contact struck him harder than he had expected.
He tried reaching for it again, but she pinned her feet to the floor.
“Stop,” she said, her voice tight with the command.
He remained kneeling, looking up at her. He could not help but notice the tremor in her shoulders.
“Why?” he asked, his voice rough with restraint.
Sorcha stood up abruptly. “I’m leaving,” she announced, turning away. “I’m fine.”
She barely took a step when William rose to his feet and caught her wrist. He spun her back to him with controlled force. Not enough to hurt her, but enough to stop her. Enough to make himself clear. That he wasn’t ready to let go yet.
She collided lightly against his chest, her breath hitching.
“Ye havenae answered me,” he reminded her. “Nae really.”
She stared at him, her lips trembling, clearly struggling to find words that did not betray her emotions. Then she yanked her hand free.
“Daenae touch me like that,” she hissed, “when ye’ll only turn around and tell me to find a suitor later.”
Her chest heaved as she let those words sink in.
Understanding dawned on him.
Sorcha went on, her voice thick not with tears, but with too many bottled-up feelings. “Ye clearly daenae want anythin’ to do with me, yet ye look at me like that. Ye touch me like that. It confuses me.” Her voice rose. “All I want is to stay far away from ye, and ye should do the same.”
William couldn’t stand it anymore. Couldn’t stand the pain in her eyes, the anger in her voice. He had caused it all. But at that moment, he couldn’t do the one thing she had suggested: stay away from her. If anything, he did the opposite.
He pulled her closer, his hand sliding up her throat before his mouth crashed onto hers.
This kiss was not gentle, yet it was not rough like the last. It was like the first bite after being starved for days, like savoring the taste while still fighting insatiable hunger.
His kiss was hunger and frustration and fear all at once. He devoured her protest, swallowed her sharp intake of breath. He claimed her mouth until she groaned against him. Until she stopped resisting.
Her hands curled around his shoulders, clutching them hard as though she might fall apart if she let go. His hands dropped to her waist to pull her closer still until there was no space left, until she could feel his hardness against her.
But then he broke the kiss most reluctantly. With a ragged breath, he rested his forehead against hers. Sorcha held him tight, shivering.
William closed his eyes briefly, forcing control into his voice. “Ye’re right.”
Her lashes fluttered.
“This is wrong,” he whispered.
As though she did not like the sound of that, her fingers dug harder into his shoulders. She didn’t speak. She seemed like she couldn’t. The kiss had stolen her words, leaving her with nothing but tremors.
With his forehead still pressed against hers, he breathed her in. Warm skin, faint lavender, something else that was uniquely hers. He inhaled deeply again, and she let out a whimper. Then, his teeth grazed the skin behind her ear, a gentle bite that made her shiver.
When he spoke again, his mouth was pressed against her throat, his voice vibrating through her. “Yet despite how wrong it is, I cannae overcome the temptation ye are.”
He felt her body respond to his words. She leaned even further into him, as though her own restraint was faltering.
She was driving himmad. He hated how she had broken through every wall he had spent years building. It angered him so much that a groan escaped him, deep and frustrated.
His fingers dug into her waist, needing to feel her despite the wrongness of the moment. Unable to help himself, he lowered his hand to the space between her thighs. Even through the layers, he could feel the wetness that proved how much she wanted him.
