He took a step closer, his brown eyes studying her. Her laughter came too easily, her plump lips flashing the prettiest smile.
Despite it all, he was beginning to suspect that she was doing this on purpose. She wasn’t drunk.
“Sorcha?!” Rhea’s strong voice cut into his thoughts.
“Me Lady?!”
“Where did the wine go? We have more wine to drink!”
His cousins shouted in the distance, clearly searching for Sorcha. But he wasn’t ready to let her go back to them. He told himself it was because he didn’t want her to indulge in more alcohol. Though deep down, he knew he just craved more of her company.
Absolutely nae.
He shook his head.
Turning back to Sorcha sharply, he grabbed her wrist before she could move. She gasped softly, but he didn’t give her enough time to protest. He was already pulling her along with him into the darkest part of the corridor, where the moonlight didn’t shine as brightly. At least there, she couldn’t be seen. Well, except for her nightgown, which glowed softly in the dim light.
When he was sure his cousins wouldn’t find them, William inhaled slowly, steadying himself.
“What is this madness?” he demanded in a low voice. “Sneaking around half-pished in the dead of night?” His tone sharpened. “Do ye ken how impossible it will be to find ye a suitor if ye insist on acting like this?”
William knew how much she detested those words, so he expected fire, challenge. Yet, her fingers moved slowly and curiously, growing bolder by the second, until they slid under his cloak and brushed his chest.
Her fingertips traced the ridges of his abdomen slowly, sending a shiver down his spine. His lashes fluttered, his eyes darkening with lust.
He was not sure of what exactly she was doing, but he realized just how easy it was for her to hold power over him with a single touch.
“Ye’re missin’ something,” she finally said.
He swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure which to focus on, her hands or her voice.
“What?” he asked hoarsely, fighting the urge to slide his fingers down her waist possessively.
Her lips curled into a wicked smile. “That’s why I act this way.”
Her other hand joined the first, both palms resting flat against his chest. She explored his skin, her nails lightly scraping in away that made him groan low in his throat. He felt every graze, every caress, as if she were trying to commit him to memory.
“I daenae want to marry anyone else,” Sorcha whispered.
She paused, letting her fingers trail dangerously close to the waistband of his breeches.
“I’ll only marry ye.”
Silence fell over them, so thick that William could hear his own heartbeat.
Was it the drink? A delusion? Or a truth that just fought for freedom?
He did not know. How could he? All he knew at that moment was how much those words burned.
Danger,his mind screamed at him.She’s danger.
Yet he remained standing in front of her, trapping her against the wall, with his thigh wedged between her legs.
His tongue swept over his lower lip slowly. She was still stroking him, slowly undoing him.
God, he wanted her to feel the same way. He wanted to kiss her, to slide his hands under her gown and feel her wetness, to make her moan and beg for more.
“Sorcha…” Her name slipped past his lips, rough and desperate.
