“Not any longer. Meeting ye has changed me, Hazel. I no longer hunger for glory in battle,” he plowed on. “Let other men die for Scottish freedom. Ye have taught me what truly matters in life.”
Hazel started, shocked by his admission. He’d hinted at a change in perspective when they’d foraged for herbs together, yet she hadn’t realized how deeply he felt it.
“All I want is ye, lass.” He broke off there, his gaze burning into hers. “I want to kiss yer skin until I’ve committed every inch of it to memory. I want—”
Craeg never finished his sentence, for Hazel couldn’t bear it any longer. She couldn’t fight against this tide, not when her own need was slowly driving her insane.
Surging forward, she crushed her mouth to his.
Craeg made a sound—half groan, half prayer—and hauled her against him. His arms banded around her waist, lifting her onto her toes as he kissed her with desperate hunger. His lips were hot and demanding.
She opened for him, and his tongue swept into her mouth. Heat shivered through her. She was melting in his arms. Her hands fisted in his lèine, pulling him closer, needing more.
And then they were moving. He was walking her backward across the solar. Her spine hit the wall, yet she barely noticed. All she could think about was that his body now pressed against hers from chest to thigh. She could feel every hard plane of him, the thunder of his heart matching her own. His hands slid into her hair, tilting her head back so he could deepen the kiss.
A whimper escaped her throat. Hades. He kissed her like she was air, and he was drowning.
“Hazel,” he groaned against her lips. “Christ, Hazel.”
“Don’t stop.” Her hands slid up his chest, over his shoulders, tangling in his hair. Lust twisted deep in her belly. Hot and feral.
Murmuring her name once more, he kissed along her jaw, down the column of her throat. His teeth grazed the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder, and her knees buckled. “Is this what ye want, lass?” he asked, his voice choked now.
“Aye,” she gasped. “More!” With that, she pulled his mouth back to hers, kissing him wildly.
19: ALL OF HIM
HAZEL YANKED UP Craeg’s lèine, her fingers sliding over the hot skin underneath. And all the while, his mouth devoured hers. The taste of him overwhelmed her. The feel of his tongue and teeth, teasing and grazing. Nipping and sucking.
Dizziness swept over her once more, and she clung to him. Her anchor in a tumultuous sea.
Their clothing came off, in breathless gasps, linen and wool fluttering to the floor. Craeg heeled off his boots and kicked them aside. His belt fell onto the wooden planks with a thud. Meanwhile, Hazel wriggled out of her kirtle and lèine, excitement clenching in her belly yet again as warm air feathered across her naked skin.
She expected Craeg to fly at her then, to kiss her again. But instead, he drew back, his gaze raking over her. From the crown of her head, down past where her hair hung over her shoulders, to the twin peaks of her small breasts. Her nipples were hard, swollen, and tingling. Aching for his touch.
Yet still he looked, his gaze sliding down her torso, past the nest of soft dark hair between her thighs. His attention then traveled down her long legs.
His lips parted. “Ye are exquisite.”
Swallowing, she drank him in too. His broad shoulders. The crisp whorls of dark hair that covered his hard-muscled chest. Her gaze traveled down to his narrow hips—to the erection that thrust up against his flat belly.
A breathy gasp escaped her. His shaft was long and proud, its crown swollen.
She reached out then, her fingertips stroking its quivering length. So hard. So hot. Yet the skin was so smooth and soft.
Need curled tight in her womb. She wanted to worship it. The urge to drop to her knees before him, to take him deep into her mouth, barreled into her then.
And she was about to succumb to it when he stepped into her once more.
His mouth crashed down on hers, his kiss wilder now. His strong body trembled; she could feel his barely leashed restraint. His passion untethered something within her. Hooking her leg around his, she slid it up, thrilling at how different his skin felt to hers. Rougher. She then tugged him closer, eager to feel his arousal pressed up against her belly.
Murmuring an oath against her mouth, Craeg then traced kisses along her jaw, neck, and collarbone.
And then he scooped her breasts high in his calloused palms and began to feast upon her peaked nipples.
The moment he sucked hard, pleasure pulsed between her thighs.
Biting her bottom lip to stop herself from crying out, she closed her eyes, giving herself up to sensation.
