Her words were cut off as he pressed his lips hard against hers. His arms wrapped around her like bands of iron, holding her close as he ravaged her lips. She stiffened in shock at first, before her treacherous body melted into him.
He pulled back, panting heavily, his eyes dark as he looked her in the eye. “Daenae ask me to compromise on yer safety, Lilly. I willnae be doing me duty to ye if I let ye get hurt.” He swooped down, kissing her again before she could respond.
She let him hold her, surprised by his words and even more by his actions. Their tongues tangled together, desperate and needy. She fisted her hands in his hair, pulling him closer and opening herself up to him, before she pulled back, bosom heaving, to search his eyes desperately.
“Is it because of the deal you made with my father? You think he won’t keep up his end if something happens to me?”
He cocked an eyebrow and gave her a look, as if what she was saying was too obvious to put into words. Her heart sank a bit, but before she had time to think about it, he kissed her again.
But she had to know. She needed to know if this was just because of the bargain or something more.
“Tell me,” she said against his lips.
“It’s because I gave me word,” he murmured, voice rough with restraint. His hand slid to her chin, tilting her face up as though he needed her to truly hear him. “And because I willnae watch harm come to ye while ye bear me name.”
He kissed her again before she could question him further, deep and all-consuming, stealing the breath from her lungs as though words per se had become dangerous.
21
For a long moment, the world narrowed to heat and breath and the firm press of his hands at her waist.
Lilliana clutched at his shoulders, drawing him closer, her thoughts dissolving into sensation. He tasted of smoke and night air and something uniquely him. The more he held back, the more fiercely she wanted him to stop doing so.
Her fingers slid back into his hair, urging him closer.
“Kayden,” she breathed against his mouth, the word trembling with need.
He answered with another kiss, slower this time, deliberate, as though memorizing her. His hand skimmed up her back, pausing at the nape of her neck, thumb brushing lightly along her skin. She shivered, leaning into him, pressing closer until there was no space left between them.
He groaned low in his throat, and for a heartbeat, she thought he would finally give in. Instead, he pulled back just enough to look at her.
“We should stop,” he said quietly, though his hands did not release her.
“No,” she whispered, the certainty in her voice surprising her. “Do not stop because you think you must.”
His jaw tightened. “Ye daenae understand?—”
“I understand perfectly,” she said, breath uneven. “You hold yourself back for duty. Always duty.”
“And that offends ye?”
“It frustrates me,” she admitted.
Something dark flickered in his eyes.
He kissed her again, harder now, as though testing the boundary she had just drawn. She answered him eagerly, her body arching against his, and when his hands slid down to her hips, she pressed closer without hesitation.
His closeness made her dizzy. The rough wool of his plaid brushed her skin. The heat of him seeped through every layer between them.
He broke the kiss with a sharp inhale, his forehead resting briefly against hers. “It is late,” he murmured, voice roughened. “And we shouldnae finishthisin another man’s house.”
Lilliana almost laughed at that, almost protested, but the room itself reminded her where they stood. Fergus’s hearth glowed low behind them, the quiet of the cottage pressing in.
Reluctantly, Kayden stepped back.
“Come,” he said, softer now. “We need rest.”
The quilts lay folded near the fire, humble and thin compared to castle bedding. He shook them out, spreading them carefully on the floor. The domestic simplicity of it struck her harder than any grand gesture might have.
