As he closed the gaps between their lips once more, her heart beat even faster as she prepared herself for the sparks that she knew would follow. She closed her eyes just as his lips met hers.
There were no sparks; there was an explosion. Ceana forgot what he had asked of her. How would anyone remember when his lips were doing the wickedest things to hers?
She clung to his neck as he kissed her lips, forgetting who she was, where she was, or what she was supposed to be doing.
His sharp bite on her lips caused her to gasp, giving him access to her mouth. Torcall lifted his hand from her face and slipped it to her back. Then, he pulled her into him and claimed her mouth.
He needed her addictive taste. His tongue trailed every inch of her, desperate to remember the taste. He did everything that he had lain awake fantasizing of—exploring her delicious mouth, nibbling on her lips, causing her to moan...
The moan was his undoing. The hardness that he had struggled to control broke free, and he felt his shaft press painfully against his breeches. Her mews were soft, silky, damning. He would have her right there, and then, he knew. His fingers trailed to her face then to her neck. Gently, his thumb rubbed a spot. He would nibble on her there, make her scream his name, mark her for him alone.Mark her for only him.His thoughts played back to him, and with his last ounce of self-control, he pulled away from her.
The pair stared at each other with heavy breaths, slightly swollen lips, and lust in both their eyes. However, hers held something else—trust. She was innocent. Of that, he was sure. Did he plan to bed a woman that had known no other man? How had he gotten so carried away?
Ceana was the type of woman that a man wedded. She wasn’t the sort for a quick lay, and he wasn’t the sort for a wife.
Feeling ashamed of what he had almost done, he looked away from her. There were mistakes that man could make, and there were some that a man wasn’t allowed. This was one of them. Ceana needed a man that wanted more than a lay—a man that wasn’t him.
She would marry a respectable man who wanted to stay in the clan. They would have a large wedding, and she would have babies for him. He would kiss those delicious lips, and there would be time to suck on her nipples. He wondered what color they would be. He imagined rolling them around his tongue. Then, he would lay her on the bed and part her legs. Of course, she would be wet, so it would only be natural for him to keep his head and ta-
“Torcall?” she called, interrupting his thoughts. “Where had yer mind gone to?” Her hands were intertwined with each other, and as she spoke, she wriggled them together.
“‘Tis naught,” he said with a smile. She kissed like an experienced woman. She wasn’t a novice, he could tell—it wasn’t her first kiss. A feeling he couldn’t understand filled his chest. When he had fantasized about kissing her, it had been him. He would have been the first one to make her make those delicious sounds.
“Alright,” Ceana said, but it was obvious that she didn’t believe him. However, she said nothing more, relieving him as he wouldn’t have to answer any questions.
Torcall and Ceana sat as they had sat before, but the cozy aura was gone. In its stead was cold, anger, and jealousy, which frustrated Torcall more than anything else. He waited a few moments until he could wait no more.
“Ceana, mayhap we could.”
“Leave?” she asked.
“Aye.” He said, trying to study the unreadable look on her face. However, he found it incredibly hard to see past her simple smile and blank eyes for the first time. Was she angry that they had to leave, or was she happy to get away from him?
Feeling slightly miserable, he stood up and offered her a hand to help her stand. She took it gratefully but let it go the moment she was balanced.
“Let’s pack these up,” she said and gestured to the evidence of their rendezvous laying on the floor.
“No,” he said. “Leave it.”
Ceana paused only slightly before nodding and heading to her horse.
Daylight was only beginning to break when they began to head back. It was light enough to see their paths clearly but not light enough that any souls apart from they were about.
Torcall struggled for words. After five minutes of trying, anger at his lack of success further pushed him into an uglier mood.
With only a few paces away from her home and even fewer closer to the market, they allowed their horses to trot. The faster she was home, the better.
A crowd of people gathered a little way from the apple seller’s stall was the first sign that something wasn’t quite right.
Ceana and Torcall exchanged glances and sped up their horses to the scene. The crowd was gathered around something, but they didn’t know what as the people present were too numerous to get a glimpse.
Torcall took her hands and pulled her with him through the rows hoping to get a better look.
Ceana finally pushed through the woman on her right, and nothing was stopping them from seeing... The blank face that she had worn faded and was slowly replaced by a contorted look.
There, lying on the ground, was a bloodied woman who looked like she had been beaten mercilessly and molested and taken advantage of. Her eyes were swollen, and her lips were cut. Her dress had been torn was bloodied. It was obvious her hair had been pulled as large chunks of hair were missing. She was still, and a pool of blood lay beside her.
Dead. The woman was dead.
