“Up the stairs, second door on your left,” she replied to him quickly, without hesitation.
As far as Erskine was concerned, Laura had just agreed to marry him. All that had to be done was the formality of a ceremony, but her agreement was binding enough. They could be together.
He grabbed hold of her, two hands on her waist, and lifted her up from the floor, urging her to put her legs around his waist.
“Hold on,” he ordered playfully before walking her through the kitchen and into the corridor.
“Erskine,” Laura giggled, “Is this not risky?”
“Aye, perhaps so,” he replied as he walked up the stairs, still carrying her, his mind much more on the way her arms were looped around his neck as he walked, bringing their faces close together. “But Magret willnae be returnin’ for some time. We have the place to ourselves.”
As he reached the top of the stairs, he grew distracted, too busy thinking of the way her bright blue eyes were darting down to his chest to even try to restrain himself until they were in the chamber. He pushed her against the nearest wall instead, capturing her lips with his own.
She gasped into his mouth, and her hands went wandering, one into his short hair, tugging on it. He let his own hands drop from her waist. They slid down across her hips and under her rear, cupping it firmly. She moaned again at the movement, urging him to then press his center against hers, so she could feel his obvious arousal.
This infatuation he had with Laura had gone far beyond what he thought was possible. He had shared a woman’s bed before, quite a few times over the years, but never had he felt this heat that was consuming him. This ache to make her his, or just theneed.He was a changed man now. No other woman would be right for him. Only Laura.
She was the first to push away from the kiss.
“Bedchamber,” she said quietly, pointing out the door behind him. He flicked his head toward it, determined to reach it quickly.
He eagerly pulled her away from the wall again, holding her flat to his chest and moving to the closed door. He opened it quickly, one hand holding Laura up, then moved inside.
It was a small room. Hardly the four-poster bed he had imagined taking Laura in for so long, but that hardly made a difference right now. He knew after what he had seen in that village that it did not matter where they shared this moment. All that mattered was that it was him and Laura together.
He kicked the door shut behind him with a loud clatter and walked across the room, placing her on the bed and bending down over her so that his feet were still planted on the floor as he kissed her again.
Her hands went for the top of his trews, brushing his arousal. He groaned in response, but his hand went to hers, stopping her before she could undo his trews.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her blue eyes wide.
“Nae a thing,” he smiled. “But ye are rather wearin’ a lot more clothes than me at the moment. I want to even things up a little.”
He could see her smile as his hands went for her clothes. First was the boy’s waistcoat, which was far too baggy on her. He unbuttoned it quickly, then urged her to sit up so he could remove it from her body. Next was the shirt. She knelt on the bed with her arms in the air, allowing him to lift the white cotton shirt over her head.
Erskine felt his mouth go dry as her bare skin was partly revealed. Just as he had remembered from seeing her at the loch, she had slender curves, her arms were delicate, and her chest was being flattened by a thick linen binding.
“Ye ken, as much as I like yer boy’s clothes showin’ off yer legs,” he leaned toward her, making his voice quiet. “I am nae so much a fan of this,” he gestured to the binding.
She laughed in response, her cheeks blushing.
“What else could I do?” she said. “I had to think of some way to hide the fact I am a woman.”
“Nay need to hide now,” he whispered as his hand went for the end of the binding that she had tucked in. He started to unravel it, but it was not quick enough. It was rather difficult trying to unwrap the material around her body in this position. “How long is this thing?” he teased, prompting her to laugh again.
He urged her to her feet and pulled on one end of the binding, meaning Laura had to spin a few times in the center of the room to unravel it, smiling more and more as she was gradually revealed to him. When the material fell away, he dropped it to the floor and clasped hold of her, keeping her steady on her feet.
“Dizzy?” he asked.
“A little,” she admitted, smiling up at him, her breasts now pressed against him.
“Wait a little,” he whispered, “ye’ll be dizzier yet from what we’re about to do.” At his words, she reached up to kiss him again.
He was lost in that kiss, just thinking about the touch of her lips and tongue as he bent her head back, pressing their bodies together and feeling her breasts against him. When they tumbled back down to the bed, this time when her hands went for his trews, he didn’t stop her.
Erskine kicked his boots off and took Laura’s off, too, just as her hands slid beneath his trews and rested on his hips for a moment. She was tormenting him with that slow touch. The way her fingers began to caress his hips, moving slowly toward his length, made him growl again.
“Ye ken very well how to torment me,” he smiled just as her hands returned to the top of his trews and pulled them down, releasing him.
