There was no awkwardness between them; her hand in his felt like it was meant to be there. She felt safe, comforted, for the first time in as long as she could remember. There was something so wild about Kieran at first sight that it had taken her breath away, but there was even more of a gentleness in him that became apparent the more she spent time with him.
“I had hoped as much,” Kieran said, squeezing her hand as he closed that tiny bit of distance between them.
Vivien tilted her face upwards instinctively, his lips there to meet hers. If she had thought their first kiss was life-changing, this kiss turned her world upside down, up-ending everything she had ever known.
The pressure of his lips was gentle on hers, a sweet feeling of joy caressing her heart.
She needed more. Vivien could not be content with something as chaste as Kieran kissing her softly.
She pushed against him slightly, increasing the pressure of her lips against his, giving him the permission she assumed he had been waiting for to kiss her properly.
She knew he could not be proud of himself for grabbing her around her throat; she had seen the horror in his eyes.
Nothing was holding her back at that moment; she wanted it all. She wanted everything Kieran had to offer.
As the pressure of their lips against each other increased, Vivien parted her lips slightly. Kieran answered immediately, his tongue gently sweeping over hers. She moaned against him, her body molding to his. Chest to chest, she allowed herself to fall freely into the passion of their kiss.
Vivien’s tongue moved against Kieran’s, flicking against his, sweeping over and around his. It was unlike anything she had known before she had met him. Fire crackled throughout her body, the flames of desire licking through her, climbing higher and higher, burning hotter and hotter than she thought was even possible.
Kieran’s hands moved to cradle her head, hands on either side of her face. He gently caressed her cheeks, holding her close without forcing her to do anything she did not want to. Vivien’s own hands moved to his chest, her hands exploring its expanse, firm and muscular beneath them.
Vivien could not think. Her mind was consumed with the ever-deepening kiss, as their tongues darted and swept against each other to an age-old rhythm that had stood the test of time.
Kieran groaned against her lips as his hands ran down her sides, exploring the curves of her body slowly. He clenched them slightly as he reached the curvature of her waist. Vivien slipped her hands higher, gripping Kieran’s strong shoulders, the muscles rippling under her palms as he moved his hands around her body. She pulled him closer still as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Kieran pulled away from her slightly, breaking their kiss.
Vivien looked at him through a haze of desire, confusion flooding her mind. Had she done something wrong to make him pull away?
“If I dinnae stop now, I might not be able tae at all,” he said, his breathing heavy and labored, matching her own.
“Don’t stop, then,” she replied, pulling him closer to her again, her arms still around his neck.
“You’ll be my undoing, Sassenach,” Kieran responded, before dipping his head to kiss her again.
Vivien rose up on tiptoes to bring herself even closer to him. Kieran furthered his exploration of her body, hands traveling below her waist. He gripped her against him, grinding his hips into her lightly.
She gasped against his lips as the feeling of his erection became apparent to Vivien. She could not help herself – she responded in kind, carefully moving against him. She held her breath, worried that she was overstepping an unwritten rule.
Instead of pulling away from her, Kieran pushed against her with a ferocity that took her breath away.
But she felt no fear; there was nothing cautionary in the way she responded to the pull of the heat that scorched its way through her entire being. There was no stopping the path she was on – she could not make herself stop any more than she could prevent the sun from rising every morning.
Vivien wished this moment could last forever; the ecstasy that was running its course through her veins was far too addictive for her to ever want anything more than it. Her need was far too overwhelming. She had come too far to ever go back to a life without Kieran, without his touch against her skin.
She was too lost in the movement of his mouth against hers, his tongue delving its depths, to realize that his hands had moved to her breasts.
The first stroke of his thumb over her nipple sent shock waves throughout her entire body. Even though she was still wearing her bodice, the sensation of his touch in a place that had never been touched before was almost too much to bear. She mewled against his mouth as he worked the top of her bodice down, freeing one breast to the sweet torture of his touch.
He caressed her nipple again, the pad of his thumb gentle against her skin. Even so, Vivien could feel it grow stiff and hard beneath his ministrations, a deep ache settling deep within her body. It was an ache she had never felt before – and she could not deny that she wanted Kieran to fill it.
Kieran toyed with her nipple, flicking it lightly, cupping the fullness of her breast in his tender manner. Vivien could not help herself from moaning against his lips, all of her mind focused on the distraction of his hands on her body, causing the fire in her to ignite to the point where she feared it could well engulf them both alive.
Vivien was barely able to comprehend the pleasure that Kieran’s touch caused. She was lost in the heat of the moment. She barely registered it as Kieran pulled away from her lips, moving to her pert, throbbing nipple.
She thrust her hips into his as he pulled her breast into his mouth, the moist warmth of it covering her nipple as his tongue flicked against it.
Vivien cried out in bliss; this was a pleasure she had never felt before, one that she could never have imagined existed.
