CHAPTER TEN
Blake’s first reaction to Reyna’s kiss was to freeze in place. Then heat roared up inside him, a heat and a hunger he feared to allow himself to feel.
He stepped back and broke the kiss, holding her in place with his hands on her shoulders. “What are ye doing?”
Her eyes were like deep wells of emotion as she looked up at him. “I told ye, I dinnae hate ye. And I told ye yesterday in that cave, I never truly let ye go, or the feelings I had fer ye.”
“Ye also told me that it couldnae come tae aught more, given yer obligations and mine.”
“And now we’ve both a chance tae escape those obligations. But I ken ‘tis nae going tae be easy tae make our plans work, and there is every chance we may nae succeed. And kenning that, I ken I dinnae want tae go intae a loveless marriage tae a cruel husband without kenning what such things ought tae feel like. And Idinnae want tae have tae face losing ye, without ever having a chance tae have ye.”
She leaned into him, her soft breasts pressing against his chest and making him ache. He swallowed and tried to remember some sense of self-restraint. “Reyna, lass, ye ken that even if we get ye away from Laird Oran, even though we wish tae stay taegether... yer faither willnae appreciate any man who compromises yer virtue afore seeking his blessing. And if we fail fer some reason, ye heard what Laird Murray said about the fate o’ yer braither, and mayhap yerself and yer clan if he cannae be sure yer maidenhead is intact afore the wedding night. I cannae risk it…”
“I ken. But I’ve heard stories from Tessa. She told me there were ways o’ giving and receiving pleasure that didnae compromise a woman.” Her gaze stayed locked on his, eyes pleading in a way he’d always found difficult to ignore or deny.
Still, he made the effort, knowing that he’d hurt her badly, and that he could not take advantage of her, even if she was asking. He would not give or take something she did not want to share with him, just because she was asking out of desperation. “Reyna... even what yer speaking of... ‘tis naething tae ask fer unless yer certain ‘tis something ye want fer yer own sake. As we’ve both waited fer so long, I’d rather wait longer, than risk yer first experience being something ye discover ye dinnae want after all.”
“I am certain. And afore ye’re ridiculous enough tae suggest otherwise, ‘tis ye I want tae share me innocence with. Ye and nae other.”
She looked up at him, eyes wide, with no trace of uncertainty, her freckles creating an enchanting contrast against her pale skin. Her hands slid across his chest gently, coaxing a response from him.
Something within him gave way, and the desire he’d tried to ignore since their first meeting, and their brief kiss in the cave, roared to life.
His hands settled on her waist for a brief moment before he heaved her up and carried her to the bed, to lay her down and claim her mouth with his own.
Reyna gasped as Blake lifted her and carried her to the bed, her heart pounding with feelings that had nothing to do with fear. Heat curled through her, tingling through her core and sparking excitement as Blake laid her down and sealed his lips against hers.
His mouth was firm, insistent, as he teased her lips with his tongue and slid inside her mouth, mapping and claiming every inch of her with an intensity that made her breathless. She was gasping as they broke apart, and her stomach felt as if she’d swallowed butterflies. She shifted restlessly, and Blake chuckled“just relax, me Reyna, and let me show ye what a maiden should ken.”
He began to place feather-light kisses across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. “I always loved yer freckles. It looks like ye’ve been kissed by starlight and sunshine, marked fer all tae see by yer love o’ the earth and all that grows there. Every one o’ them is like an enticement o’ the Fair Folk, and all these years, was like a siren song I couldnae answer. And now I can.”
He kissed her again, on her brow, then a quick kiss to her mouth again, before he leaned and moved to crouch over her. His mouth nibbled and teased at the sensitive skin of her throat, before gently nipping the lobe of her ear. Reyna gasped, startled by how each move sent sparks radiating through her.
In a daze, she realized his hands were slowly unknotting the laces on the bosom of her dress. The laces came free, and she gasped as she felt his hands slide under the cloth to stroke the skin beneath. Then he slid his hands up to her shoulders and pressed the upper portion of her dress off of them and partway down her arms, trapping them in the fabric and leaving her bared to his gaze from the waist up.
His mouth continued its exploration of her body, light kisses leaving a trail of warmth down the side of her throat and across her collarbone and the junction of her shoulder and her throat. He nipped lightly, and she gasped and shivered at the sensation.
His head slipped lower, his hair tickling the sensitized flesh as his tongue traced idle patterns over the swell of her bosom.Reyna felt herself panting at the contrasting sensations between the heat of his mouth and the cool air on the damp skin after his ministrations. Liquid heat began to pool low in her belly, her core aching for more of his touch.
Blake’s mouth closed over her right breast, suckling and flicking with the tip of his tongue, and she arched up against him with a soft cry. “Blake!”
He looked up for a moment. “Relax and let me take care o’ ye.” Then he switched and began to do the same to her left breast, while his other hand fondled the hardened nipple. She was squirming, on the verge of... something... when he took his hand away.
She felt hot and restless, wanting more, and uncertain what she could possibly want. She was drowning in unfamiliar sensations, heat and cold, pressure and desire.
She was so busy trying to catch her breath when his hand slipped underneath her skirt and stroked up her thigh to caress the damp curls that covered the entrance to her most secret places. She yelped, squirmed, and grabbed at his shoulders. “What are ye…?”
Her voice was high and breathless, and Blake only chuckled again. “Ye’ll see. Just relax.”
He caressed her again, his fingers stroking through the fine short hair before pressing between her legs to stroke the seam of her sex. “I like how ready ye are fer me.”
He bent to kiss across her throat before he whispered in her ear. “Open yerself up tae me, Reyna love. Let me give ye what ye’ve asked fer.”
The low, husky growl of his voice made her shiver with desire and heat, and she found herself hesitantly parting her legs for him, letting his callused palms glide over the flesh of her inner thighs as he gently slid the tips of his fingers over her. Heat and dampness coiled in her core, making her arch into his hand. “Blake…”
He didn’t say anything, but shifted to straddle her as he slipped her skirt up her legs to leave her feminine core exposed to his gaze. She shivered and started to pull her legs together instinctively, but his hands caught her thighs in a gentle but firm grip to keep her open to his gaze and his touch.
Cool air and his heated touch, the combination was driving her mad, making it impossible for her to stay still as she waited for his touch. The rough pads of his thumbs stroked over the lines where her thighs met her sex, teasing until she was arching into him, whimpering faintly in need for more.
