“I cannae dae that.” He shook his head as he stopped in front of her, though there was barely any air between them now.
“Why nae?” she asked. Her hands reached up his shirt. She barely brushed him at first, her fingers teasing as they moved from his stomach to his chest.
“Because I found it hard tae stop kissing ye last time,” he whispered, bending his head toward her. His lips just hovered over hers now as he spoke. But had he not been the one to close the distance, ready to do her bidding?
“I’m asking ye tae teach me more about kissing, Kai. Tae show me what tae dae. Would ye deny me that help now?” She angled her head the other way, her eyes fluttering closed. She was so near, he could remember the way she tasted, recall the feeling of her urgent lips on his, needing him as he needed her.
“Ye ken I could never deny ye anything ye wanted.”
“Then dinnae deny me now.” Her hand latched around the opening of his shirt, one finger brushing his exposed chest. “Teach me one more thing, Kai.”
“Ye need nay lessons in seduction,” he said sudden fiercely, finding it impossible to hold back.
He crashed his lips against her own, feeling her inhale sharply in surprise. Both hands snaked around her waist as he pulled her into him, reluctant to let go. The way she kissed him back was everything. It was as if her life depended on kissing him too. He bit her lip, playfully, showing her how to open her lips even wider than she had done the other day, so he could completely explore her, their lips tussling for domination.
He backed her up. He didn’t think why he did it, he just had to get closer to her, to feel the kiss so deeply that it would be etched into his memory forever. They collided with a wall, her body flattened between him and the tapestry. Now, he could feel her curves, her strength, the way she gripped him, not wanting it to end.
He delivered deeper still, one hand moving to the back of her neck to slowly show her to angle her head. It was the best kiss he had ever known. He was breathless as he maintained it, his length obvious in how rock hard it was between them. She rocked her body against his, ever so subtly, and could clearly feel that length for she gasped into the kiss, making a small moaning sound of surprise.
They pulled back from one another, just a mere inch, both breathless.
“Are all kisses so…”
“Heated?” he whispered. “Passionate?”
“Aye.”
“Nay, love. They’re nae.” He bent toward her, moving his lips to her neck, because now that they had crossed this line again, how could he keep his lips away from her? “With ye, it’s inevitable. Kissing ye is like fire.”
He nibbled lightly on a spot just beneath her ear, teasing her with his lips and tongue. She moaned loudly, arching up into him.
Had there been no Laird Grant, had another life not been laid out before her, maybe he would have moved his hand then, pulled at her skirt and reached beneath to explore her.
Yet Laird Grant exists and she is trying tae seduce him.
Kai pulled his lips off her. He drove his hands into the tapestry on either side of her head and held himself still, closing his eyes to block out the perfect sight of her. It wasn’t enough to cool his ardor. He could still hear her heavy breath, could still smell the roses and honeysuckle.
“Is our lesson at an end?” she whispered. Clearly, she didn’t want it to end.
“It must end. Or ye ken I willnae be able tae stop kissing ye.”
“Then dinnae.”
“Nay, Ava. I… I cannae…” He wanted to hear her beg him, to hear her talk of how much she wanted him, but she was getting carried away. That was all. He had to separate the two of them now before they did something they both regretted.
He turned his head and kissed her cheek, just once, feeling the way her hand curved momentarily around his bicep, then hestepped back and it was over. She stumbled against the wall, struggling to stay standing as he marched toward the door.
No more words passed between them, though he hesitated for just a minute in the doorway. The way she looked at him made him ache to go back to her.
I cannae.
Shutting down every heated thought and feeling, he turned and walked out of her chamber.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Are ye sure, me laird?”
“Aye. I’m certain.” Blair stared out of the window of the castle.
