The thrill of that forbidden excitement seized her completely. She didn’t care that anyone might stumble onto them. All she cared about was that she was with him, in his arms.
When she felt him go even lower, she felt a rush heat between her thighs, at the very exact place where his head was now.
“Baird?” she called out his name, hissing through her teeth when she felt his tongue on her naked skin. “What?—?”
“Shhh,” he whispered, only to plant another kiss on her most intimate flesh.
A bolt of longing shot right through her and she couldn’t help but grab a fistful of his hair, as if afraid that he might move and stop kissing her. Every time she felt his tongue, the sensation was new and she wanted more of it… so much more.
He pulled away, only to look at her and she melted at the sight. “I want ye tae feel good, Davina… I will dae anything ye want… I will stop whenever ye want…”
He was as breathless as she was.
“Nay…” she shook her head, wanting him to doeverythingto her. “Dinnae stop…”
He grinned, then dove right back in, teasing her, licking her, sucking her. She never knew that one could feel so much need, so much yearning. And she knew that only he could satiate her desire.
He took her pearl into his mouth gently, as she felt his tongue flicking over it. When he started sucking, that was when she started climbing the most glorious heights of pleasure. He was bringing her closer to something, but she had no idea what that something was.
She was breathless from her own desire, from his tongue.
Suddenly, a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt before raged through her, and she gripped at him desperately, moaning to herself, biting her lower lip. It felt as if she were falling from the highest cliff, completely weightless, while her entire body trembled.
She could not tell when that sensation ceased its grip over her being, but when she opened her eyes, Baird was staring at her as if he were seeing her for the very first time.
She lifted a hand to his face, her fingers tracing the scar along his cheek. He closed his eyes at her touch, and a quiet, shuddering breath escaped him.
“Baird…” she whispered, but the rest of the words dissolved against his lips as he kissed her gently again, with the loch holding them both, two souls finding each other in the quiet heart of the Highlands.
The walk back to their horses felt strangely quiet. Sunlight warmed their damp skin as they climbed the bank, and Baird felt lighter than he had in years.
Davina wrung out the ends of her shift, with her cheeks still flushed pink from the water… and from everything that had happened within it. He watched her dress with a reverence he didn’t bother to hide. Her hands trembled slightly as she fastened the ties of her gown, and he stepped forward before he could stop himself.
“Are ye all right?” he murmured.
She looked up at him, with eyes that were as bright as the loch behind her. “Better than all right,” she said, on the verge of a chuckle.
Her sweetness and her honesty hit him square in the chest. He felt a smile pull at his mouth, helpless and genuine.
“We should head back,” he said, “though I hardly want to.”
The world outside that clearing suddenly felt too sharp and too heavy. But duty waited, and he knew they could not hide here forever.
Davina nodded, still pink-cheeked, still radiant in a way that made his heart twist. “Aye. Let’s go home.”
Home.
He didn’t let himself linger on that word, not when it carried a meaning he wasn’t sure he deserved.
They mounted their horses and rode at a steady pace, allowing the warm day to dry their clothes and the soft breeze to cool their burning skin. Each time he glanced at her, she caught him looking and blushed deeper, but she didn’t look away. The connection between them felt impossibly strengthened now, a thread pulled taut and sure.
By the time the castle towers rose into view, the weight of reality began pressing against him again. It all came rushing back: the traitor, the Council, the danger still lurking in the shadows. But Davina’s presence at his side kept him steadier than he expected.
He glanced at her once more.
“I mean what I said,” he murmured. “About freedom.”
She gave a small, knowing nod. “And I meant what I promised. We’ll face it taegether.”
