The next instant, his mouth was where his fingers had been a moment ago, and she threw her head back as a new wave of pleasure surged through her.
He was relentless, and before long, she reached her pinnacle again, crying his name over and over.
CHAPTER 18
Finlay drewsmall circles with his thumb on her back. She hummed against him, the vibrations resonating deep in his chest as she lay draped over him.
She was completely naked, while he had discarded his shirt and waistcoat when the heat became too much. The plaid belted across his waist had remained on as more of a reminder than a precaution.
It had taken all of his restraint to focus solely on her pleasure while ignoring his own. He would find time later to relieve the pent-up tension. The memory of her sweet little sighs and cries of ecstasy would be forever seared in his mind.
Thalia shifted slightly, and she sighed again as her eyelids drooped.
“Nay, lass,” Finlay scolded gently. “If ye want to sleep, we should head back to the castle.”
“I daenae want to move,” she whined.
Finlay gave a hearty chuckle. He must have truly worn her out if she was acting like this. Perhaps he did get carried away, but she had been so enthusiastic that he could not bear to stop.
He was glad that the first time had been in a much more private location than the castle, where anyone could have heard her cries.
His fingers stopped their movements. The first time? Why was he thinking that, as if there would be a next time? This was the first and only time that this would ever happen. He had kept control this time, but there was no guarantee he would be able to do it again. The risk was too great.
He sat up, jostling Thalia off of him in his rush to get away. She blinked up blearily, as if confused by his sudden rush.
“We should get back.” The words came out quickly, and they must have sounded harsher than he meant, for she shrank back.
“Aye, of course.”
He sighed and then softened his voice. “I just want to make sure that Daisy and Peter got back safely. And that Daisy made it back to bed.”
That explanation seemed to satisfy her. She looked at him again and nodded.
Finlay stood, gathering her discarded clothes that lay beside the bed. She followed him, and he helped her dress.
Her cheeks were still flushed from their earlier encounter, but she did not seem as shy as she had been when they had first started. He helped pull the shift over her head, followed by the rest of her garments.
“Do ye need help tying it?” he asked.
“Nay, I think I can manage it,” she replied.
He nodded, then turned to find his own clothes, which lay crumpled on the floor near the foot of the bed. He could feel her eyes on him as he pulled on his shirt. Her piercing gaze was one of the things that drew him the most to her, and he couldn’t help but meet it now.
She stared openly at his chest, as she had wanted to do ever since that morning when she had burst into his bedchamber. When she saw that he had noticed, she turned away, but she had a small smile on her face as she finished lacing up her dress.
That smile was dangerous. It made him want to grab her, kiss her, and pick up where they had left off.
“This, uh, fake betrothal,” she began. “I must say it’s been very eye-opening so far.”
He couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Has it?”
“Aye.” She turned to him again, now fully dressed.
Her hair hung wild around her face, both from their ride over and their bedroom activities. It made her look like a madwoman, but Finlay liked it. He liked seeing her free and unburdened from her troubles.
It was that fondness that made him ask, “And ye enjoyed havin’ yer eyes opened, did ye?”
“Very much,” she giggled. She bit her lip and looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes as she continued. “Will there be more… eye opening in the future?”
