“Have we?” she asked, boldly placing her hands on his chest. “I don’t think so.” He stiffened but did not remove her hands. Encouraged, she wove a lacy, seductive trail down his chest. Deliberately, she slowed when she reached the flat planes of his stomach. Brushing her fingers lightly across the layered muscles, she savored the way his body clenched under her fingertips. She teased him, stroking lower and lower, but not quite low enough.
He hissed between clenched teeth.
Meg smiled, her courage bolstered.
Her mouth touched his collarbone. She pressed delicate kisses along the lines of his neck. “I think we have more to say to each other, Alex. Much more.” To emphasize her point, her hand dipped, grazing over the thick head of his erection bulging at the waistband of his trews. She wanted to circle her fingers around his length, to feel the thickness in her hands, to rub her thumb across the round head…but not yet.
“Damn you,” he growled. His arms remained glued to his side, the powerful muscles in his arms flexed as he tried to control the lust she’d roused.
Her mouth moved to further explore his neck. Her tongue slid along the pulsing vein.He was fighting for
control all right.She loved the taste of him, the same clean, slightly salty taste of the Skye sea breeze.
“I’m not a bloody saint, Meg.”
Meg chuckled, pointedly gazing down to admire the size of his erection. “Thank goodness for that, it would be a waste.” She licked her top lip hungrily. “An enormous waste.”
Alex uttered a pained sound, obviously in no condition to admire her irreverent humor. “You don’t want this,” he said tightly.
If he only knew how wrong he was.Just knowing how powerfully aroused he’d become by her touch alone drove her wild. Desire pooled low in her belly, and her senses tingled with sudden expectation.
Meg eased the extra plaid from her shoulders, allowing it to drop to the ground. Tonight, his body would provide all the heat she needed. She stretched up against him and clasped her hands behind his neck, pressing the hard tips of her breasts to his chest. She played with the golden hair at the nape of his neck, still slightly damp from bathing. “I’ve never wanted anything as much as I do this,” she said honestly.
He wrapped his arms around her, wavering. “It won’t change anything,” he protested, albeit weakly.
She pressed her fingers against his lips. “No promises, remember? I just need to feel you inside me. One more time.”
The heartfelt simple plea was enough. The tension visibly drained out of him. She’d won, though in truth he’d not waged much of a war. There was a certain inevitability to this moment that neither of them could deny.
He kissed her, and Meg thought her heart would explode with happiness. The uncertainty that had drowned her the past few weeks dissolved into a distant memory. The beauty of this moment would be in her heart forever. She felt more alive, freer, than ever before. He kissed her with all of the emotion that he could not express. He showed her his love in the tenderness of his embrace, in the fierceness of his desire. He showed her every time their eyes met.
The kiss intensified. The exquisite taste of him made her shiver. His mouth was hot and demanding, his passion already inflamed by her seductive touch. She felt boneless, liquid, her body heavy with desire. She’d not thought it possible, but their passion had grown even more intense and overwhelming. There was a tender poignancy to this moment; this was a mating not just of their bodies, but of their hearts.
He made love to her with his lips and tongue. The rush of pleasure hit her hard and fast. With each rhythmic stroke of his tongue, her heart raced with anticipation. He wooed her and teased her with his tongue, driving her frantic with need. A conflagration of emotion so pure and powerful, it took her breath away.
The warmth between her legs spread through her body like wildfire. His erection pressed possessively against her abdomen as his tongue slid in and out of her mouth, driving her mad with desire. She wanted him inside her. Filling her. Thrusting deep and hard until her body shuddered around him. Her body dampened, priming itself for his powerful entry as her hips rocked against him, seeking the exquisite pressure only he could provide.
She ached to feel his hands on her, in her, stroking, but he still had not touched her. She knew that he was holding himself back, trying to control the swell of passion that threatened to storm and overtake them both.
A soft moan escaped her parted lips when his hand finally cupped her breast. Over the fabric of her gown, his thumb rubbed against her swollen nipple. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to feel the rough calluses of his hands branding her skin. She pressed against his hand. No more pretense left between them. She wanted the pleasure that only he could bring her. She wanted everything.
Alex lifted his mouth from her soft lips and smiled—a sly, predatory grin that should have warned her. “Not so fast, my sweet. I’m going to use every last minute of darkness.”
They both knew that it might have to last a lifetime.
Her breath came quick as he knelt and spread her plaid over a small patch of moss. “I wish I had a better bed to offer you.”
“It’s beautiful,” Meg said.
And it was.Nature’s own bower beneath the trees. Though making love with Alex anywhere would feel like paradise.
When he finally seemed satisfied that he’d made the makeshift bed as comfortable as possible, he stood up and began to work the laces of her gown. Piece by piece, her clothing was removed until she stood naked before him. She shivered as the cool night air hit her flaming skin. Resisting the urge to cover herself, suddenly shy, she peeked up to gauge his reaction.
He looked at her ravenously, like a starved man being offered a feast. His eyes glowed with admiration. “You are beautiful.”
And strangely, for the first time, Meg truly believed it was so. Who would not feel beautiful with this fierce warrior looking at her with such aching need?
When he reached out to touch her, his finger grazing the curve of her breast, Meg thought she might fall to the ground. Her legs had turned to jelly. It wasn’t enough. Couldn’t he see that he was torturing her? Her body shuddered with need.
