“Not about that, you wretch.” She tapped him playfully on the arm but admitted to a certain curiosity about their current position.
His mouth trailed hot kisses down her neck and nape that made her body soften all over again with the tingly rush of pleasure. He kissed her harder as he pinched her nipple lightly between his fingers. “About what?”
Her eyes opened. “You’re trying to distract me.”
“Hmm.” He kissed her shoulder again. “Is it working?”
God, yes.She could feel the round head nudging between her legs from behind as his finger dipped inside her. Her head fell back against his shoulder as his deft stroking brought her to the very brink of yet another torrential storm of pleasure.
Heat poured through her veins, heavy and slow, as he brought her hips back so that her back arched gently to position himself at her opening. She teased him mercilessly, rubbing him with the dampness of her own body but not taking him in. The sensation was incredible, his erection so big and thick between her thighs. She could tell from the harshness of his breathing that her teasing was driving him wild.
Finally he grabbed her hips and gently pushed inside her, stretching her, filling her. She moaned at the sensation.God, what wickedness.His hands were on her breasts and between her legs, caressing her as he drew in and out with long, slow strokes—letting her feel every inch of him. The pleasure that gripped her was indescribable.
He pressed her back tightly against his body and thrust up high inside her, holding still. She gasped at the incredible sensation as her body tingled around him, as the tremble of release built. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it any longer, he slid a little deeper, holding her tight against him until she came apart in a slow, intense shattering that seemed to go on forever. He thrust high inside her again, bringing her hips against him hard in rapid succession as he cried out his own release.
Well after the last shudder had faded, she remembered what she’d been about to say before he’d so effectively distracted her. “You let him escape, didn’t you?”
He went still behind her for a second, but it was confirmation enough. “Why do you say that?”
“You would never allow a prisoner to slip away.”
“Your confidence in my skills is flattering, but I assure you I’m not infallible.”
She snorted. “Tell me the truth.”
He shrugged.
“But why? Did you have second thoughts about what your cousin would do?”
“No. Argyll wouldn’t have liked it, but he would have kept his promise. I just made it easier on him by giving your brother a choice.”
Caitrina couldn’t believe it. “You mean Niall chose to be an outlaw rather than return to Ascog? But why would he do that?”
“I think he had other things he needed to do,” Jamie said gently.
Caitrina swallowed. Because of what had happened, she realized. The fight had become personal, and Niall would never rest until someone had paid for what had been done to the woman he loved. Her heart broke for him, even as it did for herself.
“He loves you, Caitrina. I know it wasn’t an easy decision.”
She smiled, hearing the concern in her husband’s voice. “I know, but thank you for telling me.” As much as she wished Niall had chosen to return to Ascog, as much as she wanted to hold on to him and protect him, he had to make his own decision. But she also knew what it meant: Niall was an outlaw, lost to her and their clan probably forever. “He will never be able to take his rightful place as chief.”
“Aye. Brian will be the next chief—when he is ready. I will hold Ascog for him until then.”
She didn’t know what to say. “You would do that?” Brian had the makings of a good chief, and under Jamie’s tutelage and guidance, she knew he would grow to be a great one.
He nodded. “It’s rightfully his.”
“And Argyll?”
He grinned. “My cousin doesn’t like to lose land, but in this case he agreed.”
But there was one thing that she still didn’t understand. “Why did you do it, Jamie? Why did you decide to let Niall go?”
He leaned up on his arm so he could look into her eyes. “Justice.”
“And justice would not be served here at Dunoon?”
“Not in this case. The law will not help your brother.”
