“I’d take it slow. There are a lot of shoals around here, and the currents can be unpredictable.”
“My type of water.” She sent him a grin, but she listened to his advice. Traveling at this pace, it wasn’t hard for her to hear his further instruction as they navigated through the particularly tricky sections. As they neared the jagged cliffs, squawks filled the air ... along with a particularly pungent odor of guano.
“My word, the birds are noisy today!” Rose said as they inched past the sea stack. Birds of all shapes and sizes nested among the cracks and clefts, while still more swooped in and out of the rock formations. Still others hopped along the edges while some squabbled and pecked at each other. It was at once oddly peaceful and utterly chaotic.
“Many of them are returning for the spring and summer.” This time Thorfinn had to shout over the avian calls rather than her motor. “You might want to keep an eye out for the tammie norries—or puffins, as they’re called outside Orkney. Most find them to be adorable, wee birds.”
“They’re not too happy about us being here, are they?” Rose asked.
“They never are.” Thorfinn grinned, and then he jabbed his finger toward what looked like just a dark shadow in the recesses of the main cliff face. “That’s the opening.”
“It’s well hidden,” Rose said as she carefully steered through the gap in the rock.
“This precipice is riddled with alcoves and caves.”
“Good for smuggling whiskey?” Rose teased.
“Aye. And for secret adventure.” He raised his eyebrow ever so slightly, and the devilish angle ignited a windstorm of sensation inside her.
“So is this where you take all the lasses?” Rose asked as she cut the engine.
“Just you, Rose. Just you.” He reached over and cupped her face. When his thumb brushed across her cheekbone, the extra friction from his calluses caused splinters of delight to sparkle through her. There was a raw honesty to this man that seemed to scrape through all the facades she’d ever built, leaving her vulnerable to him ... and perhaps even to herself. She’d been wrong to think a dalliance with Thorfinn would dim this need inside her, but she’d plunged too deeply into the maelstrom to fight her way back out now. She was stuck in the eye of the hurricane, left without her blitheness to shield her from the emotions that she did not wish to feel.
A bird fluttered past them, and Rose lifted her head. High above, the red rock formed a nearly perfect vault. A ragged opening in the very center revealed a swath of bright-blue sky. Sunlight streamed into the center and reflected off the water below. Glowing patterns danced along the walls, reminding Rose of the northern lights. Gannets, their white bodies shining, nested above them.
Like a grand apse in a medieval church, the cavern demanded a certain reverence and solemnity. A call ofsomethingstirred deep within Rose. She felt small yet powerful all at the same time.
“It is stunning here.”
“Aye.”
Thorfinn’s hoarse response slid over Rose’s skin like a caress. Shivering, she returned her gaze to him. His warm palm still framed hercheek, his aquamarine gaze washing over her like sun-heated water. His mouth covered hers, and she allowed herself to be lost in his passion.
Thorfinn did not possess the practiced finesse of her previous paramours, but that made the kiss only more powerful. There was a forthrightness to his desire that stripped away all pretense—even hers. She met his rawness with her own.
Their heavy breathing and moans echoed off the thick sandstone until they were surrounded by a chorus of their own making. The world seemed condensed into this place, into this moment, intothem.
Rose had spent her life searching for exhilaration, but she’d never found it so completely as she did right now. Sensation after sensation rippled through her, driving her nearly mad yet soothing a long-unsatisfied want.
She needed more of the almost painful exquisiteness, more ofhim. She broke away from Thorfinn to undo the other toggles on her coat. He followed each flick of her fingers with his green-blue gaze, his chest rising and falling as if he’d just rowed for miles over a stormy sea. Rose let the heavy fur fall from her shoulders, and the left side of Thorfinn’s mouth quirked.
“Aren’t you afraid of catching a chill, lass?” Thorfinn’s voice sounded as rich and thick as honey straight from the comb.
She arched a challenging brow. “Aren’t you going to keep me warm enough?”
A decidedly wolfish expression fell over his face, and he looked more like a storybook Viking than ever. If she’d thought his kiss powerful before, it was nothing compared to the hungry way he devoured her mouth.
She moaned as his lips moved from her mouth to trace along her jaw. He’d softened the pressure but somehow demanded more. Need pooled in her body. Desperate, she guided one of his work-worn hands to her breast. He instantly complied with her unspoken plea, massaging as he continued his devilish assault on the sensitive juncture betweenher chin and her ear. Yet it still wasn’t enough. She brought his other hand to the brooch pinning the front of her white silk blouse together.
Unlike some of her previous lovers, Thorfinn couldn’t manage the task one handed—nor did he simply tear the sheer fabric. Yet she found the sensation of his fingers working so diligently upon the clasp more erotic than any flourish of showmanship. Even with his focus on the pin, he still moved his mouth in tantalizing sweeps along her skin. A shiver racked her, causing his hands to slip slightly. He chuckled instead of grunting in frustration—the sound the very flame needed to ignite the bubble of joy inside her. She not only laughed, but shefeltit too—happy and bright.
Finally, the brooch opened, and his hand slipped inside her blouse. Her eyes fluttered shut as his thumb traced her collarbone while his fingers began their dive through her undergarments to reach her bare flesh. First the slip, then the chemise, then ...
The key.
She’d forgotten about Viscount Barbury’s key. Horror struck through the bliss. Had she just made a fatal blunder?
Rose’s eyes flew open, but they didn’t meet Thorfinn’s blue gaze. Instead, she saw the crown of his head as he bent over the key clasped in his hand. Another chill sliced through her as Thorfinn’s hand appeared to shake.
