As they both fell silent again, Lily sucked in a deep breath to steady her insides and allowed the sensations swimming through her to sweep her off her feet.
The tremors of his deep laugh kept ringing in her ears, and she was reluctant to look away from him as the seconds ticked by. The scrolls lay forgotten on the ground, and there was only him at that moment. She wished she could understand this pull she felt towards him, but she was done trying.
“Lily,” Killian growled in a hoarse voice that made every part of her quiver till she was lost in the aching need building inside her.
Let it stay a mystery.
He reached out to pull her to him. She went willingly into his arms, and her hands snaked around his neck.
Killian’s heavy breaths fell harshly against her cheek as he lowered his face to hers and released another growl thatmade the floor shake beneath her. The moment went from lighthearted to heated.
“I am a man of honor,” he whispered as he lowered his face to her neck and dragged in a whiff of her scent audibly and without hesitation. “I want to keep my word,” he continued. “I want to…”
Lily whimpered and tilted her head to the side, giving him access to the side of her neck. Once his lips kissed her there, a light moan escaped her lips, and his right hand pressed her closer against him.
He kept nuzzling the side of her neck as he caressed her back, his hands trailing up and down slowly till she was shivering like a wet leaf in his arms.
Suddenly, he released her and backed away like he was burned. Lily was still lost in the swirl of desire that had enveloped her, she swooned when he no longer held her.
“Ye should return to yer chamber,” Killian rasped as he pressed his body against his shelves, rattling them with his weight.
“Killian—”
“Go! Now!”
His roar cut through her dazed state and made her heart pound harder. It kicked against her ribs and knocked the wind right out of her.
Without hesitating, Lily turned on her heel and ran out of the study, her pulse hammering in her temples all the way.
16
Killian ignored the rain droplets dampening his hair and clothes. He continued thrusting his sword forward, counting his steps and making sure to twirl his body around fully as if he were fighting with an opponent.
This was how he stayed sane. What had happened in his study the other day could have made him lose control. He knew he would have taken her right there and then if he hadn’t sent her away.
Lily stripped him of his control, made him a shivering knot inside. No woman had ever done that to him. These feelings were completely new and insane.
It was the early hours of dawn, and he had been at this for hours, training hard because there was nothing else he could do, and ignoring the fire in his loins.
Killian distracted his thoughts with Fletcher’s trip to Wehnthor to find out what the riot was about. The settlers in Wehnthor were more traditional men, closer to the North, and were always at the mercy of the larger clans there who considered Wehnthor as their land.
The raids and battles were ages long between Clan MacColl and the Northern clan bordering his land. There were never any peace talks, as he could never discover which clan destroyed his village at intervals, carted away harvested crops and livestock, and then burned the lands.
Killian stopped thrusting his sword out for a moment, combed his fingers through his wet hair, then raised his head to the skies.
A rumble of thunder in the distant sky crashed into the thatched roof of his keep and sent a part of it crumbling to the ground. He would worry about the repairs later.
He heard the sounds of heavy footsteps behind him, and he spun around on the fields where he trained alone.
The guard approaching took off the cloak covering his head and bowed once he got to Killian. “Fletcher has sent word, m’laird.”
Killian took the scroll containing Fletcher’s message, opened it, and read the words as the rain soaked them away.
His jaw hardened. “There is trouble in Wehnthor,” he said to the guard. He raised his head to look at him. “Gather the men. We ride out at once.”
Once the guard hurried away, Killian went in search of his sister. Niamh was in her chamber when he found her, and tears immediately filled her eyes when he told her the news of his unexpected journey.
“Wehnthor is a dangerous terrain,” she said. “That land bothers the North and is the most dangerous of all our routes. If there has been a raid there, it is most likely the Northern clans… I worry ye might get hurt on this journey,” she cried as she hugged him tight.
