“Astrid. That beautiful barmaid downstairs. Ye must remember her.”
“I don’t. Ye want to know the truth, Emma? I’ve not laid a hand or eye on another woman since I met ye.”
That couldn’t be true. Emma’s breath hitched in her throat. Surely this was just something he said to women he wanted to bed. Surely it was a ploy to make them feel special, wanted,needed…
And yet, there wasn’t a lie in Thomas’s eyes. If there was, she couldn’t see it.
He kissed her again, more softly this time, although his arms tightened around her. The pressure was delicious, and she wound her own arms tighter around his shoulders, her fingers skimming up his spine to rest in the soft hairs at the nape of his neck.
“Let me show ye what I mean when I say ye are mine,” Thomas spoke in her ear, his voice low enough to be a growl.
He swept her up as if she weighed nothing at all, and for a moment, the world blurred before her already dizzy gaze.
Something hard and square solidified beneath her, and she realized with a jolt of surprise that he’d placed her on the desk. Her arms automatically reached out behind her, supportingher weight on her elbows. Thomas leaned over her, and she automatically hooked her knee over his hip to keep her balance.
His lips moved from her lips to her cheek, sliding effortlessly down to her neck. The skin there was sensitive, and Emma sucked in a breath, closing her eyes against the sensation. She was vaguely aware that her skirts had fallen and crumpled around her knees, but she didn’t care. Not one bit.
Desire was pooling in her gut, intensifying with every caress, kiss, and touch he gave her. She wasn’t entirely surewhatshe wanted, only that she wantedsomething, and if he stopped touching her, she would die, instantly, right here on this desk which probably belonged to Dominic.
His hand slipped underneath the folds of her skirts, his palm hot and careful against the bare skin of her thigh. Emma sucked in a breath, her eyes flying open.
“Ye are all right, lassie,” Thomas murmured, his lips half-pressed to her neck. “I’ll not hurt ye.”
His fingertips danced up her thigh, gentle and fleeting. Teasing, almost. Emma hadn’t truly believed he would touch herthereuntil he did, his fingers reaching the spot between her legs. She sucked in another breath, sharp and surprised, digging her fingers into his shoulder.
Thomas touched her firmly and rhythmically, with the confidence of someone who’d done this before and knew how to get the desired result. Every fresh wave of sensation wasdizzyingly new to Emma. She squeezed her eyes shut, lost in the sensations of his moving hand and his lips on her neck.
The feelings rolled and coiled like a wave, heightening and peaking until a climax crashed over her, and she couldn’t quite bite back a cry.
She felt him smile against her neck, nuzzling his nose against her. He stilled, and she tried to regain her breath.
“That was…” she began, her voice embarrassingly hoarse.
“See what I mean?” Thomas murmured, his voice low against her neck, sending vibrations through her whole body. “Ye aremine, Butterfly.”
Emma drew in another breath. Was it her imagination, or had all the breathable air been unceremoniously whisked out of the room?
Thomas leaned back, his face red and his eyes dark with desire, and Emma’s breath stuck in her throat.
What now?
It only seemed fair that she returned the favor, but she didn’t exactly know how to do that. She wasn’t experienced in these matters like Thomas, so perhaps he could show her how to…
She shifted just a little and let out a yelp as something sharp dug into her hip.
“Ouch!”
Thomas flinched, backing away, and the moment was gone.
“Ah,” he murmured, reaching forward to pick up a large piece of rock from the desk. “Dominic uses these as paperweights.”
Emma laughed softly, rubbing at the new bruise on her hip.
“There is a couch right there that we could have used.”
Was it her imagination, or did Thomas’s cheeks color at that? Surely not. Surelyshe, a virgin healer, could make the famously raking Laird MacPhersonblush.
“I considered that,” he admitted. “But I reckon Dominic is sleeping there, and that’s… that’s a wee bit off-putting. I love him like a brother, ye see, so…” he trailed off, pulling a face, and Emma giggled. She felt giddy as if she were drunk.
