“Aye,” Iris replied, her heart pounding in her chest. “Aye.”
James’s nostrils flared. Just when she thought he was going to drop her hand, he stepped forward, his other hand reaching down to grip the hem of her skirts.
“I wilnae take yer innocence,” he told her, his voice tight. “But I can give ye pleasure.”
“Please,” she begged, her gut coiling tightly in anticipation. “I need ye, James.” She wasn’t so certainwhatshe needed, but he was the only one that could give it to her, that she was certain of.
His hand skimmed her bare thigh and Iris gasped, her head pressing into the stone wall behind her. She had never been touched so intimately before, not even with her own fingers, and while she should be embarrassed to let James do so now, it felt far too right for him to do so.
“Do ye like that?” he breathed into her ear as his fingers brushed over the edge of her shift, the very one that covered the spot between her legs. "Wot aboot this?”
Iris could feel the very beat of her heart in the space he was touching, gasping when his fingers moved under the flimsy, worn material and cupped her with his bare hand.
“Ye’re wet for me, Iris,” he growled into her ear.
Iris could only press into his hand, a heavy need to have him touch her there now thrumming through her veins.
“Bloody hell,” she whispered.
James chuckled, and the sound slithered warmly down her spine.
“Aye, lass, I know the feeling.”
Did he? Iris didn’t want to think of how she was an untried innocent and James, well, if he was anything like her brothers, he had seen his fair share of lasses in his lifetime.
But she was the one he was touching now. She was the one he was kissing, and that was all that mattered to Iris.
“I’m going tae touch ye now. Stop me, lass.”
Iris squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t even if she wanted to, curious to know what else he could do to her, what else he could make her feel.
His finger brushed a sensitive part of her and she bucked against his hand, only to have James laugh in return.
“Dinnae worry, Iris,” he said as his finger swiped the length of her. “I wilnae hurt ye, lass. I only want tae make ye feel good.”
“James,” Iris breathed as he grew bolder with his fingers, stoking a fire low in her gut. “Kiss me.”
“Gladly,” he murmured before his lips were on hers.
The pressure was building between her legs, her body moving with the stroke of his finger. She cried out against his lips when the pressure grew to be too much and stars exploded behind her eyelids, her body suddenly filled with a warmth like she had never known.
Breaking their kiss, she looked at him with wide eyes.
“Wot did ye do?”
“That was yer release, Iris,” he told her, his free hand coming up to cup her cheek. “I was the first?”
She nodded, and he pressed his forehead to hers. “Then I feel honored tae give ye that.”
Slowly her breathing returned to normal, James slid his hand from under her skirts, taking a few steps back.
“I…” Iris started, biting her lower lip. “I want tae do that tae ye.” She didn’t know how, but she had always been told she was a quick learner.
He let out a guttural laugh, shaking his head. “Nay, lass,” James responded as he plucked his tunic from the grass and slid it on. “Ye cannae touch me right now or ye will be sending me tae mah death.”
Ruckus laughter cut through the night air. James swore, pulling Iris’s bodice closed and tying the laces.
“Hurry,” he whispered, reaching for her hand. “We cannae be seen taegether.”
