He slid his hand to the back of her neck, pulling her down to him in a rough embrace. His tongue met hers, hungry, hungrier than he had ever been. Her hands found his chest, balling into his tunic, her body moving into his with an almost painfully desirous hunger.
“Then,” he purred, as he pulled back, allowing both of them to catch their breath. “Ye shall have exactly what you want, my Lady.”
He pulled her into his arms, rising from the seat and striding to the door. The meal and the ale long forgotten, replaced by a hunger he knew he would not be able to sate with anything but her.
Innes reached for him as soon as he laid her on the bed, even the barest separation between their bodies more than she could contend with. But he did not leave her waiting long, as he moveddown on top of her, sliding one hand beneath her dress as their mouths came together once more.
She had known it from the moment she had laid eyes on the journal that there was more to this man than she had ever given him credit for. He might have thrown up this front of being commanding, cold, and crazed, but there was something in him that she could not resist. Something warm that lay beneath his frozen exterior.
And now, as he moved his hand behind her to unlace her dress, his fingers dancing with a now-practiced ease against her body, she lifted herself for him, making it easier for him to undress her entirely. Their mouths came together hungrily, the taste of each other on their lips, the urge and the need for more.
She tugged on the leather ties that held together his tunic and tossed it aside, running her hand along his strong chest. He dipped his head low to kiss her as he pulled off the dress, letting it land in a heap next to them. He tore away her underthings like the fabric was little more than a wisp and traced his lips down her throat, letting his teeth graze against her on the way.
She traced her fingers over the muscles of his back, watching as he parted her legs. When he looked upon her fully for the first time, the flicker of a grin rose on his lips.
“Oh, lass,” he mumbled. “You cannae imagine just how long I’ve been waiting fer this moment.”
And, with that, before she could say a word, he slung his kilt aside and drew himself into his hand. Moving atop her once more, he guided himself against her, letting her feel the fullness of him in the moment before he entered her.
Their bodies came together with a shudder of pleasure as Innes grasped his shoulders, pulling his face level with hers. There was that darkness in his eyes again, that madness. But this time, she knew that it was entirely aimed at her.
Entirely hers to contend with, to contain, to control…
He wrapped his arms around her as he began to move inside of her, letting their bodies come flush together at last. He laid his head against her neck, breathing in her scent greedily as he moved inside of her, and she tangled her legs with his to draw him even deeper into her. She longed for this closeness, for this feeling of giving herself over to him after so long of holding back.
Though holding back did not seem like something he was capable of doing, at least not in that moment. As he moved inside of her, something seemed to overtake him, just as he had promised her. Her heart danced in her chest; he had warned her what might happen if he lost control, but there was still a part of her that wanted to find out exactly what that would look like.
She moved against him, her hips rising to meet his as their bodies came together. She could feel a familiar pleasure stirring inside her now, the same that she had felt when he’d had his fingers between her legs—no, better than that, deeper, something more so. She found her pace against him, her hands sliding down to the small of his back to show him exactly what she wanted.
“Lachlan, please…”
“Aye, beg me, Innes. Beg me to release ye.”
When she felt herself tip over the edge, a cry fell from her lips. “Lachlan!”
“I got ye, lass.”
He kissed her again, but this time, it felt like he was trying to drink up the pleasure that spilled from her mouth. He stilled his body against hers, holding himself there for a long moment, until, at last, he moved towards his own release. She felt the groan run through his body as he held her there, their limbs still intertwined, every part of them connected.
And he made no move to pull back, as he saw no reason for it to be over so soon. She lifted her chin slightly, looking into hiseyes, and found a softness there that matched the kind that had been present when he’d given her that journal.
“What do ye do to me, lass?”
She brushed a kiss against his jaw, and he locked their lips once more.
“I am far from done with ye for the night.”
She couldn’t help but giggle as he swung her around on top of him, feeling as light as air as he drew her in.
What to make of this marriage, she wasn’t quite sure yet.
But at least she knew that this was a part that she could find some enjoyment in.
Chapter Ten
When Lachlan woke the next day, the first thing he did was stretch his hand out across the bed to check on Innes. Only to find that the bed was entirely empty.
He sat up blearily, glancing around to see if there were any signs of what she might have been up to. But there seemed to be none. He rose from the bed, pulling the blankets around him by way of decency, and looked out of the window.
