She gave a tiny smile. “I suppose it isnae too late to askyeto touch me.”
For a split second, hot desire flared in his eyes. Then he lunged forward, pulling her against him. The kiss lasted only for a minute, ravenous and heated. Abruptly, Hannah found herself turned around, facing the footboard. His arms tightened around her, one cupping her breast, running a thumb over her nipple, and the other tugging at her skirt.
“Ye drive me mad,” he breathed against her neck.
He kissed the side of her throat, just briefly, and the scratch of his stubble made her shudder. Closing her eyes, she twisted back a hand to cup his cheek, then moved further, gripping his shoulder to steady herself.
His questing hand grazed her bare knee. The slow, teasing caresses had ceased now. He flattened a palm against her thigh and squeezed briefly. Firmly, but not painfully.
Growling low in his throat, he pulled her against him. She felt something hard and warm press against her, but when she tried to push back experimentally against it, he gripped her hip almost painfully, holding her in place. Taking the hint, she stilled her movements, forced to wait in pulsing anticipation.
His knuckles brushed against her core first, making her hips buck. She gasped loudly, and he chuckled, a deep sound that reverberated through her. Almost experimentally, he cupped his entire hand over her sex.
“Ye want it, daenae ye, lassie?” he whispered, almost smugly. She could hear the smirk in his voice. “Ye wantme.”
She swallowed. “Aye. Aye, I… I do.”
“Good lass.”
His forefinger traced a line through her wet heat to that nub that made her buck and gasp, pleasure flooding through her. Again and again, he traced that line, speeding up until slick sounds echoed through the quiet room, punctuated by their ragged breathing and her stifled moans.
Slowly, leisurely, as if Hannah was not shaking with anticipation, he pushed one finger inside her. The sensation was different from what had come before, strange but not unpleasant. He withdrew his finger almost completely, then pushed it back in. Hannah shifted her hips, a sign for him to continue.
His free hand slid up from her breast and cupped her chin, tilting up her head. “Remember what I said about holding back yer voice?” he whispered.
She nodded tightly. “I remember.”
“Good girl.”
He resumed his ministrations, speeding up increment by increment. His thumb pressed against her nub while his fingers moved inside her. After a moment, he curled his finger, and sparks of pleasure exploded behind her eyes. She cried out, tensing, and he chuckled in her ear.
Pulling her tighter against him—if that was even possible—his fingers sped up, pressing and rubbing and stroking. It was too much and yet notenough, and Hannah felt as though she were about to topple off the end of some high cliff. But of course, she did not care.
Her peak hit her with a rush, a shivering climax that would have made her double over if Aiden were not holding her tightly against him. She felt his lips press against her throat once more, the pinprick of teeth.
Slowly, carefully, he stopped his ministrations, then withdrew his hand. They stood together for a moment, both breathing heavily.
“I need to sit down after that,” Hannah gasped.
He chuckled and released her. She stumbled forward, sitting down heavily on the edge of the bed. The room seemed to shift around her. Everything just seemed surreal.
Aiden took a step back, raking a hand through his hair. Hannah flopped back onto the layers of fur and wool. With slow, deep breaths, she floated down from her high.
She closed her eyes. “Ye are leaving for Calder Castle soon, arenae ye?” she asked. “That’s yer home, nae MacBain Castle.”
There was a long moment of silence.
She was just starting to wonder whether he’d actually slipped out of the room when the mattress dipped under his weight. She opened her eyes, and there he was, propped up on his elbows beside her.
“Aye,” he murmured. “I am.”
She swallowed. “I cannae persuade ye to stay?”
He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Nay. This place, it… I cannae stay here. I have told ye why.”
She closed her eyes again.
If I go into the Great Hall, will I find that little iron hoop set into the floor? Will I find flecks of blood between the flagstones?
