“Can we use it?”
He considered his options. Dalcross was at least three or four miles away. With the leaden skies, darkness would come early and, this time of year, the storm could easily strengthen quickly. Inverness was even farther away in the other direction. He couldn’t remember seeing any other crofters close to the road, but he hadn’t exactly been paying attention to buildings this morning while Charlotte had been wrapped around him.
Now she was shivering so badly she was shaking. The horse shimmied beneath her when he felt the quivering and stamped a hoof.
“We can use it.” He lifted her off the animal’s back and carried her inside, setting her down on a straight-back chair that wobbled only a little. “Stay seated until I get the horse in the shed and taken care of. I’ll try to find some dry firewood. When I return, I’ll tend to your ankle.” He walked to the door, then turned. “Remember. Doona move until I get back and can make sure ye doona have a broken bone somewhere that I missed.”
****
He should have known she wouldn’t listen. His sister never did.
A small fire was gathering strength in the hearth when he returned with a few semi-damp broken boards he’d unearthed. He noted there was a fire-bin in the corner that he hadn’t seen. Not only that, but Charlotte had found a couple of quilts and laid those by the fire and was currently sitting on them. She’d removed both her boots and her cloak. She wiggled her toes.
“I don’t think my ankle’s broken.”
“It doesna look like it.” He removed his cloak and wet boots, setting them by the fire to dry before joining her on the makeshift rug. “Do ye think ye’re hurt anywhere else?”
“I don’t think so.” She paused, then smiled at him slowly. “But you are welcome to…er…examine me again.”
He stared at her, not quite sure he was interpreting correctly what she was saying. She gave him a tentative look. “That is, if you want to.” Her smile faded. “I’ll not ask again.”
Heat shot straight to his groin. “Ye willna have to ask again, lass.”
****
Charlotte sighed with relief. She’d had a moment of near panic that he might just refuse. She reached for the fastener on his breeches.
Niall grinned. “I can do this faster myself.”
“I want to touch you.”
His grin widened. “Ye’ll have opportunity to touch me everywhere.” He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside, divesting himself of pants and socks so quickly Charlotte could only smile too.
Even though she knew Niall was muscular and strong, she’d never seen him naked. He was magnificent. The hard plateau of his chest was dusted with a sprinkling of hair that melded into a narrow downward trail. Broad shoulders sloped to well-defined biceps that bulged with his every move.
In another few seconds, her clothing was off too, and Niall lay down beside her. “I think I’ll feast on ye first.”
He nuzzled her neck, nipping at her earlobe, before trailing his tongue down the side of her throat and along her collarbone. Then, he slowly began circling her nipple, while his hand cupped her other breast, kneading it. He flicked his thumb lightly over the hardened peak, teasing it until she arched her back in pleasure.
“Please. More…”
He pulled back. “Mayhap I should make ye wait.”
“No! Please! You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to do this.”
“Nae more than me,” he said, drawing the nipple’s tip between his fingers and pinching while his mouth covered the first one. Charlotte mewled softly when he began to suckle, the sound turning into a moan when he drew her nipple deep and tugged hard on the other one at the same time. A delicious tingle shot from her breasts directly to her core.
Niall turned his attention to the nipple that still throbbed pleasurably from being pulled. Cool air swept across the breast he’d just left as heat encompassed the other, causing another delightful jolt to course through her.
His hand traced along her ribs and across her stomach. He certainly wasn’t checking for broken bones this time. Muscles clenched deep in her belly as he cupped her mound and his fingers parted her already slick folds to find her sensitive little nub. Charlotte whimpered as his thumb encircled it, pressing and flicking until her body started to quiver. She cried out in earnest as he inserted fingers into her sheath and continued to rub the pulsing bud with the flat of his hand. The friction nearly lifted her off the bed, and she exploded like a volcano.
Niall didn’t wait for her to come back to earth. Instead, he pulled her thighs around his hip and slid into her fully and began to thrust. Feeling him enter and then fill her completely set off a second set of spasms and she screamed when he gave a final, hard thrust that pushed against her womb.
She wasn’t sure how long it would take before she was capable of speaking, but maybe she didn’t need to. Niall slipped off to the side of her, pulling her tight against him as he wrapped one of the blankets around them.
“I…that was…”
“I ken,” he said and laid her head against his shoulder. “Sleep now.”
