Eilidh was for certs she saw his cheeks redden. Was he embarrassed?
“I wasnae for certs what would be considered as such.” This time, Torquil ducked his head shyly. “I havenae any experience in such things.”
The way he said the words and his mannerisms in doing so showed Eilidh that he was telling the truth. She fought the urge to breathe a sigh of relief. She did not want to make Torquil aware that for the briefest of moments, she had doubted his sincerity.
“This is perfect,” she said, finishing her ale. She leaned over and boldly kissed his cheek.
Food eaten, they each picked up their instruments, and Eilidh began to play, hoping Torquil would recognize the song and join her. He did and was soon strumming along with her. It was a song about young lovers, and Eilidh could not help but make the connection betwixt the two. The song, soft and tender, was like a whispered conversation. One which they only kenned the words to.
They looked into each other’s eyes as they played, sitting close together. That alone was something new for Eilidh. Rarely did she sit whilst she played. She was usually standing so she could dance and stomp around on the stage, or the ground, or dais, or wherever shemay be playing.
But sitting beside each other playing, feeling the heat emanating from Torquil’s body, made this duet more intimate. Like they were the only two people in the world, and no one could keep them apart.
Lost in Torquil’s gaze, she stumbled on a note. Something that did not usually happen to her.
Torquil reached out, grasping her fingers gently, as he guided her closer and closer. Simultaneously, they laid their instruments to the side. The music faded into silence as their foreheads touched. As they breathed each other in.
Holding her face, he kissed her, capturing her mouth, claiming her. His moves slow, but hungry. It was as if every song they’d played had led to this very moment.
They collapsed onto the grass, breathing heavily as they laughed. Their laughter mingling with the quickening beats of their hearts.
This was forbidden. She should not be here.
Eilidh felt the thrill of danger—of wanting someone in a way that she was unsure of herself. She only kenned that there was more. And whatever that more was, she wanted it. She wished she had asked Moira what it was like to be with a man. She for certs could not have asked her mother. But whatever this was, it was creating an inferno deep in her belly. Taunting her. Igniting a yearning. Of what, she didn’t ken.
She pulled back briefly to look into Torquil’s eyes, torn betwixt fear and desire.
“Ye can leave or ye can stay,” he said quietly. “The decision is yers and yers alone. I willnae pressure ye.”
She saw the same desire that she felt reflected in his eyes, and her decision was made.
Chapter Ten
When Torquil sentthe missive to Eilidh, he had not foreseen the turn of events their meeting would have. He had meant what he said when he told Eilidh that the choice was hers. He would not force her to do aught that she did not want to do.
Instead of standing up and leaving. She leaned into him, and cupped his face, her thumb stroking his cheek softly. Her eyes were inviting as they bore into his and she smiled sweetly as she spoke.
“I dinnae ken what is passing betwixt us, Torquil. Ye have awakened my body in ways that I didnae ken existed. ’Tis like a flame, building and building, roaring to life like an uncontrollable beast.” Her eyes searched his. “Do ye feel it as weel? Please tell me I am no’ alone in this feeling?”
He caught her hand and kissed the inside of her palm. “Aye,” he whispered. “I feel it, too. Like ye, I, too, havenae experienced such feelings. They are exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. But I fear, no matter how hard I try, they willnae cease. No’ for ye.”
“Where do we go from here?” Her voice was quiet, tentative.
In answer, he captured her mouth in his, his tongue sliding along the seam of her lips, asking for entry. He groaned when she opened her mouth and their tongues collided, gliding against each other in a forbidden dance. He shifted so that Eilidh lay under him as he plunderedher mouth.
His nerves ratcheted up. Eilidh had confessed her feelings. He did the same. He should also divulge his own secret that he had kept close. It was not aught he had ever discussed with anyone afore.
“Firebrand. I,” he started and paused, almost losing the nerve to say aught as she looked up at him with such trust in her eyes. “I am besotted with ye. Ye consume my days, my nights, my dreams. E’ery waking moment ye are on my mind.” He kissed the tip of her nose and she smiled, a dreamy look on her bonny face. “I wouldnae have it any other way.”
“Nor would I,” Eilidh confessed, twirling the hair at his nape around her fingers.
Her statement gave him the courage he needed to say what had to be said. “This, us being together in the way men and women do. I have ne’er done afore,” he admitted, feeling his face flame.
Eilidh’s fingers stilled in his hair, and for a moment he feared she would turn him away. He would not blame her for doing so. A lass deserved a man well-schooled in the ways of pleasuring a woman to ensure she enjoyed the coupling.
Instead, a wide grin spread across her face and she lifted to whisper in his ear. “Neither have I. I guess we shall learn together.” Then she nipped his lobe and giggled.
The worry that had been coursing through him at the fear of Eilidh’s rejection ebbed out of him. Taking with it his uncertainty, replaced with a newfound confidence Torquil kenned was the direct result of Eilidh’s acceptance of him.
