Page 50 of The Beastly Earl

Above her head, his breathing had become harsh and labored. The moment she bent her head to kiss his hot skin, he shuddered beneath her caress. She wanted to taste every inch of him until he lingered on her lips and his hard muscles were etched into her memory. As she continued to move her mouth across his chest, he shrugged his way out of his jacket in jerky movements. The moment he was free of his jacket, she helped him pull his good arm out of his shirt before he froze again. There was a look of hesitation and stark despair slashing across his face that tore at her heart.

For a brief moment, uncertainty spun through her. The dark torment she saw in his eye made her stomach lurch with fear. What did she have to do to make him understand his injuries were of no consequence where she was concerned? What could she do to convince him how much she craved his touch? Without thinking, she caught his good hand and forced him to touch her in the most intimate way.

He jerked as she encouraged him to satisfy her growing need hoping to make the hunger she'd seen moments ago return to his face. The moment his thumb rubbed against the small nub of sensitive flesh between her legs, she pressed her hips forward in a silent plea for more. The low rumble in his chest made her shudder as he caressed the heart of her.

The instant he slid two fingers into her, a fierce desire rushed downward to her sex as his strokes created an unrelenting pressure in the pit of her stomach. Her blood was molten heat sliding through her. It was as if she was on fire inside and would burst into flames with each intimate stroke of his fingers.

Every breath she inhaled was filled with his hard, male scent. It was an aroma she'd breathed in every time she'd been near him. His intimate caresses became more insistent, and she moved her hips against his hand as a blinding desire cascaded over her. The pressure building inside her became a relentless throb until with a loud gasp, a hard tremor rocked her body. The powerful reaction his intimate touch unleashed in her threatened to make her legs give way until she fell to the floor. Blinded by a mist of passion, she struggled to remain standing. Shudder after shudder wracked through her as she clung to him in, and he captured her wild sobs of release with his mouth.

As her trembling slowly abated, she threw her head back to stare up at him. Desire held his facial muscles tight and unyielding. Slowly, she reached up to lightly touch the patch that hid the terrible scars where his eye had been. He jerked violently away from her touch, but she simply pressed her body deeper into his.

"Please don't," she whispered. "I want to be with you—all of you."

Rigid with tension, he released a harsh breath, but remained still as she gently removed the patch off his face. For the first time since that night on the moor, she saw his entire face, and her heart twisted painfully in her chest. Tears welled up in her throat as she touched the rough scars over an empty eye socket.

Dear God, how he must have suffered. Not only the physical agony of his injuries, but the emotional ones inflicted by those who recoiled from him. But where others saw hideous scars, all she saw was the strength of a man willing to throw himself in the way of the enemy's sword to save a boy. He was magnificent, and she was determined to make him see himself as she saw him—a lion among warriors.

Chapter 13

Ewan's muscles were knotted and hard as Louisa's rapid breathing slowly returned to normal. He was a fool for having come to her room to ask if she'd experienced the an dara sealladh at dinner. The question could have waited until the morning. Despite the warning bells ringing in his head, the instant she'd confessed her desire for him, he'd been lost.

Every rational thought he'd ever possessed had flown out the window as his willpower failed to let him walk away from temptation. And God help him, when her blue silk nightgown had fallen away, every bit of air in his lungs had been sucked out of him. The moment the delicious curves he'd committed to memory were revealed in all their sweet glory, he knew he'd crossed the point of no return.

Watching her come apart in his arms just now had him hard as iron. While his body ached for satisfaction, he allowed himself to revel in the way his touch had made her shudder with abandon in his arms. A soft glow of satiation warmed her lovely features as her eyelids fluttered open and she stared up at him. Her gaze locked with his, she slowly reached up to touch his disfigured scars on his face. Immediately his head snapped backward.

"Please don't," she whispered as she pressed herself deeper into him. "I want to be with you—all of you."

The soft plea held him frozen in place as a knot lodged in his throat. It choked him as he fought the urge to thrust her away and struggled to breathe. The moment her fingers touched the eye patch again, his entire body twitched, but he didn't pull away from her. It was best for her to see the beast she'd invited into her room.

Deep inside, he knew it wasn't the real reason he didn't stop her. The moment he saw her reaction he would have no one to blame but himself. Her touch was gentle as she removed the soft, leather patch from his head. Muscles tight with tension, he waited for revulsion and pity to flash across her face. Instead her eyes began to glisten with unshed tears.

Stunned by the look of anguish on her face, he didn't move as her fingers lightly traced a path across the scarred tissue where his eye had once been. It was a venerating touch, and he saw her swallow hard as she cupped his face and went up on her toes to kiss him. The sweet tenderness in the way her mouth brushed across his lips left him reeling.

God help him, what was this woman doing to him? In the dark recesses of his soul, her caress stirred a piece of him to life he'd thought long dead and buried. Slowly, her fingers caressed the top of his shoulder to slip the other half of his shirt off the maimed side of his body. There was a sweet tenderness to her light touch as the material fell off his shoulder. A shudder crashed through him as she gently eased his artificial arm out of the shirt sleeve.

The fear holding him rigid made his mouth go dry as he waited for her reaction. The depth of his emotion revealed how much light she'd already brought into the darkness of his life. It signaled how deeply his emotions were tied to her, and it scared the hell out of him. His breathing was ragged as he waited for her reaction—for the look of appalled horror on her face as his metal appendage was revealed.

The moment the shirt fell to the floor, she lifted her gaze to meet his. Once again, he'd misjudged her. The tears still glistening in her eyes said more to him than anything she could say. Pity was all he'd known since the loss of his eye and arm, but her expression showed she understood what he'd lost. The emotion on her face said she knew how much it still pained him. Her hand cupped his cheek for a brief second before she turned her attention to the leather straps on his shoulder.

As she removed the bane of his existence, the tenderness in her touch chopped another piece of the darkness out of his soul. She turned away to lay the artificial arm on the stand beside her bed. The intensity of the emotion he experienced as he watched her lightly stroke the metal contraption was a solid punch to his gut.

When she faced him again, another vicious blow slammed into him at the emotions flitting across her lovely features. The tenderness, acceptance, and growing desire he saw on her face made his heart slam into his chest. Unshed tears had left her eyes sparkling in the soft glow of lamplight that bathed her sensual, intoxicating curves.

She closed the distance between them to take his hand and pull him toward the bed. With a gentle push she forced him to sit down before she knelt at his feet. Silently, she removed the serviceable military shoes he'd chosen to wear rather than the traditional ghillies brogues. The oil lamp's light cast a soft glow over her shoulders and back as she worked, and he reached out to stroke the brown silk of her hair.

At his touch, she looked up to meet his gaze then lowered her head to kiss the inside of his knee as her hands slid up under his kilt and over his thighs. The caress sent a thunderbolt pounding its way into every inch of his body. It made him ache for her to take him in hand. The harsh breath he sucked into his lungs made her look up again, and a sultry smile curved her lips. Her gaze remained locked with his while her soft fingertips trailed a lazy, torturous path away from his cock.

Denied the feel of her hand wrapped around him, disappointment tugged a growl from deep within his throat, and her eyes darkened with desire. A renewed hunger for her tightened every muscle in his body, and he stood up in a sharp moment that made her gasp in surprise. With a hard tug of his only hand, he pulled her to her feet then captured her mouth in a hard kiss.

Stark need speared its way into him, and his mouth didn't leave hers as he fumbled to remove the sporran from his waist. As it fell to the floor, he struggled with the buckles and the leather strips holding his kilt in place. Her mouth slid downward across his jaw to his throat, while her hands brushed across his to help him remove the plaid.

Seconds later, the kilt dropped to cover his sporran, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. The hunger crashing its way through him was a palpable sensation hammering its way into his body as they tumbled down onto the mattress. The fragrance of her filled his nostrils as he rolled her onto her back and pinned her beneath him. With his only hand pressing into the mattress, he pushed himself upward to stare down at her for a moment.

Desire glowed on her heart-shaped face, and flecks of gold shimmered in her beautiful hazel eyes. As her gaze locked with his, a gentle hand caressed his chest before it moved downward. Without hesitating, he quickly lowered his body to trap her hand between them. Puzzlement and frustration darkened her eyes at her inability to reach his cock. The small pout of vexation crossing her features tugged a small smile to his lips.

Slowly, he lowered his head to brush his mouth across her satin-smooth shoulder. In response, she shifted her body in an obvious effort to free her hand. Despite his body's demand to assuage its hunger, he pressed his body deeper into hers. She was far to accustomed to getting her way. He wanted her to feel the same intense longing he'd experienced every night since he'd carried her off the moors.

He wanted to see her eyes flare with a blazing need for his body to conquer hers. A small whisper of frustrated desire floated above his head as he nibbled his way downward. The sound announced the same need for satisfaction that was consuming him. Once more she tried to escape his restraint, and he thwarted her efforts by pressing her even deeper into the mattress.