Page 29 of Christmas Wore Plaid

“Brady…Brady…how I missed you…” she sighed against him, resuming her frantic kiss.

It undid his resolve. He lifted her up, splaying her legs around his waist, and strode with single-minded purpose for the foyer. He nearly tripped up the stairs as he fought to keep his knees and boots from tangling in her skirts, all the while locking his lips to her fervent kiss while she straddled his waist and clenched him with her feet and knees. She gripped his cheeks now to hold his face to hers in complete trust of his ability to hold her aloft.

“My laird!” his cook gasped from down the hallway, but her shock receded into the periphery of his thoughts.

Nothing mattered right now except for the lass in his arms. Let them talk. Let them all talk.

“Lie with me, Emmy,” he growled, breathing heavily and biting her lower lip as she nodded against him and pressed her mouth back to his, devouring his words.

He marched down the corridor and pushed through the door to his chamber. Shoving it shut with the sole of his boot, he carried her to his bed where he collapsed upon her in a heap of flouncing fabric and groaned as her hands slid down to his belt…

Emerson could barely fill her lungs. Her anticipation turned to anxiousness for his body to mesh with hers and feel them joined as she’d imagined so many a time. His tongue plundered diligently, and she could no longer stay her fingers, which itched to feel his body blended with hers. She fumbled with his belt, unclasping it, and dragging it free so that his accoutrements thudded to the floor, then yanked upon his tartan to drag it loose.

“God, Emmy,” he breathed, pushing upright and ripping loose the infernal garment, shedding it upon the bed.

He grabbed her boots, yanking loose the laces and casting them atop his belt, then slid his hands up her calves, her thighs, with such determination she swallowed, knowing his desire for her was unleashing. He tugged off her garters and gripped the waist of her undergarments while she lifted her rear for him. He slid them over her hips, rolled them down her legs with her stockings, discarding them to the floor. She cast her hands over her head and enjoyed the tingling wake of his touch, gasping hard. He collapsed back upon her, his lips crashing down to hers, and she grabbed his loosened neckerchief and fought with the knot. Heat flooded her belly as his pelvis nestled between her legs and his anxious fingers unclasped her overcoat fitted to her waist. Upon the last unfastening, it slackened, and she wriggled out of it as he dragged upon the sleeves, then reached behind his back and yanked his shirt over his head.

He pulled up now, looming over her with the brocade of the canopy above them showcasing his frame like a stage backdrop. She inhaled and shivered at the sight of his toned arms, broad shoulders, and wind-toughened skin, more of Brady than she’d ever seen before.

“Goodness, you’re beautiful,” she breathed and brushed her palm over the ridges of his stomach.

Eyes falling shut, his throat bobbed. She felt his muscles jump beneath her fingertips. He opened his eyes again to gaze tenderly down at her, brushed his hands upon her shoulders, nudging her dress off of them so he could touch her bare skin. She shivered pleasantly. His muscle was lean but toned from labor, and she could feel his eyes taking in her hair and exposed neck. His gaze trailed along the soft rises of her breasts lifting and falling with each of her ragged inhales. His finger dragged along her dress’s neckline, skimming her soft flesh, and she couldn’t withhold her whimper of anticipation and delight. How many times had she imagined lying beneath this man? And it was truly happening?

Ravaging her before, he gentled his movements and settled his chest back down to hers, encasing her within his body’s warmth. He kissed her tenderly now, as if he could feel the profoundness of what they did, too, while his finger pulled her neckline lower and exposed her breasts from her corsets pushing her bosom upward.

“How I’ve wanted this…wanted you,” he mumbled against her lips, then littered kisses down her neck, settling them upon her nipple. A rush of air escaped his lungs against her, and she tipped her head back to push up into his mouth. He suckled her as if relishing a feast denied him until now, and her body began to roll with his again as he undulated against her, building heat between her legs.

She steadied her breathing, focusing on his rhythm to keep her mind grounded, but then she felt his fingers slide beneath her back and toy with the fastenings of her gown. The first popped free against the bedding. Then another. He cupped her crown with his other hand and braced his weight upon his forearm, making such tender love to her breast that she never wanted him to stop.

Her gown had slackened as his mouth dusted kisses across the valley between her breasts to her other, and he shimmied the fabric down her arms, then untied the corset cover to let it splay wide upon his bed. She inhaled sharply and he pulled up from his feast. The desire she saw glinting his brown eyes with kisses of gold in the candlelight, mixed with the reverence of basking in this first unveiling of her body to him, made her smile.

“I wish you not to swoon,” he finally said, his voice gruff.

“Indeed I swoon,” she said, her voice ragged, “but not in a bad way.”

He grinned, his thumb brushing her lower lip and pushing it out of shape as he examined it, clearly thinking hard. “Aye, and it pleases me. But I’ll not have my attentions cause your frailty to flare.”

She nuzzled his hand upon her face. Knowing he cared enough to stop if he must, only made her crave him more. “In truth,” she said, contorting fruitlessly and glancing down her front with mock concern. “This corset is quite restrictive. I fear I might swoon after all if it’s not removed.”

His chuckle caught her off guard as it rumbled up his throat, but he seemed to understand her will on the matter, and nodded.

“I believe I can assist you.”

He stood up, pulling her to her feet and revolving her to face away from him. The soft satins and linens of her dress and underskirts drifted to the floor in a pool around her ankles. He stepped up behind her, and the heat of his breath upon her neck skittered across her bare skin as he swept her curls lovingly aside to cascade down her breasts.

She smiled over her shoulder at him, feeling his fingertips draw the corset ties until the bow popped loose. She sucked in and felt his pectorals press against her shoulder blades as he leaned down and kissed the delicate skin behind her ear, inhaling deeply and whispering, “I’ve always loved this hair.”

“It’s yours to touch,” she whispered in reply.

“Happily,” he said, and pulled gently upon her tresses to tip her head.

She felt his nose skim her neck, felt his breath release ardently upon her skin. He dusted a trail of kisses from her ear to her shoulder. Emerson trembled. Her knees threatened to falter. As if sensing her instability, he wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her steady while his lips repeated their path back up to her ear and his fingers busied with loosening her laces so that finally, the corset relaxed enough to push over her hips.

Her exposed breasts pebbled at the chill. Odd, the room was freezing, but until now, as heat coursed through her body, she hadn’t noticed. He craned around her and planted his lips to hers as one of his hands slid up her bare stomach and cupped the weight of her breast while his other hand bumped against her rear as he unclasped his trousers. His tongue pushed into her mouth as he massaged her nipple.

His trousers undone, she braced the bedpost while her body trembled with anticipation as the weight of his heavy manhood rested against her rear. He groaned and squeezed her nipple, sweeping his tongue across hers. She fought to keep her thoughts, so focused on his rhythm moments ago, from scattering as his hand teased her breast and his other now gripped her hip to nudge his shaft against the curve of her backside

“Mercy, woman,” he murmured against her lips, “but your skin is like silk.”