Page 57 of Twelfth Knight’s Bride

He tore his lips away from hers and kissed down her neck, across her chest, and fought with her garment to pluck her breast from the low-cut neckline. She ought to be scandalized! Instead, she felt herself wriggling to be freed from the restrictive garment, reaching behind her back to pull the lacing her maids had worked hard to tighten.

The bodice slackened. He inhaled gratefully and dragged his nose over her skin to kiss his way to the rises of flesh below her neckline. He eased the fabric down, nudging a pert peak from its hiding place, and pulled back, a reverent softness on his brow.

…

James gazed at the dusky tip of Aileana’s breast, uncertain how to proceed. Her chest rose and fell in fragmented breaths, her bonny lips, plump from his devouring, parted so gently as she gazed up at him; he knew he’d never tire of seeing such trust in her eyes. To see this lass, so defiant against his might, so giving in her love and labor for others, was enough to give him pause. And consider. He dipped his lips to her breast, pecking it, then gently suckled it into his mouth, laving his tongue over the delicious flesh.

She inhaled hard, a whimper on her lips, and gripped his hair as if to anchor herself to him. It anchored him, too, for he was damn near to floating away. Outside, snow swirled, yet within the byre’s primitive privacy, he had Aileana Grant—nay, MacDonald, if only for a couple more days—beneath him, wanting him as he wanted her.

His hand skimmed down her arm, over her waist, over her hip, down her thigh, where he slipped his palm beneath her hemline, slowly, slowly, inching up the fabric. She squirmed. A soft whine seemed to catch in her throat.

“James, I’m…I’m burning,” she whispered.

Sakes above, she was going to drive him wild with words like those. His eager manhood begged him to move fast. He resisted, sliding his palm over her stockinged calf, over her knee to where the ribbon held it in place, over her thigh. Christ, it was smooth, like freshly churned cream. Surely his calluses scratched it. Up he ventured still, until his knuckle grazed across her privy hair, and she jumped, clinging to him so tightly, he was certain she would tug his braids from their roots.

He grinned, dragging a finger over her seam, damp and warm for him. Was she as anxious to join with him as he was with her? For once they started, he might not be able to stop. He would want to do this again and again with her until he had to give her up.

I’ll have to give her up. The day is fast approaching. She’s nay staying; she’s made that clear. Can I really do this?

Damn that voice of conscience, like ice dumped upon a fiery ember. There was no harm in what they did right now as man and wife, but could he deflower her knowing she would return home? Knowing she would forever be stripped of her maidenhood because of him? He’d stolen much from her—he saw that now. They might tease about stolen kisses, but could he steal her virginity, too, perhaps sow a child upon her, then leave her on her brother’s threshold?

Christ. He could never sire a bastard. The urge to plow headlong into this new frontier with Aileana ground to a halt. His cock pulsed with frustration, demanding to rut. But he just…couldn’t. Not when he knew they had no future.

Moments lapsed, when he realized he’d ceased kissing her breast, his palm frozen upon her thigh. Her fingers slackened their grip, and he felt her shift beneath him. He looked up to see her gazing down at him, concern marring her bonny face.

He withdrew his hand, then pulled up. Then sat up. Then raked his hand through his hair and shifted from her to face away, feeling the straw shift and her skirts rustle. When he finally glanced back, she, too, was sitting up, clutching her bodice upward and casting her face downward.

“Did I do something wrong?” she whispered on a thread. “I, I ken no’ how to…how to act…”

“Wrong?” he gripped her hand, dragging it free of her garment, though it was stiff and her posture wary. “Aileana, ye’re like fine wine I want to guzzle—”

“Am I nay to yer liking? Oh God.”

She gripped her stomach, then pushed to standing, dragging his mantle with her to wrap around the laces hanging loose down her back, a telltale sign of what she’d been doing, and smoothed her hair to rid it of stray strands of straw.

Speak, man! For her vulnerability was unbearable, and she was about to leave. He, too, shoved to standing.

“Aileana, if ye think ye’re nay to my liking, then ye havenae been paying attention. I want ye. More than I can describe,” he growled and took her shoulders, turning her back to him. “Ye drive me mad with want of ye.”

“But?” she asked, looking up at him and piercing him with her hurt stare.

He sighed, then slid his hands down her arms to take her fingers in his.

“But I ken ye wish to return to Urquhart. And I’ll no’ steal yer innocence as mine, and sow a bastard upon ye in the process, then give ye back. There’s been enough stealing betwixt our people. And I ken all too well what it’s like to be born out of wedlock, having to fight hard for what yer peers are given for free. Any man ye marry willnae want to raise another man’s progeny—”

He turned away once more, severing his touch, frowning at the sour taste thoughts of Aileana abed with another left in his mouth. Yet he couldn’t leave her alone like this, with her clothing mussed in a sheep’s byre.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve grown to care for ye.” He swallowed hard.

Her hand took his, and he turned to gaze at her, her messy hair framing her face endearingly.

“Actually, James, I’d thought to discuss that matter with ye. I…cannae say living here has been so bad as I thought it would be. Yer sister has welcomed me, and yer people are growing on me. Wee Maudie is indeed a sweeting.”

“She’s a cheeky imp,” James admitted with a weary huff of laughter.

Aileana smiled, too. “I admit, when ye demanded a bride, I imagined myself enslaved, made to fulfill orders and humiliated at every turn. I feared Peigi would never withstand it, but I knew that I could.”

He shook his head, but she continued, causing him to stop.