Page 35 of It’s in his Highland Kiss

“I will not.”

“Ye will,” Eiric insisted. “Ye have nay choice.”

Marion could feel the blood rushing to her head, her anger blinding her. How could Eiric tell her she had no choice? How could he be so cruel? How could he think that she would go without a fight?

“I see how it is!” Marion shouted, even though it was certainly not proper, and she was sure that someone would hear them. “You don’t actually care about me, do you? You never cared! Why did you bring me here? Why? Did you only bring me to torture me? To show me what my life could be only to send me back to my parents? Well, if you wanted to break me, I won’t let you succeed. You’ll have to take me out of here kicking and screaming!”

“Calm down, Marion,” Eiric said with a sigh, a hand rubbing over his face. “Please, calm down. There is nay reason to yell. And, of course, I care about ye. Dinna be foolish.”

“Foolish?” Marion screeched, in a tone that even she didn’t find pleasant or dignified. “Foolish? How dare you call me foolish when the only fool here is you?”

In her frustration, Marion balled up her hand into a fist and slammed it against Eiric’s chest.

It was like hitting a wall. Eiric didn’t even move, but instead smiled.

Smug bastard.

Before she knew it, Marion was pinned against the wall, and a pair of soft lips was against her own. It caught her by surprise, and her eyes snapped wide open, her heart fluttering in her chest when she realised that Eiric was kissing her.

She had never been kissed before, and for a moment, she froze, unsure of what to do. She never wanted it to end, though, and so she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her as they kissed, humming softly against him.

Eiric replied by grabbing Marion’s hips, his fingers digging into her flesh through the layers of her skirt. Despite the clothes between them, she could feel his heat, the way that his muscles moved under her hands, strong and rigid.

Marion could feel the heat grow deep in her belly, a strange feeling that left her panting in Eiric’s mouth. She began to kiss him back with vigour, drawing a soft moan out of him.

She was well aware that they were still in the middle of a corridor, and anyone could see them if they walked by. That didn’t stop her from tangling a hand in Eiric’s hair though, nor did it stop him from hitching her leg over his hip and rocking their bodies together.

Pleasure thrummed through Marion’s body, leaving her gasping for air. She found herself moving her hips against Eiric’s, matching his rhythm as she chased her pleasure, and she couldn’t help but wonder how it felt so good to feel him against her body.

It was a feeling so foreign, yet one that she knew she would always crave now that she had had a taste of it. As she moaned in pleasure, Eiric began to kiss down her neck, his lips leaving a hot trail on her skin as he made his way to her chest. There, he kissed the top of her breasts, making Marion wish that she could rip her clothes off and feel his mouth all over her body.

Eiric spun her around, and Marion found herself pressed up against the wall, her buttocks canting back to press against Eiric. She wanted him so desperately that her entire body was on fire, her skin feverish and tinted red.

“Don’t stop,” she said, her voice barely a whisper as she glanced at Eiric over her shoulder.

With a groan, Eiric snaked his hand under Marion’s skirt, his palm finding her buttock and squeezing hard, a promise of what was to come. He continued to scatter kisses over the back of her neck, breathing in her scent as his fingers dipped lower and lower, until they were between her legs.

Marion bit down on her hand to stop herself from crying out when Eiric’s fingers dipped in her wetness, causing her knees to buckle under her weight. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything else, and it didn’t matter that they had been fighting only moments prior. All that mattered was that he was slowly, torturously pushing his fingers inside her, and all she could think about was the pleasure coursing through her body.

And just like that, it was gone. Eiric pulled back from her as though he had been burned. For a moment, Marion was surprised, offended even, but then she heard what he must have heard too: footsteps.

Clearing her throat, Marion smoothed down her skirt, and hoped that her cheeks weren’t too flushed, enough to betray what she had been doing. Eiric pulled away, standing at the opposite wall from her and leaning against it, pretending that nothing had happened as two maids walked by.

Suddenly, the spell was gone. Marion could still feel the phantom touch of Eiric’s fingers between her legs, but instead of being a thrill, it filled her with shame.

I should have never allowed this to happen! I should have never let it get this far!

It had been a terrible mistake, one that she would much rather forget immediately. She never wanted to think about it again, even though she knew that it would haunt her thoughts forever.

“Please, Eiric . . . please don’t say anything,” she said, looking at him from across the corridor. He, too, looked as though he was embarrassed by what had happened, and she could hardly blame him.

At least it was a relief to know that he felt just as terribly as she did.

Marion didn’t want Eiric to speak a single word. She thought that she would collapse if he did, unable to bear the consequences of their actions.

“I willna say anythin’,” Eiric assured her. “Dinna worry. I willna speak of this to ye or anyone else. Excuse me.”

With that, Eiric was gone before Marion could even speak another word. Perhaps it was better that way though, she thought, as she watched Eiric’s retreating back.