Page 76 of In Bed with her Highland Foe

“Oh!” she gasped at the sensation. “I…” She tried to tell him that she loved him again, that this was everything she had ever dreamed of, but her body was unable to speak. She saw stars as she closed her eyes, indulging in the feelings that washed over her body repeatedly as he drove in and out of her.

“Aye, Kyven,” his moans grew greater and faster. He was near now too, she could feel it, so close to the edge, then –

He pulled out again. She whimpered, wishing he had stayed, though she knew he was protecting her.

He kneeled in the bath between her legs, leaning back far enough that she could reach down to take hold of his length beneath the water. She was coming down from her high as she pumped his length for him, watching, in awe, as he watched her. He seemed to be drinking in the sight of her, his lips parted as the grunting and growling moans escaped him. He found his finish, the warmth spreading across her hand under the water as his body jerked in her gasp.

“God, Kyven,” he muttered, the pleasure plainly overwhelming as he gripped the side of the bath and leaned toward her.

Their lips met with a crash in the middle, each of them desperate to get to one another. Their bodies tangled in a firm embrace, her legs locked around his as one of his arms took her waist. Quite determined, she snaked her hand through the water to take hold of one of his hands, entangling their fingers together. The sweetness of the touch must have made him chuckle, for she heard the sound as he pressed his lips to her hair, kissing her continuously.

“Ye mean everything tae me, Kyven,” he whispered to her as she panted, still trying to come down from her high and the pleasure they had shared. “Ye forgive me then?” he asked between his own fast breaths. “Ye understand why I didnae tell ye the truth sooner.”

“Of course, I dae,” she said without hesitation, her hand tightening in his own. “I wish ye had told me, but I ken ye didnae fer fear. Oh, how I wish I could have taken that fear away.”

“That is beyond anyone’s doing. The darkness, the shadows, it finds us all.” Then he moved his lips to her neck and kissed her there in a sweet spot until she was trembling again. “But nae here. The darkness cannae find us here.”

She moaned at his touch, not wanting it to end.

They continued to bathe together. Gilchrist somehow found the soap beneath the water that had sunk to the bottom during in their lovemaking. He washed the two of them again, and when they were both clean, he carried her out of the bath. They dried one another with the towel, sneaking further touches, his hands to her breasts, and hers down to his hips and the ‘v’ line above his length. Laughing together, they crashed back onto the bed, sharing the food and ale which up until now, had laid quite forgotten at the side of the room.

They leaned up on the headboard together, with Kyven’s body pressed to his side, both of them completely bare apart from the blanket they had pulled over themselves.

“Tomorrow?” Kyven whispered eventually, bringing up a subject which up until now, she had been afraid to do. “What are we going tae dae?”

“We’re on the edge of the Gregor clan lands. I recognize it. I would ken it anywhere.”

“We are.” Kyven stiffened. In spite of what Gilchrist had told her, that the death of her father in the battle between the clans was his father’s battle, and not his brother’s, it was hard to defy a lifetime of reflexes and not flinch at the idea in being in this land.

“Dinnae fear this place,” he whispered softly, running a hand up and down her arm comfortingly as he passed her one of the lumps of bread to eat. “I think our best chance is tae go tae me brothers. A thing I dinnae relish…” he sighed heavily. “After so many years away, after the argument I picked with them, they may nae be pleased tae see me.”

She angled herself around to see the pain on his face.

“They are yer brothers. Surely, they still love ye.”

“I was nae fair nor kind when I left.” He shook his head. “I picked a foul fight, Kyven. I kenned that any other way they would have come after me. Yet I see nay other way fer us now. We can go tae the castle. What dae ye think?”

Kyven considered the idea for a minute, one thing striking her more than any other.

He asked me opinion.

The council never asked that, nor had any other man. Most men in her life told her what to do, even though she was technically the lady of the clan and they liked to remind her that she was superior to them in position. Gilchrist was the only one who had treated her opinion with any worth.

“What does that smile mean?” he asked softly, nudging her in a playful way.

“Ye asked what I thought.” She continued to smile. “Ye have nay idea how rare that is.”

He put down the bread he’d been eating and planted a slow kiss on her forehead. Her hand curled around his shoulder, as she was desperate to anchor herself to him for a little longer yet.

“I fell in love with all of ye. I ken yer mind, and I trust it better than me own.”

“Oh…” She nearly said his name again, but unsure which name to use, she fell silent. “I wish ye had told me sooner how ye felt,” she confessed. “I wish I’d had the courage tae speak of it too.”

He grimaced.

“I was afraid. Nae just of rejection.” He shook his head. “Look what happened tae me the last time I gave me affections for a woman. I lost her tae a man I hated. I feared…” Slowly, he threaded his fingers through her hair. It was a soft touch that made her lean into him. “I feared it happening all again.”

She sighed, realizing just how horrible it must have been for Gilchrist to fall love with her, then have Shay turn up as the man she was meant to marry.