Page 59 of In Bed with a Highland Brute

Eloise had often wondered what it would be like to have a man above her on a bed, but she had never quite pictured this intensity, nor this feeling of need before. She wrapped an arm around his neck, trying to be careful of the bandaged wound on his shoulder as she kissed him, pulling him close.

He settled his body over hers, pressing every part of him against her. She could feel his hardened length so clearly now, and it stunned her, to think that Murdoch could be roused just by her exploring touch alone.

He was the one to explore now. He reached for her gown, pulling at her skirt, toying with it and dragging it around her hips as they kissed. One of her hands tugged at his hair as the other went for his chest, drifting her fingers down the very center. She loved the way he shuddered at that touch, as if it had power over him.

As he dragged her gown around her hips, she made no move to stop him. She just longed to know what he intended to do.

“Me turn tae explore?” he whispered, pulling back from her lips just an inch. She nodded, not trusting her voice to stay level.

He kissed her again, pressing her so deeply that she was flattened to the bed beneath him. She adored the pressure of him above her as he took her knee and lifted it around his hip. Her bandaged ankle was now far out of the way, free from being bumped. When he ground his hips against her own, she gasped into that kiss, wanting more and more of this excitement. A wetness pooled at her core and such warmth spread through the lower part of her body, that she did not even think about pulling back.

What did it matter when she and Murdoch were betrothed anyway? Was it so wrong to indulge in a little excitement? To forget the world and their injuries for a time, just to be absorbed in this feeling?

He took her other knee and raised that too around his hip, so she was open to him completely. His length brushed against her core but was separated by his trews. The friction of the material had her moaning into his kiss. She could have sworn she felt his lips smiling as they kissed.

One of his hands drifted up her thigh, closer and closer to her hip. He offered a tantalizing touch, brief, and nothing more, then he reached for her core. When his fingers slid against her, one of Eloise’s hands gripped the covers beneath her, twisting it repeatedly. His fingers slipped inside of her, finding a point of pleasure she had not known was possible. He drove her to it, moving his fingers in and out of her, simulating what their bodies could be doing together.

Shocked at the intensity of the sensation, she tilted her head, giving him the chance to deepen the kiss. When he mirrored the action of his fingers with his tongue, she nearly lost complete control, lifting her legs even higher around his hips.

Her hands went wandering, reaching down his chest and for his own hips where she gripped him hard, coming near to his length. He bucked against her once with that touch, showing her what he could do to her.

Something about that image, picturing he was indeed inside of her tipped her over the edge. A wave of pleasure rocked her body. She gripped his hips harder, her body tightening around his fingers, but he didn’t once stop moving. He continued to kiss her, muffling the moans that wished to fall from her lips, as his hand drove her through her pleasure.

As her body stilled, he pulled his fingers from her and released her from the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers as she breathed heavily, trying her best to catch her breath.

“Murdoch?” she said between her gasps. “I…” She longed for something more. Her hands moved up his hips to his bare chest again, but he raised his forehead from hers.

“Nae matter the temptation, I willnae take yer purity. Nae like this.”

She wasn’t sure whether to be hurt or touched. Was he protecting her? Rejecting her?

He reached down again and kissed her. She wrapped an arm around his neck, holding him to her for a beat longer before he rolled the two of them over, grunting a little as he fell on his shoulder. She raised herself up, concerned for him, but he shook his head.

“I’m well enough,” he assured her. “Perhaps all I need is some sleep. Ye have had something of an effect on me,” he said with a jesting smile.

She smiled too and clambered out of the bed, blowing out each of the candles in turn. When she was done, she returned to the bed and curled up beside him, with one of his arms loosely wrapped around her waist.

Eloise slept deeply that night, thinking of what she and Murdoch had shared. Things had changed between them now, and she was all the happier for it. In her dreams, she saw herself with Murdoch again, and this time, they did not stop exploring one another.

Murdoch lay on the bed, looking at Eloise as the sunlight streamed in through the cottage window. He couldn’t stop staring at her, shocked and thinking much of what they had done the night before. He raised his hand and pinched the brow of his nose, angered at himself.

It was a time of high emotion. She had been injured two nights before that, and then he was too. Out of their concern for one another, it was fair to say they acted as they probably should not have done.

We shouldnae have done it. Nae matter how good it felt, we shouldnae have done it.

Eloise woke up, blinking as she opened her eyes.

“Murdoch?” She sat up on the bed. “How are ye feeling?”

He turned and sat up on the other side of the bed, momentarily putting his back to her.

“Well enough,” he assured her, moving out his shoulder and hiding his wince. “All I need is a few days fer the skin tae heal.”

“Can I see?” She moved toward him, placing a hand on his back, but he stood, determined not to be made weak by her touch again. It was what had happened the night before, was it not? She had touched him, and he had melted. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it is just…” He crossed the room and reached for a clean shirt that had been left behind for him. He pulled it over his head, hiding his scarred body from her as he turned back to face her. “What ye and I did last night.”

She blushed and hung her head, in her usual demure way. At the sight of it, a passion rose within him. He longed to make her lie down on that bed again, to repeat what he had shown her and see her moan in pleasure rather than hide from him so. Would she whisper his name again? Blush that crimson red? Would her body be as ready for him as it had been then?