Page 51 of Seduction in a Kilt

When her eyes flicked right to where his shirt was open, they encountered a close-up of the strong, muscular column of Liam’s throat, breastbone, and upper shoulders. Her eyes took in the fine carpet of dark hairs covering it.

Are they as soft as they look? she caught herself wondering, a thrilling little tingle running up her spine.

She was still moving her fingers to untangle the ring, but she was not looking at what she was doing. Instead, she found her gaze lingering on his chest, her eyes tracing the ancient designs etched in deep blue ink upon his skin. The tattoos curled snakelike in graceful whirls across the broad, hard-muscled expanse of his breast. Here and there, the swooping patterns were bisected by the silvery line or pucker of a scar.

Stop this!She forced herself to focus on the task in hand. “Ach, ’tis well and truly stuck,” she said, trying to painstakingly untangle the ring without doing too much more damage to his shirt and failing.

“Here, let me have a go,” he said after a few minutes, handing his weapon and shield to an obliging bystander, his fingers tangling with Ivy’s. Her hands tingled at his touch as they fumbled together at the knot. His warm breath tickled her skin, adding goosebumps to the sensations already running through her.

She was jerked from the thrall of his body by a sudden loud chorus of laughter, hooting, clapping, and cheering that filled the air.

“Come on, Liam, are ye makin’ it worse on purpose, man?!” Knox teased laughingly.

“Aye, let the poor lass go!” Magnus called out amid the chorus of good-natured taunting.

Ivy blushed, but she found herself smiling as well. When she looked up and met Liam’s eyes, she glimpsed a hint of red on his cheekbones. It touched her to see he was embarrassed as well. But he was also smiling, right into her eyes.

“I think they find this amusin’,” he said, starting to chuckle. Their fingers were still entwined, and they were till fiddling with the knot.

“Maybe ye should just rip the shirt off? It might be easier,” she suggested and started to laugh, her hand resting on his chest, feeling the whole front of her body was on fire.

“And miss out on getting all tangled up with ye like this? Never,” he said, his intense gaze making her feel like she was about to melt.

Amid more ribald teasing, they struggled for a little while longer until finally, Liam made a small rip in the fabric that enabled Ivy to get the ring free at last. They stood looking at each other for a moment or two, while the spectators loudly expressed their approval or disappointment at the resolution.

They stood looking at each other, smiles on their faces and in their eyes. Ivy’s body was almost vibrating from the effects of their prolonged proximity. Her muscles and bones and skin remembered the lingering touches they had shared and craved more. In the air, crackling between them, she felt a new, playful tension, which Liam seemed in no hurry to dispel any more than she was.

Liam found himself quite transfixed by Ivy as they stood staring at each other. He missed the warmth of her body next to his. He’d had to tear the shirt in the end because he was getting hard, and he had to do something to put some distance between them, however exciting and tantalizing it had been to be stuck to her so closely for so long.

More than anything though, he was relieved that the farcical situation they had just found themselves in seemed to have shattered the previous awkwardness he had felt after the kiss. He had been avoiding her all day, unable to cope with the confusing feelings the kiss had elicited in him. Plus, when he had told her the kiss had been a mistake, he had seen in her eyes that he had hurt her, and he felt guilty about it.

I should never have kissed her!

More alarming was the way she had responded so warmly, her inexperience making her hesitant at first, but she had soon learned from him, teasing his tongue and lips and mouth with her own. That had practically set him on fire, and he knew he was in danger of plunging down a path that would lead to certain destruction and heartache.

But look at her! She has the guts tae come out here and fight me like that. She’s fire, and she has nae idea what she’s doin’ tae me!