Page 66 of The Highlander’s Tempting Touch

She blushed so bright a crimson he could feel the heat against his skin, but her hands were less unsure and certainly bolder as she slid them up to the laces of his leggings once more. Alistair groaned in appreciation at the feel of her deft fingers loosening the laces further, until his straining shaft was freed from the constriction. He actually shuddered when she moved to caress the rigid length.

The laces of her bodice came free, and the dress fell to puddle on the floor. Alistair allowed himself a moment to cup her breasts through the thin fabric of her undergarment, stroking and caressing until her nipples were taut buds under the fabric. Niamh shivered and wavered, almost falling against him. “Alistair…”

He undid the chemise and let it fall as well, leaving her naked before him, then swept her into his arms and laid her on the bed. A moment later, his kilt fell to the floor, and he joined her, panting at the shock of cool air and smooth linen on the already sensitive flesh of his erection.

Alistair took a moment to simply lie beside her, drinking her in as his hand caressed her cheek, then downward to tease the peaks of her breasts. Niamh shivered, but she wasn’t the naive, shy young woman she’d been that first night. She reached out and gripped him.

Alistair grunted. “Nae so tight. And ye dinnae need tae…”

“I want tae. I want tae ken how tae give ye pleasure.” Niamh shifted her grip, and Alistair stiffened, his hips rocking into her touch without any thought on his part.

He slid his hand down to her belly, feeling the muscles quivering there. “Ye dinnae need tae dae much. Just enjoy yerself, and I’ll tell ye what I need. Fer now…”

He leaned in to kiss her, flickers of heat and pleasure sliding through him as his shaft shifted in her grip. His hand splayed across her belly, exploring the soft skin and finding every spot that made her shiver and gasp, from her navel to the sides of her ribs, to the hollow of her waist. He traced a lazy path to her hips, then carded his fingers through the soft, fine hairs that adorned the mound of her sex. Niamh shivered - an action that made her hand shift and slide across his erection - and parted her legs for him.

Alistair smiled and slid his hand lower, deliberately transferring his touch to her thigh, to stroke the inner lines to her knees and back again.

He wanted to find every single spot that made her tremble and gasp and then… then he would give her pleasure until they were both spent and gasping.

Niamh had never known her skin could be so sensitive, or that the lightest touch could make her shiver and burn for more. Alistair seemed to know her body far better than she knew it herself. His fingers unerringly sought out sensitive spots, from her ribs to her navel, to the insides of her knees, making her tremble with every caress as little darts of flame raced through her to her core.

She’d never known the sensation of touching a man, being aware that the merest flex of her fingers could bring pain or pleasure enough to drive him mad.

She slid her hand along Alistair’s shaft and was rewarded with another grunt as he rocked against her grip. “Och, Niamh…” The words died away as she stroked him again, smothered by a guttural groan.

Niamh shuddered in turn as Alistair’s hand traced a burning path up the inside of her thigh, to tease the soft hairs that covered her sex. She couldn’t help squirming a little as he delivered light, quick touches, teasing and sending sparks dancing through her core. She trembled, her legs parting further to give him further access.

Alistair’s hand stroked over her sex, ruffling the delicate strands. The feeling was akin to sparks trailing over her most sensitive and secret place. He caressed her gently, and Niamh pressed herself into his touch, wanting more.

Alistair slid his hand over her mound, finger on either side, while the middle finger drew a line of warmth down the crease. Then his finger slid between the lips of her sex, stroking the inner edges, and teasing her with the promise of more. Niamh whimpered as a stronger, deeper spike of pleasure pulsed through her.

She thought Alistair would stroke deeper. Instead, he continued to tease her, just barely slipping his finger inside her as he bent his head and nipped gently at her breast, gently grazing the sensitive flesh with his teeth and tongue and sending waves of heat through her from two places until she could barely breathe, consumed by the sensation.

It was all she could do to retain her grip on Alistair, and she felt him gently rocking himself against her hand as he continued, setting up a slow, steady rhythm as he pleasured himself as well as her.

His finger slid into her, caressing deeper into the arousal-slickened folds of her sex, then deeper still until his fingers were on the edge of penetrating her core. He began to pump gently in and out of her, making Niamh writhe around his touch as the waves of pleasure and heat grew more and more intense.

Together the two of them moved, Alistair sliding against her hand, Niamh arching into each stroke of his fingers.

A second finger joined the first, filling her, stretching her and adding the burn of pressure to the heat and pleasure that filled her. Niamh shuddered, almost mindless with the nigh-overwhelming sensations.

Alistair’s motions increased in speed, the angle changing slightly with every stroke, so every touch seemed new. Niamh writhed around his hand, her body feeling overwhelmed and yet demanding more. “Alistair…”

His thumb slid inside her folds and found her pleasure center. Niamh cried out as he swirled his thumb around the sensitive flesh. Her body arched into his touch as he caressed her pleasure center again and again, setting up a motion that mirrored his rocking against her hand.

The heat and pleasure spiraled higher inside, engulfing Niamh in waves of intense sensation unlike any she had ever known. She felt as if she was burning away, and yet, she wanted more. Every stroke made her yearn for the next, every touch drew her closer to the edge.

Alistair grunted, and the motion of his hips became rougher. Then his thumb pressed against her, a strong, firm stoke that sent Niamh over the edge.

The world broke apart in a wave of heat and pleasure so intense that Niamh’s hand loosened despite her best efforts, as her body convulsed. A second stroke sent another wave flowing through her as her body arched in response. Her release swept out of her and drowned her senses in the force of it.

She was dimly aware of Alistair stiffening against her, then the hot wash of his release pumped out across her belly.

Then his hand caressed her again, and any thought Niamh might have was washed away in a renewed pulse of warmth and pleasure, until she knew nothing more.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

It was the chill emptiness of the bed that woke Alistair first, the lack of Niamh’s presence when his mind and his body clearly remembered falling asleep next to her warmth. That was enough to drag him from his slumber.