Page 57 of Stealing a Kilted Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Fia’s heels clicked against the stone floor as she swiftly made her way to Knox’s chambers. She had to speak with him that very moment; it couldn’t wait any longer.

She had made up her mind. It was time for her to tell him the truth, no matter the cost.

“Halt!” one of the two guards who stood sentinel outside Knox’s chambers said, holding up a hand for Fia to stay back. She came to an abrupt stop, surprised by the sudden command, since she was quite certain the guards knew who she was. They had seen her in the castle before. She, too, had seen them, and so she didn’t understand what the problem was.

“I need tae speak tae Laird Stuart,” she said. “It’s urgent.”

“Wait here,” said the man as he turned around and knocked on the door, entering the laird’s chambers. Fia waited there, shifting her weight from one foot to the other nervously, her hands clasped behind her back as she fidgeted with the broken edge of a nail.

It was another reminder of how foolish she had been to think her plan would ever work.

A few moments later, the door opened again and the guard waved her inside without another word. After a moment of hesitation, during which she tried to gather her courage, Fia entered the dimly lit room and spotted Knox by the fire, sitting over a pile of papers with a drink in his hand.

“Fia,” he said, immediately putting his drink down and standing to approach her. Before she could speak, he pulled her into a fiery kiss, brimming with passion, and at least momentarily she forgot why she had gone there.

Right… I must tell him the truth.

“It’s a good thing ye came,” Knox said, once again stopping her right before she was about to speak. “I wished tae talk tae ye about somethin’ very important.”

That wasn’t how Fia had thought the conversation would go. She gave Knox a small, confused frown, but now that he had started talking, it seemed that he couldn’t stop, the words tumbling past his lips as if he had little control over them.

“I’ve given it plenty o’ thought an’… an’ I want ye tae be me wife, Fia,” he said. “Before ye say anythin’, I ken. I ken it may nae be easy, but I love ye. Ye’re the love o’ me life an’ I willnae let ye go simply because some may think ye’re nae a good match fer me. It’s what I want. An’ if… if it is what ye want as well, then I willnae let anyone stand in our way.”

Fia’s heart dropped to her stomach, her eyes brimming with tears. They stung as they fell down her cheeks, and Knox must have mistaken them for tears of joy because he laughed softly and pulled her into another kiss.

She allowed it. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth, not now; not when she could feel the love radiating off him, enveloping her entirely, like a warm summer breeze.

Perhaps he daesnae need tae ken the truth. Regardless of how everythin’ started, me feelings fer him are true.

And Fia was determined to do anything in her power to make Knox happy. It didn’t matter what it would take. Anything he wanted, she would give it to him. She would atone for her lies in her own way, and she would make sure he was always happy by her side.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Fia finally reciprocated the kiss, pulling him closer. Knox laughed once again, his hands coming to rest on her waist as he pulled back to look at her, pressing their foreheads together. “Am I tae assume this means aye?”

Through the tears, Fia couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Aye.”

With a pleased hum, Knox picked her up and gave her a twirl in the air, drawing a surprised yelp out of her. When she wrapped her legs around his waist to hold on, though, something shifted between them. Fia saw it in the way Knox’s gaze darkened, getting hazy with lust. Before she knew it, his hands grabbed her rear and he pressed her against the nearest wall, devouring her mouth in a kiss.

Fia couldn’t help but moan into the kiss, her back arching off the wall as her core demanded attention. Knox echoed her moan and Fia could feel him harden against her, his hips twitching restlessly as they kissed, as though he had trouble holding himself back.

But Fia didn’t want him to hold back. She wanted him to give her everything, to take all the pleasure he wanted from her.

“I want ye inside me,” she told him, whispering against his lips, and Knox let out a broken moan in response as he gingerly put her down and then proceeded to all but tear her clothes off her. Fia gasped in surprise. She could have sworn she heard some of the stitches of her tunic rip, but that was far from a concern when Knox grabbed her again and kissed her neck, her chest, pulling her up against him to draw one of her nipples in his mouth. Fia arched into the touch, barely standing on her tiptoes as Knox teased her breasts, biting and kissing the swell of them. It made her shiver from head to toe, all this attention that was focused solely on her, Knox putting all of his efforts into pleasing her.

With eager hands, Fia tugged at Knox’s clothes. She wanted to see him too, to feel him under her hands, to please him like he pleased her. Knox pulled back just enough to allow it, letting her undress him hurriedly until all his clothes were on a pile on the floor beside their feet. Then, she pulled him close once more, dragging her hands all over him—over his shoulders, his back, down the swell of his rear, feeling the strong muscles under her fingers ripple as he moved.

Battle scars, silvery under the dim light in the room, seemed to cover most of his body. Fia traced some of the raised bumps, wondering how he could have gotten so many—how many battles had he fought? How many times had he come close to death and how many more would he have to face? The thought sickened her, and so she quickly pushed it out of her mind. She didn’t want to think about such things, not when Knox was so alive, so warm and solid under her hands, ready to give her what she so desperately craved.

Once they were both undressed, he wasted no time before he plunged a finger inside her, the digit slipping with ease past her folds. She was already so wet and eager, that he was quick to add a second finger, pumping them and finding that spot deep inside her that had Fia crying out in pleasure.

She didn’t know how he always seemed to know just what she needed. She didn’t know how he could be so attuned to her body already, knowing where to kiss, where to press, just what to do to drive her mad.

One leg coming up to wrap around his waist, Fia pulled Knox flush against her, easily accepting the kiss he gave her. His fingers worked her fervently, coaxing more moisture out of her, along with more moans of his name, stoking the flames of desire that burned in her core. Fia could feel him everywhere around her. She was surrounded by his presence, his touch, his scent, all of it working in tandem to make her lust bubble over, her hips moving on their own accord as they worked to draw his fingers even deeper.

“Ye’re so bonnie like this,” Knox whispered in her ear, the silky baritone of his voice coating her like honey. “So eager… drawin’ me in. Tell me what ye want. Tell me how I can best please ye.”

Fia blushed at the mere thought of giving Knox instruction, telling him how she wanted him most. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but her core burned even hotter, demanding her attention. Her entrance throbbed around Knox, her flesh clenching at the thought of having his manhood inside her instead of his fingers, and so she reached between them, taking him in her hand.