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My hand is still in his, but even though we’ve reached our destination, Ally doesn’t let it go. When I seek out his hazel eyes, his lips curl up, a few drops of water trickling from his wet hair down his face. It’s just a smile, but my breath catches in my throat. After both the climbing and the jogging, my heart is already beating fast. Now it thumps faster still.

He unclips his helmet and lays it down, shaking his hair then running a hand through it. Next, he loosens his harness and steps out of it, leaving him in just jeans and a T-shirt—a very wet T-shirt that clings to his chest and abs.

Averting my gaze, I reach for my helmet’s strap. My cold, trembling fingers struggle with it for a few moments before I manage to get it off. When it comes to my harness, though, I’m hopeless. I don’t know what I’m doing.

“Can I help?” Ally asks.

I give up struggling and nod wordlessly.

He steps closer to me, so close I can make out each individual drop of water on his skin. He loosens the waist belt of the harness then adjusts the two leg loops, his hands hovering near a sensitive part of my anatomy—a fact that sparks a fire in my shivering body.

The harness soon slips down my legs to the stone floor, but Ally doesn’t step away. Instead, he stays close to me, his eyes finding mine and holding my gaze. He reaches out and tucks a lock of wet hair behind my ear, and for the second time, my breath hitches.

Ally watches me with sweet intensity, his hand lingering by my face as though he’s reluctant to withdraw it. Then gently, ever so gently, his rough fingers trace their way around to my mouth and rub over my lower lip. I gasp, and his eyes fly to meet mine, their hazel depths seeming to seek an answer to a question.

For a moment, we’re both frozen in time. Then, as if I’ve silently answered him, Ally leans down and presses his raindrop-covered lips to mine.

Maybe it’s the shock of the kiss, or maybe it’s that half a week ago I was ready to walk down the aisle, but I go rigid.

Ally pulls back. “Are you okay, lass?”

His eyes are full of concern, and the fact this huge, powerful man can be so tender breaks the spell: my body relaxes. I reach around him, sliding my hands up to the back of his neck. I go up on my tiptoes and plant my lips against his. It’s his turn to tense, but only for a moment before he takes me in his arms and holds me close.

God, his lips are divine. Strong yet gentle, gentle yet demanding. I run my fingers through his wet hair and along his chiselled jaw, our bodies melding together. One of Ally’s hands slides down my lower back then draws me in closer. Christ, despite being soaked through by the rain, my body is ablaze.

Ally’s tongue brushes my lips, and I open my mouth, letting him in, savouring the delicious masculine taste of him. Something stirs within me, a deep heat, a sense of longing, and the next thing I know, I’m biting his lower lip, eliciting a low animalistic groan from him.

His kiss becomes firmer, his tongue more searching, and he pulls me closer still, one hand gripping my backside, his hard length pressed flush against me.

Suddenly, he rips away, panting. “I want you, Emily.”

I gulp, heat flooding my body anew, my legs shaking with nervousness and need. This man . . . he intoxicates me, leaving me giddy, raw, and unbelievably desperate for him.

I grab at his rain-soaked top, and he chuckles with pleasure as I pull it over his head then toss it aside. I look at him, mesmerised by his broad chest and mouthwateringly defined abs. My eyes follow the trail of hair that leads down from his belly button, disappearing below the belt of his jeans, where a large and unmistakable bulge shows.

“Damn!” I say.

Tearing my gaze from the sight, I press my hands to his chest, loving the feel of his muscles. His body quivers at my touch, and when I trace the grooves of his abs, he takes in a sharp breath. I guide my fingers lower.

“Easy, lass.” He clasps my hand in his. “You’ll undo me before I’m ready.”

He leads me further into the castle and to a small alcove where he lays me down and then leans over me, positioning a leg on either side of me. He kisses me again, his lips and tongue more demanding now, one hand cupping my face, his other exploring my body, touching my legs and my arse then wrapping around my left breast. My nipple hardens instantly, and I let out a groan of pleasure.

“Your clothes are soaking wet,” Ally murmurs into my ear. “They’ll have to come off.”

He peels up my top, and I lift my arms to help him. I barely register the cold—I can scarcely believe I’m doing this. It’s crazy, but I can’t stop myself.

I’m wearing a sports bra, but you’d think it was kinky lingerie from the desire in Ally’s gaze. He discards my top and takes my breasts in his hands, gripping them through the stretchy fabric.

“Fuck!” he says, then he reaches around me and unclasps the bra.

His desperation to see me unclothed is a huge turn-on. My bra falls away, and he groans, taking me in his hands again, his fingers and palms rough against my smooth, wet skin. I don’t mind—I’m getting more and more aroused by the second. He rubs my peaked nipples with his thumbs, then with a wicked glint in his hazel eyes, he lowers his head to my right breast.

He releases a long breath, warm air caressing me. I shudder with need, then he takes my nipple in his mouth. I moan, my back arching, my legs spreading as he explores me with his tongue and lips.

He moves to my left breast, and several more moans escape me before his kisses trace their way down my body. His nose brushes my belly button, and I giggle softly, then he hooks his fingers into my leggings. Without a word, he tugs them down, leaving me in nothing but my panties. His hungry eyes take in every inch of me, his hair wet and tousled, his bare chest glistening.

He runs his hands from my ankles all the way up and then all the way back down, sending bolts of electricity through me. He leans over me again, his gaze fixed on me.