Ten

 

“My hair is impossible. Ye should leave it braided.” Shannon was too relaxed to care that she was lying with her back exposed. At some point, Torin had rolled off her and she’d turned onto her belly. Her body was so relaxed, she remained even when she felt Torin move and prop his head into the palm of one hand so that he might study her. She’d never had a man look at her bare body before, and she nibbled her lower lip with nervousness. But the memory of the way he seemed to enjoy looking at her kept her from trying to cover up. It was the truth that he made her feel pretty without any words at all; it was there in his eyes when he was studying her. It was something that she discovered she enjoyed. Possibly too much, but that idea wasn’t enough to get her to move; she wanted to linger in the moment and savor it.

Torin didn’t heed her warning. He plucked at the tie holding her braid and began to thread his fingers through the sections until he had it all free. His eyes narrowed and his lips thinned, but there was no mistaking the enjoyment etched into his expression while he slid his fingers down the length of her hair.

“Yer hair is magnificent. If I were nae worried ye’d catch it on fire, I’d forbid ye to bind it.”

He reached for a silver comb that sat on the table near the bed and began to pull it along the length of her hair. She was amazed to see his larger male hands holding the delicate silver comb. It seemed tender, his acting the maid for her. It felt too good to really argue against, but the urge to tease him was too great to resist.

“Except that ye are nae my husband, so ye cannae forbid me such. Or I should say, I’d nae be bound to obey ye.”

The comb paused, and there was a low rumble from him. “Careful, lass. Yer bottom is tempting me.”

He reached over and rubbed a hand across her bare backside. “I could teach ye to respect my word.”

“All spanking me would do is teach me to fear yer strength and the fact that ye would nae hesitate to cause me pain in order to bend my will. I know ye are stronger than me.” Shannon shifted and looked at him over one shoulder. “Do ye wish for a woman who will shiver in this bed out of fear?”

It was a bold question, for the church preached that a woman was bound by heaven’s law to obey her father first and then her husband. Most men wouldn’t even tolerate a woman’s asking. They expected women to learn such as girls and accept their place. Shannon stared straight at Torin, unafraid of pinching his ego. Part of her needed to know what he thought of her boldness, because it was the part of her that she had always hidden.

His lips twisted with distaste, but his eyes held a frustrated look. “What I’d like is to hear yer promise that ye will nae try that witch weed. It is a risk no woman should be taking. Especially ye.”

Shannon chewed on her lower lip, studying him for a long moment. “I would have thought that you would be grateful that I was nae of the mind to bind ye to me with a child.”

Yet he was not. She witnessed it flash across his eyes, only a momentary glimpse before he hid his true feelings by looking at the length of her hair that he was running the comb along. A heavy silence fell over them; she actually heard the comb moving through her hair. Another snap came from the window, reminding her that the undergown was still flapping in the evening breeze.

“Take my gown out of the window.”

“Nay.” Firm and unbendable, his tone drew a soft hiss from her.

“Ye have no right to announce anything to yer clan.” Shannon sat up, taking her hair away from his reach. “It was between us. Lovers do not share their relationship with others.”

“I am laird here, Shannon. Privacy is not something I have a great deal of.” Each word was edged in the same steel that she recalled from the first night she met him. The fact that he was bare as a newborn didn’t seem to have any impact on the man. He expected his authority to be recognized.

“Ye are nae my laird.”

His face darkened, displeasure glittering in his eyes. “Ye are on my land, lass, which means ye answer to my law. The undergown remains where it is.”

She snarled at him and rolled over the opposite side of the bed to escape. Her feet had barely touched the floor when someone used the heavy brass door knocker to announce his arrival. Her eyes widened, but Torin reached across the bed and hooked one large arm around her waist. He lifted her off her feet and pulled her back onto the bed. With another soft grunt, the man tossed the coverlet over her, folding it over to conceal her nudity.

But her face was still visible when Baeth entered the room. Three other maids lowered themselves in courtesy before carrying trays and a large pitcher toward the table. They began to set the table for supper, laying out plates. Baeth watched the maids with a practiced eye before her attention was captured by someone else at the doorway. Another girl entered the room and offered a quick courtesy before bringing something to Baeth. The maid shook it out to reveal a dressing gown.

“Up with ye, Shannon, before supper goes cold.”

Baeth waited with the dressing gown held up for her to slip into, as if Shannon were the mistress of the house.

Her face flamed hotly. What she was, everyone from the lowest stable lad knew, thanks to the undergown hanging from the window. Since the only thing that she might control was whether she looked like a coward, she slipped over the edge of the bed and onto her feet. The maid took the dressing gown and brought it forward before easing one side of it up her arm until it rested on top of her shoulder. The maid took up the weight of the garment while she passed behind her and brought the other sleeve up for her bare arm. Shannon reached for the tie, but the maid never allowed her the chance to grasp it. The girl overlapped the edges of the dressing gown and secured it with nimble hands. She lowered herself before quitting the room.

Shannon had to catch her lower jaw, else it would have dropped open. Maids did not lower themselves before her. As a McBoyd, she was beneath every one of them.

Baeth snapped her fingers. “Come in now.”

Two lads appeared in the doorway, each of them holding a large tray. They inclined their heads respectfully before carrying the tray toward the table.

“Thank you, Baeth.” Torin’s voice was firm and without a hint of regret. Satisfaction showed on his face while he watched Shannon.

“Enjoy yer supper, Laird.”

The head of house motioned the lads out the door with a quick wave of her hand. They went silently, but their eyes darted toward Shannon until the door frame cut off their view.

“Was it truly necessary to make my position so public?”

The dressing gown was warm and comfortable, a true luxury, but her cheeks brightened with shame.

“Is it really so important to ye to keep our relationship secret? Ye are the one who used the word ‘lover,’ sweet Shannon.”

“Do not mock me with those words.” She discovered that she could not bear it. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, taking her by surprise because she hadn’t realized how much she treasured the endearment. She looked at the floor, trying to regain her composure.

A warm hand cupped her chin and raised her face.

“Ye’re right, lass. Those words do not belong in our quarrel.” His eyes held tenderness for a long moment.

“Yet the answer to yer question is yes.” He walked back across the chamber until he reached one of the chairs at the table, then he pulled it back and looked at her.

“Ye will nae refuse to admit that we are lovers.”

Pride flashed from his eyes and determination as though she’d slighted him.

“I meant no insult.” Her words were edged with her rising temper. “But I do nae have any wish to polish yer ego by announcing to one and all that I haven’t the discipline to—”

“To resist me?” Now his lips curved up in roguish delight.

“Don’t tease me.”

He shrugged and crossed the floor back toward her. Sensation rippled across her skin, an awareness that happened instantly just because he was near once more. He reached up and trailed the tips of his fingers across her cheek. It was tender, and she felt it so deeply, her eyes filled once more with unshed tears.

“I think that is exactly what needs doing, Shannon. A wee bit of teasing. Our time together has been too full of things that neither of us can control. In another time, we could have met at a spring festival and enjoyed teasing one another.”

She sighed. The image his words conjured up was a feast for her starving soul. But he suddenly dipped down and scooped her off her feet. He cradled her against his chest, her weight doing nothing to tax him at all. In fact, there was a look of satisfaction on his face while he looked down at her.

“I am starving, woman, and our supper is growing cold.”

Shannon swatted at one of his large shoulders. “Put me down, Torin. I can walk very well.”

He cradled her effortlessly and only smiled at her frown.

“There is a certain comfort in knowing that I can move ye where I please, sweet Shannon. Maybe I’ll share a few of my ideas with ye after we’ve eaten. I believe we’ll need our strength for where my thoughts will lead us.”

She gasped, but it was not in outrage. Anticipation began to flicker in her belly as he deposited her in the chair. He slid it back close to the edge of the table without any strain.

“Ye are a wicked man. I believe I should fear for my soul for the effect ye have on me.”

Torin sat down across from her and reached for the linens that covered the trays. Steam rose up when he pulled them off, and the scent of hot meat filled her nose. Her belly rumbled low and long in response. Torin laughed at her.

“Wicked I might be, but ye are my co-conspirator, madam. Ye don’t fear my insanity; ye welcome it because it pleases ye.” He looked up at her. “Greatly.”

That single word, uttered in his brassy tone, sent a quiver down her limbs. It was the tone that he used when he was deep inside her, the sound that she heard when pleasure was about to consume her.

Her belly growled again, interrupting her thoughts. Torin chuckled.

“We’ll have to be returning to that idea ye were just thinking about, my sweet.”

He began using a large knife to move thick slices of meat off the center tray and onto the plates; the enjoyment showing in his eyes made her laugh softly. One dark eyebrow rose in response.

“There is a boy inside ye sometimes.”

“Aye, and he wants to take ye out to roll in the new spring heather.”

Shannon waved a single finger back and forth. “That is not something a boy would be thinking about.”

Torin swallowed what he’d been chewing and offered her a roguish smile. “Well now, lass, the boy is stuck inside the body of a man, so ye would be getting the best of both. The toying and the rolling as well as whatever else I can entice ye into doing.”

She couldn’t resist the urge to smile, and her eyelashes fluttered too. A soft blush stained her cheeks in spite of the fact that he had already had her. Somehow she’d thought that gentle seduction was only for maidens. Torin grinned at her before ripping a round of bread in half and offering her one side. At her father’s home, she had never eaten alone, always taken her meals in the crowded hall. Tonight the simple act of taking bread from another’s hand felt intimate. She noticed the way his fingers held it, and the way her eyelashes fluttered once again when she took it from him.

“I find that I like the combination quite well.” She lifted her eyelashes to stare into his dark eyes. “The one of boy and man.”

He liked her compliment. Enjoyment flickered in his eyes while he ate. Her hearing became more sensitive, her ears noticing every sound. She was focused on her company, watching him in a manner that she seemed to want to only do with Torin. She finished eating before he did, and sat back in her chair with her hands wrapped around a goblet of rich wine. Shannon sipped at it slowly but felt heat moving through her veins anyway. It wasn’t the wine that sent fire flickering across her skin; it was the certain knowledge that Torin wanted her near. He’d had her and still longed for her company. Teasing, he’d said. Now that sent the sweetest rush of delight through her. It soaked into more than her flesh; it filled her heart, because it was more than lust. This went beyond the passionate needs of the body. Maybe there were no words, but in a way that was what made her notice her feelings all that much more.

It was startling, making it impossible to remain so still. Standing up, she left the wine behind. She was intoxicated enough on just her company. The sun had set, but the night was clear, allowing the stars to twinkle in the velvet of the dark sky. She leaned out of the window to enjoy the view. The candles died behind her, casting the room into darkness.

Torin wrapped his arm around her, cutting the chill with his body heat. The scent of fresh bread clung slightly to him, but what she noticed more than anything was the scent of his skin. Clean and masculine in spite of the fact that she would have been hard-pressed to explain what made it masculine. He smelled strong and capable, and she found it deeply attractive. Her heart began to beat faster, and her lungs filled more quickly to keep pace. That drew more of his scent into her senses, doubling her awareness of him. He lifted one finger and pointed toward a boulder that was sticking up above the surface of the water.

“I like to swim out to that rock and stand there with nothing but the night surrounding me.” His arm tightened around her, and she felt the press of his cock against her bottom through her thin dressing gown. “But ye know that, don’t ye, Shannon?” His voice was a dark whisper against her ear. She shivered as passion began to lick its way across her skin. She rubbed her bottom against his cock, gently teasing him in return.

“I thought ye were the manifestation of legend, all washed in moonlight.”

“I will happily play the part ye wish, my lady.”

He scooped her off her feet once again, cradling her against his body so that she could feel his heart beating against her side. The moonlight painted the floor in silvery waves, across which Torin carried her his way toward the bed.

He placed her on her feet and tugged off the dressing gown. The air was soothing against her skin. She enjoyed being nude, and she climbed up onto the bed before Torin finished tossing the garment over a chair.

She froze there, poised on all fours. Torin made a soft sound that was more of a growl than anything else, but it struck her as praise.

“Ye could demand that I get on my knees, and I swear I’d do it so long as ye promised to remain just like that, lass. Bare and welcoming in me bed.”

She should have felt awkward. Her breasts hung down, and the moonlight illuminated her like an animal roaming the dark. Maybe she was more beast than human, for it was true that she was seeking what she craved.

“I cannae picture ye on yer knees, Torin McLeren.”

He reached out and cupped one of her breasts. It was a soft touch, gentle and smooth, but she shivered in response, her nipple contracting into a tight peak.

“Then watch me.”

He climbed onto the bed and knelt in front of her, his powerful body poised, his chest a mass of ridges that rippled down to where his cock stood up. The head was crowned with a thick ridge that she recalled tasting.

“Seeing ye on yer knees is suddenly much more appealing.”

“Is that so, lass?”

She stared at him in the dark, their gazes locking while she felt her heart accelerating yet again. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears, but her senses were also keen enough to hear the slap of the water against the stones in the loch.

More than anything she was aware of the man waiting for her touch, so still, but only because he wanted her to reach for him. It would be simple for him to take her. But that was not what drew her to him. This desire to have her come to him summoned her forward, crawling toward him across the surface of the bed. His hands curled, but he remained in place, waiting on her whim.

Her attention lowered to the hard flesh standing so tall between his thighs. Lowering her body until she rested on her belly with his knees on either side of her shoulders, she reached out to walk her fingertips up the length of his cock. He sucked in a breath that whistled between his set teeth.

“Humm…” There didn’t seem to need to be an actual word, only a sound that communicated her playful mood. She paused on the soft skin that sat just beneath the head of his cock. Playing with the spot, she listened to his breathing become rough.

“Be careful who ye call wicked, woman. At the moment ye qualify for the title more than I.”

“Possibly… but is that a complaint or a compliment?”

“I’ve nae yet made up my mind on the matter.”

His tone was edged with challenge. Shannon rose to it, leaning down to allow her tongue to travel the same path that her fingers had. He jerked, the hard muscles moving in a snap of reflex in response to her actions. A curse sailed over her head in a rough tone that was almost too deep to understand.

But she comprehended the reason behind it.

She was driving him toward the same insanity he so often did to her, unleashing sensations so intense, holding still became a battle of will against flesh.

It was the greatest compliment she’d ever received from a man. She could not recall any praise that impacted her more deeply.

Wrapping her hand all the way around his staff, she opened her mouth and closed her lips around the head. Her tongue began to play across the smooth skin, licking through the slit to taste the small drop of salty seed that had already arisen there. She cupped his sac with her free hand, rolling it gently while her tongue continued to flick around the crown of his cock. She relaxed her mouth and took more of his length inside. A large hand captured the back of her head, and his hips thrust gently toward her, driving even more inside. But it didn’t bother her, she was absorbed in the sounds of male pleasure her touch wrung from him.

“Enough, lass.”

Torin wasn’t going to leave the matter up to her. He pulled her head away from his cock, and she looked up to see his face drawn tight. She continued to finger the spot under the head of his cock, and a tic appeared along the side of his jaw. Determination glittered in his eyes.

“Two may play at that game, sweet Shannon.”

“What game is that?”

Her thumb slipped easily over the wet skin of his cock, drawing another harsh sound from his lips. His hips gave a short thrust toward her, and he growled with frustration.

“The game of seeing who might outlast the other. The battle of temptation.”

She pushed her hands against the surface of the bed and rose up onto her knees. His expression softened, turning to one of hunger. His gaze traveled to her breasts, and he reached for them, cupping each tender globe in a gentle grasp. He passed his thumbs across the hard tips, back and forth, sending ripples of delight down her body to her pearl. The small point pulsed, keeping the same tempo as her heart.

“I dinna want to play games, Torin.”

All she wanted was to be closer to him. Agreement flickered in his eyes, and he slid his hands down her sides and toward the twin halves of her bottom.

“Aye, lass, I share that same desire.”

He pulled her forward, lifting her up so that he might impale her. Her knees slid easily onto either side of his hips, and his cock pressed deep into her passage as he controlled her descent onto it. Shannon wrapped her arms around his neck, gasping as his flesh stretched her wide once more. So hard and yet so satisfying. His hands remained around her bottom, lifting her up so that his cock slid free up to the tip, and then he allowed her to sink back down until he was buried inside her to the hilt.

She moaned, unable to contain the rapture.

“Sometimes, slow is better.”

Torin wrapped his arms tightly around her, binding her to his body with his length contained inside her. He pushed up off his knees and placed her back against the bed.

“But I need to feel ye beneath me.”

She shivered, her flesh enjoying the idea his words sparked in her mind. There was no way to explain it, but she wanted to feel his strength on top of her. His body covered hers, wider, harder, and more powerful. It reduced her to a state of pure sensation. There was nothing but the feeling of their skin pressing together, nothing but the way she could feel his heart beating on top of her own. But most of all, there was the steady thrusting of his hips, driving his cock deeply into her body. He didn’t hurry but kept his pace even. Her body wanted to quicken the motion, but Torin refused her that, keeping to his steady rhythm. It kept her poised on the edge of pleasure, neither fulfilled nor disappointed. Each thrust slid across her throbbing pearl, drawing the need inside her tighter.

“Torin… I can take no more…”

Her voice was unrecognizable, husky and hungry for release.

“Aye, lass.”

He gripped her hair, holding her tightly in place, and gave her what she craved. His body thrust faster, driving her easily over the edge into the rapture that she sought. It swirled up around her, drowning out everything but the driving hips of her lover. His cock swelled and burst against the mouth of her womb, spurting his hot seed into her. Pleasure raced from her belly out to every point of her body and then back once more. The fingers in her hair curled tightly while Torin pressed his hips toward her, and the bed kept her still for the last drops of his seed.

Their hearts beat frantically against each other, separated only by skin and bone. Torin rolled onto his back but pulled her along with him, binding her against his body.

“Ye will share my bed, Shannon, the entire night.”

“A lover has to ask, not demand.”

He toyed with her hair, running his fingers through it before grunting.

“If ye have any strength left to try and leave my bed, I will be happy to ask ye to make love again, sweet Shannon.”

“That was no’ what I meant, Torin.”

He pressed her head back against his shoulder when she tried to raise her face. The effort was too great, so she let him have his wish.

“But it is what I meant, lass. Move away from me if ye have the strength, and I will chase ye.”

“Brute.”

He chuckled, and her eyelids slid shut. Her lips were curved into a soft smile, contentment glowing around her like the light of a candle in a black room. She was suddenly free of her cares, and her body took the opportunity to sink down into slumber, where there was nothing save for the warm arms holding her.

It was perfection.