Despite being aggravated with himself for allowing her to get drunk, he couldn’t help but be charmed. She was pouting and batting her lashes at him, clearly mimicking Lindsay as she tried to win him over. He bit back a chuckle as he urged her to lie back so he could cover her with a blanket.
“Not yet,” she whispered and shook her head. “Please.”
He frowned, confused. “What is it, lass?”
“I was hoping.” She bit her lower lip, suddenly shy as she stared at him. “I was hoping I could do something.”
“Nay, lass.” He shook his head, under the assumption she wanted to try lying with him now. “I’ll do no such thing with you for the first time whilst you’re feeling the effects of ale.” He urged her to lie back again. “Trust me, you’ll thank me for it in the morn.”
“No, that’s not what I meant...” She shook her head. “Not really.” Half a breath later, she leaned forward, cupped his cheeks and kissed him.
It was by no means an experienced kiss, but it was one he should have ended right away. She deserved to be sober for her first kiss. Yet he didn’t pull away as her soft, warm lips touched his. Instead, he allowed it. He welcomed it actually, struck by how fire roared through his blood at the simple contact.
Their lips never opened, and their tongues didn’t touch, yet her chaste kiss felt incredibly erotic. So sensual and arousing that he was moments away from taking her right then and there. She had instantly ignited a driving need that almost got the better of him.
“Nay,” he whispered as he rallied all his considerable strength, pulled back, cupped her cheeks and shook his head. “Not like this, lass.” He brushed his lips across her forehead then finally got her to lie back. “You need rest.”
“So do you,” she whispered, her eyes still on him. “You’ll stay here with me, right, Bryce?”
“Aye, lass, of course, I’ll stay,” he replied as he pulled off his boots then lay down beside her the best he could on the small bunk. It was good she was so petite, or this might not have worked. As it was, he had to pull her tight against him, her back to his front.
“I’d rather face you,” she whispered, her eyes already shut as she turned and curled up against him. She was just small enough that she managed it. Nonetheless, he wrapped his arm around her and kept her close as the ship swayed.
Moments later, she released a dainty snore then quieted.
Regrettably, he was so aroused sleep didn’t come easy. When it did, he dreamt only of her. She was lying in a small, flower-ridden grassy clearing. Almost unblinking, she stared up at the trees so intently he swore she must be communicating with them. While it was sunny where she lay, he swore the forest was darker than normal and gathering ever closer to her.
Though he wanted to approach, he couldn’t seem to get past the shadows.
“Don’t then,” she murmured. “Stay where you’re comfortable.”
Was she talking to him?
“I would prefer to be by your side,” came a deep rumble. Startled, he realized the words had come from him.
“You are by my side.” She finally dragged her eyes from the trees, turned her head in his direction and offered him a lazy smile. “You’re only a few feet away.”
He frowned. It seemed much further. “You are mistaken.”
“No.” Her eyes returned to the trees. “Remember, sunlight messes with your depth perception. Everything looks much wider or bigger in your eyes.”
Suddenly, Bryce realized what was happening. She thought she was talking to a warlock. Based on how kind she sounded, he would say the warlock. He glanced down only to have his vision pulled back to her almost like a magnet.
“Another few weeks and the leaves will start changing,” she murmured. “They’ll be so beautiful.” Then a flicker of sadness. “Then they’ll die, and the branches will grow barren.”
Something about that made him happy. But why? She soon answered that.
“Then these moments will be no more.”
“I will keep you safe,” he, it, responded. “They will not hurt you.” He shook his head. “Never hurt you.”
He felt the warlock’s sentiment as if it were his own. How strongly he felt. How much he cared about her. Even loved her.
Then he felt something else.
A driving need to make her his. An unnatural desire to keep her with him always. What Bryce had thought was love moments before now felt twisted and dark. More like obsession and the need to possess.
Then those emotions vanished and became normal once more. It felt like love again. Goodness. He wanted to protect and keep her safe.
“You are too easily swayed,” came a dark voice from beside him. “Too emotional.” The voice grew even more grating. “You will never be able to do what you must when the time comes.”
“I already have though,” her warlock responded. “The time came and went, and I was there when I should be. I was successful.”
What the bloody hell did he mean by that?
“Were you then?” said the other warlock.
“Yes,” he responded as a disconcerting wave of dark pleasure rolled through him. “Though she doesnae remember it yet, she is already mine and will recall such when she least expects it.”
Chapter Nine
JESSIE WOKE TO flames in Bryce’s eyes. Though she should be terrified, something kept her calm. The ship still rocked back and forth as it had the night before, so they had yet to hit bad weather. So what had him so disgruntled? Enough so that his dragon reacted.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“I saw you,” he said softly as he stroked her hair, clearly trying to keep her calm though he was the one upset. “And I saw your...the warlock.” A deep frown settled on his face. “He knows something you dinnae, Jessie. He has something planned...”
She ignored the strange sensation that washed over her. Not just fear, but something indefinable. A memory just out of reach.
“But you don’t know what,” she said, finishing his sentence as his thoughts brushed hers. As she saw the dream as though she had experienced it.
“Nay, I dinnae know what but ‘tis not good,” he replied.
“I wouldn’t imagine it is,” she murmured, more aware of their intimate position by the moment. The size of his body. How close he was. How good he smelled. More than anything though, she recalled the brief kiss they had shared the night before. She hadn’t expected to feel so much. So many emotions she was still trying to sift through.
“The good thing, though,” she continued determined to remain focused on the matter at hand, “is that it seems you were part of the warlock and were recalling his memories which will be helpful.”
Still stroking her hair absently, he considered that. “Do you think that we’re forming a telepathic bond then? If so, might I be able to track him more readily?”
“It could very well be.” Yet it troubled her deeply for another reason. “Which means it could work both ways...he would be able to track you too.”
“Is there anything we can do about that?” he asked. “Anything I can do?” The fire might have dwindled from his eyes, but she knew he was out for blood.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “If I was still connected to him, maybe, but I’m not.”
“And that’s bloody good,” he grumbled.
Was it? She wasn’t so sure.
The distress must have been obvious on her face because his brows drew together. “What is it, lass?”
“I just worry,” she murmured. “About growing weaker without their aid and letting all of you down.”
“Och, nay.” He cupped her cheek. “You’ve helped us out so much thus far that you are beyond letting us down at this point. Even if we were to fail, ‘twould not be your fault. Not in the least.”
She wasn’t sure she would go that far, but she appreciated his kind words. Yet again, she did her best to swallow emotions as they tried to surface. They seemed to come fast and furious now that she could finally acknowledge them.
Then there was his weapon-roughened tender touch. The way his large hand encompassed not just her cheek but a good portion of the side of her neck too.
“So how do you feel, lass?” he asked, his voice tentative.
“I just told you how I feel,” she began before she realized what he meant and blushed. “Oh, you mean the ale last night.”
“Aye.” He grinned. “You were...” His grin grew. “Out of form.”
“That’s one way to put it.” She forced a chuckle though embarrassed. “I feel okay.” And she did for the most part. “I’m sorry I was so forward.”
“Dinnae be sorry,” he said softly, his hand still on her cheek. “’Twas verra good.” His brows furrowed and his brogue thickened as he tried to be careful with her. “I hope ye ken why I didnae want to kiss ye, to begin with...or why I stopped anything else from happening.”
“I do.” She cleared her throat, more than ready to end the conversation. “And I appreciate it.”
“Aye?” he asked, hopeful.
“Yes, of course.” She managed a smile. “You were a gentleman.”
“Aye,” he whispered, a curious look in his eyes. “Would ye like another then?”
“Another what?” she asked like a fool, so caught in the golden flare of his eyes she barely followed.
“Another kiss,” he murmured.
Though her first instinct was to say no because she was so nervous, she found herself being rather brave as she offered a single nod. Because she did want another kiss. Several more, if she were to be honest. But starting with one real kiss would be a good start.
“Did ye not think ‘twas a real kiss last night then?” he murmured, desire clear in his eyes as they fell to her lips. Naturally, he was catching some of her thoughts.
“It was real,” she conceded. Her cheeks were so heated they must be beet red. How was she supposed to tell him she was looking for something a bit more intimate? Deeper?
Thankfully, before she had a chance to formulate a word, he took the matter out of her hands and kissed her. At first, it was the same sort of kiss as last night. Warm and affectionate, it incited a thrilling rush of excitement.
Then it became more.
He wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck beneath her hair, tilted his head and began dropping small kisses in such a way that she barely realized she was returning them. She became so immersed in the feel of those kisses that she welcomed the sudden flick of his tongue along the seam of her mouth.
Eager to taste more, she opened her lips to the sort of kiss she always imagined. The sort of intimate, deep kiss two people could share. Initially, his tongue only danced lightly with hers before their tongues swirled and the kiss took on a life of its own.
She groaned as pleasure began spreading through her. Tingling warmth trailed down her neck and over her chest and arms until it became a fiery blaze that went lower. Not just fire but an instant aching need that startled her so much, she pulled back. That’s when it occurred to her she could barely draw a breath.
“Are ye well, lass?” he murmured, his voice husky.
Just breathe, Jessie she kept telling herself as she offered a jerky nod.
“Everything yer feeling is normal, lass,” he said softly, his voice soothing as he gently caressed the back of her neck.
As he kept murmuring things along those lines, she started to bit by bit relax. Even so, the aching need continued. A need she saw reflected in his eyes as he inhaled sharply and his jaw tightened. Well aware that dragons could smell the scent of arousal, she thought for sure she would be mortified but wasn’t. Instead, she found it remarkably alluring. How his pupils flared, and fire sizzled in his eyes as he tried to fight it.
She was somewhat surprised by her utter lack of fear and brazen response as she didn’t pull away, but kissed him again. It was as if another person was surfacing. One far bolder and more eager than she ever thought she could be.
This time he groaned as their tongues wrapped and the kiss grew more passionate than the last. By now, her whole body was alive in ways she couldn’t put into words. Her breasts tingled in anticipation as did other things.
She wanted more.
All he had to offer.
She wanted to feel him between her thighs and finally experience what she had been fantasizing about for so long.
“Och, lass,” he whispered against her lips before he pulled away and shook his head. “I willnae take ye on this ship. ‘Tis not right.”
“Why not?” she whispered, seeing no fault in it.
“It just isnae,” he murmured. “Not here. Not now.” He sighed as he sat up. “Ye deserve better.”
In her opinion, better was being with him period. She didn’t care where.
He took her hand and met her eyes as she sat up as well. “Ye deserve yer first time to be set apart from so many men, any of which could barge in here without a moment’s notice.”
Not only would they sense someone coming but she suspected privacy, in general, might prove a rarity on their adventure. Nevertheless, she didn’t argue. If he felt this wasn’t the right time, she would take his word for it. She could tell by the strain on his face, however, that it was taking him a great deal of strength to hold fast in his determination.
Yet he stood his ground as he cupped her cheek again, his touch gentle. “’Twill be soon enough and ‘twill be somewhere better suited to ye. Someplace more memorable.”
She could only imagine where he would find such a place but appreciated that he was determined to make it special. What more could a girl ask for?
“Come, let us change and see what’s happening above deck, aye?” he said as he stood.
“Sounds good,” she began, her words trailing off as he began undressing. She wasn’t so naïve that she hadn’t seen a man nude before. She often saw partial nudity when offering locals back home natural medicine. And she had seen Graham without clothes quite recently when she was time-traveling in spirit form. A fact she knew Bryce was aware of.
But Graham was not Bryce.
Though both were well-muscled and in remarkable shape, Bryce was more so somehow. Bigger. Harder. Her eyes trailed over his broad tattooed shoulders, down his chiseled abs to the ample bulge straining against his plaid.
“Though this is not where I wish to take you for the first time,” he said softly, “I thought ‘twould be good mayhap if you become more familiar with...me.” His brows lowered in dubious amusement as a smirk hovered on his lips. “And aye, I’m built a wee bit different than my cousin.” There was no missing his cockiness. “’Tis a dragon thing.”
All she could manage was a nod, not complaining in the least that he was ‘breaking her in’ to seeing his nudity so to speak. The only real problem was that it was making her more aroused. He grinned, obviously pleased as he caught that assessment.
Though remarkably nervous she figured she might as well get used to showing off her nudity as well. So she stood and started to undress.
His eyes widened. “What are ye doing, lass?”
She stopped working at the ties on the front of her dress. “Getting comfortable with this...you and me.” She lifted her brows, realizing that without meaning to she was giving him a taste of his own medicine. “You don’t mind, do you?”
There was no missing his heavy swallow as he shook his head. “Nay, lass. Do as ye will.”
She nodded and promptly set to removing her dress, more comfortable keeping her eyes on him rather than herself. Until that is, he yanked off his plaid.
“Oh, sweet Heaven,” she whispered, not averting her eyes. “That’s...you’re...” She shook her head and finally managed to drag her eyes to his face. “It’s okay.” She shook her head. “Never mind.”
Could she sound any more ridiculous? This wasn’t the first time she had seen an erection. Men sometimes got them when she applied herbal remedies but not like that. Not so...big.
Meanwhile, his blazing eyes were trained on her body as raw hunger flared in the
ir golden depths. Though certainly daunted by him, it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps this was the way to finally get what she wanted. To at last take the leap and experience the sort of passion she was eager for.
Then again, she wondered about his size...if she could handle it.
“Ye will,” he said, his voice husky again as he wrapped another plaid and covered himself. “As I said before, ye will think of nothing but pleasure when the time comes, and ye will be ready for me.”
She offered another nod as she put on her dress. If there was one thing she didn’t doubt after those kisses it was that he could arouse her a great deal. And that was the key to good sex. With the right stimulation, people fit together comfortably no matter their size difference. She frowned at her own thoughts. More so that she knew all this from a purely medicinal doctor-like viewpoint. Not because she had experienced it herself like most women her age.
She downright scowled, suddenly angry at the warlocks because she had missed out on so much. Frustrated that they had stolen her life from her. And her anger, having been repressed for so long, only seemed to be growing more and more with each passing moment.
“’Tis good that anger,” he murmured as they continued dressing. “’Twill help fuel you against what we face.”
“I’m sure it will,” she agreed as she yanked on her boots.
Before they headed up, he stopped her and tilted her chin until their eyes met. “Harness every bit of fury you feel toward them, lass. Use it then release it afterward.”
“It’s hard to imagine a day when I’ll be able to do that.” she murmured.
“You will,” he said softly. “And I will be there to help you.”
He really was turning out to be so much more than she had hoped for. Far more. She had imagined many things about this journey but not that he would offer her so much strength. That he would be so tenderhearted and sympathetic.
“Would you not have done the same for me had our roles been reversed?” He offered a soft smile as he responded to her thoughts. “We do share similar souls after all.”
“I would like to think I would’ve done the same,” she conceded. “I guess I worried for so long about how things might go that I started to assume the worst.”
Avenged by a Highland Laird Page 12