Alex pressed her head against his shoulder and simply held her to him. Just as he thought she as dosing off, he felt her hand on his chest. It ran across his smooth skin and up towards his shoulder then back across the muscles that twitched with her touch. He almost did not notice when she unpinned the brooch that held his plaid together across his shoulder. He looked down at her, but she was looking at the wall across from them. It was almost as if she did not know she was undressing him, but Alex knew she was fully aware of what she was doing. He was just curious enough to see where it would lead that he did not stop her.
The length of plaid fell to his waist as she awkwardly pushed the brooch into his sporran. She pushed the extra fabric behind them and ran her hand all the way from his shoulder to his waist. Alex had been hard since the moment he lifted her onto his horse. He had tried all he could think of to calm himself, but her presence and her scent inflamed him. Now her hand crept dangerously close to his manhood. When she leaned forward to use both hands to unfasten his belt, he captured them both in one of his.
“Lass, what are ye doing?”
Her reply was a long, searing kiss that had him lifting her in his lap. He let go of her hands, and she made quick work of unfastening his belt. She could not pull his plaid free because she was sitting on it, but she let the plaid that had shielded her fall to the ground. She pressed her bare body to his as she ran her fingers through his hair, then up and down his back. She could not get enough of the feel of his smooth skin and the rock-hard muscles under her palms. She moaned softly as she shifted, trying to bring herself closer. Close enough to feel all of him. He flipped her onto her back, and she tugged his plaid free as their bodies pressed against one another. Alex groaned as he pulled one of her legs to his hip, and he settled between them. He could feel his sword rubbing against her moist sheath, and all he wanted to do was plunge into her.
I canna do that. She isnae mine to take. She doesnae want me, and I canna take her innocence without marrying her. I canna dishonor either of us, but dear God above, all I want is to pound into her over and over. I want to feel how tight she is. I want to hear her moaning as I make her find her release. I want to spill inside her. Dear God, I want to do that all night and then again all of tomorrow. I want to be buried inside her until she canna take it anymore. But more than aught else in this world, I want to bring her the same pleasure she brings me. I want her to ken how much I love her. That I would do aught to make her happy.
Alex fought to stay in control. The temptation was nearly all-consuming, but he would never be one of those men who claimed he could not stop. He would never take her choice away.
He is so hard. Everywhere. The feel of him bare and over me is beyond what I could imagine. I havenae ever wanted aught as much I do now. I want to ken what he feels like inside me. I ache so badly for him. It’s like a slow burn taking over me. I canna stop. I dinna want this to stop. I want to feel him make love to me even if it is only this once. I want to be his and he mine for just a little while. I ken it’s wrong. I ken I shouldnae, but there will never be another mon. Never. Only Alex, and if this is the only night I can have with him, then I will have him. God, forgive me because Alex may never.
Brighde grasped firmly to Alex’s buttocks and shifted her hips. When she felt the tip of his cock slide into her entrance, she pulled as hard on his backside as she could and thrust her hips into him, lifting off the ground. She bit her lip almost hard enough to draw blood and swallowed her whimper of pain. Alex thrust twice before he froze. She felt him go rigid and then start to pull out. She wrapped her arms and legs around him as tightly as she possibly could.
“Please.”
Alex looked down at her in disbelief. He swore this was exactly what he was not going to do. He had not taken her choice away. She had taken his. He looked into her pleasure glazed eyes and saw the same savage need as he felt. Her body quaked under him as he held himself up on his elbows. She was so incredibly tight. He never felt anything like it before. It just felt right even though his mind screamed it was wrong.
“Alex, make love to me. Please. I dinna want this night to end without kenning what it is like to join with ye. I need ye, and I think ye need me too. Let us have this. There will never be anyone else for me.” She ran her fingertips lightly over his cheeks and then cupped them.
Listening to her declaration was enough to make him slowly lower back down so their chests pressed against one another. He was careful to move slowly because he knew she had to be tender even if she tried hard not to show it. As her body relaxed around him, he slid all the way to the hilt and then pulled almost all the way out. After the third glide, she thrust her hips up to him.
“Ye dinna have to coddle me. I want to feel all of ye. I want it all, Alex. Dinna hold back from me. I canna hold back from ye, so I give all of me. Please let me have the same in return.”
She pressed her lips to his and ran her tongue across them. When he parted them, he thrust his tongue into her mouth, and she lightly sucked on it. That was all the permission Alex needed to begin to thrust hard into her. She could not stop the moans that escaped her. She did not want to, and the more she shared her pleasure, the harder Alex moved inside her, bringing her even more. She rubbed her sensitive bud against his hard pelvic bone and found the release she sought. It was unlike any that he brought her to before. She arched off of the ground and screamed. Alex thrust two more times before suddenly pulling out of her. He spilled across her stomach as she shook her head in displeasure. Her hips kept lifting and pressing against him. He slid a hand between them and continued to rub her engorged flesh until she went stiff again and breathed a long sigh of release.
Alex watched her throughout their coupling even though her eyes drifted closed a few times. He had never seen anything more beautiful than the glow that emanated from her cheeks as he made love to her. He had been with his fair share of women in the past, but he could not remember it ever being like this. His heart pounded as he tried to catch his breath, but he knew it was not the physical exertion that made it race. It was the depth of emotion he felt for her. He felt as though more than just his body melded with hers. He wanted to give her his heart and join their souls.
Brighde felt her eyes drift closed again. She tried to keep her eyes open throughout the entire experience because she did not want to miss a moment, but the pleasure engulfed her, and she found she could not fight it. The time that she managed to keep them open was spent looking into Alex’s. Twice she looked down to watch where their bodies met. She was frustrated that she could not see more. She wanted to watch as he entered her over and over, but when she realized their position would never allow that, she went back to looking into his chocolate eyes. They took on a smoky amber tone, and she was drawn to it like a moth to the flame. He was the single most handsome man she had ever met, and he had never seemed more masculine and tender all at once than he did as they made love.
Now Brighde pressed him to lay against her. She wanted his full weight to lay on her. She needed to feel it to feel their experience was complete.
“Ye willna crush me,” she whispered.
Alex gently lowered himself to her, but she knew he still held some of his weight from her. She did not want to ruin the moment, so she cradled him between her legs and brushed her hands up and down his back before settling for just holding him. His head rested in the crook of her neck and gently breathed in her scent that was now mixed with sweat and him. He felt drunk as he breathed deeper and a calm settled over him from how right it felt to hold Brighde in his arms after making love to her. His head felt both light and heavy at the same time, and he felt as though the rest of the world was slipping away from him. All he could do was focus on the woman with whom he just shared the most sensual and moving experience of his life. His fingers slowly trailed along her ribs as his other hand held her hip gently. He shivered at the feel of her fingernails gliding along his spine. His cock stirred to life again.
How can that even
be? How can I possibly be ready to go again after what we just did? I havenae ever come that hard, and yet, all I want to do is sink into her and start all over again. She has bewitched me, and I canna get enough.
Alex nipped at her neck and rocked his hips forward. Brighde’s reaction was immediate. She pressed her hips up to meet him as she moaned and scratched her fingernails across the muscles of his back. She turned her head towards him; her lips seeking his as she felt him reach down to guide himself into her. Their lips met as he slid back into her sheath. She sighed with pleasure as she felt him fill her to what felt like the very depth of her soul.
Alex wrapped his arms around her and rolled them over so she straddled him. He watched her sit up, and he cupped her full breasts as she slowly began to move. He let her explore at her own pace and to try rising and falling on his rod before settling for rocking back and forth. He let her find what brought her the most pleasure, and he was rewarded by watching her throw her head back as her fingers grasped onto his chest for balance. Her blonde waves hung to her waist and trailed along the tops of his thighs. They felt like feathers caressing him, and the slight contact made his skin prickle and his muscles jump. He basked in the feeling of her breasts in his hands as she stretched back. He saw the sinews in her throat work as her breathing became more labored. He felt sweat beading on his forehead as he strained to move with her without getting carried away in his own pleasure. Watching Brighde ride him was even more erotic than what they shared not five minutes earlier. His hands ran over her ribs and belly, down to her hips and then grasped her buttocks. She began to move faster as he felt her inner spasm begin.
“Alex, help me. I’m so close. I dinna ken what to do. I dinna want this to end, but I want it. But nae without ye. I dinna want to finish without ye.”
Alex guided her to move faster on him. He could feel that his own release was imminent, but he would force himself to wait until she was satisfied. He thought it might very well be what finally killed him as her inner muscles squeezed and clenched around him. It took every last shred of self-control to keep from spilling inside her. The moment that he felt her relax, he thrust once more and then lifted her from him. He heard her frustrated grunt, but he was not going to risk getting her with child until they were really and truly wed before a priest in a kirk. He pulled her down to lay across his chest and lifted her hair from her neck. It stuck to her as he brushed it away.
Brighde could feel Alex’s heart pounding against her own chest. She understood why he pulled out both times, and she knew it was the responsible thing to do, but a large part of her wished that he had not. She wished there was a chance, even a small one, that she might end up with his child.
Ye canna truly be that selfish, can ye? Ye would carry this mon’s child, so ye might always have a part of him with ye, but ye would deny him his own first born. What kind of woman have I become? I dinna want to stay with him only because I fear for him and his clan, but I would steal from him his own bairn. I might be trying to be selfless by leaving, but instead, I could easily be the most selfish person I ken. How could I even think of doing that to him? What is wrong with me?
Brighde could not shake the feeling of self-loathing that was now putting a damper on what they shared. She had, in her own mind, managed to ruin the most incredible night of her life. She felt tears once again prick at the back of her eyes. Instead of letting them fall, she pulled Alex’s arms more tightly around her. She would rejoice in these last few hours and soak in all the love she knew he felt but had not said. She would return it in even measure even though she was not ready to confess her feelings either. Alex and Brighde drifted off to sleep wrapped in each other’s’ arms. Sometime in the middle of the night, Alex woke long enough to pull a plaid over them before he settled back to sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
B
righde awoke to a hard surface below her, but it was not Alex’s warm body. She reached out her hand before opening her eyes, but her hand only felt cold air. She did not remember being covered with the plaid, but the cold nip in the air made her very glad for it. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. The fire had been tended, the rain had stopped, her clothes were neatly folded next to her, and Alex was nowhere to be seen. Alex, his saddle, and his horse were missing. Brighde had a moment of panic that he had left her behind.
Did ma wantonness drive him away? Is that what finally did it? Isnae that what ye wanted after all? Mayhap nae him leaving in disgust but to leave ye alone? I didna think it would hurt so much. It was much easier when I was the one leaving. Now I ken how he must have felt. I dinna even ken where I am. He said Ben Morven, but I dinna ken where that is. I have nay idea which way I need to head. I will have to wait for the sun to rise enough for me to orient maself, but then I will lose a good chunk of the morn. But I canna walk around in circles. There isnae aught for it. I will have to wait for the sun to move into a position that I can use.
Brighde was pulling herself from her near panic and frustration when Alex walked back into the cave. She scrambled to her feet and wrapped the plaid around her shoulders. She suddenly felt shy and embarrassed. She knew it made no sense. None of it did. She knew she was the one who ran away, but now the idea of being left alone made her panic. She also knew that she was the one who left Alex behind, but the thought that he might leave her made her heart pinch within her chest. It also made absolutely no sense to suddenly find a sense of modesty after what they had done together, after what she had made them do the night before.
She was sailing unchartered waters and did not know how she was supposed to act around a man she had been so intimate with only a short time ago.
Alex entered the cave after going to the nearby stream to wash and catch a couple of fish. He looked up as his eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from the fire. He halted when he saw Brighde, more beautiful than he had ever seen standing before the fire with his plaid wrapped around her and her hair in disarray. He wanted to pull her into his arms and make love to her all over again. He suddenly felt no rush to get back home. Instead, he even thought about taking a longer route back to Castle Dunbeath so he could have more time. He could not help but smile as Brighde looked around nervously and pushed her hair back from her face. He decided to take pity on her, so he held up the fish.
“I thought ye might be a bit hungry, lass. I caught us breakfast.” He smiled and moved towards the fire. “I dinna want ye getting too cold, so ye can step towards the back of the cave to dress. Ye should still have enough light to see, but I willna be able to see ye.”
Alex was surprised to see a look of hurt cross Brighde’s face before it was masked by a look he had come to realize was how she handled discomfort around other people. She had refined a look of serenity that might fool others, but there was a slightly tight look around her eyes. It took Alex only a moment to realize that while she was embarrassed this morning, he had awoken in fine spirits and was ready to strut like a rooster, which was not something he thought she would appreciate at this moment. He suddenly understood that his offer to escape an uncomfortable situation had seemed like rejection.
He walked over to her and wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her to him. With his other hand, he tilted her chin up and brushed his lips against hers, gently increasing the pressure until he felt her melt against him and open for him. He plunged his tongue into the velvety warmth of her mouth as he mimicked what he longed to do with their bodies. Brighde raised her arms to snake them around his neck while the plaid sagged over his arm, and he quickly let it fall to the ground as he enclosed her in the circle of his arms. She moaned softly as she felt his hands on her bare skin, and she pressed her breasts against his chest, frustrated that his leine was a barrier between them. She reached down to push his sporran out of the way, feeling his cock brush her hand through the wool. Yet another barrier between her and what she craved. She lifted his plaid and slipped her hand underneath.
Alex was so lost in his own explorations of
her body that he was unprepared for the rush of sensation that shot through him when her hand wrapped around him and began stroking. He growled as he lifted her, and she hugged him with her thighs while he took the three steps that brought her back to the wall. With another growl, he thrust into her, and her moans spurred him on as he plunged harder and faster with each thrust. She met him with equal measure. His kiss was hard and possessive, and she breathed him in as her tongue parried with his. She sucked gently on it, and when she felt Alex's control slipping, she sucked harder, grabbed his hair in one hand and his shoulder in the other.
"More."
Alex supported her with one hand as the other found her breast. He squeezed almost painfully, treading that fine line between pleasure and pain, and Bridget could not get enough.
"More."
Alex tweaked her nipple, and when he received a growl in return, he pinched harder. She pulled her lips from his and caught his earlobe between her teeth. She alternated sucking and nibbling.
Alex could feel his release coming, and he tried to stop it, but that part of him had control despite what his mind said. He pulled from her just as the first jet streamed from him. He heard her sob in frustration, and as soon as he was sure he had no more seed to spill, he thrust into her again. No longer worried, he allowed himself to completely lose control as he pounded his hips to give her the friction she craved. He had already learned what brought her the most pleasure, and he was determined to give it to her now. He pinched her nipple hard again as he tugged her hair back and feasted where her neck and shoulder met. He felt her clenching around him.
His Highland Prize (The Clan Sinclair Book 3) Page 19