She smiled sardonically. “I could tell you it’s none of your business.”
Arrogance, albeit mild, touched Lachlan’s expression. “I’ll only find out anyway.”
His calm and perceptive acceptance of her emotions gave her some relief. Leaning back against fluffy pillows, she tried to put distance between them so she could breathe and think. Lachlan turned sideways until he could hitch his knee up onto the couch. His position told her he remained open to talking with her, but he gave her distance.
Claiming her control meant she would have to jump right into the deepest part of the lake and hope she could swim. “Do you know what I’m thinking all the time?”
“No, not always.” He leaned forward slightly, and she pushed back against the pillows. “Only random thoughts.”
“Then I’m also picking up your random thoughts?”
“I can project my thoughts into a receptive mind.” His gaze swept down her body in a sweeping perusal that felt like a caress. “I’ve projected several thoughts into your mind, others you’ve picked up from me on your own.”
Unease rippled through her. “I’m not sure I like the idea of you projecting thoughts into me. What if I don’t want you to?”
“We have to have a bond for me to be able to project those thoughts.”
“We’ve just met. How could I have a bond with you?”
He leaned forward and his scent, musky and masculine, filled her senses. “It’s very complex, Erin. I told you’d explain at dinner tomorrow night.”
“You said you’d explain about vampires. What’s that got to do with our so-called telepathic connection?”
Lachlan ruffled his hair with one hand. “Actually, more than you might think.”
Confusion rolled within Erin, and she wanted to smack the truth out of him then and there. “Tell me now. Not that I’ll believe a word of it.”
He swung his feet to the floor. “Back at Tom’s and Gilda’s you protested when Mark spoke about El Chupacabra.”
Exasperated, she said, “Again, I want to know what does that have to do with us having a…a bond and reading minds and vampires?”
He looked worried. “Ah, lass, it’s very intricate.”
She put her hands up. “I have all the time in the world. Spill it.”
With another grin, this one full of mischief, he asked, “You American’s have an interesting way of saying things.”
Amused, she returned his smile. “And the Scots don’t?”
“Oh, aye.” He deepened his voice and his brogue. “We do. In fact, I think we invented odd sayings. I’d like to tell you about it sometime. I dinna have the time now.”
“Back to mind reading, buster. The night I first met you at the library, I heard you in my mind.”
“That’s right.” She saw the edgy, hot restraint burning in his eyes, his gaze lambent and full of desire. “And I wanted you from the first moment I saw you.”
His surprising words, combined with his intent assessment, about unraveled her defenses. She was afraid. Plain and simple.
“Don’t be afraid of me. When I said I’d protect you with my life,” he said, his words deep with a sensual quality that scattered her wits, “I meant it.”
Trembling started in her stomach, then turned to a blaze that incinerated all her reasons for refusing Lachlan and ordering him out of her life.
“You wanted me to know what you thought of my legs?” she asked.
His eyes sparkled. “That thought got away from me. You’re the only woman I’ve met who can make me project a thought. When it’s powerful enough of an emotion, I can’t hold back with you. I’ve never felt this out of control with a woman.”
As she pondered on the incredible admission, she marveled at how wonderful his fingers felt against her. Big, masculine fingers caressed her neck with sweet attention. Erin imagined those long fingers stroking between her thighs until she felt wet and swollen. Instantly, a rush of moisture touched her panties. She clenched her thighs together. She visualized him slipping two fingers deep inside her, pressing upward to hit her G-spot, sliding and dipping until the ache became unbearable. Consistent throbbing started deep inside her belly and between her legs.
With an out-of-this-world gorgeous smile, he said, “I’m glad you like my touch.” His voice deepened to a husky whisper. “And yes, I will touch you there, if that’s what you want.”
A blush flamed her face. “You’re reading my mind again.”
He tilted his head to the side, and she fell into that dark fire once again. “Yes.”
When he didn’t apologize, Erin tried to dredge up some indignation and found she couldn’t. Instead she wished to tease him, tempt him into doing what she’d imagined. She wanted to bathe in the admiration she saw in his incredible eyes.
“Thank you,” he said as cupped her face with his other hand.
She couldn’t think, only feel. “For what?”
“For believing I have incredible eyes.”
She made an exasperated sound. “Damn it, Lachlan, do you plan to read all my embarrassing thoughts?”
He shrugged, a twinkle of amusement mingling with the heavy duty desire she saw in his eyes. “Well, you heard my thoughts about your legs. Turnabout is fair, don’t you think?”
“Humph.”
“I take it that’s the closest to yes I’m going to get?”
Unwilling to allow the conversation to deteriorate into a discussion on mutually attractive body parts, she said, “You hardly know me, yet you want to protect me?”
Erin thought she detected a modicum of irritation in his face. “Why do you think no man could ever care about you?” His voice went quiet. “Who made you believe such rubbish?”
Disturbed by his easy evaluation, she remained silent. She ducked her head and looked at her hands in a moment of weakness.
Her father’s strident voice seemed to materialize in her head, as real as the day he’d muttered the words two months ago. You think you’ll find any friends better’n the ones you got here? You sure won’t find a man a better man in some Podunk town like Pine Forest.
Lachlan’s touch brushed over her cheek, possessive and protective. He tipped up her chin. “When I first saw you, I thought you were pretty and gentle and honest. I need a touch of that in my life, and there you were.” He paused, daring her to look away from his fathoms-deep eyes. “I want your body, but I also want to know you as a person.”
I want your body.
No man had ever said those words to her, blunt and without remorse. Yet his qualification, that he wanted her as a person, also fueled the fire building inside her.
His words settled in her heart and took up residence, daring Erin to refute him. Other men said sweet words, in fact a few once promised her similar things during short acquaintance. She soon discovered they didn’t mean a word of it. Wariness held back appreciation.
Her chin tingled from his touch, and she reached up to touch his fingers. Those crystal lights seemed to glow in his eyes again, and as Lachlan held her gaze, he gathered her hand in his and kissed the back of it.
“You think I should get protection from El Chupacabra?” she asked.
“I know Tom and Gilda are concerned about you, too. I told them I’d keep an eye on you.”
Overprotection. Her parents did enough of that when she was young. Could she allow a man to do the same, no matter what his intentions?
There it was—that creeping doubt, the kind she encountered often. Despite his assurances, despite Gilda and Tom vouching for him, she couldn’t accept a virtual stranger’s protection. She slipped from his grasp and stood, looking down at him as she positioned herself near the coffee table.
“Thank you for your kindness and concern, but I can’t. I don’t know you well enough.”
“You still won’t trust me.” His matter-of-fact statement sounded flat but it went with his calm demeanor as he stood.
He shrugged, and his big shoulders looked broad enough to take on t
he world. Everything about the Scot was solid, dependable and sincere. So what held her back?
“I can’t, Lachlan. Not until I know you better.”
“So there’s hope.” He nodded as he if he understood her rejection and possessed infinite patience.
She knew she must confess one thing to get his reaction. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“About what?”
“I told Danny Fortesque about what you told me the night Mrs. Pickles was attacked.”
Lachlan didn’t look the least confused. “I know. You told him your suspicions because you were concerned I had something to do with her death. I don’t blame you. You were being sensible. He stopped by the bed and breakfast last night to question me.”
Surprised, only one word came to her mind. “Oh.”
A smile flickered over his lips, then vanished. “You expected me to be angry?”
“Frankly, yes.”
“Get used to me understanding things, lass. Life is too short to be angry all the time.” His gaze narrowed. “Is that what your parents used to do? Yell at you?”
Disconcerted by the depth of his comprehension, she sighed. “Dad yelled a lot when he was frustrated. Mom was the strong, silent type when it came to being mad.” Guilt ran through her, and she stepped toward him, eager to remedy any gap between them. “Did my statement to Danny harm you in any way?”
“No.” Lachlan put up one hand. “I told Fortesque everything I knew. He seemed satisfied to some extent.”
“Some extent?”
“He didn’t say he was going to arrest me, if that’s what you’re worried about. But he said he would be watching my every move.”
Erin groaned. “Oh, Lord.”
Lachlan chuckled. “Now that we’ve got that out in the open, does this mean you’ll still have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
“What time?”
“I can pick you up at six-thirty.” He started for the door, retrieving his brown leather jacket along the way.
“No picking me up from work.”
He slipped into his jacket and zipped the front. “Okay. I won’t suggest it again, unless you ask me.”
Before she could say a word more, he slipped his arms around her and brought her close. As his mouth came down on hers, she knew she’d lost the battle again.
Chapter 10
Erin didn’t try to resist Lachlan’s kiss, but she didn’t expect what happened next. His one sweet, tender kiss dissolved, and he stepped back. Surprised that he didn’t take the kiss further, she felt a twinge of disappointment.
With an assessment that spelled sizzling heat, he let his stare drift with slow precision from her breasts straight down her body to her shoes. Fire blazed a path wherever his gaze touched. “If you want more, you have to take it, lass. You know what I want.”
How could she miss it? His eyes burning for her, he appeared every inch the muscular, skilled lover she knew he must be.
More than sex, she found her desire for him came as much for attraction to what she knew about him. His bravery, his kindness, and his mysterious allure gave strength to her need for him. Affection followed, even though it was too soon to say love.
Lachlan stood like a defiant soldier, and she hesitated. He started to turn toward the door, and her commonsense left her, swept away by a renewed hunger that tingled in her breasts, her nipples, and high up in her vagina. Again she clenched her muscles and felt a response, the trickle of moisture.
Without a word, she clasped his forearm and turned him back to her. She reached up and cupped his face between her hands. “One more kiss.”
She dared to look into his eyes again, mesmerized by the sheer power of his intensity. He slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her, his mouth searching with a ravenous intensity. She groaned, welcoming his tongue. She met his foray with her own, half mad with keen desire.
As the kiss lingered, Erin moved against him, a shimmy that said she intended to give him what he wanted. Rubbing her entire body against his like a slinky cat, she pressed her breasts against his chest. She clasped at his leather-covered arms, wanting to tear the coat off. She wished to rip off the shirt underneath and see if hair sprinkled his chest and if his pecs looked as hard as they felt. She wanted that hot skin under her fingers, brushing against her with heated caress.
As he took her mouth with his tongue, she imagined his cock there instead. He would slide it between her lips, giving her it all and she would love it. She would lick and suck and show Lachlan how much she wanted him in her mouth. She would even allow him to climax in her mouth if he desired.
Heaven help me. Shocked by the thought, because she’d never allowed a man to climax into her mouth, a forbidden thrill launched her desire to new levels. With Lachlan she wanted his cum. In her mouth and inside her body, shooting hot and fast.
She shivered with an illicit pleasure.
He pulled back, a moan on his lips. “God, sweet Erin, feel what you do to me.” He pressed his hips against her, and she felt the hardness of his cock against her belly. “I want to sink inside you and never leave.”
With quick, precise moves, he removed his coat and flung it away. His carefree attitude, full of confidence and potent sexuality, said he didn’t care where the expensive garment landed. To him it mattered far more to keep engaged with her. He pulled her into his arms again. Satisfaction shot through her.
“But we aren’t going to have sex tonight,” he said softly.
“We’re not?” she asked in a half-daze.
With a wildness she never recalled feeling before, she arched against him. He kissed her, his hands urging her toward the couch. They sat down, and he leaned over her, pressing her into the cushions. She drowned in his attention. An erotic magic encompassed her, sweeping her senses to an exotic place she’d never experienced.
They seemed to kiss forever, until her mind twisted and twirled and took flight into the darkness just beyond the door. Within her psyche she realized something extraordinary happened between them, and with all her heart she wanted it to continue.
Lachlan retreated from the kiss again. “I must have a little of your sweetness.”
Sweetness?
His words whispered into her mind, as light as snow. I will show you.
He reached down for her pumps and slipped them off. “Don’t move.”
Shivering with a raging desire, she nodded. “All right.”
As he caressed her calf, she felt the exciting touch straight through her hose, and another shudder skipped through her body. He worked up her leg, touching with slow deliberation until he reached her thigh. He cupped and caressed and palmed the inside of her thigh.
She stopped his hand as it slid up her thigh. “Take them off. My hose. Take them off.”
For a moment she wished she’d worn thigh high stockings and garters.
Next time, lass.
As he slipped the hose down her legs, the arousal built, promising a sweet, hot detour into the wildest sexual experience she’d experienced.
Lachlan didn’t fumble and stumble as some of the men she’d dated once did. And although she hadn’t taken many lovers, she couldn’t believe the extraordinary heat racing through her at his mere touch.
Her nipples pulsed with the need to be touched. They pressed against her bra, causing hot desire to jolt through her lower stomach. As if reading her mind once again, he kissed her and cupped her breasts at the same time.
Is this what you want?
Yes.
Each movement felt gossamer-soft as his big hands clasped her breasts and manipulated them, charting over untouched territory, never rushing, always giving.
“Erin, darling, these are beautiful.”
His eyes blazed, appreciating her as he cupped and rubbed and tormented until she wanted to beg him to touch her nipples. Instead he brushed around and around the outer edges for what seemed an eternity before he lifted her sweater. A tiny panic rolled through her as he gazed at her
white, utilitarian front clasp bra. Nothing sexy about it, nothing to entice a hot-blooded male.
Yes, Erin. You alone are enough enticement.
His caring voice inside her head, raw with sex, eased some of her fears. As if realizing Erin didn’t feel one hundred percent comfortable with baring herself, Lachlan cupped her cotton-clad breasts. Heat gathered in her skin, warmed by his fingers and palms and by the excitement of his intimate touch. As the sensation built, her nipples felt hard, tight, and desperate for caresses.
She grasped his hands and stilled his movements. At his pause, she heard the breath rasping in and out of his lungs and the quickness of her own breath. She dared look into his eyes and saw the golden fire she longed for glimmering in his gaze. Erin knew Lachlan wanted her with an ache she could feel clear down to her soul.
She thought about everything she’d be leaving behind if she allowed this mysterious, incredible hunk of a man to make love to her.
She barely knew him. Lachlan would soon leave her. Love had nothing to do with the uncontrollable urges that drove her to couple with him.
Since when had she become one hundred percent fucking certifiably irresponsible?
Erin didn’t know and didn’t care.
Her will seemed sucked from her as she stared into the amber deep pull of his eyes.
“Erin?” He kissed her forehead, his voice full of worry. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” She shoved aside her previous worries.
“I don’t have protection for us, lass. That’s another reason we won’t make love tonight.” Again his voice roughened with brogue. “But we will.” He whispered to her, his voice a comfort. “You have me under your power. I’ll do anything you want. Touch and suck your nipples, stick my fingers deep up inside that sweet, slick channel. Anything but take you tonight.”
Such blunt, blatantly sexual words might once have seemed rude to her. Now they made her hot. Her face flushed, then heat ran down through her torso and into her middle.
“When we make love, it’ll be right,” he said.
Make love.
Deep is the Night: Dark Fire Page 11