Page 36 of Claiming His Scottish Duchess (Scottish Duchesses #2)
He took a shaky breath, his gaze searching hers as the words began to pour out of him.
“I love you, Catriona,” he said as he nervously ran a hand through his hair, trying to organize his scattered thoughts.
“If I am being honest, I think… well, I think I loved you from the first moment I saw you, pointing your pistol at that thug in Hyde Park. But I was too much of a fool, too blinded by my own arrogance, to see it.”
Catriona listened, her expression unreadable. She held his gaze, her eyes clearly searching him.
He braced himself as he waited for her to say something, expecting her to tell him it was too much too late. Or that his coldness had irrevocably broken what had begun to blossom between them. That there was no coming back.
Instead, she took a step closer, her hand reaching out to gently touch his cheek.
“You hurt me, Richard,” she said softly, but with a firmness that struck his heart. “But I forgive ye all the same because I need ye as much as I need the air in me lungs. Much as fate and circumstance tried to dissuade us, I love ye. I love ye, with all me heart.”
She ran her fingers tenderly over his beard as she offered the slightest smile.
“Aye, I have found me second home here…”
Catriona led him by the hand to her bed, as electricity surged between them.
It had been too long, and the single touch of their embrace was all-consuming.
How she had longed for him to take her in her bed after those long nights apart.
As angry as she had been, she needed him. And now, here he was in front of her.
He looked at her with lust. She watched his gaze as he undressed her with his eyes first, his gaze darting up and down her curvaceous figure.
“You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen,” he cooed as he brought her into his arms in front of the mattress.
He scooped her all the way up and cradled her there for a moment before placing her gently on the bed.
He began to remove her clothes. He moved slowly at first, she felt it almost reverent the way he touched her. Yet the frenetic energy of their connection became overwhelming with each moment, as his frustrated hands reached a feverish pace to remove her corset and reveal her breasts.
Catriona’s heart was racing, her nipples perked against the firmness of the corset that she sighed when he finally released it.
They had tried to resist their undeniable connection for so long, yet it was all they had wanted. Catriona was sure of his love now, as sure as she was of the breath in her lungs. They were one being, one movement.
“I have to have you now, Catriona,” he said as he took her long locks in his fists, pulling gently and lowering his body onto hers. “You are mine.”
She kissed him firmly in return, sliding her tongue deep into his mouth and exploring lustfully. He returned her passion, tracing his lips to her neck and nibbling softly in between kisses.
Aye, this sensation is enough to push me over the edge right here and now.
He placed her arms above her head onto the pillows. He took his mouth and wrapped his soft lips around her left nipple, not neglecting the right as he kneaded it hungrily with his hand.
She tried to bring her arms down to stroke the hard length between his legs, but he pushed her hands back above her head each time.
She surrendered to his dominance as he started working between her legs with his fingers.
The combination of his mouth on her breasts and his touch on her sex pushed her to the edge.
She began grinding on his hand, moaning loudly.
“Aye, I think I am goin’ to die right here, me love,” she sighed. “I need to touch ye, now. Please, Richard.”
At those words, he let her break free and grab him. She began stroking him through his pants, realizing he was still clothed.
As if reading her mind, he backed up off the bed and undressed in front of her. He kicked off his boots and pulled off his shirt in a swift movement.
“Dinnae go so fast, I like to look at ye,” Catriona whispered huskily, to which Richard growled in return.
“You like what you see, my love?” he asked playfully, his hardness on full display in front of her as he gripped it.
She took in the broadness of his shoulders, the cool blue of his eyes as they raked over her. She wished the moment could have lasted forever, yet she needed him desperately between her legs.
Catriona sat up and took him in her hands. She began to lick, flick her tongue, and suck in a thoughtful rhythm as she pleasured him. The sensation was enough to take her over the edge again, just making him feel as pleasured as she had been by him.
“I didnae ken anythin’ could taste this good, me love,” she said as she took him as deep as she could, his moans growing louder as she feared the staff might hear them.
“If you keep talking like that and doing what you are doing, I won’t be able to give you what you deserve. Lay back down, now,” he barked as she obeyed, falling onto the bed.
He descended upon her and shoved his manhood deep inside, penetrating depths she did not know existed. It was the beginning and the end, all that they had needed and could never say out loud. She was filled with sheer ecstasy, and by him.
“Richard,” she said softly, her brown eyes glazed over in pure bliss as they lay in each other’s arms. “Ye are impossible. And indeed, a complete idiot if I am bein’ honest. Sometimes I feared ye would never be able to get out of yer own way.”
“I’ve been a fool in truth,” he said in agreement, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. “But there is no hiding now. With all my heart. All my soul. I am yours.”