Page 27

Cassian had learned much that day, and couldn’t manage to regret it.

Still, he hummed as if in speculation as his mouth moved down her neck.

“Perhaps…I am feeling…wicked…” When she chuckled, that low sound going straight to his already-throbbing cock, he nudged aside the beautiful silk robe she wore.

“And judging from this…” He straightened to examine her. “Ye’re feeling wicked too.”

Her smile, and the sparkle in her eyes, told him exactly how wicked she was feeling .

With a hum, Gabby rocked her hips forward, pressing him against the door, and capturing his hard length against her pelvis. “I was hoping you would come, Cassian.”

“Hmm, that’s what she said.”

She chuckled and rotated her hips and arse again, grinding against him until he felt any resolve dissipating. He’d come here tonight to tell her…tell her…

Christ, tell her exactly how perfect she felt in his arms, how perfect she made him feel.

When he was with her, Cassian didn’t feel like a failure, didn’t feel like half a man. He felt…perfect.

With a groan, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted, pulling her flush against him, so their mouths could meet.

Their undressing was frantic, nothing at all like the reverence of last night. Gabby laughed when his trouser leg became stuck on the prosthetic, but since he was laughing as well—in joy, he knew—he didn’t feel the spike of shame he might have once dreaded.

“Keep it on,” Gabby murmured against his lips as she pulled him toward the bed. “You will need all of your leverage.”

Fook me.

The purple silk pooled around her as Cassian laid her back on the bed. She was a delicious spread of the finest treats, and he intended to enjoy every inch.

He kissed her.

He kissed her everywhere .

Her throat, the inside of her arms, the underside of her breasts. He laved and rolled her nipples, loving the way she squirmed and bucked beneath him, even as his cock throbbed painfully. Doing his best to ignore it, ignore his own pleasure, he focused on hers .

Cassian trailed kisses down Gabby's stomach, his hands fluttering and roaming her curves, worshipping every inch of her. When his lips grazed the edge of her pubic bone, he felt her tremble.

“Cassian,” she gasped, unabashed with her fingers tangling in his hair, urging him on.

He grinned against her skin, inhaling her scent, musky and sweet. She remembered his tongue so fondly? Well, that was fair; he’d been in a state of semi-arousal all day just remembering how she’d squeezed him with her thighs that morning, riding his face without inhibition.

Gabby was bold enough to claim what she wanted, and he loved that about her.

Hell, he was certain he was in love with this remarkable woman.

How had this happened so fast?

“Patience, lass,” he murmured in a low growl. “I’m no’ rushing this.” He kissed her curls. “I’ve been dreaming about it all day. All week.”

That kiss this morning by the river, while Gus swam, had only served to heighten his need, his anticipation.

Gabby whimpered, her hips bucking, seeking—demanding his touch. He chuckled, his breath hot against her inner thigh. “So eager,” he praised, his fingers gently stroking her folds, spreading her sopping wetness. “So fooking wet for me.”

Gabby moaned, her head falling back, her eyes closing on a murmured, “All for you.”

Grinning, Cassian took a moment to admire her, spread out before him like a goddess, her body flushed and eager. Then he lowered his head, his tongue taking a long, slow, delicious lick from her entrance to her clit.

She cried out, hips jerking—but he held her firmly, hands gripping her thighs, his weight balanced.“Stay still, lass,” he commanded. “Dinnae deprive me of yer taste.”

The breath she sucked in, the way the fingers of her free hand curled in the counterpane, told him that although she wasn’t used to receiving commands, she rather liked it.

Pride thrumming through him, he licked her again, slower this time, savoring her taste. Her clitoris all but throbbed beneath his tongue, swollen and sensitive. He circled it gently, his tongue teasing, his fingers delicately stroking her core.

“Cassian,” she gasped, her fingers tightening in his hair. “Please...”

He hummed against her, the vibration making her moan. “Please what, lass?” he teased, his lips brushing against her sensitive flesh. “Tell me what ye want.”

Gabby writhed beneath him, words failing her. “I need…” When he curled his fingers forward, straining for the rough place behind her clitoris, she lifted her head with a gasp. Her dark gaze pierced him as she made her command .

“Make me come, Cassian.”

Christ Almighty, there was no way he could deny that demand. Pressed against the mattress, his cock surged, desperate to bury itself where his tongue currently was. Soon .

He needed to fulfil her command.

With a growl of dark promise, Cassian lowered his head again, his tongue teasing Gabby’s most sensitive places. The two fingers he’d slid inside her curled to stroke her, his rhythm the slow, soft pace he’d learned she liked last night.

Slowly, slowly…

As her inner muscles clenched around him, his fingertips caressed that sensitive spot inside her, stroking it in time with his twisting tongue.

Gabby’s moans grew louder, her hips bucking against his mouth.

“Ye taste so fooking sweet,” he growled against her, knowing his voice would vibrate pleasingly against her sensitive flesh. “So wet, so tight. Ye’re going to come for me, aye, lass? I’m going to taste yer sweet pleasure.”

With a groan, her other hand found his hair, pushing him closer. “Cassian…” she gasped.

He couldn’t speak, not with as close as she was holding him. Hell, he could barely breathe, and grinned at the realization that if he suffocated like this, he’d die blissfully. With a low growl, he closed his lips around her clitoris and tugged ever so gently? —

“Cassian!” she blurted as her back arched, her inner muscles convulsed…and her orgasm burst over her.

As her inner muscles clenched around his fingers, her wetness spilled across his tongue and down his chin, as he did everything possible to drag out her pleasure. Her body shook with the force of her ecstasy and he loved it .

Cassian stayed with her, his tongue gentle now, riding out her pleasure, drawing out her peak, lapping at her, savoring her taste.

Only when she began to float down, her body relaxing, her breath returning to normal did he slow his ministrations, his tongue giving one final gentle lick before he lifted his head.

Cassian looked up her body, unable to help his satisfied smirk as his tongue dragged over his lips, pulling in the last taste of her pleasure. “Ye’re delicious,” he praised…and then Gabby was laughing, reaching for him, and he ended up beside her on the bed, rolling her into his arms.

“You are amazing,” she whispered, kissing him. Her kisses were soft at first, then they deepened. When he shifted and his aching cock pressed against her hip, she grinned against his mouth. “Perhaps we should do something about that ,” she teased.

“Nay, love.” His hands skimmed her body, unable to stop caressing her, despite knowing her blood still hummed from her oh-so-recent release. “I’m content to focus on ye.”

“Well I am not,” she demanded, pulling him down. “Fook me, Cassian,” she whispered against his jaw, as she kissed a route along his skin. “I need to feel your cock in me again.”

Well shite, how was he supposed to argue with that sort of command ?

His fingers closed around his eager hardness, unable to stop from stroking it. “Ye want this deep inside ye, lass?” he growled, pushing himself up on his elbow. “Ye want to come all over my cock?”

With a satisfied hum Gabby arched against him, her arms going around his neck as she maneuvered him between her thighs. “So badly, Cassian—fook me now .”

“Aye, milady,” he drawled, loving her low chuckle as he positioned himself at her drenched entrance.

Then he slid home, her thighs opening even wider, her legs encircling his thighs to hold him in place…and they both groaned in utter satisfaction.

He could feel every inch of her, her inner muscles clenching around him, drawing him deeper and deeper, her wetness easing his way.

He braced himself on his elbows, hands cupping her face as he looked down at her.

Her dark eyes were glazed with passion, her lips parted, her breath coming in quick gasps.

Worried he was crushing her, worried he was moving too fast and her breathing was a sign of panic, Cassian frowned. Fook. She’s still so innocent—ye only took her virginity last night! “Gabby, love?” His thumbs brushed her cheeks. “Do ye want?—”

“I want you to move!” she growled, rocking her hips to demonstrate, holding his legs tight with her thighs. “ Please .”

He should have known his Gabby wouldn’t shy away from such pleasure.

Cassian began to move, his hips rolling in a slow, steady rhythm.

He could feel her response, her body arching to meet his, her breasts grazing against his chest. He dipped his head, capturing one of her nipples in his mouth.

He teased it gently, his tongue swirling around the hardened peak, his teeth grazing the sensitive flesh.

Gabby moaned, her fingers digging into his shoulders, her hips moving in obedient time with his.

His pleasure built to near-impossible levels, his cock throbbing with each thrust—but Cassian was determined to make this last, to bring her to ecstasy again before he found his own release.

He moved to her other breast, lavishing it with the same attention, his touch roaming her body, caressing her curves, noticing which touch gained a greater twitch, a louder whimper.

And through it all, he murmured praise, praise which she accepted with a grin, her head thrown back, her eyes closed, as if it were naturally owed her.

“So fooking perfect,” he whispered against her skin, his cock moving deep within her. “So warm, so sweet, such a good lass. Taking my cock like ye love it.”

“I—I do love it,” she gasped, arching against him, causing him to chuckle again.

He could feel her tightening around him, her body tensing as her pleasure built. Knowing she was close, knowing she needed him to leap over the edge, Cassian reached between them, his callused thumb finding her clit and stroking it gently.

Gabby's eyes flew open, her gaze locking with his. He could see the surprise in her eyes, the realization that she was going to reach a climax yet again. He grinned, the gentle touch of his thumb matching the rhythm of his cock stroking her deep inside .

“Come for me, Gabby,” he growled, his voice a low rumble. “I want to feel ye squeezing my cock as ye come on it, like a good lass.”

His woman moaned, her hips bucking against him, her body tensing. He could feel her clenching around him, her breath coming in quick gasps. He leaned down to capture her lower lip between his teeth, and when he did, she gasped and arched.

He caught her sweet scream with a kiss, swallowing it down with a grin as she bucked beneath him, her orgasm sending her flying into oblivion.

Oh Christ , the feel of her softness pulsing around him…it was more than he could take. He wanted—nay, he needed release. He wasn’t strong enough to keep from spilling, not when surrounded by such perfection.

Although Gabby was still spasming around him, Cassian knew he was lost. With a groan containing the last of his self-restraint, he reached between them to pull his cock from her soft wetness.

Her little whimper of disappointment bit into him a moment before he pressed his cock against her curls and spilled onto her stomach with a soft grunt.

She was still shaking with her release as he gathered her to him, rolling to the side and wrapping her as gently as possible in his arms.

“I’m sorry to stop,” Cassian murmured against her hair, still obsessed with her scent despite the satisfaction seeping through his veins. “I wanted ye to enjoy yerself.”

“Oh, I did,” she half-breathed, half-laughed, rocking her hips forward so he could feel his seed growing sticky between them. “And I appreciate you having more control and forethought than I.”

Surprised, he lifted his head to raise a brow in question. What the ? —

Gabby chuckled again and pressed her cheek to his shoulder. “I should not want to end up like poor Elizabeth.”

It took a moment for Cassian to understand what she meant, and when he did, his breath caught in his chest, as if he’d been stunned by a blow.

Pregnant .

She was speaking of preventing pregnancy—a responsible and honorable course of action, considering they weren’t married.

So why had his heart’s first response been…disappointment?

Did he want another bairn? A bairn with Gabby ? A little lassie, or a laddie in Gus’s mold but with Gabby’s gorgeous hair? Did he want the opportunity to see a child grow, to help raise him or her, to experience the milestones and joy and struggles at Gabby’s side?

Asked like that, how could the answer be anything other than Aye ?

He would love that.

Why can ye no’ have it? She’s made it clear she enjoys ye, and now ye are heir to Inverlochy Castle, ye have enough to offer the sister of a frankly incompetent animal doctor.

Because he was under suspicion of treason.

Until his name was cleared, he couldn’t offer her anything .

Then ye ken what the next logical step is .

Aye.

He had to tell her everything.

He trusted Gabby Butcombe, and thought she was brilliant enough to figure out a way out of this mess. Perhaps her uncle could help. Either way, she was only a few moments of solid thought away from figuring it out on her own.

He had to tell her the truth.

Taking a deep breath, staring up into the darkness, Cassian cupped a hand to the back of her head, twining his fingers through her glorious hair, and opened his mouth.

Unfortunately, what came out was not Here is the truth but, “Gabby Butcombe, I think I love ye.”

It hadn’t been what he’d intended to say, although once the words had escaped, he couldn’t call them back—didn’t want to call them back.

Instead he held his breath and pretended that when she stiffened in his arms, it was a good thing.

Slowly, she pushed herself away until he could feel her hovering over him.

Christ, he’d fooked that up, eh? He shouldn’t have blurted it out like that.

“Gabby, I’m sorry?—”

“That is not my name,” she said quietly, her chin tucked against her chest in what sounded like shame. “I…I have been lying to you all these weeks. I am not Gabby Butcombe.”