Page 25

So astounded was Adam by Aillenn’s kiss, at first he didn’t respond.

He felt wretched for frightening the poor lass into losing her balance. For causing the destruction of Pitcairn’s bedcurtains. For shocking the woman with his nakedness. For manhandling her in his efforts to keep her from falling.

The fact that she was kissing him was at odds with his guilt.

But it didn’t take long for that guilt to dissolve in the onslaught of her affection. And it didn’t take long for his body to respond. Perhaps too eagerly.

Her lips were supple yet demanding. Engaging yet tentative. She tasted of wine and blancmange and her own unique flavor of desire.

He filled his nostrils with the clean, damp, spicy scent of her, and exhaled a shuddering breath spiced with longing.

She explored his mouth with her tender tongue, exclaiming with soft sounds at each new discovery. Pressing her fingertips into the nape of his neck, she pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, gasping with urgency.

This was dangerous.

They were in a risky situation. Mellowed from the bath. Besotted with wine. Alone. Half-naked.

She was losing control. And he could feel his own restraint slipping away.

Already his cock pulsed with anticipation.

But Adam was not a man to take advantage of a woman’s weakness. His Rivenloch sense of honor was strong.

So despite the fire burning in his loins, he broke off the kiss.

“We should not…”

The hurt in her liquid eyes silenced him. “But I want to. I want this.”

He lifted a corner of his lip in a rueful smile. “So do I. But at least let me get dressed.”

“Nay.”

Her reply appeared to shock her as much as it did him. “Nay?”

She gulped as if the word had come out of her mouth unbidden. Then she stared at a spot in the middle of his chest and said, “I want ye. All o’ ye.”

“All o’ me?” His voice came out on a croak. “What do ye mean, all o’ me?”

By the shy ducking of her head, he knew very well what she meant. The lass wanted him to swive her.

God, how he wanted to. But they barely knew each other. He wasn’t entirely sure who she was. And she certainly didn’t know who he was. How could two complete strangers engage in such an intimate act?

Still, need smoldered inside him. They didn’t feel like strangers. And she was offering herself to him. She was obviously not a novice to love play, no matter what she’d hinted at about it being her first kiss. If she ached for him as much as he did for her, would it not be rude to refuse?

Besides, he knew other ways to satisfy her. To satisfy them both. Ways that wouldn’t leave her with consequences, regretting what she’d done in the heat of passion.

“Are ye sure?” he murmured.

She leveled her eyes at the vein he could feel pulsing in his neck. “I want to do this. I wish to feel…everythin’.”

He closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath. Like an enchanted key, her words of consent unlocked the shackles of his reluctance, dissolving his doubts.

“Then ye shall have your wish,” he murmured.

He lifted her back onto the bed. She sank into the coverlet with a sigh. For a moment he only looked down at her. Reveled in the longing in her glazed eyes. The hunger of her open mouth. The breathless rise and fall of her bosom.

There was no need to rush.

Aye, his body demanded him to seize the moment. Strike while the iron was hot. Take her swiftly before he could be stopped.

But he was no savage. His erection wasn’t going anywhere. Besides, he’d learned the advantages of letting a woman dictate the pace. And, as honor reminded him, taking things slowly would give her the opportunity to change her mind.

Her leine was as sheer as fine mist over her beautiful breasts, which were of modest size, yet far more elegant than he’d envisioned. And lower, the pale linen was shadowy where dark curls guarded her womanhood.

As he loomed over her, she scanned his body as well, dwelling on his shoulders and chest. She tucked her lip under her teeth as if she wished to devour him.

That gesture made him harden with a groan.

Then she lifted her hands tentatively to touch his bare skin. Her fingers felt so delicate upon his ribs. As soft as the sweep of an artist’s brush, painting him in colors of desire.

He lowered his eyes to the top of her leine.

“May I?” he whispered.

She nodded.

He slipped his fingers beneath the neck edge of her leine, sliding the fabric down to reveal more and more of her tempting body. The rapid pulse at her throat. The graceful edge of her collar bone. The soft curve of her bosom.

Her eyes drifted close. Her mouth fell open. She shuddered with anticipation as he peeled the leine off of her shoulders.

He gradually bared her breasts, slowly grazing the tips with the linen, making them stand erect before freeing them from the garment.

“Lovely,” he breathed.

More lovely than he’d imagined. The pale orbs of her breasts were crested with small nipples the color of tawny pink averin berries.

He used his thumb to measure the throbbing in her neck before gliding his fingers along her collar bone and over her sweet shoulders.

Then he ventured farther, watching her face carefully for signs of distress.

Her eyes were still closed. But he could read her reactions in the crease of her brow, the tension in her mouth, the pace of her breathing.

Lower and lower he swept his fingers, making sensual circles atop her breasts and dipping down between them to caress the flesh with the back of his knuckles.

Sensing no resistance, he widened the circles to encompass her breasts, and her brow furrowed as she strained toward him, as if willing him to touch her nipples.

He smiled. He knew how to be a tease. But he would torment her—and himself—no longer.

He cupped her breasts from underneath and let his thumbs sweep over the sensitive nubs.

She drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes squeezed tight. But she didn’t stop him. Instead, she made a mew of yearning deep in her throat.

That sound fueled his lust. He ached deep in his groin.

“May I kiss ye,” he rasped out, brushing his thumbs over her again, “here?”

She trembled uncertainly for a moment. Then she gave him the tiniest of nods.

His mouth felt divine. Eve didn’t know what emotion stirred her. Fear? Excitement? Deliriousness? Her heart thundered like a wild storm on the heath. And she didn’t want it to stop. Didn’t want him to stop.

Adam’s hair tickled in the most delicious way as he lowered his head. His breath sent shivers of delight down her body. When he kissed the space between her breasts, however, she felt one brief frisson of guilt. That was the spot where her convent cross usually hung.

Dear God, if he’d known she was a nun…

Before she could continue that thought, he pressed his lips again and again with gentle affection upon her breasts. And a warmth spread through her that dissolved all guilt. Erased all care. And enveloped her heart.

When he took her nipple into his mouth, she gasped at the sudden spark that seemed to ignite her body. And when he began to suckle there, using his tongue to bathe her flesh and his lips to draw her in, she arched her head back, lost in a sensual haze.

Finally taking his fill, he moved to the other nipple. She groaned as the burning in her veins grew to unbearable proportions. A prickling deep in her loins demanded to be relieved.

Then he released her. For a moment, she was distraught. She nearly disgraced herself by begging him to continue. But he wasn’t finished. And he seemed to know what she wanted.

He tugged on her leine, pulling it down until she could free her arms, then lower to reveal her belly, her navel, and the very top of her curls.

“Ye’ve made me a map,” he murmured.

She opened her eyes just enough to see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

He touched the three wee dark dots that formed a straight line down the middle of her belly.

She had to smile. She’d had the tiny spots from birth. Her sisters had told her all manner of things about them. That they were where the faeries had kissed her. Where the Devil had poked her with a spear. Where a wee coney had shat on her. No one had ever called them a map.

“Shall I see where it leads?” he whispered.

She blushed, but her body surged at his words. She felt the tender flesh between her thighs swelling almost to the point of pain.

“Please,” was all she could rasp out.

He kissed each spot, traveling lower and lower. And then his hands moved to her hips.

“May I see…all o’ ye?”

She swallowed. That was what she’d said to him. She wanted all of him. It wasn’t too late to turn back. He was giving her permission to stop him.

But she didn’t want to stop him. This was an adventure. She’d likely never get an opportunity like this again. To be touched this way. To be held and kissed and caressed. To feel these feelings.

Instead of answering, she lifted her hips and let him drag the leine from her.

She kept her eyes closed. She felt truly naked. Exposed. Vulnerable.

“Look at me,” he urged.

She frowned.

“Please,” he said.

She managed to peer at him through the slits of her eyes and the filter of her eyelashes. But what she saw in his face melted away her fears.

His eyes were glazed with the same passion she felt. His lips were parted with soft longing. A light sheen of sweat settled on his brow, which was creased with restraint.

“Are ye certain ye want this?” he said, though she could see in his gaze that it would destroy him if she said nay.

“Aye,” she croaked.

He lowered himself to kneel beside the bed. Then he caught her behind the knees, gently dragging her forward until her buttocks were at the edge of the pallet.

With a coaxing touch, he parted her knees a few inches.

She felt her face redden. No one had ever seen this part of her. She was tempted to slam her legs back together.

“So beautiful,” he breathed. His breath curled over her, ruffling her hair, warming her flesh.

Soothed by his praise, she closed her eyes and surrendered, letting him spread her legs wide.