Page 9 of The Cruel Highlander (From Enemies to Marriage #3)

CHAPTER 8

“I guess we both lose,” Valorie said to Aiden with what seemed to be feigned sadness. “Perhaps ye should look for a better bride,” she commented as they rode into the waterfall clearing.

Aiden looked around at the open area that Valorie brought them to. Leafy trees created a natural barrier between the rest of the forest and this little haven. The river they had been following spilled over into a massive waterfall that raged on in the background. Water crashed down heavily, creating a steady soundtrack to the clearing that forced them both to yell a little.

At the bottom of the waterfall was a blue and still lagoon that invited one for a swim. Rocks were scattered along the edges and would be the perfect place to relax in the warm sun that shone through the forest trees above. Aiden could imagine spending a wonderful afternoon here, watching Valorie splash around in the water and enjoying the sun on his face.

“Nay, lass, I think we both win,” Aiden replied loudly over the waterfall with a smirk. Aiden certainly felt like he was winning. He and Valorie were evenly matched across all their competitions, and that was a victory in itself. Aiden didn’t think he’d ever met a lass quite like Valorie.

Aiden dismounted and led his horse to a nearby tree to tie it up for a quick break. Maybe they could enjoy this waterfall a little before they rode back. He watched as Valorie did the same with her horse. Once again, he was struck by the gracefulness of her movements. Her long legs swung off the horse and landed smoothly on the ground. She was sure to give her horse lots of pats before tying him up next to Aiden’s.

Aiden continued to look on in interest as Valorie walked to the waterfall’s shining pool. He could see a slight blush staining her cheeks and neck deliciously. Could she tell he was watching her? Did she feel his eyes on her, and that’s what was causing her to flush? He wanted to see how far that blush stretched. Did she flush that wonderful pink color everywhere?

Shaking his head, Aiden forced himself to clear that thought. This was still just a business arrangement, nothing more. It couldn’t be anything more. And yet, Aiden couldn’t stop himself from watching as Valorie splashed some water on her face and neck. Now flushed and wet, it was impossible for Aiden to take his eyes off her.

Valorie’s back was to Aiden as she cooled off by the waterfall. Her shapely legs held nearly all of his attention as she bent over again to scoop up a little more water. The sight of Valorie was outshining the beautiful clearing he admired only moments ago. It didn’t deserve the label of beautiful while Valorie was in it.

Suddenly Valorie whipped back to him, the water in her hands spraying around her, and she angrily asked, “How do ye mean?”

Surprised by the change in her mood, Aiden just stared back at her for a moment. Before Aiden could get a word in, Valorie continued, “I cannae win! There is nay winning for me! I don’t even participate in making the decisions for my life — I never have. Do ye consider that winning? How dare ye do this to me? Take away me choice like ye own me! Everyone else was right; ye are very cold and…”

Aiden had been subconsciously walking towards the lass before she even began speaking, drawn in by her presence. But as Valorie’s monologue started, Aiden began to stride towards her in earnest. He stalked to where Valorie stood near the waterfall. Each step was careful and measured as he held her gaze while she raged on. He was a predator pursuing his prey at that moment, slowly making his way to her while never breaking eye contact.

At the final words he allowed her to utter, Aiden was directly in front of her and used his full height to loom over her head. Aiden was not a perfect man, and he could only take so much of Valorie’s ire.

“I wouldn’t go on if I were ye,” he threatened darkly, interrupting her, and Valorie’s eyes flashed at the threat. She raised her eyebrows haughtily, not budging an inch.

Both of them huffed with the emotions coursing through them. Aiden particularly couldn’t pinpoint what he was feeling. He flopped between anger at her impertinence, amusement over her stubbornness, and desire over just being this close to her.

What had he been saying about strong emotions?

Anger coursed through Aiden at Valorie’s words, but he was equally, if not more, aroused at the sight in front of him. He was finally witnessing that delicious anger from her. It had been brewing since the moment her father announced their betrothal. She was red-faced and out of breath, angrier than she’d been all day. Her previous outbursts were minor compared to the force that stood in front of him now. Aiden watched her chest rise and fall quickly with emotion.

The reactions were far too similar to another activity Aiden was desperate to experience with Valorie. With his mouth and hands, Aiden wanted to cause that same flush, and the heavy breathing, and the feelings that were so all-encompassing that rational thought left her completely.

Valorie, this time, made a threatening move closer to Aiden. She was so close to him now; she didn’t need to speak more than a whisper.

“Oh, why? What would ye do?” Valorie taunted by his ear.

* * *

Valorie was taunting a beast right now, and she knew it. She had been watching all day as Aiden held himself taut, never letting himself experience the full extent of his emotions. And now she wanted him to snap. When she had raged at him, he merely smiled or smirked. But now she wanted him to match her passion, and if anger is what it took, then she could get angry. She was angry.

Valorie had got caught up in the competitions and Aiden, but she was not winning. There was no way for her to win in this situation. If it wasn’t Aiden, there would be another laird after him. The futility of her life was the main source of her anger, but Aiden was culpable as well.

They stood face to face, mere inches of space between them, and Valorie stared defiantly up at Aiden. If he thought he would be getting a timid lass for a bride, he would be disavowed of that notion shortly. Valorie would not back down from this, not from him. He had the nerve to joke and jest all day when Valorie’s dreams were being stolen from her!

Shaking a little in her rage, Valorie inhaled sharply and got a lungful of Aiden’s delicious scent. Oh, that scent. Valorie wanted to curl up on a rainy Scottish day with that scent, but Valorie held on tightly to her righteous anger. She could feel her passion shifting to something else entirely, though, the longer she stood this close to Aiden.

“What would ye do, Aiden,” she taunted again in an attempt to stay angry.

“Let me show ye, lass,” Aiden said in a rough whisper. He was so close now that Valorie felt the movements in his breath as he spoke, and it sent shivers down her back. Valorie was struggling to remember what she had been so mad about. How anyone was meant to think when this man was near was a mystery.

Aiden slowly trailed his fingers across Valorie’s arms, leaving behind goosebumps where he went. Again, Valorie was the one who moved, ever so slightly. She brought herself right up to Aiden, desperate to feel what he seemed to be offering her.

The pair continued to stand there, gazing at each other for several long seconds. Valorie felt the heat from Aiden’s gaze burning throughout her body. She was hot and aching, and she knew that Aiden could relieve her, but Aiden stood barely moving, just his fingertips lightly grazing across her skin. He was still holding himself back from her. Like that first night on the dance floor, Aiden wasn’t letting himself get caught up in the moment.

Well Valorie wouldn’t be the only one feeling this way.

Decidedly, Valorie quickly drew her gaze away from Aiden. She turned to walk back towards her horse; she would ride home and leave Aiden behind. If he would not join her in this turmoil that she felt, he would be on his own.

Before she could take a single step, Aiden’s hands that had been lightly stroking her now grasped her loosely around the wrist. The same strong hand that saved her on the balcony, “taught” her how to shoot a bow, and helped her up when she fell, now gently kept her in place. Valorie knew she could get away if she tried, but she stayed, suspended between this unfamiliar desire and the safety of walking away.

When she didn’t leave, the grip on her wrist turned insistent, and she found herself pulled back to where she started, staring deeply at Aiden. But before she could quip something smart to him, another taunt that would force his action, Aiden’s mouth was claiming hers. And it was a claiming.

One minute she was standing there, desperate to feel all of Aiden, and the next, the kiss was exploding against her mouth. Aiden’s talented lips sent shockwaves of pleasure throughout her whole body; she felt the effects of him everywhere.

Still holding on to her wrist, Aiden’s other hand made its way underneath her loose braid and gripped the back of neck. With the additional leverage, Aiden opened her up further, and she eagerly returned his kiss — his lips moving against her and their tongues tangling together.

Aiden’s hand resumed trailing lightly on her arm while the other was now clenched tightly in her hair. Valorie could barely breathe, but she never wanted to break apart from this. The feeling of Aiden’s lips against hers was like nothing she’d ever experienced before.

When they finally separated, Valorie’s chest heaved, and her breasts had tightened painfully against her dress. The feverish feeling from before was exponentially worse now, but she could finally see Aiden experiencing similar effects. He gazed back at Valorie with a pained expression, seemingly just as desperate to resume.

Valorie was privileged enough in that moment to see Aiden in a state probably few had ever seen, unencumbered and free, lost fully to feeling. She wanted to preserve the look on his face, but even more than that she wanted to kiss him again.

Why did we stop? Valorie thought.

As if they were of one mind, Aiden and Valorie reached back towards each other at the same moment, coming together for a slower, more languid kiss. Aiden held Valorie in a close embrace, his hands wrapped tightly around her back, securing her firmly to his chest.

* * *

Kissing Valorie was an out of body experience. For once Aiden wasn’t worried about his clan or his sisters or his life; he was simply feeling. Feeling Valorie’s soft lips moving passionately against his. Feeling her tall and strong form pressed tightly to him. Feeling her hands wrapped around the back of his neck. Just feeling.

All day, hell since they danced together at his sister’s castle, they had been building towards this moment. Aiden was struck by this lass the first time he saw her, and now, he finally had her in his arms. The taunts, the tests, the arguments, all of that had led them here. If Aiden was anyone else, he would have said it was fate. But he wasn’t thinking of any of that right now, not when Valorie was moaning into their kiss.

Aiden was struggling to remember all of the various important reasons he was not supposed to be doing this. But instead, the only thing going through his mind was Valorie. The feel of her, the sound of her, the taste of her — he was enraptured.

Would Aiden ever get enough of this lass? In that moment, he didn’t think it was possible. So, he let himself get his fill now. He savored the feel of her against him, the way she whimpered and moaned throughout the kiss.

When Aiden felt Valorie pulling away from their embrace earlier, he simply reacted. He could not stand the thought of separating from her at that moment, not when she was staring at him with such longing. But at the same time, he was held back by logic and his plan. The second that Aiden almost lost that connection with her, all other thoughts fled. The only thing that remained was his need.

Aiden was not used to feeling so fully, so he took his cues from Valorie, who was clearly the type of lass to feel with her whole body. She never held anything back, not in a competition and certainly not in passion. Aiden couldn’t get enough of it.

At some point, he would have to consider the consequences of this delicious lapse in judgement but hopefully not anytime soon. Aiden wanted to stay right here, wrapped up in Valorie, for as long as possible.

Desiring more of Valorie, Aiden walked her backwards, never breaking contact with her lips, until Valorie was pressed up against the nearest tree. He had tried to warn her; Aiden was no gentleman. He used one hand to brace against the rough bark behind Valorie and the other to cradle the back of her neck again, gripping lightly and keeping her right where he wanted her.

Finally, after Aiden felt like their souls had been fused together, Valorie pulled back from him with a confused glance. Was some part of that not what she wanted? Had she enjoyed that as much as Aiden? What was she thinking right now?

Instead of answering any of those questions, Valorie asked, “Did ye hear that?”

Without waiting for Aiden’s response, Valorie ran off quickly into the thicker trees, leaving Aiden standing there, touching his swollen lips, bewildered.