Page 35 of The Highlander’s Hunted Wife (Legacy of Highland Lairds #2)

35

“ W hat about Mr. Guthrie?” Katie asked breathlessly as Hector’s lips ran down the column of her throat, his arm curved beneath her, cradling the back of her neck.

He paused and lifted his head, raising an eyebrow. “What about him?”

“Will he nae… happen upon us here?” she asked, her cheeks flushed in the hazy light of the morning forest, the dense trees and thick canopy making it seem like dusk. Like they hadn’t lost a night at all.

Hector shook his head, smiling. “I sent him the long way back.” He leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. “Nay one will bother us here.”

She relaxed into his embrace, pulling his head down as she kissed him back, all of the apprehension leaving her body with each searing touch of their lips, each glide of his tongue against hers, each caress of his hand on her waist, roaming over the curve of her hip. He could feel those worries fading.

They kissed there in the woods as if they had all day—which, if Hector had his way, they would. He didn’t care if the castle was in an uproar because they had gone missing; Flynn would explain everything anyway, ensuring that no one bothered them in their woodland hideaway.

I could kiss ye forever.

He’d never known it could be like this—that he could kiss her and it would be just as powerful as anything beyond that. His entire being was attuned to her, slowing when she slowed, quickening to a ravenous hunger and feeling her respond in kind, taking his time to explore every sort of kiss with her. It didn’t feel like something to be done just to lead to something else, but something as important as the rest.

And with every stirring kiss, the heat was stoked inside him, becoming a roaring inferno that made the entire woodland seem brighter, his senses keener than they had ever been.

I cannae rush. I willnae rush.

Catching her soft moan with his mouth, he slowly kissed her cheeks, her brow, her eyelids, her chin, working his way along her jaw and down her neck. He grazed his teeth against the velvety lobe of her ear, smiling as she bucked at the thrilling mix of pleasure and pain.

“Oh, Hector…” she murmured, her voice thick with desire.

Over the ridge of her collarbone, he trailed kisses over her chest… and came across a problem. Easily remedied.

“Let’s get ye out of these wet clothes before ye catch a chill,” he whispered, gathering her up into his arms and rocking back on his haunches until she sat astride his lap, her damp skirts naturally rucking up to just above the knee.

Kissing her, savoring every precious moment he might have lost if he’d come to her rescue too late, he slid his hands beneath the hem of her skirts. Letting the fabric gather on his wrists, he ran his hands up her smooth thighs, feeling her breathy gasps against his eager mouth.

In one fluid motion, he peeled the wet dress and the thinner dress beneath it off his bride. He tossed the garments toward the low-hanging branch of a tree, where they caught and swayed like a flag. The banner of Katie Blake, raised for peace toward Laird MacKimmon.

“Ye’re drenched too,” she whispered mischievously, her hands taking hold of his long shirt.

He smiled back, the expression more comfortable than it had ever been in his thirty years on this earth. “Aye, I suppose I am.”

She pulled the shirt up and over his head, throwing it to join her dress. The blending of banners, unifying.

Seated in his lap, she gazed into his eyes, her work-roughened palms smoothing over his chest, making his skin tingle. At that moment, he vowed to make her life as easy as she would permit him to so that those hands softened and never had to toil again.

“Thank ye,” she murmured. “Thank ye again, for savin’ me. For… bein’ there when I thought I was alone.”

He kissed her. “Ye dinnae have to thank me, lass. It’s what a man does for his bride.”

“Yer bride…” she whispered with a shy smile, as if she liked the sound of that at last.

He held her to him, his lips seeking her neck. And as her back arched in his embrace, responding to his kiss, the heat of her brushed against the throbbing length of him. Her gasp exploded into the quiet of the forest, joined by his fevered growl, his control threatening to crumble at that stirring sound.

Breathing hard as he kissed down to her breasts, drawing her nipple into his mouth, she only made it harder to keep his desire leashed so that he could prolong her pleasure.

She bucked and moaned, clawing at him like a wild thing, her lips searing across his shoulders, his neck, his throat, his chest, his mouth, making him dizzy with need.

But he had his secret weapon to temper himself while spurring her on toward her climax, and as his hand slipped between her thighs, he used it.

“Oh… Oh, Hector!” she cried out at the stroke of his fingertips. “Please, me love!”

He nearly stopped, the shock of that small, precious word—“love”—thundering through him. He had called her that earlier, the word slipping out in his relief to see her in one piece, safe and on her way back to where she belonged—his castle. But he hadn’t expected to hear her call him by that same word.

“Do ye like this, lass?” he purred, slowly rolling his fingertips, a new kind of smile on his face.

“That… Aye, that…” she moaned, her eyes closed in bliss as he strummed her bundle of nerves, listening for the secrets of her every impassioned sound.

Slowly, he lowered her back down onto the ground, giving himself a moment’s respite from the scorching need to plunge himself inside her. Laying her on the makeshift blanket, he moved down between her thighs, letting his tongue take over from his fingertips.

“Oh my… Please, love! Keep doin’ that!” she rasped, writhing on the plaid as he tasted her, savored her, relished every stroke of his tongue against her.

As he did, he slid his fingers through her slick folds, his desire spearing through him like a javelin as he felt how ready she was, how her body responded to him, wanting him as he wanted her.

Nae yet…

He eased his fingers inside her, her cries of pleasure becoming ragged pants with the pulse of his touch, letting him know that she wanted more of what he was doing.

However, it wasn’t long before those cries soared to new heights, her hands fisting in the plaid, twisting it up as her hips bucked and her back arched.

“Aye, love… oh!” She cursed in her ecstasy, the rough words more glorious than poetry.

It was her instinctual response to the euphoria coursing through her veins, seizing every muscle, and making her shake from head to toe. There couldn’t have been a sweeter sound than her swearing in the throes of pleasure. That was the sort of woman he wanted for a wife, not some high-and-mighty lass who wouldn’t dream of saying such words, nor of giving herself so entirely to the power of bliss.

He wanted the wild village girl more than he had ever wanted anything.

And as her pleasure subsided, her body collapsing back into the plaid, her breathing slowing, the wide, satisfied grin on her face might have been the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

“That,” she murmured happily. “I like all of that.”

He withdrew his fingers and leaned forward to kiss the flat of her stomach, peering up at her as he replied, “We’ve only just begun, love.”

Katie hadn’t thought there would ever come a time when she would be naked in a forest, tangled up with the man of her dreams like the roots of two different trees intertwining to share a life, holding fast through every season and storm.

Her whole body was flushed and relaxed with the pulsing caress of her faded pleasure, her heart swelling at his most precious term of endearment. To hear him call her “love” was not at all what she’d expected, nor had she hoped for it. It was all the sweeter for the surprise of it.

“Oh…” Her breath caught as Hector kissed his way back up to her mouth, maneuvering himself between her thighs.

The first brush of him against her made her shiver afresh, in the best possible way. Feeling daring, she grazed her teeth across his lower lip, tugging a little as he brushed against her a second time.

He hissed, his lips curling into a smile as he pressed a hard kiss to hers.

In delicious revenge, he slid his manhood through the slick heat of her folds, teasing her bundle of nerves, before drawing back, coming to rest at the entrance to her sex.

Her head swam with the thrill of it, her mind and heart overcome with need—a feeling that would drive her to madness if it wasn’t satisfied at once. But he seemed content to withhold that unknown delight for a short while, tilting his hips ever so slightly, pressing himself harder against her without pushing into her. Preparing her, perhaps.

“I want ye,” she gasped, unable to bear the anticipation any longer. “Please, love, I want ye.”

He smiled against her mouth for a moment, and there was such magic in the feel of it, like the lull before a beautiful snowfall, or the perfect quiet before a storm.

As he held himself up by his powerful arms, looming over her in a way that felt glorious, sending a bolt of lightning through her, she took a steadying breath.

“If there’s pain, tell me to stop,” Hector told her, continuing to tease her, to prepare her, with that exquisite pressure.

How could there possibly be any pain?

She shook her head. “I trust ye.”

He paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly as if he was the one in sudden pain. “Ye do?”

“I do,” she replied, smiling up at him.

The crease in his brow smoothed out, warmth filling his stony eyes, and as he dipped his head to kiss her again, that wondrous pressure became something more.

Katie gasped against his mouth, her hands gripping his arms as her hot flesh parted for him. The pulsing pressure of his length against her was relieved and intensified at the same time as he slowly eased inside her.

A low growl reverberated like thunder from somewhere deep in his chest, the sound awakening all the crackling sparks that had been dimmed by the end of her last climax. They erupted, dancing through her like a gust of wind through a bonfire, scattering through every limb and vein and nerve until she, too, felt as if she were in the middle of an awakening. A beginning.

And though there was some pain, no more than a dull sting, it was so shrouded in the elation of such a… powerful sensation that she barely felt it. It certainly wasn’t something that would make her ask him to stop, not when there were unknown realms of pleasure still to explore.

He pushed deeper, her hips instinctively tilting to meet that immense length, to draw him all the way inside her. And as he filled her to the hilt, his breathing ragged, he stilled for a moment. A considerate gesture, allowing her to get used to the feeling.

“Are ye in pain?” he rasped.

She clung to his shoulders, pulling herself up off the ground to reach his mouth, kissing him with all of the passion that burned within her. “Nay, love… there’s nay pain.” She moaned against his mouth as he began to withdraw. “Dinnae stop… I swear I might die if ye do.”

He drew back until she thought he might pull out altogether, only to thrill her with a fresh rush of delicious friction as he eased himself back into her depths. Moving slowly, taking his time, clearly conscious that this was her first time.

“Aye, Hector!” she gasped, her breaths sawing in and out of her lungs as he sank into her to the hilt once more.

With each careful stroke, any hint of stinging pain faded into nothing, replaced by the pure, pulsing power of ecstasy. Her bliss pooled with each glide of his length, making him slicker, easing the measured thrusts, making her crave more.

Running her hands down his back and over the swell of his buttocks, she stole a mischievous squeeze of that hard muscle, urging him deeper. And as her hips began to meet his thrusts, her moans spurring him on, he seemed to realize that he didn’t need to be so gentle.

As his sounds of pleasure rose into the air, his ragged breaths and growls and moans stirring her up into a dizzying frenzy, he plunged into her with all the strength she had been hoping for.

“Hector!” she cried out, raking her fingernails down his back, exploring his hard body, kissing him wherever she could, losing herself in him completely.

They moved together among the swaying trees, bathed by the dim light that had just begun to filter through the canopy, their sounds of passion making the leaves rustle in shy reply. Entangled with one another, they were making roots of their own, becoming intertwined, weaving their lives together, relishing every moment of their reunion and sighing toward the prospect of their joined future.

Katie wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him closer, panting against his shoulder as he thrust inside her. He dropped onto his elbows, wrapping his arms around her, holding her tightly to him as he pushed into her silken depths again and again, the ridge of flesh above his length conjuring up a new and intoxicating trick.

With every thrust, he brushed against her fiery bundle of nerves, lighting a fuse that crackled through her core, fizzing down each trembling limb, tightening her stomach and making her lungs burn so that each breath was hot and ragged.

She could feel her climax rising for a second time, leaping toward that fierce current of ecstasy with each thrust, each strike of friction against her secret bud, each shallow gasp, each moan that rumbled out of him, each hungry kiss he pressed to her skin, her mouth.

“Oh…” She bucked involuntarily as her conclusion hit, more powerful than anything she had ever felt before.

For a moment, she couldn’t make a sound, her throat tight with the pressure of so much pleasure at once. She clung to him tightly as it struck, eagerly meeting his thrusts, as her scream of euphoria finally freed itself from her lungs, frightening a flock of crows from a nearby tree, splitting the morning silence.

Her eyes closed, her head pounding with the rush of it, her entire being seized by the tide of that wondrous sensation, swept through a maelstrom of absolute bliss that left her reeling.

She clung to Hector even tighter, panting against his shoulder, relishing every second of her climax.

And as it began to ebb, dimming to embers, Hector began to quicken his pace. He thrust into her with intense abandon, holding her close, and as she turned her head to kiss his neck, an almighty growl tore out of him.

Deep within her, she felt the throb of him, igniting a few new sparks that shivered up into her abdomen, making her moan with the promise of more.

He thrust twice more, before stilling, his breath hot and fervent against her skin, making it tingle.

“Och, Katie… love…” he murmured, burying his face in her shoulder for a moment. “Ye dinnae ken what ye do to me.”

She smiled, tracing her fingertips across the scars that crisscrossed over his shoulder blades. “Same goes for ye.” She chuckled happily. “I was never so brazen before.”

“Ye’re nae brazen,” he said, lifting his head and pushing a lock of hair out of her face. “Ye’re… perfect. Ye’re mine.”

A small, dark cloud passed across her joy, and as she gazed up into his eyes, she feared it might become an eclipse.

“Does that mean that… ye dinnae plan to still keep yer distance from me? Or… is a fake marriage still what ye want?”

“Does this look like I want to be far from ye?” he replied softly, rolling onto his side and bringing her with him.

She propped herself up on her elbow, her hand on his chest. “I dinnae want it to, but… I need to ken before tomorrow what sort of marriage we’re goin’ to have.”

The thought of losing this, after just experiencing it, was a heartbreak she knew she wouldn’t be able to bear.

He scooped her closer. “The only reason I wanted distance from ye was because I thought I didnae deserve ye,” he murmured, gazing down at her with a sad smile. “I… thought I saw an omen, but I think I misunderstood it.”

“An omen?”

He nodded. “The mornin’ at the inn, where I was rude to ye and ye rightly got frosty with me.” He paused. “I had a terrible dream. I thought it might come true—that ye’d be hurt or worse if I got too close to ye. That me sister’s fate would repeat itself and ye’d be in danger, and I wouldnae be able to save ye. I couldnae lose ye, lass. Nae ye. But, as I said, I misread it. I think it was a warnin’ to keep ye close, nae to keep ye at a distance.”

Katie’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I didnae think ye’d be someone who would listen to omens.”

“I didnae listen before, and… bad things happened,” he sighed. “I could have protected me sister. I should have… But nay. She believed in them, and I’ve chosen to do the same. Especially now.”

She pressed a kiss to his chest. “I kenned ye’d had a nightmare.”

“Aye, and I was too stubborn to admit it,” he replied with a chuckle. “Ye’ll have to get used to that, though I’ll do me best to be better.”

She peered into his eyes, brushing her fingertips over his cheek. “But why would ye ever think that ye didnae deserve me? Are ye nae aware that ye’re a laird? A handsome one at that and, aye, stubborn, but nae in an altogether bad way.” She paused. “If ye were nae stubborn, I dinnae think ye’d have been there to help me this mornin’.”

He laughed, but it echoed slightly hollow. “Since I couldnae protect me clan or me family, I didnae think meself worthy of the responsibility of protectin’ ye. And since I couldnae protect me family, why would I start one of me own, and fail to protect them too?”

He had done what he thought was right, seeking peace through a marriage between his sister and Duncan, and it had ended in utter tragedy. But not because of any decision that he had made. He couldn’t have known that Johnson was going to kill his sister in what—according to Alison’s theory—appeared to be a fit of jealousy.

Katie told Hector as much.

He shrugged. “It plagued me for a long time.”

“And now? Do ye still feel that way?”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll always feel like I could’ve done somethin’ differently, but nay. I ken I will keep ye safe, even when ye run off in the middle of the night. And, despite that misdemeanor, I’ve decided I’ll have ye anyway…”

“Och, have ye now?” She grinned.

“Aye, love, I have.”

He pulled her close and kissed her, and as they lay there together in the gathering light, it truly felt to Katie like a new dawn—the start of the rest of their lives as husband and wife, as unshakably intertwined as the roots beneath them, as everlasting as the forest that stood guard over them.

And as a pair of doves began cooing somewhere in the boughs overhead, Katie snuggled into Hector and knew that that could only be a good omen. After all, doves mated for life.