Page 27 of The Laird’s Wicked Game (Highland Scandal #2)
“AYE,” A GRUFF male voice answered.
“Rae … it’s me … Kylie.”
A heavy pause followed before he spoke once more. “Enter.”
Pushing open the door, she slid inside and closed it behind her. Storm was eager to follow her, but she wouldn’t let him in just yet. She needed to speak to Rae first and didn’t wish to be interrupted by the needy collie.
The laird was standing by the window—his back to her, and his arms clasped behind him— hands resting in the small of his back. His stance, with his legs apart and his shoulders tense, made him appear as if he was bracing himself for something.
“I was expecting a visit from ye,” he said softly.
Awkwardness filtered through Kylie then. She wanted him to turn and face her, so she might meet his eye, but he didn’t. Earlier, on the wall, she’d felt close to him, but now there seemed a gulf between them. “I would have come to see ye earlier … but I’ve been busy helping Tara tend to the wounded.”
“And how are the men faring?”
“Three have serious wounds, and will take time to recover … but with care, they’ll all live.”
He released a deep sigh. “Good.” He paused then before clearing his throat. “I’m sorry ye missed the ferry.”
Kylie snorted. “I don’t care about that.”
His strong body jerked at her response, and he finally turned to face her. “Ye don’t?”
“No.”
Across the room, their gazes fused. “There’s another boat, the day after tomorrow,” he said after a brief pause. His face was stern, his green eyes veiled. “I will take ye to Craignure myself, if ye wish?”
Kylie’s pulse fluttered. Time rolled back then, and she was standing on the walls looking east, waiting for dawn. In the past hours, she hadn’t had much time to think about the decision she’d made—she’d been too busy staying alive and then helping deal with the aftermath of the attack. But now, she let her choice settle.
It felt like stepping over the brink.
She was tumbling. She’d side-stepped fear and thrown herself into the unknown and strangely, she’d never felt freer.
“I don’t want to leave, Rae,” she said huskily, her gaze never leaving his. “Instead, I wish to remain here … to become yer wife.” She broke off then, her confidence suddenly faltering. “If ye will still have me.”
The laird’s lips parted.
For a moment, he merely stared at her. And then his throat bobbed, and the grim expression that had etched itself upon his features dissolved, revealing the sensitive man beneath. Hope flared in his eyes, yet she sensed his wariness.
Kylie’s breathing hitched, even as her chest started to ache. He didn’t trust her words, so she would have to make herself plainer. “I love ye,” she said, her voice catching. “I have for months now … but when ye were honest about how ye felt about me, I let foolish fears overrule my heart.” Her voice faltered then. “And in doing so, I nearly lost ye.”
A pause followed this admission. Rae’s chest rose and fell sharply now, his gaze never leaving her face. He moved toward her then, drawing to an abrupt halt when they were around four feet apart. “Ye are in earnest?”
Kylie gave a soft laugh, which to her ears sounded more like a choked sob. “Aye … I’ve never been so sure about anything. I want to become yer wife. I want yer face to be the first thing I see every morning and the last thing I see every night. I want to grow old with ye, Rae Maclean … is that earnest enough for ye?”
Joy ignited in the depths of his eyes. An instant later, he bridged the final gap between them and hauled Kylie into his arms.
They clung together then, in a crushing hug that made it impossible to breathe.
She didn’t care. All that mattered was that Rae understood how much she loved him.
And then suddenly, they weren’t just hugging each other but kissing. Fierce, hot kisses that she felt right down to her toes. Desperate for him, she went up on tiptoe, her arms linking around his neck. She had to be closer to Rae. If she could, she’d have crawled inside him .
Even before the attack, she’d been certain, but now it was written in the marrow of her bones. Her place was here. With this man.
The rasp of his stubbled chin, the heat of his mouth as it devoured hers, just stoked the fire in her belly. Likewise, Rae couldn’t get enough of her. Just hours before, both their lives had been at risk—and it made this moment even more poignant. Life was fragile. Neither of them could afford to waste a moment of it.
Still kissing her wildly, he walked her back.
An instant later, Kylie’s spine hit the door, and his body crushed against hers. Moaning against his mouth, she slid her hands down his chest, to where his rod stiffened between them. She palmed it, rubbing him.
Rae cursed against her mouth. And then, before she knew it, he was lifting her skirts and nudging her knees apart.
Kylie’s breathing was ragged now, hunger clenching low in her belly as she deftly unlaced his braies. “ Now , Rae,” she gasped. “ Hard .” She needed him to plow her fiercely, for him to dominate her senses and chase away the shadow the brutal attack had cast over them.
Murmuring tender words, Rae pushed her thighs wide. He then lifted her up against the door—sheathing himself fully inside her in one deep thrust.
The shock of his shaft, as rigid as iron and hot, inside her, made her whimper. But she was already clawing at him, her quim tightening around his heft. No, she didn’t want anything about this coupling to be gentle.
She wanted him to brand her as his. She wanted to ache afterward .
Sensing her desperation, and matching it with his own, he took her in slow, punishing thrusts, pinning her against the door as he did so. And all the while, his gaze burned into hers.
It was breathlessly intimate, to stare at each other like this during coupling—something that she’d avoided over the months they’d enjoyed their ‘game’. She felt naked, not physically, but emotionally. Finally, there was nowhere left to hide. He saw all of her, including the parts she was ashamed of.
But he didn’t shrink from it either.
Instead, he plowed her against the door, grinding into her each time he drove deep. This position was delicious—the friction of their bodies joining and the way his shaft stroked a place deep inside made her writhe upon him.
She was on fire for him, and the pulsing ache in her womb made her whimper once more. Their unions before now had been passionate and intense, for Rae had learned just what she liked and where to touch her, but this time was different. This time, there weren’t any shields between them. This time, she was giving him her heart.
She shattered, hard, her ragged cry filling the solar. She didn’t try and choke it back though; instead, she let the sound echo through the large chamber and out the open window.
“Kylie!” Rae’s voice was strangled. “I love ye, lass!”
“Aye!” she cried, rolling her hips hard against his as he thrust wildly into her now. “I’m yers … I’m yers!”
He climaxed too then, his spine arching and his head falling back, a raw shout ripping from his throat.
Outside the door, Storm scratched and whined, but neither of them paid the poor dog any notice. Instead, they clung together, gasping for breath. Eventually, Kylie reached up, her hand tenderly cupping his cheek. “I think everyone in the broch heard that,” she said huskily.
He snorted a laugh, his gaze meeting hers. “I couldn’t care less … ye are my woman, and I’ll shout it from the walls if I want to.”
Her lips curved. How passionately this man loved. His emotions ran deep; he was someone who could appear serious, stern even, for the weight of responsibility had taken its toll on him over the years. But underneath, there was so much more to him.
She knew, instinctively, that he’d always guard her heart.
She was safe with him.
“Even so,” she murmured. “I think Storm believes something terrible has befallen us.”
Rae chuckled once more. “He’ll soon learn we’re both well.” His hand lifted then, covering hers, for she still caressed his cheek. “Indeed, I’ve never been better.”
She stared up at him, her chest tightening. “I’m sorry I made things so difficult,” she whispered.
His expression sobered, yet his gaze remained gentle. “I understand.”
“Aye … but I hurt ye all the same.” She swallowed hard as her eyes grew hot and prickly. She’d wept more today than she had in years. “That was the last thing I wished for.”
He favored her with a soft smile, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. “I’m glad ye changed yer mind.” He paused then, his expression turning rueful. “Although, I don’t think I could have let ye go without trying to persuade ye one last time … so ye saved me further humiliation.”
She swallowed, tenderness swelling in her breast. “Ye wouldn’t have been spurned,” she admitted, her voice roughening. “I was about to come to ye at dawn … right before the attack. As I stood on the walls, watching my last Dounarwyse sunrise, I understood that if I walked away from ye … I’d regret it forever.”