Highlander Unmasked Read online

  Though the summer evening was warm, she felt a sudden chill from leaving the protection of his arms. Little sensitive bumps appeared across her naked flesh, heightening her senses with anticipation.

  “God, how I’ve dreamed of this,” he said, lifting off his shirt and tossing it on the floor. His eyes moved across her bare skin, warming her instantly, burning a path from her head to the tips of her toes. “You are perfect.”

  She loved the huskiness in his voice. Meg hardly knew how to respond, her initial modesty eviscerated by his admiration and then by the powerful tanned chest and arms that blocked all rational thought. “So are you,” she said. And he was. She would never get used to the perfectly chiseled masculine features or the sensual appeal of his powerful body. He was so much larger than her, so obviously male. His arms and chest were deeply tanned and smooth except for the thin triangle of golden hair below his neck. There was not one spare ounce of flesh on his muscled torso. He seemed ripped from steel without the bulk of most heavily muscled men.

  His trews hung low on his hips, emphasizing the hard lines of his flat stomach. He sat on the edge of the bed and lowered his mouth to her breast, sucking until she arched against him and cried out. Smothering her cries with his mouth and tongue, he dusted his hand across her stomach, then lower.

  She sighed, sinking deeper into the bed. Her body pooled with the hot memory of what he’d done to her before. She wanted that feeling again. Craved it. This time, he did not tease her but entered her gently with his finger, holding her gaze until her lids lowered and her head dropped back with the power of the sensations he wrought within her.

  The rhythmic motion of his fingers drove all coherent thought from her mind. Her attention was consumed by the mastery of his hand.

  He stroked her and stroked her until she writhed under him. Until her body grew slick with need. Until she felt the steady building toward the promise of the sweetest release.

  Alex watched her eyes close as her head fell back on his pillow, tossing back and forth in sweet agony. He watched her body writhe with desire. His hand worked languidly between her legs, even as his own body cried out with urgency.

  He couldn’t stand this. He fought for every moment of her pleasure with the demons of his own desire. All he wanted to do was sink into the damp heat surrounding his finger. To thrust deeper and deeper, until her muscles tightened around him with the shattering ecstasy of her climax.

  Almost. She was almost there. Almost ready for him.

  He brought her to the brink with his hand before sliding off his trews and moving over her. His hands settled on either side of her shoulders as he propped up his chest and looked into her fluttering eyes. The beautiful, bewitching eyes of the woman he wanted above all others.

  “It will hurt,” he warned, his voice strangled. “But only for a moment.”

  Her eyes stopped fluttering as she fastened her gaze on his with sudden inquiry. Slowly, her eyes traveled down the ridges of his chest to his engorged staff.

  Her eyes widened with shock. Even wet with desire, her innocent body could never prepare for a man of his size. Somehow she seemed to know that. “Trust me,” he said.

  She nodded. “Always.”

  Her heartfelt response humbled him. Alex moved the tip of his erection between her legs and resisted the sudden urge to make it quick. Even if it killed him, he would make this good for her. He pressed into her, inch by agonizing inch, going slowly, giving her body time to adjust to him. Sweat gathered on his forehead with the strain of restraint as the tightness of her body gripped him like an erotic glove. Nothing had ever felt this good. He wanted to close his eyes, throw back his head, and let the rhythmic sensations overtake him.

  Not yet. He knew he was hurting her, but slowly her body opened for him. When he hit the point of no return, he hesitated. The full knowledge of what he was about to do, what he’d already done, hit him with a poignancy that he wanted to remember. The significance of this moment would be forever imprinted on his soul. He held her gaze, knowing that he’d never felt closer to any other person in his life.

  Then, with one powerful thrust, he drove into her, plunging through her veil of innocence.

  Meg Mackinnon was his.

  Meg let out a cry that he covered with his mouth, seducing her passion away from the pain. The agonizing pinch of his entry dissipated into the tingling sensation of pleasure. Slowly, her body softened around him as she became accustomed to the feel of their joining. He was inside her. She reveled at the sense of fullness. Of the connection. Of how much she loved this man.

  She sensed how hard it was for him to hold back. His muscles bunched along his shoulders, and his face was taut with restraint. Despite his obvious need for more, he desperately wanted her to enjoy this. His consideration tugged at her heart as nothing else could. Alex was harnessing all that power and strength for her.

  Power and strength that had been revealed to her feasting eyes. His body was magnificent, as finely honed as a statue. A statue that radiated heat. The first touch of his hot skin under her hands was like pure magic. The granitelike muscles flexed beneath her fingertips as her hands trailed down his naked skin, exploring every inch of his back and arms. Just touching him aroused her.

  And he sensed it. It was all the signal he needed. Slowly, he started to move. This was it. This was what she’d been waiting for. Yet she’d never imagined how it could feel. How the pleasure could rise and fall like a wave crashing on the beach. She could feel every erotic inch as his long, deliberate strokes drove her wild with need. Her nails bit into his arms as she fought to hold on. Her hips rose to meet him, taking him deeper. But soon it wasn’t enough. This, whatever it was between them, could not be controlled. She wanted it harder. Faster. Deeper.

  And God, he gave it to her.

  His hand fell between her legs, and he caressed her gently as he plunged in and out. The pressure built until something in her broke, shattering, like thousands of shards of glass. Her legs wrapped around him, and her hand grabbed his muscled buttocks, driving him deeper.

  With one last thrust, heaven found them both, releasing the tension that had built between them in a powerful burst of passion. Two souls tumbling together over the waterfall of tingling sensation. The emotions that ripped through her were so divine that Meg couldn’t believe she had once thought she could live without love.

  Gasping with wonder, she clutched Alex to her, her breathing short and shallow. His arms gathered her up in his protective hold, cuddling her body close to his. When their breathing returned to normal, he rolled to the side, one arm still resting across her naked chest.

  He reached over and gently removed a strand of hair caught in her lashes. A look of pure adoration lightened his features almost beyond recognition.

  He stroked her cheek with his finger, and his expression grew tender. He seemed poised to say something. Meg wanted to believe that it would be significant to their future.

  Her heart clenched, waiting.

  But she would never find out what it was that Alex was going to say, important or not.

  Because at that incredibly promising moment, when anything and everything seemed possible, the door burst open and Meg’s life changed forever.

  Chapter 16

  “You bastard!” Jamie swore savagely. “I should kill you for this.”

  Alex immediately moved to block Meg from Jamie’s view. Meg was only a second behind with the coverlet, lifting it up to hide her nakedness.

  Alex’s face hardened as he stared down his former friend. “You could try,” he said with deadly calm. “But I wouldn’t advise it. Especially after you’ve just barged into my room without invitation or without the courtesy of a knock.”

  “I was looking for Meg, and when her maidservant told me where she’d gone…” Jamie looked purposefully at the bed with a sneer. “Well, it seems I was too late.”

  “Have care, Campbell. Before you say something that I cannot overlook.”

  Some of