Highlander Unmasked Read online

  “Your ribs,” she murmured.

  “To hell with my ribs,” he growled. “Just let me taste you.”

  Meg complied willingly. His mouth was hard and demanding, brutal with need. It was perfect. She tasted his hunger and opened to him, taking him deeper as his tongue swept her mouth. He was holding nothing back, and Meg met the force of his desire with her own.

  She’d been right. His kiss made her forget. His kiss made her feel alive, alive in a way that she’d felt before. As if every inch of her body were aflame. The passion between them consumed everything in its wake. There was no room for analysis or thought, only for the desperate cravings of their bodies.

  She returned his kiss the way he’d taught her. Tentatively at first, and then with growing confidence, she matched the thrust and parry of his tongue stroke for delicious stroke. She couldn’t get enough. The harder and deeper he kissed her, the more she wanted. Meg had succumbed, and she would do so not in half measure, but with verve, excitement, and eagerness.

  This was dangerous. Very dangerous. She knew she should stop him, but it felt too good. She’d never dreamed that she could feel this way, that she could so crave a man’s touch. She’d thought that she was not capable of this type of emotion, this type of sensation, this type of burning desire. But when he held her in his arms and kissed her, her heart flipped, her blood rushed, her pulse quickened. All she could think of was drawing nearer to the heat. Of being surrounded by this man.

  Her hands explored the breadth of his wide shoulders and powerfully muscled chest. She wanted to touch every part of him, to feel his skin under her fingertips. She clenched him harder as the force of his kiss intensified.

  Her frenzy seemed only to increase his own. Alex lifted his head, breathing hard, and the depth of emotion in his eyes took her breath away. It was desire, but also something deeper. Something that made her heart leap high in her chest. Something that she wanted to believe with every fiber of her being.

  He watched her face intently as his fingers traced an invisible line down her side, allowing his thumb to slip forward over the curve of her breast. The nipple hardened under his touch.

  Meg gasped as his thumb began to stroke small circles over the sensitive tip. She closed her eyes, allowing the warm sensations to crash over her as she gave herself up to his touch. Her entire body felt flushed and hot with pleasure. Vaguely, she was aware that he’d loosened the laces of her bodice and tugged the fabric down below the edges of her stays.

  She guessed what he meant to do but made no move to stop him, remembering all too well what he’d done before. His mouth fell on hers again, holding her captive, kissing her with an urgency that gave proof of his intent. His lips and tongue trailed a path down her neck and bodice, perilously close…agonizingly close.

  Meg held her breath as his fingers dipped below the edges of her stays and linen sark to lift out her breasts from behind their delicate confinement. She startled at the erotic sensation of his callused finger sweeping the sensitive, naked flesh. Her body turned liquid, and a heavy warmth pooled between her legs.

  She heard his sharp intake of breath.

  She opened her eyes. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, suddenly aware that he was staring at her naked breasts.

  “God, you’re beautiful.” His voice was tight and rough and held almost a touch of reverence. He outlined the swell of her breast with his finger, so feather soft that she wondered whether he was actually touching her or whether it was merely the strength of her own awareness. “So round,” he murmured, emphasizing with his finger. His voice was deep and dark as molten lava, seeping into her consciousness. “So full.” He moved to cup her, and Meg began to shiver, aroused by his observations. “So soft and creamy white.” He lifted her closer to his mouth. She could feel the heat of his breath brush across her sensitive tip. Oh God, this was torture. His voice lowered. “With perfect pink tips.” Meg felt a shudder go through her as his tongue flicked her nipple. “Mmm…so sweet.”

  She moaned, writhing in innocent frustration, more aroused than she’d ever been in her life. Every nerve tingled with awareness; she felt ready to jump out of her skin. He teased her already taut nipples, rubbing the rough pads of his fingers over the sensitive tips, then squeezing lightly. But it wasn’t enough. Meg knew it wasn’t enough. There was more. And finally, he gave it to her. His tongue circled her, and then his warm mouth closed over her.

  Meg had thought herself not capable of mindless desire.

  She was wrong.

  He sucked her, hard. A needle of pleasure seemed to shoot straight to her heart. She pressed herself against him, savoring the sensation of his teeth and tongue as he pulled her deeper and deeper toward a blinding pleasure. A slow quivering pulsed between her legs, demanding attention. She wanted something; her body felt empty but yearned for fulfillment.

  Dear God, she knew what she wanted.

  She wanted him inside her. Filling her. Taking away the agony.

  Instinctively, she knew that Alex would give her incomprehensible pleasure.

  A firm hand dropped to cup her bottom as he nudged her breast erotically with his teeth, a nipping and sucking that drove her wild. She grasped for the safety of his shoulders to keep from fully collapsing. Meg was already addicted to the feel of him beneath her fingers. Through the linen of his leine, there was no mistaking the raw power of his impressive build. Her fingers explored every ripple, every muscle, of his powerful form. Alex was built for destruction. Every inch of him was strong and hard. His arms and chest seemed sculpted from stone, the thick muscles chiseled, defined, and inflexible. Warm steel. He reminded her of warm steel.

  Releasing her breast, he moved to take hostage of her mouth again, kissing her with a dark sensuality that would have shocked her senseless an hour ago but now only thrilled her.

  But then his hand slid under the edge of her skirt. Her breath caught as his fingers worked their way up along her calf, then thigh, then higher still.

  She froze, and a moment of uncertainty broke through the haze.

  Meg could no longer return his kiss; she couldn’t think about anything other than his hand…and where it was going.

  “Trust me, Meg,” he whispered against her ear, sensing her uncertainty. “I only wish to give you pleasure. Nothing more.”

  She nodded hesitantly. She did trust him.

  But nothing could have prepared her for the pure burst of pleasure that hit when his finger brushed against her tingling flesh. So achingly soft. Again and again, he swept against her until she didn’t think she could take any more. She knew she should be shocked. Surely, anything that felt this good must be a sin. But held captive by this exquisite torture, Meg didn’t care.

  She writhed in sweet agony, almost delirious with need. Craving pressure, she lifted her hips against his hand, wanting it harder. He groaned and finally slid his finger inside her, giving her all the pressure she needed. Lost in the throes of nearly unbelievable ecstasy, she grasped helplessly for something that hovered just out of her reach.

  Chapter 12

  Alex watched, almost mindless with lust, as the flush spread high across her cheeks. As her breath hitched between her softly parted lips. As her back arched, delectable, pink-tipped breasts straining toward the sky and hips pressed erotically against his hand. She was going to come. For him.

  Never had he seen anything so beautiful. He felt humbled just looking at her. She was so tiny and soft and sweetly feminine. An unfamiliar swell of emotion rose in his chest. He’d never felt like this before, moved beyond words by the significance of this moment.

  He felt as if he’d been handed a precious gift. Never could he have imagined her soft surrender, the way she melted into him. And the honesty of her response. Meg’s passion was like everything else about her, refreshingly open and honest. And his.

  She was so close, writhing in innocent frustration, just as hot and desperate as he was. He bent over her, flicking his tongue against her taut nipple in perf