Highlander Unchained Read online

  But she didn’t want to wait until they were married. She couldn’t wait a moment longer. His reverent touch and devouring gaze had made every inch of her tingle with need. The shattering sensations he’d awakened in her the last time teased the edges of her memory but were still too new to be fully recalled. She felt that strange restlessness building inside her, the powerful urgency. She ached for his mouth, his hands, his fullness inside her. For the fulfillment of his promise.

  His naked chest gleamed like polished bronze in the candlelight. The rock-hard muscles of his arms and stomach were so clearly defined, they could have been chipped from slate. She would never cease to be impressed by his size and strength. Noticing the fresh bandage, she frowned.

  He’d started to unfasten his trews, but she grabbed his wrist, stopping him, realizing there might have been another reason for his reluctance tonight. “Your arm. It is not bothering you?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “You had it stitched?”

  He nodded. “The healer tended to it after the evening meal.”

  “Oh.” The healer. He meant Seonaid. She bit her lip, knowing she was being ridiculous but unable to resist the surge of jealousy that his leman had touched him and admired the same chest she did. He might claim to love her, but he’d never made any promises of fidelity. Nor would such an arrangement be expected, except that she found she did—very much so. The thought of him with another woman tore her heart out. She vowed to do everything she could to ensure he never wanted anyone else but her. But how?

  “Why the frown, my sweet?”

  She shook her head. “It’s nothing.” She released her hold around his wrist, encouraging him to continue.

  He laughed and kissed the frown from her mouth. “Jealous, Flora? You have no reason.”

  “I’m not jealous.”

  He smiled, the familiar handsome features devilishly sharp and angled in the shadows.

  Her eyes narrowed, not appreciating his expression. “It’s not the least amusing. How would you like it if I were alone in a bedchamber with a man with whom I’d shared intimacies?” It gave her no small amount of pleasure to see his eyes turn black.

  “I’d kill him. And since I am the only man you shall ever be intimate with, the issue shan’t arise.”

  “And does the same hold true for you, my laird? You’ll find I won’t be a very accommodating wife.”

  It took him a moment to get her meaning, and then he chuckled. “Lass, your fears are unfounded. When I make a vow, I keep it.”

  She stilled, not daring to hope. “You will not take a leman?”

  He held her gaze. “I would never dishonor you.”

  Flora didn’t think she could be happier, but she was wrong. At that moment, it felt as if the world were at her feet. Forgetting her state of undress, she leaned up and threw her arms around his neck.

  The shock that coursed through her was as powerful as lightning. The heat of his skin drove all other thoughts from her mind but the wicked sensation of her bare breasts pressed against the solid strength of his naked chest.

  She moaned and snuggled against him, wanting to dissolve into him, loving the delicious friction of rubbing against his smooth, warm skin.

  His mouth was on hers again, hot and demanding. She opened against his determined onslaught, taking him deeper and deeper. She splayed her hands against the taut skin of his back, digging in her fingers as the kiss intensified. An inexplicable urgency rose up inside her.

  His hands covered her, cupping her breasts, squeezing as his tongue circled and thrust in her mouth. The sensual rhythm sent shards of white hot pleasure shooting through her body. She felt her body dampen as desire spread between her legs.

  He released her mouth and slowly kissed his way down to her chest. Taking his own sweet time, drawing out every sensation as his lips and tongue blazed a path across her fevered skin. His mouth was so warm and the night air so cool, her skin tingled in his wake. He kissed her ear, her neck, the hollow at her throat, and finally he dipped between her breasts, licking and nuzzling with the gentle scrape of his beard as he teased her mercilessly with the deft stroke of his tongue—coming achingly close to the sensitive tip, but never close enough.

  He was killing her. Her nipples were so tight that they hurt, straining for the pleasure of his mouth. He circled the taut peaks with his tongue, and the warmth of his breath blowing across her chest made her shiver. Finally, when she didn’t think she could take it a minute longer, he took her in his mouth and sucked. She moaned, arching against him. The bolt of pleasure that went through her seemed to link his mouth to her heart. She plunged her fingers through the soft wave of his hair, pulling him closer. He sucked her until she writhed against him. Until she felt the place between her legs start to quiver.

  She experienced a moment of disappointment when he released her, his mouth sliding down the length of her belly. But then she remembered what he’d done to her last time. How he’d kissed her in the most intimate of places.

  Perhaps, knowing what he intended, she should object. Surely such a kiss was wicked? But she found herself unable to fight the virulent demands of her body. Demands made all the more pressing as he sank lower and lower, until his head rested between her legs.

  He kissed the top of her thigh, and she shuddered. His finger swept her, as if testing her readiness. She’d never been more primed for anything. She was wet and hot and aching for the soothing press of his mouth. It was all she could think about. How it felt to have him kiss her, slide his tongue inside her, and suck. Desire pooled low in her belly with a fiery intensity that would not be denied. His hands slid around to grip her hips, lifting her to his mouth.

  She couldn’t wait. Her body wept for his touch.

  Their eyes met as his tongue swept over her. The shock made her cry out as intense bolts of pleasure racked her with tremors. He licked her again, pressing a little harder against the now frantic pulse. God, it felt amazing. So warm and hot and deliciously erotic. She melted as a heavy warmth descended over her.

  And then he was sucking her, slipping his tongue deep inside her until she thought she would die from the intensity of sensation building inside her. Until the quivering turned into spasms. Until the pressure inside her started to shatter. The force of her release was so intense, she cried out, lifting her hips and dissolving into his mouth. He held her there, wringing every last bit of pleasure from her. Only then did he release her.

  Flora was utterly spent, her body warm and heavy, as though she could slip into a deep slumber. But she knew this was only the beginning. Lachlan had risen to his knees and started to unfasten his trews again when she stopped him.

  “Let me.” She needed to touch him and feel the sheer power harnessed under her fingertips.

  He lowered his hands. The heat in his eyes made her feel warm and tingly all over again.

  Sitting up, she let her eyes roam over the powerfully sculpted chest that loomed before her—a warrior’s body. The wide shoulders, the heavily muscled arms from years of wielding the claymore, the scars that peppered his torso giving proof of the battles he’d fought—and won. Never would she have imagined the strength of her attraction to such raw physicality. But there was no denying the primal response to his muscled body and the warm shiver of anticipation running through her. But the powerful physical attraction paled in comparison with the love she felt for the man.

  She traced the tight bands of stomach muscle with her fingers and noticed how he tensed as she drew closer to his arousal, straining against the leather confines of his trews. Slowly, teasingly, she began to work the ties, allowing her hands to brush over him, lingering as if she might mold her hand around him. He drew in his breath at her gentle teasing. Now loosened, the trews slid down past his waist, revealing the enormity of his desire.

  If she didn’t know it for fact, she would have thought it impossible that he could fit inside her. She ran her finger down the long length of him, still amazed by the softness of the