She waited, braced for judgment, for hesitation… for rejection.
“Tell me what ye’re thinkin’,” she said, her voice a fragile whisper in the space between them.
Shock and confusion flickered across Theo’s features.
“Do ye really nae ken how stunnin’ ye are?” he asked, his voice husky with disbelief.
Heat flooded her cheeks as he crawled over her, his hand rising to cradle her face. Slowly, he bent low until they shared the same breath.
“Ye have enchanted me,” he murmured, his confession falling into her like sunlight through cracks in old stone, warming parts of her she’d long kept hidden.
“I want ye,” she whispered.
“Then take me,” he said. “But ken this—I willnae take what isnae freely given. Ye’ve already given too much out of duty.”
She reached up, her thumb brushing gently over his bottom lip. “But Idowant ye,” she insisted, her voice steady now, the certainty in it surprising her.
Theo crushed his mouth to hers, and the hunger in that kiss filled her with need
Lavina’s eyes widened. He was breathtaking.
Sun-kissed skin stretched over powerful muscle, every inch of him shaped by labor and life. She bit her lip as she dared tobrush her fingers over the silver streaks across his ribs and back. The stripes made her want to cry, but at the same time, they showed her how much Theo had gone through in his life before her.
But it wasn’t his body that mesmerized her. It was the way he looked at her, as though she were sacred.
As he returned to her, she realized something with startling clarity: she had never felt safer.
“Tell me if I go too fast,” he murmured, brushing a lock of hair from her face, “or if I hurt ye.”
“Ye willnae hurt me,” Lavina whispered.
He growled—a low, male sound of hunger—and crushed his lips to hers again.
The kiss was unbridled, fierce, claiming her in ways that unraveled her soul. His lips trailed down her neck, teasing her flesh until goosebumps rose in their wake. Her legs parted of their own accord, her body no longer listening to reason.
Theo kissed lower, his tongue licking along her collarbone, and his hands followed, mapping her curves as if learning them by heart.
“Theo,” she gasped, her fingers tangling in his hair.
He looked up, desire burning in his gaze, and she could no longer deny the fire consuming her.
“Please,” she breathed. “I want ye.”
Her breath hitched the moment his hips shifted and his fingers slid between her thighs.
She gasped. Every part of her was acutely aware of him.
“Ye’re tremblin’,” he murmured, his mouth brushing against her neck.
His hot breath tickled her skin, stirring another whirlwind of emotions within her.
“I’ve never…” Her voice broke, the words catching in her throat. “Nay one’s ever touched me like this.”
Theo’s movements slowed, his touch reverent, as though honoring the truth she had just shared.
“Ye deserve to be worshipped,” he whispered, kissing the line of her jaw as his fingers continued their gentle, deliberate work.
Lavina melted under his touch. Each stroke, each caress unspooled the fear and shame she had once carried like armor.
