Reaching forward, he put his hands on her hips and pulled her into him. He’d meant only to comfort her, to wrap his arms around her.
But as Marissa pressed her body against his, he heard her sharp intake of breath. He felt the way she arched her back, pressing her breasts firmly against his chest.
Arthur hooked his thumb below her chin, guiding her gaze up to his. Where fear had been only a moment ago, a rampant desire was now blazing in the depths of those brown eyes.
Immediately, he hardened beneath his kilt.
Alright, ye brute. Surely ye’ll go and scare her off now.
But Marissa was not scared. Instead, her breath started coming in short, shallow gasps.
Arthur looked down and caught her nipples pebbling beneath the thin fabric of her shift.
“Remember how ye said ye wouldnae touch me until I asked,” she said, her voice low and husky.
Arthur nodded, clenching his jaw. “And I willnae,” he answered, grinding out the words as he held himself back. “Nay matter how much I might want to, kitten. Ye dinnae have to worry about that.”
Her mouth ticked up at the corner. “And what if I want ye to? What if I want ye to touch me?”
Arthur’s breath hitched.
She doesnae mean that. Someone tried to take her life tonight, and she’s nae thinkin’ clearly.
As if Marissa could read his thoughts, she stood on her tiptoes. Her small hands rested on his cheek, guiding his gaze back down to hers.
“I need ye,” she said in a voice husky with desire. “I need ye to help me forget. I need ye to help me feel alive. Can ye do that?”
He groaned. It was taking almost more strength than he possessed not to throw her on the bed. Not to ravage her.
“Ye dinnae ken what ye’re sayin’,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Marissa chuckled low in her throat. “I ken exactly what I’m sayin’. And I ken exactly what I want. Ye said ye wouldnae touch me until I begged ye. So, that’s exactly what I’m doin’. Touch me. Please.”
It was that final word that shredded every last ounce of self-control he possessed.
He growled low in his throat before bringing his lips down to hers. Their mouths crashed together. Their hands were roaming, and Marissa was moaning as he guided her through the threshold to their bed.
The first time they’d done this, when he’d feasted on her on the shore of the loch, Marissa had been soft and hesitant. Clearly inexperienced.
But now? Now, she was like a woman undone.
Her hands raked down his back, clawing at his clothes in a desperate attempt to get them off of him.
He assisted her, ripping through the fabric of his shirt and discarding it. It took little effort to push his kilt down his thighs and step out of it, never once requiring that his lips leave hers.
Marissa moaned, throwing her head back in ecstasy as he trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck. The sound was enough to drive him mad.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed. In one fluid motion, Arthur pushed her back. Allowing her just enough time to settle beneath him, he descended on her again.
Their lips melded together, moving in perfect tandem as his tongue plunged into her mouth. His fingertips trailed along her body, making their way over the swell of her breasts and down her navel.
He felt the way her body responded to him, the way her chest heaved as his hands explored. They moved further still, journeying down the curve of her hips before trailing down her thighs.
Marissa shifted beneath him, breaking their kiss. Her eyes fell on his, wide and wanting and nearly mad with desire.
He kept his gaze fixed on her face as he pushed the linen up her thighs. She sucked in a breath, her teeth biting into her bottom lip.
He was painfully hard, filled with a desire to thrust himself into her. But this moment wasn’t about him. It was about Marissa.
