Page 16 of Enchantment of a Highlander

Or she could stay.

Her nipples tightened at the audacious thought. She could stay and taste what she longed for, what haunted her dreams.

If her lust were slaked, she could be done with it. The frustrated rub of her fingers between her legs at night only seemed to exacerbate her wanton need.

But Alec was powerful, virile. Her stomach tightened. Surely he could drive the desire from her.

Celia straightened and pulled the leaves from her hair. Then, without letting herself think on it further, she pushed her way through the bushes, her thoughts swirling with nervous anticipation.

• • •

The bushes rustled once more and Alec swam closer to the shore where he’d left his sword. If Duncan were in the bushes, he would have called out by now.

But it wasn’t Duncan who emerged from the forest.

Leaves and branches bowed aside beneath the graceful press of a slender, white hand, unveiling a woman whose beauty could be rivaled by none.

Long silver-blonde hair fell past her slender waist and wide blue eyes met his from across the grassy shore.

“Celia.” Her name slipped between his lips in a whispered exhale and his body went hot despite the cold water wavering at his hips. She stepped forward, her feet appearing and disappearing from beneath the long hem of her homespun gown.

His quickened breath expanded his chest.

She sauntered toward him, her eyes dark and determined, her pace impossibly, teasingly measured.

She reached behind her back and, in a smooth motion, the tight bodice around her waist loosened and fell away. Her hand reappeared by her side with a long white string clutched between tapered fingers.

She continued her easy gait forward and the simple overdress slipped to a pool of coarse brown fabric at her feet. Only a linen chemise separated his ravenous gaze from the naked curves of her body.

His cock had gone hard somewhere between her appearance from the wood and the loosening of her bodice and continued to grow harder with the removal of each garment.

Sunlight danced through the thin fabric of her chemise. It played against the shadowed outline of her rounded hips and the narrow gap between her thighs. She caught the tie at her throat and pulled it free. The neck of the underdress widened.

His mouth went dry and he strained forward, every muscle in his body locked tight.

He’d thought about this too damn often.

The linen slipped from her shoulders and bared her smooth, fair skin. The gown lowered further still, revealing her body inch by slow, delectable inch.

His gaze trickled down the graceful curves on display—her incredibly long, slender legs and narrow waist. He gritted his teeth against the singe of desire. She was even more beautiful than he’d imagined.

Her breasts stood proud on her chest, big enough for a handful, her nipples small and pink and tempting.

The water licked at her slender toes and she stopped. Alec’s chest rose and fell with each ragged breath. She needn’t join him in the icy water, not when he could easily meet her on the shore.

But he never got the chance before she stepped into the loch. Her nipples drew tight against the shock of cold. Each careful step brought her closer, until she stood directly in front of him.

She stared up, hot and full of enough promise to make his cock ache.

He wanted to reach out to her, to stroke the side of her perfect breast and follow the curve of her waist, her hip, down to the strip of blonde hair covering her sex. He wanted his lips on hers, his body against hers.

But he would not make the first move.

He swallowed before trying to speak. “Are ye—”

Her finger pressed to his lips and he fell silent. She stared at his mouth, the way she had done in the cottage when they first met. Her fingers threaded through his hair, her palms warm against the coolness of his scalp.

“You were right,” she whispered.