Page 20 of Deception of a Highlander

His hands slid up against her scalp and gripped her head. He jerked his face from her hands, and a muscle worked in his jaw. Something sparked in his eyes. Something dark and hungry. A whimper of victory sounded deep in her throat. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.

His thumb tugged at her chin, so her mouth fell open, and the silky caress of his tongue thrust against hers.

He captured control of the kiss with a primal groan that vibrated against her lips. The strength of his arms curled around her waist, and he leaned over her, his generous mouth moving restlessly against hers.

Mariel allowed herself to be laid back against the cool sheets of their small bed, a soothing contrast to the flaring heat of her flushed body. The decadent cadence between her thighs thundered into a desperate need. Kieran covered her body with his welcome weight, so only their clothing lay between them. He rose thick and heavy against her belly, a thrilling testament to his desire for her.

A desperate moan escaped her lips. She wanted this. She wanted him. Her hips moved of their own volition, arching and rolling and her legs tangled with his. Kieran slanted his mouth over hers, drawing the sounds of her pleasure into him.

His fingers spanned the fullness of her breast through her night rail and the pad of his thumb grazed the bud of her nipple. A bolt of pleasure shot through her, and his name was little more than a gasp on her lips.

Kieran’s knee slipped between her legs, nudging them apart. Teasing her with delicious pleasure. He settled his hips in the cradle of her thighs and pressed the length of his arousal against her throbbing center. Her legs wrapped around his taut waist in an attempt to get him closer, to increase the euphoric friction that left the room scorching.

A groan tore from his chest. His hand on the blanket beside her balled the fabric of the sheet in his fist.

His tongue curled against hers, stroke after frantic stroke adding to the fire burning within her. His hands skimmed up her legs with fingers inching closer, closer to the source of her need. Mariel’s mouth went dry.

The heat of his lips trailed down her neck to the top of her night rail. He pulled the silken ribbon from its bow at her throat and pushed aside the thin fabric, baring her breasts for him.

His hot gaze sizzled across her body, and a low growl rumbled from deep in his throat. He thought she was beautiful. He hadn’t said it, but she knew. And it only served to fuel her lust further.

His mouth closed over her breast, wet heat against soft flesh. His hand slid between her thighs, his fingertips dancing a maddening ring around her sex, teasing but not touching.

Mariel gasped for air she ’hadn’t known she needed. His tongue flicked against her nipple, circling the tender flesh as she strained and writhed beneath the exquisite torture of his touch. And then his finger touched the slick bud of her sex.

Pleasure spun Mariel in a blur of heat and excitement. She cried out in a hoarse voice and ground her hips against his hand, desperate for relief from the building tension tightening within her. Each glorious stroke sent a fresh wave of bliss rippling through her.

She could take no more.

“I want you,” she whispered fervently against his ear. Her fingers glided over the rigid plane of his stomach to where his arousal strained against his plaid. He was hard beneath, pulsing with a need that matched her frantic heartbeat.

His breath hissed between his teeth, and his fingers ceased their teasing pleasure. “I canna do this.”

Mariel jerked back and stared up at him. Was he serious?

His jaw was set, his gaze hard. He looked serious.

She fought to think of something, anything to say to keep him from leaving. “I don’t—”

“I should go.” His tone was strained and offered no room for protest. The mattress shifted as he freed the bed of his weight and left her staring up at him.

His face was impassive, but his dark eyes burned with desire when they raked over her once more. He hesitated. His hand curled into a fist at his side. And then he turned toward the door.

“Kieran?” Mariel gasped in shock. Had she heard him correctly?

Without apology or explanation, he exited the room and answered her startled question with the hard click of the door closing behind him.

CHAPTER 10

Kieran stalked back to his room and cursed under his breath. His resolve had crumbled beneath the lure of Mariel’s desire. Somehow, he had found the strength to stop before it was too late. Before he led her down a path where she would eventually be hurt.

Alec stood outside one of the rooms, wearing the same clothes as the previous evening. With a sly grin, he scanned Kieran’s naked chest and looked pointedly down the hall to Mariel’s room. “Did ye finally have her?”

“Mind yer own damn business,” Kieran growled and burst through the door to his room. He slammed it shut behind him with a satisfactory bang.

The cold silence of the empty chamber greeted him with bitter solitude. He stood for a moment and drew in a deep breath to steady himself.

The desire to possess Mariel had been overwhelming. Even still, his loins ached with want of her. She had certainly been willing and ready. God, she had been so ready—slick with need, swollen and pink beneath the thatch of downy hair. Her scent lingered on his fingertips, and the ghost of her yearning all but drove him mad with want.