Page 74 of Highland Ruse

Delilah’s mouth went dry.

She’d felt the muscles beneath his clothing when they’d lain together, even when he’d held her before. But to bear witness to his beauty was another thing entirely.

His shoulders, arms, and chest were carved with muscle and his stomach went flat in tapered bands that seemed to become more pronounced when he breathed. His hips were narrow, his thighs powerful, and…

Delilah, who thought herself long past being a silly girl, warmed with the heat of a blush when her gaze lingered over the length of his hard phallus.

She slid off the bed, and her heavy skirts slipped back over her legs once more. She let her mouth curl into a seductive grin and slipped a finger under the lace of her bodice before slowly pulling it free.

He’d shown himself to her in all his beautiful magnificence.

And now it was her turn.

• • •

The undressing of a woman had never been so sensual as Delilah’s careful disrobing.

Kaid had had his share of women, of course, but he had enjoyed many without the ceremony of having their clothing slowly stripped away.

Delilah pulled free all the lacings on her bodice and let it hit the ground with a hard thunk. Next came the heavy skirts which rustled like parchment in the quiet room. Then came the heavy corset which eased the rigid stiffness of her frame and left the pink of her nipples visible beneath the thin fabric of her sark.

He took great pleasure in the gradual revealing of flesh, the tease of what was to come. Though he’d had her before, he found himself waiting with strained eagerness for the removal of each item.

She stayed a moment in her sark, watching him before easing the hem over her ankles, her shapely calves, her slender, perfect knees. He didn’t know if he’d ever noticed knees being perfect before, but hers were decidedly so.

Higher still revealed the slender gap between her legs. His heart pounded with thundering anticipation. The triangle of dark hair between her legs came next, then the flare of her rounded hips and the narrow indent of her waist.

Kaid folded his arms over his chest to keep from touching her. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt the tantalizing view.

The sark rose high over the expanse of her ribcage and displayed full, lovely breasts. He ran his tongue across the seam of his lips.

Finally, she cast the sark aside, where it whispered to the floor in a graceful heap of fabric.

Delilah was beautiful. Far more so than even his imagination could attempt to supply. Her body was made firm by her ability to fight, lines of lean muscle apparent in the glow of the fire.

Though there was evidence of her true strength, there was still the alluring softness of femininity—the swell of her hips, the roundness of her breasts, the curve of her perfect bottom.

He wanted to trace her body, memorize every luscious contour. He wanted to draw her, to capture her incredible beauty.

But sketching could come later.

He closed the distance between them and skimmed his fingers over her flat stomach. Her nipples hardened and she gave a quiet gasp.

He met her gaze. “Every part of ye is beautiful.”

Spots of color showed on her cheeks. “Every part of you is as well.”

He almost grinned, but her touch moved to his chest and slowly dragged down his stomach to where his cock strained toward her. His amusement melted into a groan of longing.

Unabashed in that brave way of hers, she let her fingers curl around him before stroking up his length.

“Ye’re going to drive me mad, lass.” He spoke the words between his teeth.

Her lips slipped into a sly grin. “That’s the point.”

She lowered herself to the floor, kneeling in front of him so his cock jutted toward her face. Her hand continued to stroke him in slow glides.

She looked up at him and licked her lips.