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“Aye.”

“Because you should not be in here.”

He laughed. “Certainly not.”

She simply had to know. “Are you here to kiss me?”

He breathed in deeply, watching her, as if undecided. Avelina would not leave this to chance. Taking a step toward him, wanting very much to feel his lips on hers, she was about to reach up when Niall made a sound halfway between a groan and a growl. He reached her in one stride. Niall cupped both of her cheeks, holding her head and forcing it upward. They were strong, capable hands, and yet held her so gently she could have cried. If not for the other type of feelings coursing through her.

Avelina’s heart slammed in her chest as Niall’s head lowered. At the first touch of his lips, Avelina closed her eyes. His lips were both hard and soft, somehow exactly how she imagined. But then his tongue was there—something she’d not experienced during any stolen kisses her suitors had taken. Running along the crease of her lips, ’twas as if he wanted her to open her mouth for him. And so, she did.

Suddenly, his head slanted as Niall’s tongue was once again there, demanding from her that she touched her own tongue to his. And so, she did, and was rewarded for it by another groan. This time, she could feel the vibrations of the sound on her lips, and she made one of her own.

Now his tongue did not just touch hers but swirled around it. As Niall’s lips moved over hers, his tongue became increasingly demanding, and Avelina was glad to give him what he silently demanded.

The kiss deepened.

She learned quickly, her arms now around his waist and Niall’s hands still on her face, holding it in place as if she would dare leave. There was no place in the world Avelina would rather be at that moment but in this man’s arms, learning how to kiss properly.

When he pulled away, she wanted to fight him. To beg him to continue. But he did so only enough to look at her, his eyes penetrating deep into her soul.

“That was your first.”

“Like that? Aye. I’ve been kissed before, but never. . .”

“I understand,” he said, ensuring she did not have to. “But know this, Lina. Kissing does not always feel this way.”

He was so close she could smell the fresh soap he used to cleanse himself. Lina could feel his breath and wanted so very much to kiss him again.

“Does it not?”

He slowly shook his head. “Nay. It does not.”

He leaned down once again, his hands moving from her cheeks to around her shoulders. It was as if she were being consumed by him, engulfed in Niall’s embrace. If the kiss was not enough, being held to his chest, Avelina felt his body against hers. . .

She gripped the material of his tunic as Niall’s mouth opened even more widely. Her very core clenched. Avelina had never experienced such a feeling before. It startled her enough to pull away. Looking up into his eyes, she asked the silent question, already knowing the answer. Or suspecting, at least. Mary had told her a bit, enough for Avelina to consider this must be what her maid referenced.

“Your desire scares you?” Niall asked, his voice deep and low. Soothing too.

“I’ve never felt that before,” she admitted, still engulfed in his arms.

“Tell me.”

“It’s just, when you kiss me. Hold me against you like this. . .”

“Go on.”

She shook her head. “I cannae.”

His jaw flexed, and Avelina resisted the urge to reach up and touch it to see if the angles were as hard as they appeared. But she didn’t dare pull her arms away from him.

“Between your legs,” he said, vocalizing what she could not. “Aye?”

“Aye.”

“Desire, Lina. I feel it too.”

“’Tis a powerful feeling.”