Page 56 of The Highlander's Dangerous Bride

“See what ye’ve done tae me,” he told her, finally unleashing the erection he had been keeping from her all this time.

“Did ye touch yersel’ when ye thought of me too?” she asked.

“Aye, ye ken I did. I tried tae hate ye, but I couldnae stop mesel’ from wantin’ ye,” he told her huskily, gripping his length hard in his palm and pumping it, even as he thrust his fingers inside her continued to watch her toy with herself.

“I ached fer yer kisses, fer yer touch, tae feel ye deep inside me,” she whispered, shivering from the ecstasy he was giving her, while at the same time watching him add to his own pleasure and hers, anticipating how much was still to come.

Powerful waves of intoxicating pleasure coiled up from her now molten center and swept over her body. “Dinnae stop,” she cried out, her fingers digging into the flesh of his shoulder, matching every thrust of his fingers with her hips as she rubbed frantically at her bud.

“I’ve nae intention of stoppin’,” he growled, his eyes fixed upon her face as waves of bliss began moving inexorably up her body, drawing her by slow, deliberate degrees to the delicious edge of delirium.

“Ach, Arne, I’m comin’,” she moaned, head thrown back, her body bucking against his hand as her pleasure spiraled upwards and finally crashed down over her in a sudden, euphoric wave.

While she was still shuddering from her climax, in one fluid movement, Arne stood up, put his hands around Raven’s waist and lifted her up, his powerful arms pinning her against his chest effortlessly. His strength was like an aphrodisiac to her, his entire hard, scarred, muscle-packed body seemingly made for her delectation and joy, literally driving her wild with wanting.

Thrilled to her core and already hungry for him again, she eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs about his waist, urging him on, “I’ve waited so long fer ye!”

“Nae as much as I’ve waited fer ye,” he promised her, his voice hot and husky in her ear as, with one movement of his hips, he thrust his mighty erection deep inside her, filling her to the hilt.

“Arne!” she screamed into his mouth, almost coming again, while he groaned deep in his throat as he held her there for a few moments, cooling his ardor, resting his forehead against hers.

Then, they entered a whole new phase of intoxicating abandon. Their lips clashed passionately, hungrily, as if they would devour each other and were trying to make up for lost time. Their tongues tangled in a wild dance, lips tasting, sucking, licking, and nipping at whatever piece of flesh they could find.

Raven wound her fingers in Arne’s hair, while her own fell about them as they consumed each other, a long black curtain shutting out the rest of the world. They remained that way for several minutes, with Arne’s girth and length filling her, making her gasp and whine and writhe, his rhythmic thrusts growing harder and more frantic, driving into her, taking her to closer to heaven with every stroke of his hips against hers.

The bliss heightened, her inner walls pulsed around him, and she felt him stiffen inside her. Knowing they would climax together was fuel to her fire, making it burn higher and hotter than ever.

“Say ye belong tae me and nay other,” he gasped gutturally into her mouth, pounding into her, one hand cradling her behind, the other wound tightly in her hair.

“I’m yers, Arne, always have been, always will be, yers and yers alone,” Raven cried out with every part of her being, clutching at him, showering him with kisses.

“Aye, ye’re mine,” he growled. “Ye belong tae me, always and forever.”

A deep groan as if wrenched from the pit of his very soul tore itself from his throat as with one final, mighty thrust into her, Raven felt the hot rush of his release mingle with her own, and they peaked together in a shuddering climax that swept them away together as though to a distant shore.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Later, they bathed and changed into their clean night things. They sat by the fire, drank some wine, and in the intimate atmosphere, Arne soon felt emboldened to talk about what had happened between them earlier.

“That was some stunt ye pulled back there, makin’ me swear tae try tae trust ye before ye’d jump down from the roof,” he said, meeting her eyes.

She gave a small smile. “Aye. And as I ken ye’re a man of yer word, I expect ye tae keep it.”

“I’m tryin’ right now. Can ye nae tell?” he asked, only half in jest.

“I can tell. Ye’re actually bein’ nice tae me.”

“Ouch. Have I really been that bad?” he asked.

“D’ye really have tae ask?” She shot him a skeptical glance over the rim of her cup.

“All right, I suppose I have. But ye ken, I thought I had good reason tae mistrust ye.”

“Aye, ye did.” She gave a sigh and looked into his eyes. He could tell she was being honest with him when she went on, “That was one of the costs I had tae pay fer ye and Thorsten tae be safe—knowin’ ye’d hate me fer leavin’ ye. I ken it was hard fer ye when I left, but ye’ve nae idea how hard it was fer me, Arne, havin’ tae leave ye like that and kennin’ ye’d despise me.”

She wrinkled her smooth brow in thought for a moment. “I told ye a while back that I’d made me peace with it in the time I was back on Barra. But that was a lie I told ye when we were fightin’. When I was plottin’ me escape from Struan this time, I concentrated all me hopes on seein’ Thorsten again. I thought I could stand ye hatin’ me, that it would be worth it just tae ken ye were safe from him. But I was wrong. The truth is, I never made peace with it. I cannae stand ye hatin’ me.”

Her admission sent a jolt through Arne, prompting him to open his heart a little. “I’m sorry I’ve doubted ye so much, Raven. I ken at times I’ve treated ye badly because of it since ye came back. But when I read the letter ye left for me and realized what ye’d done, it almost destroyed me.” He paused for a moment, groping for the right words to articulate his deepest thoughts properly, for the first time in over two years.

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