Page 36 of In Bed with a Highland Beast

This time, she knew she was the one to initiate the kiss, crashing her lips into Alaric’s. At first, he froze as if in surprise, but then his arm tightened around her and Lucia melted into the kiss as Alaric deepened it, taking the reins. His hand trailed up her back, fingers threading into her hair to grip the dark strands and keep her in place as he devoured her mouth, and Lucia, with surprise, found herself not only melting into the kiss, but surrendering to him completely.

It was something she had never done before. She had never allowed any man to take over, always needing to be in control in every aspect of her life. But now, with Alaric there, she didn’t feelthe need to do so. She could simply relinquish that control and allow him to take over, to be in charge.

The kiss only became more passionate as they writhed against each other, their bodies seeking all the pleasure they could get. Letting go of her mouth, Alaric kissed his way down her jaw to her neck, nibbling softly at the sensitive skin there and drawing a gasp out of Lucia. She couldn’t help but arch against him, her own hands roaming down his back with care, making sure she wouldn’t brush her fingers over his wound, and Alaric hummed softly, pressing into her gentle touch.

“I want ye,” he whispered in her ear as he drew the earlobe between his teeth. Lucia nodded fervently, her own need overpowering as she rolled onto her back on the mattress and pulled Alaric on top of her, more eager than she had ever been.

“Please,” she said as she tilted her head back, baring her neck. “Ye can have me. Ye can have all o’ me.”

Groaning at her words, Alaric began to tug at Lucia’s tunic, but the gesture made her freeze. It was only a momentary hesitation, but Alaric caught it and he looked up at her with a small, confused frown.

“What is it?” he asked. “Should I stop?”

Lucia shook her head. She didn’t want him to stop, but she also didn’t want to tell him what it was that had given her pause. Knowing Alaric, though, she knew he wouldn’t let it go so easily, and she was proven right when he spoke again.

“But ye dinnae seem certain,” he said, the concern in his voice palpable.

Lucia sighed, a hand coming up to scratch the top of her head. This wasn’t a conversation she could easily avoid and so instead she steeled herself to have it.

“Me back,” she said. “Me scars…”

Understanding seemed to dawn on Alaric, his eyes widening. He had already seen some of it, she knew. He had already caught a glimpse of her back, but now he would be seeing the entire expanse of it and there was no hiding any of it.

“Every inch o’ ye is bonnie,” Alaric assured her. “All o’ ye. I dinnae care about yer scars. They cannae change how I see ye.”

Lucia didn’t know what to say to that. She had been rendered speechless, her heart beating erratically and making her ribs rattle. She could only hope Alaric couldn’t hear any of it. She could only hope he couldn’t read her emotions on her face, that she could control them now as well as she usually did, letting nothing come out.

Hesitantly, Alaric grasped Lucia’s tunic once more, though he did nothing more than hold onto the hem until she nodded, giving him the permission to remove it. It was only then that he took it off, stripping her slowly layer by layer while making sure to kiss each part of skin that he revealed—her arms, her collarbone, her torso, her thighs, each kiss only amplifying her need. Soon, she was nude before him, stretched out on themattress, and whatever self-consciousness lingered until that moment was finally gone. With the way Alaric was looking at her, she could only believe he craved her as much as she craved him.

Reverent fingers brushed over her skin, mapping her body from her shoulders down to her hips, brushing over the swells of her breasts and pausing for a moment to roll her nipples, drawing a surprised gasp out of her. Lucia looked up at Alaric as he knelt between her legs, at the easy, confident way in which he carried himself, at the small smirk that peeked through his beard as he gazed at her. She felt as though her body was already on fire and they had barely even started, but there was nothing she could do to keep those flames that lapped at her core in check.

When Alaric’s lips followed the same path, brushing so delicately over her skin, Lucia shivered from head to toe, each small touch igniting another fire within her. She watched as Alaric dragged the flat of his tongue over one of her nipples before taking it into his mouth and sucking, the sensation so sudden and pleasurable that Lucia couldn’t help but arch into his mouth, seeking more. Alaric was happy to provide, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her torso off the mattress as he sucked harder, tearing a broken moan from Lucia’s lips.

Then, he kept moving lower, kissing a path down her stomach until he was hovering over her mound. Lucia watched him through lidded eyes, legs falling open a little wider in a silent plea for him to give her what they both wanted.

Alaric wasted no time before he dipped his head between Lucia’s legs, tasting her with a broad, flat stroke of his tongue. That first touch had Lucia melting into the mattress, the wet heat of Alaric’s tongue overshadowing every other sensation. There was nothing else in her mind but that small point of contact between them and the toe-curling pleasure it was giving her, every concern, every other thought flowing away.

After that first teasing touch, Alaric continued his ministrations, licking into her and flicking his tongue over her most sensitive spot. His beard scratched against her thighs, adding a delicious friction with just a hint of a burn that drove her mad with lust. Lucia surrendered to his attentions, trying to keep herself quiet as he pleasured her, one hand clamping over her mouth as the other rested on the back on Alaric’s head, holding him in place. His tongue, sometimes soft and pliant and others hard and insistent, licked over her folds again and again, lapping up the moisture there and teasing her continuously. His fingers dug into her thighs so insistently that she knew she would be bruised later.

She looked forward to it. She wanted to see the marks Alaric would leave on her skin, a lasting reminder of the moments they were sharing.

With the enthusiastic, almost ravenous way Alaric was licking into her, it didn’t take long for Lucia’s pleasure to crest over her, her climax catching her by surprise. She shook with the force of it, and Alaric pushed her through it, still pleasuring her until the last of the aftershocks had subsided.

It was only then that he pulled back, coming up to kiss her, and Lucia impatiently tugged at his clothes as she tasted herself on his tongue. She needed to feel him everywhere. She needed to feel his body against hers, under her hands, against her skin.

Alaric wasted no time before he undressed, carelessly tossing the garments to the floor. Once he was naked, he returned to Lucia, but she held him back with a hand on his chest, taking a moment to admire his body—the sculpted muscles, the thin sheen of sweat, his skin glistening with it, the smattering of hair over his torso that led between his legs, to his manhood. Lucia’s gaze was drawn there and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down on it at the sight of his length, hard and flushed and straining.

Pushing herself up to sit on the bed, Lucia took Alaric in her hand, stroking him slowly, her thumb gathering the moisture that beaded at the tip to spread it down the shaft. Above her, Alaric groaned, his hips bucking once, but he mostly stayed still as Lucia explored his body, one hand on his length as the other traced the contours of his chest and stomach. Under her fingers, she could feel him take shuddering breath after shuddering breath, but all the while, he let her set the pace, making no move.

Looking up at him through her lashes, Lucia leaned closer and flicked the tip of her tongue over the head. Alaric drew in a sharp breath, his chest expanding with it, and then held it as Lucia rolled her tongue over the shaft with a soft moan, looking at her with such intensity that it was enough to take her own breath away. Slowly, torturously so, she took him deeper and deeper in her mouth, her hand working to stroke the base of his shaft as she licked and sucked around the head, eyes falling shut at thetaste and feel of him. Alaric was a heavy weight on her tongue, hard and solid and hot, and Lucia couldn’t get enough of him, but it wasn’t long before Alaric stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

“If ye keep doin’ this, I willnae last,” he said, gently removing himself from her mouth. He pushed her back onto the mattress and crawled on top of her, his lips pressing soft kisses all over her face. “I wish tae be in ye. I can think o’ naethin’ else.”

Lucia nodded fervently, wrapping her arms around Alaric’s neck and her legs around his waist. “Please,” she said. She, too, wanted it more than anything and she didn’t know what she would do if they spent even one more moment apart.

Thankfully, she didn’t need to find out. With a groan, Alaric took himself in his hand and guided himself in her opening, slowly pushing inside. Lucia was already so aroused, so wet, that the slide was easy, his girth slipping deeper and deeper inside her with every careful thrust of his hips. Even as she moaned for him, moving against him to try and take him even deeper, Alaric was slow and considerate, taking his time as he pushed all the way to the hilt, finally stopping to allow her to adjust.

Lucia felt so full, her inner walls stretching around Alaric’s manhood and clenching around him with every minuscule movement. She was gasping for air, the feel of him inside her so pleasurable and so unlike anything and anyone else that she could hardly breathe, overwhelmed not only by the sensation, but also by the emotions. Somewhere along the way, Lucia had begun to fall for him and this made all the difference. Everyother night, every other tryst felt insignificant compared to the enormity of this joining, and she could hardly stand the intensity of it all.

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