Page 37 of In Bed with a Highland Beast

“Ye feel perfect,” Alaric whispered into her ear as he finally began to move, pushing into her with measured thrusts. “Ye’re perfect. Just perfect.”

Lucia couldn’t help but moan his name, the drag of his manhood inside her and the praise he was giving her both driving her wild. She clung onto Alaric, fingers digging into his shoulders and nails biting into his skin, but he didn’t seem to mind. If anything, it only spurred him on, each sound, each movement she made forcing him to quicken his thrusts until the entire bed was shaking with their coupling.

There was no silencing Lucia’s moans anymore. The only thing she could do was to bite into her own palm to silence herself, but when Alaric saw her, he pulled her hand away gently and replaced it with his mouth, the sound of their combined moans loud in the small room.

“I always kent ye would feel so sweet,” Alaric mumbled against her lips, each thrust of his hips now driving his manhood as deep into her as it would go, filling her to the brim. “Tell me how it feels.”

“Good,” Lucia managed to choke out between gulping breaths, her legs falling open as Alaric increased his speed. “So good, please, dinnae stop.”

Good didn’t quite begin to describe how Lucia felt. Nothing could compare to the feeling of being so full, so entirely claimed by Alaric. Her entire life, she had thought she never wanted or needed anyone. She had thought it would always just be her, on her own, that she would always have her freedom and belong to herself. But now, with Alaric inside her, above her, all around her, it was difficult to convince herself she didn’t want to be his and his only. She wanted to be claimed and to claim him in return, to become one with him in every way she could.

Groaning in pleasure, Alaric reached between them to stroke that sensitive spot on her mound that had stars bursting behind her eyelids and Lucia could only surrender to the continuous pleasure, letting herself be led to her climax for a second time. It didn’t take long for her to reach another peak, crying out as her back arched and her vision went white at the edges, her core pulsing pleasurably around Alaric’s length.

Warmth spread all through her body, like a wave that pulled her under. For a few moments, nothing but her pleasure existed, nothing but her and Alaric and that feeling of completeness. When she came back to herself, Alaric gave one more thrust before pulling out and gripping himself in his hand, giving himself a few furious strokes before he reached his own zenith across Lucia’s thighs.

Time seemed to stand still as Alaric hovered over her, panting wildly as he tried to catch his breath. Then, he collapsed onto his side on the bed and immediately pulled Lucia close, burying his face into her hair.

Lucia melted into the embrace, her limbs going lax as she burrowed deep into Alaric’s arms, all but hiding herself entirely in them. For once, the world felt peaceful. They didn’t need to exchange any words. They didn’t need to even look at each other to know how the other was feeling in that moment and that pleased her as much as it terrified her.

Despite her best efforts, she had gotten too close and now there was no turning back.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Castle MacGregor stood at the top of the hill under a canopy of thick, dark clouds, just as Alaric remembered it. Naturally, there couldn’t have been any major changes in his relatively short absence, but after everything he had experienced while being away, it felt as though coming back to an unchanged home was too strange of a thing, as though the very fabric of reality itself ought to have changed to accommodate everything else that had shifted in his life.

It was the only place where they could go. Alaric had to inform Evan of Callum’s plans and the collusion with Edward I, and there was no safer place for him and Lucia to stay, even if Lucia’s presence was bound to bring some questions their way.

He didn’t know how he would respond to any of them. He supposed he would figure that out as he went, terrible as that idea sounded to him. The thought of leaving Lucia behind while he went back home had not even occurred to him, but now that they had arrived, he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen once she met Kayla.

Alaric didn’t know what would happen once he met her, either. His feelings for Lucia were unbridled, unstoppable. Even if he had wanted to put an end to what they had, he didn’t think he ever could. Breaking her heart would only shatter him, too, but he knew he was about to do just that.

Should I tell her? Should I prepare her fer this?

Alaric suspected the answer to that question was yes, but even so, when he tried to part his lips to speak, no sound came out. Behind him, he felt Lucia lean over his shoulder to watch him, her fingers tightening around his waist.

“What is it?” she asked, and Alaric’s throat tightened at how unconcerned she sounded.

“Naethin’,” he said after a short pause. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t find the words.

Instead, he kept riding towards the castle, heart leaping in his throat with every beat. By the time they reached the gates, he didn’t know how much more of that he could handle. The anticipation of the disaster seemed worse than the disaster itself. But when the gates opened and Alaric rode in the castle grounds, nothing happened.

That, too, felt wrong. It was just like any other day, any other instance of him returning home. So much had changed and yet everything was the same, and Alaric didn’t know how to act or even what to think.

When they dismounted the horse, the guards welcoming Alaric as he walked by, he couldn’t help but notice Lucia, too, was apprehensive. She carried herself with a guardedness that was not her usual manner, but rather something that only surfaced when she thought she was in danger, and her discomfort was etched clearly in her expression. Alaric wanted to reach out for her, to pull her close and comfort her, but he refrained from doing so. The last thing either of them needed was to be seen like that by anyone in the castle, including the guards.

“Come,” Alaric told Lucia, gesturing to her to follow him. They had hardly made it to the main doors, though, when they burst open and Evan jumped out, instantly pulling Alaric into a crushing hug.

Alaric let out a breathy laugh, wrapping his own arms around his brother and giving him a few gentle slaps on his back. Evan didn’t let go of him for a long time, which could only mean one thing; he had been afraid something had happened and now his relief at seeing Alaric alive was overwhelming.

When Evan finally pulled back, he continued to hold onto Alaric’s forearms, not letting him get too far.

“Where have ye been?” he asked. “I received yer letter, but ye never said where ye were or what ye were doin’. Ye scared us all. An’ then… that man who came here with yer ring an’ demanded I pay him!”

Alaric’s eyes widened at the mention of the man he and Lucia had attacked. After everything that had happened, he hadforgotten about him almost entirely, pushing those events to the back of his mind, but now the memory of what he had done to him had resurfaced.

“Did ye?” Alaric asked. “Did ye pay him?”

Evan blinked at him in surprise and frowned a little. “Aye,. but only because he promised me ye were alive an’ he told me ye were with some… some brigands!”

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