Page 41 of Keep Her from Them

The dots showed he was typing, then it changed to state he was recording a voice message. Anticipation at hearing him curled my toes. At last, it arrived, and Raphael’s low tones filled my room.

‘In a hidden corner of Scotland, there’s a loch, surrounded by mountains and high hills. At the west end, a river flowsunder an arched bridge and feeds the loch from the snow melt and rainfall from the heather-covered slopes. A castle sits on the banks. Kids play in the water, and it’s a popular spot for the locals to hang out. But at the eastern end, it’s much quieter. There’s a wee path down through the forest to the water’s edge. We’d need a torch so as not to trip over tree roots. The shore is made of flat rocks that might still be warm from the sun. A good place to leave our clothes.’

A small moan of need slipped from my lips, and I squeezed my knees together, lost in the scene he was creating. It was a version of tonight where we weren’t constrained. A fantasy, because constraint made up my life.

I tapped the voice message button. “Don’t stop.”

As if waiting on my encouragement, he started recording another. I could hardly wait to play it.

‘Once we’ve found our way there, we’ll kill the lights so we don’t give ourselves away. No need to clue any nosy folk in to our fun. But there would be enough moon to see each other by.’

Damn, this was beyond hot and yet still the tamest conversation.

I replied, my other hand wandering down my body. “So you can see me?”

‘Clear as day, princess. Are ye looking my way?’

His second sentence came out less sure, as if he didn’t know how badly I was into this. Raphael’s voice scratched an itch inside my brain. That delicious Scottish accent made every word somehow more vital. Except the waiting between messages was driving me crazy.

My phone buzzed in my hand with an incoming call.

I fumbled it and snatched it up again.

But it was Dori calling. Fuck. I loved my friend, but now was not the time. I dismissed it and tapped Raphael’s name to dial him without giving myself a chance to lose my nerve.

He immediately answered. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself. Keep talking.”

“What do ye want to hear?”

“What happens when we take off our clothes?”

My breathing stuttered. Had I really just said that? I’d lost my mind. But if I had, so had my bodyguard.

“I’d watch the trees until you’d climbed into the loch, then I’d strip and follow ye in. Unlike me, ye don’t keep your eyes to yourself. Tell me what ye see.”

My fingertips grazed the apex of my thighs. “Strong shoulders. Your arms out as you swim to me.”

“What about before I got into the water? We both know ye peeked.”

I touched my clit and hissed. I was wet for him. My legs fell open. “You’re hard.”

He exhaled. We’d gone there. Past the point of no return.

“Aye, course I am. I’ve never seen anyone so pretty. When I reach ye, what happens next?”

I knew what he needed. For me to set the pace of this exciting and illicit conversation. But I was out of my depth. I’d never done anything like this. “I…want you in control.”

“Ye have it.” His voice took on urgency. “I’d reach out, needing ye in my arms like I’ve imagined too many times. As soon as we’re close enough, I claim a kiss. It starts tame, but it can’t stay that way. We’re naked. Our bodies touch, and though I keep my hands in safe zones, I can feel ye.”

The picture he painted had taken over my whole being. I stroked my clit and imagined holding on to him. My breasts against his chest. His lips parting mine in a blistering kiss built up from countless times of imagining it over the years.

“Christ, woman. Your breathing…I can hear how turned on ye are.”

“You’re making me,” I confessed.

“How far do ye want this to go, Alex?”

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