Page 14 of Scot of Desire
“Ye ask me that?” she whispered, tearing her eyes back to his. “Bran, I may be forced by me future husband, Cillian Grant, any day now. What is the difference?”
Bran’s anger left him as if a gust of wind had snatched it from his body.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ilyssa couldn’t hold back her fast breaths as she stared up at Bran. Half of his face was bathed in the orange light of the fire, the other half in shadow. His expression was unreadable to her, but she couldn’t ignore the way they were standing. Why was he practically pinning her against the wall, even though he was not touching her? Why did her gut ache for him to touch her now that he had come so close?
“Ah, Ilyssa.” All sign of anger in his voice was suddenly gone. He hung his head forward, looking down at the floor between them. The action brought them that little bit closer. Her breath hitched for his usual scent wafted toward her –of pine trees. It was the scent she always associated with him. “That willnae happen.”
“Ye dinnae ken that,” she whispered, sliding her hands between her back and the wall behind her. She found she didn’t trust her own hands to be free. She was seconds away from pulling on Bran’s shirt, curling her body into his chest and hiding there.
He’s always been where I feel safest.
“What’s it like?” she whispered suddenly, her curiosity making the air burn around her.
“What?”
“Sex.” Her simple answer had a great effect, as if the air had been sucked outside of the room. He snapped his head up, his eyes finding hers. “What’s it like?” she asked again when he stayed silent, not hurrying to answer her. “When… ye both want it.” All her imaginings had recently been full of what her future may be, of being forced into the act. She didn’t want to think of that anymore. She wanted to think of thrilling sex, the exciting presence of being alone with a man in his bed.
“Dinnae ask me such things,” he whispered.
“Why nae?”
He sighed, shaking his head a little.
“Ye tempt me…”
She suddenly laughed and he smiled. Now, all signs of anger were gone between them. Bran was back to the man she felt safest with, the silent and quiet type, who would jest and smile with her when no one else was around.
“Tell me something,” she pleaded. “Anything.”
“It’s…” He hesitated; his eyes slanted in thought.
Ilyssa’s heartbeat was now so strong that she could feel it thumping against her ribcage. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the idea that Bran had lain with a woman. Did it thrill her to think he knew how to please a woman?
Then what’s this unpleasant feeling in me gut? Is it… envy? Nay!
She tried to clamp down on it, but it grew like a strong fire, encasing her gut.
“It’s a thrill like nay other. It’s intense,” he spoke in such a deep, gravelly voice that her breathing began to match his, their chests rising and falling together. “It’s a physical experience that cannae be matched any other way, if… it’s done right. If it’s shared with someone who wants tae share it with ye too.”
She chewed her lip in thought. His words were conjuring a picture now. She thought of his hands sliding on the wall toward her body. She imagined his fingers brushing the sides of her waist, the briefest and most tantalizing of touches.
Where did this come from?
“There are many things two people can dae in the bedchamber tae explore one another.”
“What dae ye mean?” she asked, her eyes searching his. He smiled now, that lopsided smile she found so endearing. “Dinnae laugh at me because of me ignorance.”
“I am nae laughing,” he assured her, his voice growing deeper still. “I guess I’m just wondering what yer reaction would be if I told ye what those other things were.”
“What are they?” She burned to know now. She had no idea there were other things beside that one act. Would he show her, if she asked him to?
What am I thinking of?
Her mind conjured multiple images. She saw herself and Bran on the bed behind them. Their bodies were entangled, their limbs wrapped around one another as he kissed her, his hand reaching for the skirt of her gown and dragging it up around her hips.
“Bran?” she whispered, wetting her lips and trying to focus on the man before her and nothing else. “What else can men and women dae together?”
