Page 50 of Kilted Seduction
Thora whimpered as he drew back, leaving her feeling empty, then gasped as he thrust deep inside her once again, then again,setting up a steady rhythm that surged and pounded like the beat of her heart, entangled with his.
Every thrust was pleasure and heat. The heat of his body surrounding hers as he lay over her. The heat of his shaft, sliding into and out of her. The heat of her pleasure, her desire, sweeping through her, burning through her until she wondered if she was going to catch fire, to burn like the Yule Log that would be lit in the Great Hall in just a few nights.
The pressure coiled inside of her, need thrumming through her until she began to move as well, arching up to meet Aedan’s thrusts, pulling him deeper, her inner muscles clenching around him as she chased the sensations his touch evoked.
Aedan made an inarticulate noise and began to thrust faster and harder. His hand moved to protect her wounded shoulder, and his mouth claimed hers.
The world narrowed to heat and pleasure and Aedan. His every move sent her higher, and her very skin sang with every brush of his hands, his mouth, his body against hers.
Aedan shifted, and his next thrust pressed against her pleasure center. The world shattered in a wave of heat and brilliance as her release swept over her like a wave, turning her vision white with pleasure. Thora cried out, back arching, muscles clenching around Aedan as her body convulsed in the onslaught.
Aedan grunted, hips stuttering, then stiffened, his body pulsing in hers as his release took him as well. His seed pumped deepinto her body, sending another wave of sensation and pleasure through her. Thora shuddered, her channel clenching around his shaft as both of them rocked together in shared pleasure.
How long it lasted, she had no idea. Nor did she know how long she drifted in the afterglow of their love-making, lost in the lassitude that followed such intense passion and sensation.
Eventually though, she began to be aware of her surroundings, enough to realize that her fluids and Aedan’s were sticky on her thighs, and that Aedan was lying beside her, drowsing. He’d pulled a sheet over both of them, and in the light of the fire, his face looked more at peace than she’d ever seen before.
Carefully, Thora stole out of bed and made her way to the wash basin. A bit of water and a rag took care of the worst of the mess.
Once cleaned, she grasped a nightdress and slid it over her head, then started back to her bed, smiling at the slight soreness that served as a reminder of her pleasure.
She’d never guessed Aedan Cameron would be such a good lover, or a good man. She almost wished he could be her husband in truth.
Thora froze, the pain of that followed by a wave of guilt as crushing as her earlier pleasure had been uplifting. No, Aedan Cameron couldn’t be her husband. He didn’t know who she was. To him, the girl he’d lain with was Thora MacTavish, just a lass who’d come to him with visions and a ruse.
What would he say, if he knew she was not MacTavish, but MacLeod? How would he respond then? She could guess, and the knowledge of it made her stomach feel as if she’d swallowed stones.
When Aedan found out the truth, he would hate her, and he would be right to. She had no right to have made love to him, or awakened his desire for her, nor given in to her own desire for him. Not so long as she was keeping the secret of her true identity.
She shouldn’t have surrendered to her desire. Not before telling him the truth. The knowledge of what she’d done, and what it would do to him if and when he discovered the truth, was like a knife in her heart.
She was still reeling in her guilt, and her awareness of the enormous folly she’d committed, when someone knocked on the door.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Atentative knock on the door roused Aedan from the pleasant doze he’d fallen into in the aftermath of their lovemaking. He blinked himself into awareness and hoisted himself up onto one elbow to see who was at the door.
Thora had apparently roused earlier, because she was dressed in a night dress. Aedan watched her walk to the door and open it.
A servant stood there, holding something that Aedan couldn’t see clearly. “Me laird wishes tae express his regrets if ye were feeling unwell and decided tae retire early. In regard tae that, and in gratitude for yer brave actions in saving the lives o’ both his servant’s child and his guests, he offers ye this bottle o’ wine tae enjoy. ‘Tis a rare bottle, straight from the deepest shelves o’ the wine cellar.”
“Thank ye, and please convey our gratitude tae the laird.” Thora took the bottle and dipped her head, before closing the door.
Aedan took the opportunity to pull himself from the bed, collect his kilt, and sling it around his waist. “Laird Ross sent us a bottle o’ wine?”
Thora jumped. “I…ye’re awake?”
“I woke tae the knock.” He moved closer. “Och, a claret? I’ve heard ‘tis a rare, good wine from the continent.” He took the bottle from her. “Gracious o’ Laird Ross.”
He smiled at Thora. “After earlier, I’m fair parched. This seems a fine way tae quench our thirst.”
He was startled when Thora shook her head. “I dinnae think I want tae drink any wine taenight.”
Aedan blinked. There was a shadow in her eyes, a look of distrust that he thought he recognized. He looked at the bottle, then at Thora. “Is that… are ye…”
Thora frowned. “I cannae say what I’m feeling. ‘Tis like a warning, but faint. Almost like it’s nay more than a flash o’ intuition. Just a strong desire nae tae drink the wine.”
Aedan nodded, but he was thirsty, and the wine… and there was another problem. “’Twould be seen as a grave insult if we were tae refuse the gift Laird Ross has given us. Nae tae drink the wine would be akin tae saying we dinnae trust him.”
