Page 70 of Beloved Enemy
“Aye,” he said, his voice ravaged with need.
He left her lips and trailed kisses down her neck and to her ear. There was a chill inside the tower, but her skin warmed under the attentions of his mouth. His hand skimmed over the soft wool of her gown, defining her stomach and ribs and her breasts with his touch. A small sigh escaped her, and he brought his lips back to hers. He took her mouth with greater need, cupping his hand fully over her breast, pressing himself against her.
He cupped her face and devoured her lips and mouth. She kissed him back, as wild and wanton as she’d never imagined herself capable of, enlivened by his want of her. She clawed at his tunic, wanting it gone, wanting her hands on his flesh. Reid abandoned her lips only long enough to remove it, to lift it over his head and toss it aside. He didn’t let her feast her gaze on himbut crashed into her again, ravaging her mouth. His hand left her breast and began to bunch up both her kirtle and her léine until many folds were in his hand at her waist. He raised the entire length of the fabrics over her head, carelessly tossing them aside when all her hair was free, leaving her wearing nothing but the amulet. She felt no coolness on her skin as it was exposed, felt only the fire. She suffered no nervousness for her nakedness even as he feasted on the sight of her as she’d not been allowed to do. He opened his mouth as he stared, his lips moving with silent praise as he raked his gaze over her taut breasts and lower, to the dark strip of hair at the top of her thighs.
Charlotte looked her fill as well. Her mouth opened in awe and her breathing changed, taking in his perfect form, those impossibly wide shoulders and his magnificently sculpted chest, his flat abdomen and trim hips. Impressions of chiseled power and corded muscles greeted her and teased her until she stepped forward and put her palms flat against his chest, over the beautiful muscles that surrounded his nipples. She moved her hands slowly, her gaze charting the path of her fingers with so much adoration.
She watched his jaw tighten as his eyes raked her. She felt a blush heat every part of her body that his eyes caressed. He lifted one hand to stretch it out upon her hip, just rested it there, his eyes following, feeling her. Charlotte’s nipples hardened. His other hand found her other hip, and his fingers sunk into her flesh, not forcefully, just enough to pull her near.
Reid lifted his hand between hers and ran his forefinger over the stone in the amulet.
“Take it off,” he ordered, his voiced laced more with gravity than harshness.
For some inexplicable reason, Charlotte hesitated. She pulled one hand away from his chest, and her fingers instinctively tightened around the amulet. She realized she was protectiveof it, this connection to the world she’d left behind. As long as she wore it, she felt she still had control, still had an escape, a tether to all that was familiar in this place where everything was uncertain. Taking it off meant embracing the unknown completely, surrendering, giving in. Reid’s distrust and their short but rocky history made her afraid—shewasimprisoned in the tower at the moment. The amulet was her safety net; she was ready—eager—to commit her body, but she was hesitant to commit her mind and heart to Reid.
She lowered her gaze to the strip of cloth tied to his belt. Boldly, she tugged at the fabric with her free hand.
“Take it off,” she parroted.
He growled an unintelligible response, his gaze saying,Touché, she thought she understood.
He didn’t make an issue of it, though, but pulled her to him, crashing his mouth down on hers. His hard, heady kiss left her breathless. Feverish flames were stoked. Charlotte loved it. She wanted to be overcome and possessed, driven beyond reason. She had some sense that the more she surrendered, the more she yielded to his possessive kiss, the more he gave of himself.
“I canna be gentle,” he muttered, yanking her hard against him, letting her feel the need and growing desire in his groin.
“Don’t,” she begged. “I don’t want gentle. I want you.”
He shifted them while they kissed and walked her backwards until the small bed was directly behind her. He lowered her, reaching one hand down while holding her with the other, and brought them both upon the mattress. He held himself up on one arm so she wouldn’t bear all his weight. Charlotte wondered if the tiny bed could hold the weight of both of them.
She reveled in the delicious sensation of his big hand covering her breast. His grip was tight, possessive, as if he feared she’d slip away otherwise. He teased and toyed with her breasts and nipples, bringing her feverish delight. And then withgreat reverence, he lowered his head and touched his lips to her breasts while Charlotte drew a sharp and expectant breath, her hands clasping his head, her fingers curling into his hair. He showered first one, then the other nipple with attention, until both were hard, and she was all but sagging against him. He tasted her with his tongue before capturing one nipple between his teeth. Charlotte whimpered, the sound wispy and demanding. She gorged herself on the sensual sweep of his tongue.
Reid centered himself over her and pressed her breasts together, laying a trail of kisses across the swells he’d created. He allowed himself to become preoccupied by the round softness he held in his hands, scraping the hard peaks of her nipples with his thumbs. He replaced his hands with his mouth once more and Charlotte wriggled and lifted her body, pressing against him, craving the fulfillment she knew would come, though not so soon.
At the same time, she felt an irresistible urge to explore him as well. Her fingers traced the contours of his back, gliding over the taut, unyielding muscles that rippled beneath her touch. His body was a new landscape, unfamiliar and exciting. She caressed his broad shoulders, feeling the raw power there, the strength that had always been apparent, yet now seemed more intimate, more personal.
She savored the sensation of his hard warmth beneath her palms, the tension in his body yielding to her caress, inviting her to explore more. It wasn't just desire, though that simmered between them, undeniable. It was curiosity. The need to learn him, to know every inch of him in the same way he was beginning to know her so marvelously, so thrillingly.
Her hands moved slowly, deliberately, lingering on the ridges of his back, the curve of his neck. Every stroke was a discovery, uncovering the story of him in her fingertips, feelingthe history written in his flesh, his muscles, the numerous scars. She felt connected, as if she were claiming him as her own.
Reid tongued his way from one breast to the next while one hand slid lower, over her belly and between her legs. Without shame, Charlotte opened her legs to him. Her mouth went dry, and she blushed at the flash of a smile he gave her.
Oh, God, she was already so wet for him, but there was no shame in this either. Her body throbbed against the pads of his fingertips. Each deft stroke of his fingers tightened her core and had her arching against him.
He leveraged himself higher, bringing his mouth to hers, simultaneously undoing her with his hand and his devouring kiss.
Charlotte rocked her hips, knowingly begging for more, which he gave her, sliding two fingers inside her. He circled his thumb over her clit, sparking a mountain of desire inside her. Mindlessly, her hand slipped between, latching onto his wrist.
“I want you inside me when I do,” she whispered vaguely. When he paused, seemingly in deference to her wishes, she brazenly pushed for more. “And I want to see you, to touch you first.”
“St. Columba, lass,” he said gruffly, “ye’ll undo me with words, etching such an image in my head.”
Charlotte raised a brow, glancing up at him. “Would that be such a bad thing?”
“Ye tell me. Ye just begged me cease ere the pleasure came...”
“I want to touch you,” she said, as bold as she’d ever been in her life. “I want to feel you in my hand, to know that you want me. But I want you deep inside me when I come.”
“Come?”
