Page 24 of Highlander's Caged Rose
“I have enough land,” Niall said. His voice, that deep rumble from inside his chest, made her feel as though she could stand and listen to him all day. “You are better than any amount of land, Moira. But I want to taste you first…”
Before she knew it, his lips were on hers, and Moira was lost in a world the likes of which she had never known existed. She had been kissed before by her husband, and that was an experience she wished to forget forever.
But this was as different as night was from day as Niall’s moist lips caressed hers gently, sensually, and his tongue tipparted her lips to enter her mouth and stroke her tongue with his. She gave a little moan of surprise and delight; nothing had prepared her for this. But Moira was inexorably drawn into the kiss as if she had no will of her own, and at that moment she had none.
She was lost in a world of sensation she could never have imagined, and the pleasure was almost unbearably sweet. She plunged her fingers into the thick hair at the nape of his neck and sighed at its smooth, silky feel. She had expected to feel trapped in his arms, but instead she felt safe and protected.
Niall, too, was in a wonderland he had never been in before. He had kissed and lain with a lot of different women many times before. He knew he was a handsome man, although he never spoke about it, but he knew he should not be kissing Moira. She could be extremely insulting sometimes, and she had a will of iron, and yet, there was something about her that drew him in and would not let him go. He was baffled by her, but so enchanted that he thought she might have cast a spell on him.
Now she was in his arms, at his mercy, her soft, yielding body pressed against his with the inevitable result. And had he just asked her to marry him? He had been joking, of course—or had he? Now her lips were moving against his, as soft and delicate as rose petals. Was there anything about her that was not utterly delicious?
Moira felt herself sinking into a pool of lustful delight. The movements of Niall’s lips were sending jets of pleasure straight to her core, and she was almost unconsciously rubbing her hips against his. The pulse between her legs had become stronger, and she felt warm and wet and wicked, but she was in paradise.
Then, abruptly, reality forced its way back into her consciousness. She could not allow Niall McPhee to have his way with her. Moira once more pushed Niall away, but this time sheaccompanied the shove with a resounding slap across his face which made her palm sting.
She saw Niall put his hand to his face and watched his eyes widen, and his mouth drop open in surprise, but he was rooted to the spot with sheer astonishment. Moira took the chance to run to her horse and mount unaided faster than she had ever done before.
Less than a minute later, she was gone, while Niall had barely moved except to rub the livid, hand-shaped mark on his cheek which was throbbing and stinging furiously.
What did I do to deserve that?Niall thought, feeling a boiling rage growing inside him. He was tired of Moira Jamieson treating him like something filthy she had scraped off her shoe. He determined that when he reached the castle, he would seek her out and have a final showdown with her.
The kind of violence and disrespect she had just shown were unacceptable, and he would tell her so in no uncertain terms! And after that, she would likely disappear.
It cannot happen soon enough,he thought.I am sick of her.
However, as he mounted Logie and started back to the castle, he knew he was lying to himself. Moira was in his blood; if she wanted to leave, he could not stop her, but he could not bring himself to look forward to the prospect. He knew he would miss her desperately.
Suddenly, he remembered something—something extremely important that had almost slipped his mind because he had been so preoccupied with Moira. There was a council meeting that afternoon, and it was imperative that he was there.
Niall cursed and wanted to spend the entire journey back to the castle calling Moira all sorts of foul names, all the while knowing that he did not mean any of them.
She brought out the worst in him, Niall thought savagely, then his mind went back to their kiss; how could he possibly beangry with her when she made him feel so good, so protective, so masculine?
When Moira arrived back at Baltyre Castle, she sprinted all the way from the stables to her bedchamber without stopping, then threw herself on her bed. Her head was spinning, and her whole body still thrilled with Niall’s touch. She could still feel his lips on hers, his big hands around her waist, and most of all, the touch of his hard erection against the most sensitive spot on her body.
She could still feel his silky hair running through her fingers, her breasts pressing against the hard muscles of his chest, the tingling of her hardened nipples.
For a brief moment, Moira cast her mind back to her wedding night. It had been unbearably painful, but had not lasted long, thank god. Yet, she still had nightmares about the agony she had suffered, but it was the leer on his face as he took her without mercy that upset her most.
It had been the worst experience of her life, but he had fallen asleep straight afterwards, and that was the moment that Moira had decided to escape by hook or by crook. Her nightmares had lessened in frequency somewhat as time went on, although sometimes it took her a moment to recall where she was when she woke up in the morning, and when she did, she was swamped with blessed relief.
Then she felt again the touch of Niall’s lips on her own, and her whole body began to thrum and throb with desire. She was not a virgin, but she knew that making love with Niall would be vastly different.
Through her clothes, she touched the part of herself that had rubbed against Naill’s hard arousal, and was surprised to find it as tender and sensitive as it had been before. Tentatively, she raised her skirts.
As she thought about him, still touching herself, she remembered the kiss, and suddenly a glorious feeling she had never experienced before exploded from that sensitive place to spread over her body. She shuddered with shock and delight, and although she had never felt it before, she knew that the blissful sensation came from her thoughts of Niall.
Moira imagined waking up to him every morning, looking into his green eyes as she took her first breath of the new day, smelling the musk of his manly body, rubbing her palms over the rasping bristles of his beard’s new growth.
Niall had done some magic on her to make her long for him so much, she thought, laughing softly. Yet, she could not stay here forever; sooner or later, McDonnell would find her. But until that time, could she throw caution to the wind and let Niall make love to her?
How she desired him! But if she gave herself to him, he might think that he had won his prize and lose interest, or treat her the way Roy McDonnell had, and Moira could not bear the thought of that.
11
As soon as Glennie heard the noise of horse’s hooves crashing through the bushes, she was seized by a sudden feeling of alarm. This part of the riverbank was one of Niall’s favourite spots, and if he found her here alone with Ritchie, he would be furious. She knew that there was a council meeting later on, so he would not stay long, but they would have to make themselves scarce, and right away.
“Come on!” Ritchie hissed. He grabbed her hand, almost pulling her off her feet as she did so.
