Page 11 of To Wed a Highlander
Possession.
It was the last thing she saw before he crushed his lips to hers.
* * *
Niall had meantto punish her, to threaten her with unthinkable consequences if she ever used her magick against him again. He wanted to curse and berate, to rage and bellow, to shake her… to spank her.
Perhaps he’d still do that, eventually.
He’dwantedto escape this tiny, spare chamber, with the Christian god watching their every sin from the cross above the bed, before he did something stupid.
Like binding his soul to hers for the rest of their natural lives with a kiss.
But she’d whirled from the fire with contrition in her eyes lit by sparks of amber mischief, and he’d been lost.
Mine, his beast had growled, and Niall had to completely agree.
Here was a woman who could not only take him, but tame him. One who could bring him to his knees with her magick. Who was he kidding? She could accomplish the same with only a few sultry words from her generous mouth. Her body tempted him like no other had. Her voice transfixed him in a way he’d never imagined. Their sex had pleasured him beyond comprehension.
And when he listened to her talking to Malcom de Moray with affection and respect, Niall knew he had to dosomething. Possessive instinct surged even before the Pictish King’s warning against kissing him burned in his ears. Upon hearing that, Niall’s body, soul, and beast came to a decision they could never retract.
He was not one to take orders, and neither would his mate.
Niall kissed her with the unrestrained hunger of an untried boy. He’d used his lips for many wicked, lustful things, but never this. The pure, bacchanalian delight he found in the sweetness of her mouth both aroused and humbled him.
He’d never known.
Gods be damnedhow could he not have known that pressing his mouth to that of his mate’s would feel as though his heart might spill out of his chest and expire from the sheer pleasure of it? How could the illumination of just a simple act seem to resonate through him and radiate outward until it surely reached the sight of the Gods?
Every moment he’d lived, every drop of blood he’d shed, had lead him tothis, to this woman, and how she washis.
When he dipped his tongue inside her warm mouth to taste her, exaltation didn’t begin to describe the sensation. She was honeysuckle and cinnamon. She tasted of summer and smelled of sunshine, even through the rainwater.
He imagined it would be especially delightful when she decided to kiss him back.
Ah well, one thing at a time.
With a sound of protestation, she ripped her lips from his and pulled away, her eyes round with shock and accusation. “Why would you do that?” she gasped, holding trembling fingers to her bruised lips.
Niall shrugged shoulders now mobile with returning strength. “I wanted to.”
“But—but doesn’t that mean…”
“We’re mated,” he finished for her, smiling as her eyes went impossibly more round.
“Did you not just hear what Malcolm said? I promised not to kiss you!”
“In all honesty, I think you’ve kept that promise.” Niall advanced on her with what he hoped was more charm than threat. “But, I’m hoping for more response next time.”
Her lovely features filtered through a slew of emotions right before him. Shock melted into confusion, which quickly transformed into anger.
“I don’t think your king’s intentions are honorable,” Niall continued. “He loves you. He likely wants you for himself.” Jealousy was a new emotion, one he was sure to get used to with a mate as lovely as this one.
His woman regarded him like he’d just fed her Lutefisk for the first time. “Don’t be disgusting. He’s my cousin.”
“I’ve heard about you English and your cousins.”
“I’m a Pict, and a Druid one at that!” she spat, outrage flaring in her eyes and heating the air in the room to a temperature that steamed the last of the moisture out of his hair. “We’renotEnglish, and we know better than to marry cousins.”
