Page 51 of The Outlaw's Bride
Did it bother him as much as it did her?
It dawned on her then that she ached for him to kiss her again. On a practical level she was wary of him, but her body told a different story. It obliterated all good sense and filled her with a heady carelessness.
Adaira looked up, to find Lachlann watching her. His face was serious, although his intense gaze ensnared her.
Heart racing, Adaira found herself leaning toward him.
“Adaira.” He said her name softly, a hoarse edge to his voice.
Wetting her lips, she swallowed, aware that his attention had shifted to her mouth. Heat rose within her, spreading out from her core.
Lachlann shifted closer to her and reached up, cupping her head with his hands. His fingers tangled in her hair, and then his lips brushed over hers. This kiss wasn’t like the one earlier in the day—that embrace had been a claiming. This one was gentler.
Adaira’s eyes fluttered closed. Without thinking upon her actions, she parted her lips and allowed her tongue to timidly slide into his mouth.
Lachlann’s answering groan emboldened her. She gently bit his lower lip, gasping when he hauled her against him. His kiss changed now, his mouth searing hers. Adaira’s head spun, and she clung to him, answering Lachlann’s passion with her own. Her tongue explored his mouth, tongue, and lips. His taste made molten heat pool in the cradle of her belly.
A moment later Lachlann ended the kiss and drew back, breathing hard. Disappointed, Adaira reached for him, but he held her at arm’s length. His face was strained, his gaze pleading.
“The Devil roast me alive … we need to stop … or I’ll forget myself.”
Adaira gazed at him, longing for him to do just that. She didn’t know what had come over her. The desire he’d sparked that morning had been kindling all day, and now it had burst into flame. She ached for his kiss and felt bereft that he’d deny her.
“Please, Aingeal,” he rasped. “Stop looking at me like that.”
Confused, Adaira drew back. “Don’t ye want to kiss me?” she whispered, hurt.
Lachlann muttered a curse and leaned back against the tree. “Ye have no idea how much.”
“Then why won’t ye?”
He cast her a look of pure frustration. “Because once I start, I won’t want to stop. Ye are a maid … I don’t want to ruin ye.”
Adaira tensed. In her haze of lust she’d forgotten about that. A high-born lass’s maidenhead was a valuable thing. It seemed Lachlann understood that better than her.
A wave of recklessness swept over Adaira then. She’d be no chieftain’s wife. She had no virtue to cling to. She wanted Lachlann to kiss her again, to discover the magic he’d shown her a glimpse of. A strange thing had happened to them both since leaving Talasgair; it was as if they’d stepped through a door into another world—one she was eager to know more of.
Adaira craved the oblivion of his touch.
Still, wanting Lachlann to pull her into his arms for another fierce kiss was one thing, actually demanding he do it was another.
Shyness overrode recklessness, and Adaira shifted away from him. She now felt embarrassed and a little foolish.
How can ye want someone ye don’t even trust?Her conscience needled her then, reminding her just how fragile the bond was between them. It was just as well that Lachlann had pulled away—but all the same, she still ached for his touch.
They sat in silence for a while, and when Lachlann spoke, his voice was subdued. “There’s something ye should know, Adaira.”
Tensing, Adaira looked over at Lachlann to find him watching her, his gaze shuttered.
“What?” The question came out as a croak. Her nerves were getting the better of her.
His mouth curved. “One promise I did keep. I never told my father or brothers how we escaped from Dunvegan. None of them know of the hidden passage into the dungeon.”
Adaira drew in a sharp breath. His admission surprised her, distracting her from her heated, tormented thoughts and disappointment that he’d withdrawn his touch. “Why not?”
He held her gaze. “Some secrets are best kept.”
The Samhuinn fires burned, and the laughter and revelry of the folk of Kiltaraglen echoed long into the night.
