Page 76 of Fallen
Hearing the thud of the door closing behind her, and the light pad of her footsteps, Craeg turned. His gaze was shadowed. “How’s my sister?”
“In a bad way,” Coira replied softly. “But I have treated her like the others … if she survives the night, there may be hope for her.”
Craeg watched Coira, his throat bobbing. “I never met Drew, ye know,” he said after a pause. “Our father thought it fitting to bring Duncan to the brothel to meet me … but it would have been unseemly to bring the bastard into the broch itself.”
“So ye have never set foot in here before today?”
He shook his head.
Coira reached Craeg’s side and linked her arm through his, leaning against him. “And how does it feel?”
“Odd,” he huffed. “Like I’m trespassing.”
“Well, ye aren’t.”
Craeg drew Coira close, his hand sliding up her back. “I feel as if the moment I step outside this room, a servant is going to appear, point at me and shriek ‘Bastard… what are ye doing here’?”
Despite herself, Coira laughed, burying her face against the warmth of his neck. “No need to worry … there are no servants left to heckle ye.”
“Ye mean we shall need to fix our own supper?”
“Aye … if we can find any food.”
Coira drew back from him then, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. The look on his face—both tender and fierce—made her heart leap, her breathing quicken. When he looked at her in that way, her limbs melted like butter in the noon sun.
“Mother Shona was right, Craeg,” she said softly. “This is yer destiny. Ye might feel like an imposter right now, but no one could rule these lands better than ye. I am proud to stand by yer side.”
Craeg gazed down at her, his expression suddenly vulnerable. “I’m glad ye are here with me, Coira,” he murmured. “This broch is a tomb. I feel as if my brother’s ghost is breathing down my neck.”
Coira huffed. “Yer brother will be too busy trying to outrun the devil and his pitchfork in the depths of hell,” she replied.
Craeg’s mouth quirked at the image. “Aye.” He reached out, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw, to her cheekbone. “Long may he burn there.” He lowered his head then, his mouth slanting over hers.
His kiss was hungry, demanding, and Coira answered in kind. Reaching up, she linked her arms around his neck. Her mouth opened beneath his, heat rising in the pit of her belly.
She couldn’t get enough of Craeg. His taste, his touch, swamped her senses.
It only took moments for the kiss to spiral out of control, for all thought to dissolve from Coira’s mind.
Nothing else but this man mattered.
She reached down and unlaced his léine, her fingers sliding against the warm flesh beneath. Frustrated, she unbuckled the belt that prevented her from ripping the tunic off him.
Breathing hard, Craeg broke off the kiss, stepped back, and pulled off his léine. A soft sigh escaped Coira then, as she leaned forward and tasted the skin where his neck met his shoulder, her fingers sliding over the breadth of his chest and the crisp, dark hair there.
She’d been aching to do this all day. Last night had been but a taste of what she hungered for. Had circumstances permitted, she’d have locked them away together for a week so she could feast on him. Her lustiness shocked her. After years of numbness, yearning like this was unexplored territory.
Craeg groaned as she worked her way down his chest, her fingers plucking at the waist band of his braies.
“No, mo ghràdh,” he growled. “Tonight is my turn to take the lead. Tonight, I will make ye mine.”
Excitement fluttered low in Coira’s belly, and delicious anticipation shivered through her.
Craeg undressed her swiftly, stripping off her kirtle and léine. He then gathered her to him, pressing Coira up against the wall next to the open window. A cool breeze feathered in, caressing her naked skin. Outside, it was completely dark now, and a moth fluttered by, seeking the flames of the fire burning in the hearth and the cressets upon the walls.
Bracing his hands either side of her head, boxing her in, Craeg’s mouth ravaged Coira’s once more. His presence overwhelmed her, yet she gave into it. Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips shifted from hers, and he trailed kisses down her jaw and neck.
Mother Mary have mercy.
