Page 65 of Her Highland Prophecy
He groaned and pulled away from her lips, his forehead landing on hers. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart and their loud exhales as both of them struggled to catch their breath.
She leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed one last kiss to his mouth before retreating and putting some much-needed distance between their heated bodies.
“Goodnight, me Sassenach Princess,” he said, his voice a little lower than she was used to. His lips were as swollen as her own probably were and for a second all she could think of was pulling him back to her and continuing what they had started. She didn’t.
“Goodnight, Gordain,” she said and quickly entered her room. She closed the door behind her and pressed herself against it trying to resist the temptation to yank it open and go back to him.
Kissing him was an addiction and she did not want to stop. She was now more than ever aware of the ever-beating clock signaling the time they had left together and part of her wanted to find a way to halt its inexorable progress.
She breathed deeply to calm herself as she removed her dress to sleep. They couldn’t halt the clock, but she could take advantage of every second that ticked by. Determined, she opened her door and stalked down the corridor to Gordain’s room. She didn’t knock but entered the darkened room, the dim light from the few embers in the hearth illuminating Gordain’s silhouette on the bed.
She walked forward purposefully.
“Diana?” came Gordain’s surprised voice from the bed.
“I’m here,” she replied, as she reached the side of his mattress. She clambered up onto the tall side of the bed in a move that was not very graceful, but that left her practically sitting in Gordain’s lap.
“Hello,” she said. Up close she could just make out his face in the darkened room. He looked confused for a second, before his face cleared and he smiled at her. It was the half smile she had come to associate with him being amused by something.
“What are ye doing here, Princess?”
“I’m sleeping with you tonight,” she declared, already fighting to get under the bedcovers to ward off the chill of the night.
“Are ye now?” he asked, his smile even more pronounced than before.
“Yes,” she responded. “We only have another week, Gordain. I’ll not waste it sleeping apart when I sleep much better when I’m with you.” She hoped that he couldn’t tell how much she was blushing in the dark.
Though her words may have seemed brazen, she truthfully felt much safer when she was in his presence. Even though no one had given her any indication that she was in any way unsafe in the Castle, she had never felt as comforted or protected as when she had slept in his arms, on the ground and wrapped in his plaid.
Knowing that he loved her, and whether or not she was ready to admit her own feelings, she knew that there was nowhere else she would rather be.
“Verra well,” he said and laid back down, pulling her close to him.
His large hand wrapped around her waist, his entire body pressed up against her back underneath the covers. He radiated warmth and she pushed her icy feet back against his calves. He yelped lightly but then settled.
Sleep was starting to overcome her. Tucked into his arm, warm and safe, all her worries seemed to disappear and the only thing that remained was the two of them.
She only wished they could have had longer to enjoy it.
24
The next few days passed almost in a blur for Gordain. He spent every available moment he had with Diana. And when they were not together, he found himself often distracted as he thought about her. It was blissful.
Ever since the day they had spent by the loch she had been free with her affections toward him. They had not progressed much further than they had that day — though their caresses now wandered beneath their clothes occasionally, rather than just over them — and every night they slept together in his bed.
It was the most amazing and most torturous week he had ever had in his entire life. It got harder and harder to resist taking her maidenhead every time her hands wandered a little too low for comfort. And with them spending almost every waking moment together, he had not truly had a chance to relieve his tensions at all, making each touch ever more electric.
Today though, was a good day for an entirely different reason.
He read the letter that had arrived that morning again, his eyes scarcely believing what he was seeing.
I did it.
The thought circled in his mind over and over in a hundred variations, awe and disbelief battling for dominance as his two primary emotions. He read it again, but the result was the same.
He had found a way to save the Clan financially. And a legal way too, which was not something he had expected. Excitement rose within him as the knowledge settled into his being and he immediately left for his father’s quarters.
After being admitted inside, he pushed the letter into his father’s hands, practically vibrating with everything he was feeling.
