Page 24 of Highlander's Runaway Seductress
He tilted her head, spearing her lips with his tongue, and thrusting into her mouth. Amelie drew eagerly on his offering, sucking on his mobile tongue, and his growl filled her throat and chest.
Amelie wrapped her arms around his neck, and he pulled her closer. She could feel that fierceness simmer into a soft languid heat.
When he pulled away from her swollen lips, he went to nuzzle her earlobe, drawing that tiny piece of flesh between his lips. He trailed kisses down her neck, the soft slope of her collarbones, but while he nipped on the bone, he pulled away.
“Ye’re nae for me, Leelee,” he said. “Ye belong with a Laird.”
The soft tones her nickname was said in, hit Amelie squarely in her heart. With regret, her next words came out. “Ye’re nae for me either.”
Because we are goin’ to be separated very soon. We shouldnae have gotten involved at all.
His sigh was audible as he set her back on the bed. “Sadly, ye’re right.”
When he remained silent, Amelie said wide-eyed and desperately, “I’m sorry.”
Damien drew in a shaky breath and gave her a sad smile.
“There is nothin’ for ye to be sorry about, lass. I’m used to nae havin’ what I want. ‘Tis why I told meself me parents were dead instead of runnin’ off. It's why I dinnae let meself want what I want, so I reject it because I ken I could never have it. It pains me, but soon enough, ye will be only another mark on that list.”
Though his words were low, even Amelie sensed that he was more angry than sad about his life. She knew she would be too if everywhere she turned something swept her legs from under her and crippled her.
“I wish it could be different. Ye’re a good man, Damien. Why fate decided to give ye a horrible road to travel on is beyond me, but one day, I hope it’ll get better,” reaching for her cooling food, Amelie said.
“Thanks, lass,” Damien said, as he moved to stand. “Finish yer food and get some rest. We leave early on the morrow. Only a day or two to get to Dolberry. Sadly, we’ll have to sleep outdoors until we get there.”
“As long as we find somewhere dry, and get a fire goin’, I think we’ll survive,” Amelie shrugged.
“Me too,” Damien said as he passed through the door.
With her appetite restored, Amelie ate the rest of the meal with pleasure and turned the pewter bowl down. She changed into her nightclothes and settled into sleep.
Amelie soon found her sleep disrupted by a strange dream—she saw a man with a thick brown beard and kind green eyes smiling down on her. It was not the man’s face that troubled her—it was how she was lookingupat him.
Her eyes blinked open in the dimness of the room and stayed still on her bed for a while, trying to put the pieces of the dreams together. Why was she looking up at him? Had she been ill? Perhaps it was just a foolish dream, nothing more.
Yet nay…I feel as if he is someone I ken, but I have never seen him before.
Sitting up, Amelie rubbed her eyes and clutched the blanket to her as she tried to find some reason for the dream. Eventually, Amelie stood and, grasping her blanket, left the room, padding toward Damien’s. She tried the door and found it open, then, with a sigh of relief, slipped inside.
She knew she wanted to be near someone, and Damien was the only one she knew she could turn to. It was more than that, he was the only one she wanted to be with.
As she came closer, she felt Damien’s eyes on her. It did not surprise her. Coming to the side of the bed, she smiled when he lifted the covers for her.
Sliding in, Amelie rested her head on his chest. “Arenae ye goin’ to ask me why I’m here?”
“Nay,” he said while holding her close. “I willnae ask ye anythin’; I daenae want to prod into somethin’ I wished to happen.”
“Truly?” Amelie asked, twisting her head.
“Aye,” Damien’s lips dropped kisses around her hairline. “I’ve dreamed of ye in me bed more times than I can count, and here ye are, with me.”
Snuggling closer, Amelie told him about the dream she had and why it unnerved her. Damien’s rough cheek rubbed against the top of her head, and oddly, she felt it comforting. “I still daennae understand it.”
“Ye said ye were lookin’ up at him,” Damien said. “Hmm…maybe ye were small? A child? If ye said ye havenae seen him before, perhaps it happened when ye were a bairn.”
“It could be,” Amelie replied, “All this talk about me bein’ the Laird’s daughter might be pullin’ up some old memories. Ye said ye never got to see the Laird, aye, so I suppose ye daenae ken what he looks like.”
“Nay,” Damien shook his head. “I suppose if that is yer relative or yer faither, ye’ll have to get there to find out.”
