Page 23 of The Beast of the Highlands
Considering his belted tartan still covered whatever lay beneath, Autumn knew he was not asking her to give herself to him. And so, her body relaxed into the hay bale, setting off a new chain of delicious explosions within her.
“How… How is… this possible?” She clawed at her cloak as his finger sank into her inviting heat, his tongue resuming its wonderfully maddening lash against her bud. “How is such a… feeling possible?”
He paused. “It’s ancient. It’s the closest to heaven we can reach in this life.”
“Do not stop,” she urged.
He chuckled and returned to his heavenly task, pushing a second finger slowly into her secret well. She had anticipated discomfort, but there was none. Instead, it added a fresh layer of intensity to her pleasure, until she thought she might scream the entire stables down.
All of a sudden, the intensity shifted, pooling in her swollen bud. The sensation was not entirely unknown, for she had experienced something similar when reading the more explicit parts of her French stories, but this made those slight pulses pale in comparison.
As the sensation built, her back arched, her teeth biting at her bottom lip to stop her from crying out too loud. Then, just when she thought she could not bear it any longer, the bliss reached its peak. Lightning bolts of euphoria splintered through her, making her legs shake, and her hands clench into fists. And, despite her best efforts, she could not help but cry Flynn’s name.
Let the household be asleep. Let them be oblivious.
She took comfort, for once, in the emptiness of the manor. If this had taken place at the height of the manor’s prosperity, the servants would surely have heard, for the stables were closest to their quarters. But no one slept there anymore. No one but Leighton, at present. Even Mrs. Holbeck had been moved into nicer chambers.
As the last sparks of ecstasy fizzled to a slow, whole-body embers, Autumn collapsed into the hay bale, panting as though she had sprinted for miles. She could not even speak.
Flynn kissed her thighs and restored her skirts, covering up her shaking legs, before positioning himself at Autumn’s side and pulling her into his embrace. Her head came to rest upon his chest, her palm covering the rapid beat of his heart.
“I broke me promise,” he murmured.
She peered up at him, confused. “What do you mean?”
“I said I’d restrain meself if ye faltered.” He bent his head to kiss her lips, letting the kiss linger. “But that was a last kiss I hope ye daenae forget. I ken I willnae.”
Breaking the kiss, she held his gaze. “I doubt that would be possible.”
It was not what she had wanted to say, but she had not been able to coax the words onto her lips, realizing what they would mean.
I do not think thatwasour last kiss… and I fear we have just begun something that neither of us will be able to give up. But if we do not, what pain will we cause?
And what price would they have to pay, for finally acting for themselves? After all, he belonged to someone else. What was the punishment for theft?
15
Following the scheme that Autumn had suggested the night before, when they had lain in one another’s arms, Flynn saddled the horses before dawn. He woke Leighton, who was not happy about the early interruption, and they rode out beyond the gates.
After spending the day exploring the local countryside, and dining at a pleasant inn, they returned to the manor as though they had never been there. Though nothing would ever make Flynn forget the hayloft, or the sound of Autumn calling his name as he brought her to an exquisite conclusion.
I’ve hated England all me life, but now I’m lookin’ on one of their manors as if it’s a paradise and am fallin’ in love with a Sassenach lass.
The thought made him smile, but it disappeared as he rode up the drive toward the manor. Here, far from the castle, he did not have to contend with future arrangements. How was he supposed to keep away from Autumn when they returned to the castle? How was he supposed to be near her, and not kiss her, touch her, make her tremble in his arms again?
I’ve made it more difficult for her. I was willin’ to take her hate and anger, as long as she came back. Now I ken she doesnae hate me… what are we goin’ to do?
“I’d ask what the matter is, but it’s written all over yer face,” Leighton remarked, upon their approach to the manor’s pillared porch. “And I heard ye last night.” His face lit up. “If Autumn is with child, does this mean ye can break the betrothal with Keira Cranach?”
Flynn stared at his brother in shock. “We dinnae do aught like that, ye wee rascal! Are ye a bat or somethin’, eavesdroppin’ on folks havin’ a private moment?”
“I tried nae to listen, believe me,” Leighton replied, seemingly disappointed. “Ye should’ve taken her off into the night and married her, ye dobber.”
Flynn smiled sadly. “I thought about it.”
“Then why did ye nae?!” Leighton brought his horse to a halt. “There are plenty Lairds for Keira to wed, but there’s only one Autumn.”
Leighton’s words pinched at Flynn’s heart. “Ye’re nae to tell a soul, do ye hear? Autumn and I cannae risk bein’ found out… and I suspect things will change when we get back to the castle. Last night was our last night. There willnae be anythin’ like that again.”
