Page 56 of Return of the Scot
“I’m going to give ye that second kiss.”
“Kneeling on the ground?” She raised a questioning brow.
He grinned, looking as roguish as ever. “’Tis the perfect spot, lass.” He placed his hands on her knees, the heat of his palms searing through her muslin nightgown.
She should shove his hands away. Jump up and run inside. But she didn’t.
Instead, she eyed him with curiosity. And felt the cold night air touch her ankles and then her calves, as he slowly slid her nightgown upward. The tips of his fingers stroked over her ever-growing bared flesh, and she sucked in a breath, frozen still. Her gaze locked on his. Every inch of her sang with…what? Desire. Passion. Anticipation.
With her legs, exposed…that should have made her stop. But nay…
In her haze of lunacy, she didn’t care about being caught or how extremely wicked this was. Jaime’s interest was most certainly piqued. And then he was bending down and pressing his lips to her exposed knee.
“Oh,” she gasped. “That was your second kiss.”
“Och, nay, lass. This is one long kiss. A special kiss.” He lifted her leg by the ankle, touching his mouth to the delicate point of her bone. “I’m still no’ done.”
She nodded, licking her lips and watching him trail his lips up the length of her leg, pausing at her knee. Who was she to say no to him giving her this long, special kiss? It felt so good… She admitted she was incapable of asking him to stop. Because she wanted more… More of whatever it was that his eyes were promising.
“That is, this is…” But she couldn’t find the words to describe how she felt or what she wanted.
Lorne’s hands slipped higher on her bare legs to the tops of her thighs. He paused. Looking up at her, waiting, she guessed, for permission. She nodded. The grin that covered his lips right then and there sent a shiver of delicious anticipation through her. He kissed higher, his hot mouth climbing the inside of her thigh. Oh, this was fantastically wicked. Ruination was hers. It was almost a certainty. This would get her banned from society. But even knowing that didn’t make her say “No more,” didn’t make her snap her legs closed as he kissed higher, his head disappearing beneath her nightgown.
Hot breath fanned over her sex, and Jaime gasped, then sucked her lower lip into her mouth to keep from making any more noise. But it was hard not to when he kissed her right there.
The warmth of his hands on her knees pressed gently outward, opening her to him. And then slick, wicked velvet stroked along her folds—his tongue!
Her hands curled around the edge of the stone bench, gripping tight to keep herself from falling over in pleasure. Her grip anchored her to this spot when what he was doing to her made her want to float higher and higher until she disappeared into the clouds. Lorne’s grasp on her thighs, his tongue moving in maddening, delicious circles over the very heat of her, ignited a passion, a hunger inside her that demanded to be fed.
She bit her lip hard, breathing in erratic puffs through her nose as he increased his speed, as he lashed her with that naughty tongue. Oh, but this special kiss… Her legs were shaking, her palms damp on the stone. It was difficult to remain quiet. Little whimpers escaped her unbidden, and she was powerless to pull them back.
Every stroke, nudge, lick had her falling deeper and deeper into rapture. Was it possible to fly and fall at the same time? Because that was what this felt like. Never in her life would she have guessed a man could kiss a woman like this. And never again would she be the same. Even the thought of kissing was ruined for her.
Ruined by this devilishly handsome and infuriating duke.
Her hips rolled forward, searching for more of what he was giving, more of the pleasure, more of the… And then it was there, the thing she’d been unwittingly craving and reaching for, breaking her apart inside. Everything came alive then. Every nerve ending on fire and pulsing as her body shook against his kiss.
Lorne slid his mouth along her trembling thigh, coming out from beneath her nightdress, looking extremely pleased with himself.
“How did ye like that kiss?” he asked with a languid wink.
Jaime swallowed, sucked in air, tried to find her voice, and at last said, “In case ye could no’ tell, I liked it verra much.”
He laughed softly, then kissed her. “Ye have no idea how much I want ye right now. Ye’d better get inside before I have my way with ye.”
If his having his way with her was anything like what she’d just experienced, Jaime was half-tempted to let him. He smoothed the skirt of her nightgown back into place and stood, holding out his hand. She took his offered hand and stood, wanting to curl into his body. But they’d dallied long enough, and if her aunt came looking for her, and subsequently found Jaime missing, she’d send out an alarm that woke the whole city.
“I shall come by tomorrow to escort ye for a promenade through the park, Miss Andrewson.”
She snickered at the way he used her formal name after where his mouth had just been.
“And I trust ye’ll be more gentlemanly in broad daylight.” She lifted off his jacket, grateful for the warmth it had provided her, though she suspected with what had just happened, she wouldn’t be cold for a very long time.
“I can no’ make any promises.”
Jaime laughed and then sprinted for the back door. What had she allowed to happen? Goodness, she’d practically made love to Lorne in the garden. And she’d enjoyed every minute of it. Somehow, he’d had more control than she did, stopping before they’d gone any further. And she realized at that moment, that she could trust him. Trust him with her whole life. And she definitely could not trust herself, at least when it came to his kisses.
What would she have done this past week without Lorne here to lean on? They were both victims of their siblings’ nefarious plot. But they were more than partners in unfolding the layers of treachery. They were something deeper.
