Page 21 of A Virgin for the Beastly Highlander

“We could if ye wanted to,” she said.

Conner shook his head. “I daeanae.”

“Then what do ye want?”

Again, he shook his head, “Up to the last hour, the only thing in me mind was to find me kin, to get them back home and somehow take yer faither to task for it… but now, I daenae ken what I feel.”

She smiled softly. “I see. I ken ye would like some time to yerself so I will take me leave.”

As she moved away from him, Conner grabbed her arm, spun her back to him and in one motion, cupped the back of her head and kissed her. She opened for him instantly and he swept his tongue through her lips.

A mewling sound escaped her throat. She wanted to lift her hands, to push him away, but her fingers tightly clutched the linen sheet in front of her body. Their tongues dueled with one another, and he groaned as he longed to feel her bare skin on his.

Pulling away, he found her eyes and said, “Except this. I ken I feel this.”

He ran the pad of his thumb over her cheekbone and brushed his lips against hers again before kissing her deeply this time. He hadn’t realized how badly he longed to hear anything that might hint at her feelings for him. His heart beat faster, and he felt himself harden.

Olivia opened her mouth wider and suckled as she pressed her breasts against his chest, and he could feel her hard nipples through the fabric of her kirtle.

He ran his hand along the smooth skin of her neck and feathered his lips across the exposed skin of her throat. He pulled away and kissed a trail of light butterfly kisses down the side of her neck and felt pleased when she shivered.

He kissed his way back up to the shell of her ear and captured the shell of it between his teeth, alternating between tugging with his teeth and suckling, earning him a soft moan.

When he pulled away, Olivia’s lips parted to ask him something but closed again and Conner decided on one clear thing. “When I come to bed tonight… wait for me.”

Olivia’s gaze shifted between his eyes. “…Do ye mean?”

“Aye,” he replied, hoping she felt the heat in his eyes. “Tonight, I will make ye mine.”

Chapter 9

With her heart in her throat, Olivia entered their rooms and spun in place, unable to fully understand how things had spun so quickly. Conner had only given her indifference for so long, but now, the tremors that sang through her veins had had taken another turn.

She spun in place just as her head was spinning and the memory of the fire in Conner’s eyes burned right through her.

I’ll make ye mine…

Pressing a hand to her chest, Olivia felt the pounding in her heart recoil into her ears. Was this truly happening? Did Conner mean it, was he going to—

An arm snaked around her middle and pulled her back unto a hard chest, just before lips pressed on the nape of her neck. Arching her head to the side, Olivia felt the heat of his hand as he slid it from her trembling belly to cup her breast. Even with the cloth as a barrier, she felt the heat of his hand like a brand, searing right through her skin.

“Conner—” she whispered. “I havenae been with a man before.”

“I ken.” He nosed at her ear. “I’ll be gentle, I promise ye.”

Leaning into him, she felt her backside press against him.

He rocked his hips into her. “Do ye have any doubt now?”

“Nay,” she whispered. He ran his hand up and down her arm as he feathered kisses across her shoulders. He gently turned her to face him and Olivia framed his face with both hands.

She looked up into his face—those strong features, his blazing eyes that could be hawkish when angry but at that moment were relaxed and the hue of warm honey as he watched her. Olivia’s thumbs stroked each cheekbone, and she inhaled the scent of him. He smelled of smoke, leather, and of sea air—a scent that made her pulse quicken and her stomach tighten with hunger

With his hands on her hips, Conner angled his head so he could trap her finger into his mouth and draw on it. The feel of his tongue, warm and smooth, gliding over her skin made Olivia stifle a gasp. Why did his touch, his stare, his heat so close to hers, feel so good?

He pulled away only for his lips to descend on hers, his tongue pressing at the seam of her lips until she parted them and he delved deep inside, inciting the same fire she had felt before when he did kiss her—desire. Their tongues were now in a dance that sent a fluttering surging deep in her core.

Conner growled deep in his throat and tugged her close, her curves melding against his hardness, and she reveled in this new sensation, the fluttering and the heat traveled through her, from her belly to below, something as unfamiliar to her as this new, overpowering need for fulfillment. Being wanted like this, being devoured, playing with the forbidden… toying with fire.

---