Time stopped. There was no past, no future, just the glorious present.
The slow, soft melding of mouths sent ripples of pure pleasure all the way down to her toes. She closed her eyes, inhaled the masculine, earthy scent she had spent many lonely nights wishing she could recreate. He cupped her face, the gesture possessive yet tender. As their mouths moved together, the chaste caress possessed a mystical quality as she drew in the essence of the man to help heal her bleeding heart. The wind whispered through their hair; the stillness of the night cradled them gently in its arms. It was a kiss that soothed her soul.
As their lips parted, she glanced up to see the hazy look of
desire in his eyes.
“Tell me that one sweet kiss is not enough for you.” He panted the words. The calm, sensual air that whirled gently around them was suddenly pervaded by a rush of lustful energy. “Tell me you want more from me, much more.”
Isla gulped, her passion for him almost choking her. “I … I want—” She stopped abruptly unable to contain the desperate need clawing away inside. With a little jump, she threw herself into his arms, threaded her fingers through the hair at his nape and kissed him in such a way that he could never doubt how he made her feel.
A bright and blinding passion ignited.
They had never indulged their desires. To feel such an intense, raging hunger emanating from him caused her knees to buckle. Lachlan wrapped one strong arm around her, crushed her to his chest and ravaged her mouth as though starving for her taste. His tongue tangled wildly with hers, the sensation causing a bolt of desire to strike at the sensitive spot between her thighs. It pulsed and throbbed in a way she had never experienced before. Her breasts felt full and heavy, ached for something more every time she pressed against him.
Oh, how she wanted him.
The need to lay her hands on his bare skin took hold. She imagined his muscular body pushing her down into her mattress. She imagined wrapping her legs around him, taking him deep inside her core and never letting go.
He tore his lips from hers with a loud gasp. “I knew it would be like this. I knew one taste would make me crave you all the more. I’ll not be able to stop kissing you, not now, not ever.”
His words were like sweet music to her ears. “Don’t stop, Lachlan. Kiss me the way I always dreamed you would.”
A low growl resonated from the back of his throat. Grasping the edges of his coat he opened it wide. “Come closer, let me keep you warm.”
She parted her cape, pressed her eager body against his; she felt safe cocooned in his arms. “Make me yours, Lachlan. I don’t want to think about tomorrow. Stay with me tonight.” Only a harlot would be so brazen.
Raining featherlight kisses along her jaw, he whispered, “I was a fool to think I could forget you. Good God, I’ll die if I don’t have you.”
She tilted her head, the velvet touch of his lips brushing over her sensitive skin made her moan with pleasure. “The … the hunting lodge has … has stood empty for years.” The tip of his tongue traced a line down the column of her throat, and she breathed a sigh. “We … we could go there, where no one will disturb us.”
He stopped his wicked ministrations and looked into her eyes. “You are certain this is what you want?” His intense gaze promised a wealth of pleasure and her body sang with eager anticipation.
“I’m certain.” She did not need time to consider his question. The overwhelming need to love Lachlan was the only coherent thought in her mind. “We can spend a few hours there before I must return to the castle.”
The sensual smile that touched his lips made her head spin. Had it not been so cold, she would have forced him to the ground, unable to wait the ten minutes it would take to walk to the old stone cabin.
“Will Douglas not wonder where you are?”
“Oh, he’ll be too busy trying to get the marquess drunk on whisky. Besides, he was standing at the window when we left together. He knows I am safe when I am with you.”
“You think you’re safe with me?” His low chuckle faded only to be replaced with a lascivious grin as he brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “You know once we’re alone I plan to ravish you.”
She raised an arrogant brow and thrust her hands on her hips. “I think you’ve forgotten I have the strength and teeth of a wolf. Perhaps I’ll bare my fangs and have you on your knees begging for mercy.”
“Somehow, I doubt it will be mercy I’m begging for.”
Chapter 10
They held hands as they walked through the meadow towards Alistair Maclean’s hunting lodge. Lachlan struggled to slow his pace. His long, purposeful strides conveyed his eagerness to reach their destination, his eagerness to bury himself deep inside the only woman he had ever wanted.
The next few hours of glorious pleasure would be a prelude to hours, perhaps even days, of torturous pain. To protect his sanity, he should not indulge his desires. He could not bear to lose her again. But aside from all the complex emotions he felt when he thought of Isla, his raw need for her had always been constant.
“Will the door not be locked?” he asked as the black shadow of a building appeared on the horizon. His heart hammered in his chest as he imagined closing the door to the world and pleasuring her until she cried out his name.
“I would not make you walk this far if I had no way of opening the door.” She sounded a little breathless. “Are you walking so fast because you fear I will change my mind?”
Was it so obvious?