“Ye cannae push me away again,” Saoirse warned, as little bumps tingled over Noah’s neck. Saoirse’s fingers curled into his hair at the nape of his neck, tugging gently.
“I should never have done it to begin wit’,” he said. “Will ye forgive me? Because I truly daenae ken what I will dae if I cannae see ye or touch ye. Ye’re my wife, Saoirse, and I made a vow to ye. It took me time and some foolishness, but I’m ready to keep it, and then some.”
“Aye.” She nodded, smiling at last. “Ye told me there would be nay love between us, only passion. Is that what this moment is? Only a brief moment of passion?”
Noah shook his head as he traced the line of her spine, causing her body to tremble under his touch. “This is more than just passion.”
“Oh?”
“Aye,” he said. “This is desire and passion, and Saoirse, ye have nay clue what ye dae to me.”
“Then show me,” she whispered in his ear. Her hot breath caressed his neck, adding fuel to his desires. “Show me how sorry ye are. Show me what passion is to ye, because Lord kens that is all I have ever wanted.”
CHAPTER17
Saoirse’s heartplummeted into the abyss of her stomach before it soared up into her throat. As much as she wanted to guard her heart and let her anger linger, Noah’s kiss rocked her. Never had she thought he would be so bold, so passionate, so overcome with emotion. Yet, the way his tongue explored her mouth, his fingertips caressed her, and his kiss set her ablaze, betrayed him. Every fiber in her being screamed for more. She wanted Noah’s hands not just cradling her face and tracing her spine, but touching every inch of her.
As if sensing her desire for more, Noah urged her toward a nearby chair. Spinning her around, he sat down upon it and pulled her down to him. She had no choice but to straddle his thighs, and had no intention of protesting, either.
His hands toyed with her hair, his fingertips tracing delicate lines down her neck to her bosom. When his head dipped and his mouth found the slope of her breast, she gasped and clung tighter to him. Her arms locked around his neck.
I have to stop this. I cannae let him win me over so easily.The tiny part of her mind that hadn’t yet succumbed did its best to fight against Saoirse’s passion, but it lacked the strength to succeed.
“I’ve longed for this,” Noah whispered, his confession tickling her skin.
Her neck arced back, and his lips were quick to pay attention, burning kisses along her throat until she really thought she might explode with the intensity of it all. She didn’t know if she was sorry or glad that this was happening now, instead of on their wedding night. She doubted she would’ve been so eager, that night.
“If it’s too much, ye can tell me to stop,” Noah panted. “It’ll sting me, but I willnae do anythin’ ye daenae want.”
She held his gleaming gaze for a moment. “I think we might be past that.”
“Nevertheless, I—” She silenced him with her lips, kissing him hard.
The air seemed to shift around them, thickening with every sharp, short breath that they took. The very sound of his ragged breathing stirred Saoirse in ways that made no sense, but were exquisite, nonetheless.
Emboldened by her permission, Noah tugged at the neckline of Saoirse’s dress. She nearly screamed the fiddles off the wall as he caught her nipple in his mouth and sucked upon it. Indeed, she might’ve done if she hadn’t had the sense to clamp her hand over her mouth to stifle it. What were these strange and wondrous acts, and why were they sparking explosions throughout her veins? Every muscle tightened as if preparing for something.
“Ye taste as sweet as honey,” Noah purred, sliding his hand over her breast and down her stomach.
As his fingertips skimmed over her thighs, he pushed up the material of her skirts, until it was gathered past her knee. She held her breath as his searing touch slipped beneath her skirts, running along the inside of her thigh.
This is… remarkable. Clearly, he’s been restrainin’ himself.A moan released from her throat as his touch moved higher.
Just then, she stilled, too shocked to make a sound. His fingertips lightly pressed to a part of her that she knew nothing about. A pulsing tinderbox that felt like it could ignite at any moment.
No doubt feeling the change in her body, Noah pulled back slightly. “Is that too much?”
“Nay,” she said uncertainly. “I just… daenae ken what ye’ve just done.”
He grinned. “Let me show ye.”
Trusting in him, as that seemed to be the promise they’d made to one another, she took a breath. As the air left her lungs, she quickly sucked in another with sharp astonishment. His fingertips were strumming slowly across that tinderbox, the way a musician would strum the grand harp in the center of the music room. And he knew precisely how to play her, to make the sweetest melody.
“Goodness,” she rasped, pushing her fingers through his hair as she writhed in his lap.
“Does that feel good?”
She nodded, nearing a curious delirium. With every circle and strum that his fingertips delicately placed, her mind spun, dizzying her in the most breathtaking way.