Pulling at the strings of her shift, Duncan loosened the wide neck and pulled it down her shoulders. Elaine tugged her arms loose, while at the same time, he pulled the flimsy covering down to her waist, leaving her naked body exposed to his craving. With his hands still firmly on her buttocks, he moved her back and forth, their bodies grinding together, the heat and ecstasy building between them.
Lowering his head, his tongue traced a line around her hard nipple, circling it, teasing her while she gasped and ached for him to take her into his mouth. Elaine arched her back to try and ease her wanting. Eventually, Duncan flicked his tongue over her nipple, releasing a cry from her at the pleasure that exploded from his touch. His tongue lapped over her body, moving from one breast to the other until, standing, still gripping her to him, he turned and lowered her onto the furs.
Elaine dragged the shift over her head, not caring that she lay there utterly exposed, while Duncan drank her in with eyes of yearning. Swiftly, he stripped, leaving his clothes where they lay. Not pulling her eyes from his beautiful body, she stared at his throbbing arousal, glistening and eager for her. Duncan positioned himself above her, and lowering his lips to hers, kissed her with a contained tenderness that did not match his obvious need.
Elaine wrapped her arms around his shoulders, lowering her hands to the small of his back trying to press him into her, for she craved him as much as he did her. But Duncan only smiled and shook his head slightly. “Nae yet,” he growled huskily.
CHAPTERTWENTY
Supporting his weight on his hands, Duncan lowered his head down and kissed hersoftly just beneath her shoulder. He moved his tongue down her body, licking each hardened bud on her breasts, relishing the cries and groans that came from deep within herthroat. His lips continued over her ribcageas he made his way down the flat of her stomach after a moment of teasing. Duncan gazed up the line of her perfect body and watched as she squirmed beneath him without breaking contact with her soft, smooth skin.
Moving lower, he heard her moan even deeper as his warm breath danced upon the flower that lay before him. He did not want to give her that satisfaction. Yet. Instead, he opened her legs further and lightly caressed her inner thigh with his lips, first down one side then the other, each time, reaching so close to his goal.
“Please,” she begged, her voice hoarse. “Please, Duncan.”
At her words, he could not stop himself, for he desired to please her as much as she ached for his tongue. A mighty cry of ecstasy escaped her lips when he found her tiny bud. Smiling to himself, lightly, he held her thighs and relished the taste of her. She thrashed beneath him, but he held her steady, her hips eventually finding the rhythm that matched his own. Her moans grew louder, matched only by the grip of his hair entwined around her fingers, and pulling at it, he sensed she was close.
Soon she let out a mighty cry and gripped his hair as tremors rippled through her body; she convulsed before him. A great sense of satisfaction and joy washed over him. Then, aching for her and nearly ready to burst, Duncan swiftly moved over her and slid inside the soft and tight moistness of her.
They moved as one. And, as much as he wanted the ecstatic sensation to last, with Elaine shuddering beneath him once more, he couldn't. He roared in euphoric bliss as he emptied himself inside her, his own body juddering as the sensation passed through him. When he eventually looked down at her in utter adoration, shewas gazing up at him lovingly.
A light film of sweat covered their bodies, her cheeks red from their lovemaking. Lowering himself beside her, she lifted herself and rested her head on his chest, holding tightly onto him as though he may run away at any given moment. As his heart slowly dropped to a normal pace, the only sensation that occupied his mind was sadness. Soon, they would never be able to share these intimate moments again. He would never be able to cradle her in his arms as he was doing now. He wrapped her in his strong embrace, wanting to protect her from the rest of the world forever.
After a long time, Duncan shifted, and without asking if she desired a drink, shuffled off the bed to the dresser. Elaine was bound to be thirsty, for he certainly was. After pouring two goblets of wine, he made his way back to the bed. She watched his every step with a slow smile dancing upon her lips.
“Dae ye like what ye see?” he smirked, handing a goblet to her.
“Oh, very much so,” she replied softly.
Settling back beside her, the two now sat up against the board of the bed, the furs pulled up over them.
“Did something happen at the feast tonight?” Elaine asked, after taking a sip of her wine.
Duncan suddenly frowned and warily wondered if she had discovered the reason he had arranged the banquet in the first place. “Why dae ye ask?” he said, careful to try and keep his tone steady.
“It’s only that ye seemed tae be sad earlier,” she replied, her eyes now gazing at him with honest concern.
“It’s nae a thing. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Ye can tell me about it, if ye like,” she shrugged.
What was he supposed to say? That his heart was broken because he would have to send her away? That he loved her more than he could ever imagine he had the capability of doing and yet, because of that, he couldn’t have her for fear of putting her in danger?
Ye cannae tell her. Ye’ll ruin everything. Make something up.
“Keir and I had a bit of an argument,” Duncan lied. It was the first thing that came to his mind, but even as the words fell from his lips, he had no idea where he was going to take it.
“Oh, nae. About what?”
Tell her about the boy he killed.
“It was over something that happened a wee while back. It was a serious incident. But if I tell ye now, ye have tae promise ye’ll nae breathe a word of it tae anyone,” he said firmly.
“I would never repeat anything ye told me, Duncan. I respect ye far too much for that,” she said, gazing up at him with her beautiful green eyes.
And yet, even hearing her innocent words, he still could not stop himself from lying to her very face. It mattered not that it was for her protection, for Duncan knew deep down that it was also for his own selfish reasons.
“Well, a month or so ago, we discovered a thief in the castle. The lad wasnae very old, maybe a couple of years older than ye, in fact. When he was caught and brought before me, I demanded tae ken what he was there tae steal, but he wouldnae tell me.”