She nodded with more energy, then reached into the neckline of her dress and showed him the medallion. Staring at the sparking green stone attached to it made his head swoon, and he nearly lost his balance.
Jack touched the emerald and swallowed hard. Images from the dream he had some nights back flashed in his mind, and it made him shudder.
“I think if I can find any gypsy they will tell me what power this medallion holds, and I will learn how to get back to my time.”
Jack pulled his gaze from the medallion when he thought he saw movement in the darker parts of the hallway. He grabbed Isla’s hand and led her out of the Castle into the garden where he was sure they could speak without anyone hearing them.
“Then what about the fair? Dinnae ye want to wait until then?”
Jack was reluctant to let her go. A part of him had started to dread the day when she would figure out a way to return to her time in England.
Why is that?
“I will attend the fair, but I also believe there is a reason why I came here. I wanted to know all I can about this medallion and its owner. There might be some reason the gypsy chose me to come here.”
“All right,” he told her. “But if we go to Kirkpatrick, nay one can ken what we are there to do.”
Isla nodded in agreement. Her eyes shone with emotion when she closed the medallion in her hand and sighed. “Thank you so much for your help, Jack.”
He froze when she came close to him and kissed his cheek. “You are indeed a kind man.”
Jack did not feel kindness as he touched the spot where her soft lips had grazed. No part of the hunger that ravaged him was kind. Instead, it was a fire that would consume them both and lead to heart ache if he acted on it.
He knew all this, yet he couldn’t stop himself from enjoying her scent. Instead of pulling away, his arm moved around her waist, and he brought her closer to his body.
They didn’t need any more words after that. Isla didn’t know who moved first, but in the next second, she was pressed into his body and his lips fully covered hers for the kiss she had imagined.
* * *
Isla had kissed men before. Back in London, she had gone on a few dates as they referred to it now. Courtship was a different idea in the new London, and sometimes, if she liked the man, she had kissed him.
It was only ever brief, and never this hot. Jack’s kiss was able to sweep her off her feet and steal the rest of her senses away. He tasted like wine and what heated Isla up was the feel of his palm cupping her chin to tilt her head.
His body was hot and pressed against hers. Isla could barely feel her feet on the ground as his arms tightened their grip around her waist. She slid her fingers into his hair once her hand moved to his neck.
He growled into her mouth, then did the same to her. Isla moaned too. The burst of excitement surging through her made it difficult for her to think straight or think at all.
Jack was panting by the time he withdrew. His forehead rested on hers, his eyes searched hers, and Isla did not need him to say anything before their lips joined. A slow, sensual dance of their lips began, and her heartbeat started to thunder.
His hands moved up her body to her back he tipped her closer to him. She was plastered against him from neck to knee, and it wasn’t enough because he kept bringing her closer and molding her waist with both hands too.
Jack’s tongue stroked into her mouth and started a dance of fire in her. He led the way while she kissed him back, his hands slowly trailed down to her bottom, and when he caressed her there, Isla groaned and tore her lips away from his.
They panted for a second then he kissed her again and stole her thoughts. She tried to think, tried to breathe… but none of that was possible. Jack’s scent and the heat from his body consumed her mind. Her brain told her to get away from him, but she couldn’t move.
When he pressed her closer to the hard planes of his body, his hardness pressed against her stomach and aroused warmth at the center of her thighs.
She staggered back as her senses returned. They were both breathing harshly. Their haggard breaths coupled with Isla’s pounding heart were the only sound in the garden. She wondered if Jack could hear her pounding heart.
Isla’s right hand moved to her lips, and she fingered the soft folds. Her cheeks burned with scarlet heat, and she couldn’t miss his gaze. This kiss screamed passion. It wasn’t just the kind she could ignore.
“Ye should return to the feast or to yer chamber,” Jack said in a gruff tone then as he lowered his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I shouldnae have done that, My Lady. I am truly sorry,” he apologized.
Dumbfounded and unable to speak because she was still yet to catch her breath, Isla simply dropped her hands to her sides, then nodded softly before she turned and walked away from him.
What just happened?Her hand moved to her lips again and she touched the swollen folds. Jack’s kiss would never leave her mind, she was certain of it.
* * *