Page 53 of Deception of a Highlander

“Ye dinna understand.” A muscle worked in his jaw. “There is much ye dinna understand.”

She searched his eyes, desperate to know his secrets, to obtain a trust she did not deserve. To end this before either of them would have to hurt more than they already would. “Make me understand.”

He shook his head. “I canna.”

Part of her was glad for his steadfast determination to keep his secrets, and yet the other part of her felt the hurried desperation of a ticking clock. Her time was running out.

Mariel gave a heavy sigh as if the deep breath would cleanse her chest of its mounting pain. He made her feel like a better person than she was, and he held a tenderness that warmed a corner of her soul she never knew existed. Yet his repeated rejection stung that newfound vulnerability. The walls closed around her. She could take no more of his excuses.

She needed to get out of the room. Away from him, lest she expose herself to more hurt.

She pushed past him and headed for the door. “If you’ll excuse me, Colin is waiting.”

An iron grasp locked onto the crook of her elbow. “Damn it, Mariel,” Kieran growled and spun her around to face him once more. “Ye belong to me.”

Her heart skipped a beat. He wanted her. Mariel wrenched her arm from his hold but did not back down from the heat of his stare. “Then be a man and take what’s yours.”

The words flew out of her mouth without calculated thought or pause, the challenge borne of passion. Kieran’s eyes darkened into pools of ink, and his muscles visibly tensed. He narrowed the distance she had put between them, his chest almost touching her face. His face hardened, his eyes flaring, and suddenly he resembled the fierce warrior he was. The flickering light of the fire danced shadows against his chiseled jawline, and, for the first time since she’d met him, Mariel felt the icy fingers of fear trickle down her spine.

“What did ye say?” he growled.

Mariel met his hard gaze, refusing to withdraw her challenge. “Take what’s yours, Kieran.”

His breath brushed her face; the spicy scent made her hunger for the caress of his tongue against hers and her heart pound with anticipation.

He jerked her against him, so her breasts pressed flat against the hardness of his chest. His hand caught her lower jaw and firmly forced her face up toward his. The rough calluses of his fingers rasped her cheek. His eyes burned into hers for one soul-stopping moment before his lips crushed down on hers. His tongue slipped into her mouth as he pulled the length of her body against him.

It was a kiss of insistence, demanding payment for services promised.

It was a kiss of possession.

CHAPTER 20

Kieran slanted his lips over the silky warmth of Mariel’s mouth. Rage powered his hunger to an overwhelming pitch. She had challenged his manhood.

He held her tight against him and urged her backward until he felt her bump against his desk. She claimed she wanted to be his.

She arched against him and gave a low moan.

His cock pulsed in time with the slow, rhythmic grinding of her hips until it strained between them. God, he had never wanted a woman so badly.

Restraint lingered in the recesses of his mind, even while his hands glided across the cool silk of her gown, memorizing her shape. If he had her, she would stay on Skye.

Her tongue stroked his, and her hands teased the flesh beneath the waistline of his plaid. If he had her, he would have to trust her.

One sweep of his arm cleared the desk of its contents. He grasped her round bottom and slid her up onto the smooth desktop.

His fingers raked up her naked legs, pushing her skirt to her hips. Her creamy thighs opened for him, and with one swipe of his finger, his decision was made.

Mariel’s legs tightened around his hand, and her breath came in shaky gasps. Gritting his teeth against the insistent throb of his cock, he rolled the pad of his thumb against the delicate little nub. Her cries echoed off the stone walls, and her hooded eyes sparkled with desire. His mouth fell upon her kiss-swollen lips once more, hungry to devour the sounds of her climax. She was so close to coming for him. The slightest touch and she would unravel in his arms.

But not yet. She did not understand the pain she had put him through. The haunted nights of longing, craving the feel of her skin naked against him and the relief only she could provide. Nor did she understand the rage her flirtation with Colin roused in him.

No, he would not let her off so easily.

Kieran withdrew his hand despite her whimper of protest. Muscles taut with restraint, he pressed himself against her, letting her feel the force of his erection through his plaid. Her long, shapely legs wrapped around his waist, and her heels dug against his buttocks.

Her breasts heaved with the force of her labored breathing, swelling lusciously above her gown. Unable to resist the temptation, Kieran tugged her bodice downward and groaned his victory as her breasts bounced free of their confines. He buried his face against the fullness of her bare bosom. His lips brushed the bud of her nipple and drew it deep within his mouth.