Page 96 of Ghost of the Ton

My man…

Swallowing her shame, Mia fought to control the tremors coursing through her body as her heart hammered against her chest.

“There’s my good lass.”

What the devil was happening? The moisture in her center surged at his praise, and his mouth curved against her cheek as if he recognized it for what it was, though she remained ignorant of its meaning. But a thrill deep inside her body spoke of the promise of pleasure…if she were willing to surrender to it.

He brushed his lips against hers, then nuzzled her with the tip of his nose.

“Do ye trust me?”

“Y-yes…”

At the gentle insistence of his hand, she parted her thighs and inhaled as he dipped his fingers into her curls.

“Oh… Sweet lass, ye’re as ready and willing as a man could ever hope for his woman to be.”

“R-ready?” she whimpered. “I-I don’t—Oh!”

He ran a fingertip across her flesh. Thick heat swelled at his touch, and she tilted her hips, chasing the pleasure. She surrendered to the needs of her body, which urged him on, willing him to delve deeper, to caress her with greater fervor. And, as if he knew what her body desired, he obliged, whispering words of praise while soft nickers of pleasure escaped her lips. When she gripped the sides of the chair and thrust her hips upward, a primal growl filled the air—that of the stag laying claim to his mate.

Then, with a sharp exhalation, he slipped his finger inside her and the world shattered. An explosion of pleasure rippled through Mia’s body in wicked waves that battered her with the relentlessness of a stormy sea.

“Hamish!” she cried. “What’s happ…” Her voice died as her body was gripped by another wave. “I-I don’t know—Ahh!”

The wave crested and her body disintegrated. He continued to caress her while she shifted her legs, devouring the pleasure. Then, at last, the swell subsided, leaving her languorous and replete. When she opened her eyes, she saw him smiling at her, delight gleaming in those dark-green orbs. Then he lifted his hand, which glistened in the firelight, and slipped it into his mouth.

Sweet heaven! How depraved could a man be? Yet she couldn’t deny the secret thrill in her own wicked little soul at the notion that her body had given him pleasure in return.

But a flare of want still glowed in his eyes, speaking of needs unmet. She turned to face him, and her cheeks warmed at the bulge between his thighs. She reached for it, then hesitated.

“Ye may touch him, lass,” he said, his voice hoarse. “He’ll give ye greater pleasure than ye can imagine.”

“Y-you mean, even greater than…?” She gestured to her body, and he smiled.

“Aye, lass. I could have ye screaming my name so loud that the McTavishes will hear ye in the glen beyond the mountain, and ye’ll come undone so hard that ye’ll not be able to walk for a fortnight.”

Wicked temptation urged her to take him.

Then she glanced up and caught sight of the jars on the shelves.

Medicine—that was where her future lay. Not as a wife destined to be cast aside. And ruination would shatter that future, for who’d pay a whore for services as a doctor?

The spell broken, Mia pulled the front of her gown together and fumbled at the laces to secure it.

She glanced up at him. Regret had replaced the desire in his eyes.

Mia forced a smile. “Thank you, Hamish,” she said.

“What for, lass?”

“For not ruining me. I know enough of anatomy to understand that you have left me intact. Which is fortunate, given our plans to annul our marriage.”

“Aye, lass,” he said, his voice strained. “Most fortunate.”

The tendons in his neck seemed to protrude as he gritted his teeth.

“If ye have no further need of me, I’ll leave ye be,” he said. “But if ye get any further trouble, let me know.”