Page 97 of The Dragon Laird’s Obsession

For a heartbeat, they didn’t move then he exhaled deeply again, and his hand came to her waist. The touch was firm, yet somehow careful.

Ailis’ breath caught when he leaned in some more, his forehead nearly touching hers.

“Ye should be scared of me, mo chridhe.” The endearment slipped past his lips and made her heart flutter even faster.

“Perhaps,” she managed. Her fingers caught lightly in the front of his shirt. “But I am nay.”

His restraint broke right then as his eyes darkened with his next raspy breath. With a low groan, Gordon drew her against him and kissed her.

Ailis gasped softly against his mouth before every thought scattered.

The kiss was nothing like the uncertain moments they had shared before. There was no hesitation now. Only all the longing they had spent days denying as his arms tightened around her.

Her hands curled into his shirt, and the world beyond the library vanished. There was only the warmth of him, the rain against the windows, and the wild pounding of her heart.

And for the first time, Ailis did not wonder whether she should run.

She simply held on.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Gordon’s hand settled firmly at her waist, and before Ailis quite understood what he wanted to do, he lifted her effortlessly from the floor.

A startled breath escaped her.

“Gordon…”

He set her gently upon the edge of the library table, standing between her knees. The sudden change in height brought their faces almost level, and Ailis’s fingers instinctively caught his shoulders.

The solid warmth of him beneath her hands made her pulse quicken, and for a fleeting moment she forgot every sensible thought she had carried into the room.

He leaned closer, and his breath brushed the sensitive skin beneath her ear, and his voice dropped to a rough murmur against her neck.

“Ye make it very difficult to remember me good intentions, mo chridhe.”

A shiver traveled through her. It began at the place where his breath touched her and moved slowly down her spine, leaving her suddenly aware of every inch of space between them.

His hands remained at her waist, holding her securely but without urgency. He lingered there, close enough that she could feel the warmth of him, his breath stirring the fine hairs along her neck.

Her hands circled around his neck too, and she breathed against his lips when he kissed her again, his tongue thrusting into her mouth as she parted. Ailis did not know what to do at first, but he nibbled on her lower lip and let out another deep guttural sound that spurred her on.

Her hands slid down his chest instinctively, and her thighs clenched even tighter around him. Ailis’s fingers drifted tentatively across Gordon’s chest, tracing the warmth of his skin as though she were trying to understand the man beneath her hands.

She felt his breath change and her gaze lifted to his face.

Did that pleasure him?

His eyes stayed close as he groaned again, but his lips stayed clung to hers. When her hand drifted lower down his body, she felt a certain hardness throb there, and it made her gasp.

Gordon caught her wrist at once. “Nay.” His voice was low, roughened as he breathed out deeply.

Ailis looked at him, startled. His fingers remained wrapped around hers, his expression taut as he fought to keep himself composed.

“Do nae do that,” he murmured.

“Why?”

His jaw tightened. “Because if ye do that again…” He drew a slow, unsteady breath. “There will be nay way I can keep meself from ruinin’ ye.”