Page 25 of The Archer’s Wish

She touched him. Her hand slid along the warm curve of his ribs, the solid strength beneath his skin, the place where the scars formed under her fingertips.

And then she kissed him.

There was no hesitation in him when she did. Liam pulled her closer, his arm firm around her waist, his mouth answering hers with a hunger that stole her breath. Heat flushed through her, wild and consuming, and she sank against the solid breadth of his chest. Feeling him everywhere, his warmth, his strength, the shuddering inhale he took at her nearness.

Her fingers curled into his hair. His hands traced the length of her back, slow but sure, leaving a trail of warmth that made her tremble. She felt his heartbeat beneath her palm, strong and quickening.

“Beitris…” he breathed against her lips, her name weighted with longing and something far deeper than she’d ever expected from him.

The world around them softened, the river whispering behind them, the breeze brushing through the grass, sunlight slipping across their skin. The moment held them, cocooned them, as though the earth itself meant to keep them there.

“I want yer skin against mine,” Beitris whispered into his ear, noting that he stiffened. But she’d not relent. Before he could protest, she took his mouth again, meanwhile untying the cumbersome laces of her blouse.

Within a matter of moments, her upper half was exposed, and Beitris was rewarded by Liam immediately taking to her breasts. He suckled, kissed, paying homage in ways she’d never known.

Writhing with want, she clung to him, wanting even more. Liam’s hand slid under her skirts and up her leg, and she arched her back. When he stopped at the apex between her legs, he kissed her deeply.

The man knew exactly how to render a woman helpless. Heat rushed to every part of her body when he circled her inner core, his fingers expertly touching just the right place.

“Oh…” Beitris couldn’t formulate any other words because in that instant, she splintered, her vision blurred, and her breath caught as a climax slammed into her.

Instinctually, she reached to touch his hardness, but he moved her hand away from the engorged member. “Nae beauty. It is enough to see ye come undone,” he rasped past ragged breaths.

Beitris lay her head on his chest, unsure of what to say or do next.

In truth, she wanted more. She wanted to be joined with him, but this was not the place. Although shielded a bit by sparse bushes, they were, for all intents and purposes, exposed. After all, she’d spotted him from a short distance.

“Ye should adjust yer blouse. Someone may walk by,” Liam said. His voice was terse, and she lifted up to look at him. His brow was furrowed, and his lips were pressed into a tight line.

Beitris slowly gathered her blouse, tying the laces with trembling fingers. She hovered beside him a moment longer, unsure what to say.

Before she could speak, Liam pushed himself upright, though he wavered slightly.

“Did I hurt ye?” she asked softly.

His jaw tightened. “I am nae a delicate creature.” But his voice was rougher than before, thin at the edges.

He rose and made his way to the river, stepping into the water as if he needed the cold to regain his footing, his composure, something of himself.

Beitris watched him with a heaviness in her chest, regret, longing, fear, all tangled into one.

They had crossed a line she could not uncross. And Liam had kissed her back like a man starved. Whatever came next, their world had shifted. And neither one of them would walk away unchanged.

Chapter Seven

Beitris stepped into the apothecary and drew in a steadying breath, though it did little to slow the wild fluttering in her chest. The familiar scents of thyme, dried lavender, and crushed comfrey usually calmed her nerves. Today they only stirred memories she was desperately trying to contain. Liam’s nearness, the warmth of his breath, the startling intensity of what had passed between them.

Wonderful… and utterly terrifying.

She had known a moment like that could undo a woman. She simply hadn’t expected it to be her. And not with a man like Liam. A man who felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance she had stolen a single heartbeat of.

Keir had warned her. Liam McRay had never been one for settling. Not in the past. And, saints help her, she feared even less so now.

And yet, some fragile, foolish sliver of her heart dared to wonder if he could change. If a man like him, who rarely laughed, but when he did it was with such warmth. A man who carried pain in his leg and pride in his every breath, might one day love her enough to stay.

But he would return to the keep soon.

Then this strange, shimmering connection would vanish like mist under the sun. The festival lasted a sennight, and already several days had slipped through her fingers.