Page 53 of Hunted By the Hard Highlander

His mouth found hers once more, his hand continuing its trail up her leg, his touch exploratory yet sure. As his tongue swiped into her mouth, his fingers drifted further, tickling her inner knee before mapping the soft skin of her inner thigh.

Her confusion swirled; the logical part of her mind told her that she should stop this, that she had spent too long protecting her heart from his behavior that gave her whiplash every time she thought of it, but every other bit of her screamed for more.

“Open yer thighs for me,” Hendry ordered, his voice husky against her mouth, the words going down smoother than the finest liquor, the sweetest wine. He did not give her a chance to respond verbally, reclaiming her lips as his own, drinking her in greedily as he massaged her skin, a softer request for permission that was no less effective.

Aurora’s legs parted further, a silent signal for him to keep going, a precursor to verbally asking for more that she could not, would not, explain to either of them. The way her hips tilted forward felt like a step away from begging. She felt needy, untethered to the world of logic and danger. The only thing keeping her from floating away was Hendry’s touch.

“That is a good lass,” he praised, rough with his own desire. “It seems I was right to think that ye can follow me orders when ye are properly motivated.”

Before she was able to brace herself, prepare herself for the onslaught of his undivided attention, he was kissing her again. It was like he could not get enough of her mouth, her lips. She felt the same, happy to drown in this sensation, regardless of how loudly her mind demanded clarity.

His fingers walked up her inner thigh, finding the wetness between her legs. It was a shock to be touched there, to have another person so close to the parts of her that she kept private. As his fingertip dragged up through her folds, a sound unlike any she had ever made before tore free between them.

“Hendry!” she gasped, his deft fingertips circling a bundle of nerves above her opening.

Sparks had flown up her spine, creating an ember that spread through her completely unchecked. For a moment, her vision went white, her ears ringing with the intensity of the touch. When she opened her eyes, Hendry was watching her with a predatory sparkle in his eye.

“That is it,” he said, possessive and irresistible. His fingers never stopped their steady circling, coaxing more unintentional noises from between her lips. “Let me hear ye. Let me ken just how wild I’m drivin’ ye.”

The permission was all that she needed. As he started his steady, unrelenting pursuit on her body, she did not bother hiding each gasp and moan, each broken whimper of his name. It was as if she could not stop now that she had started.

Her body jolted when she felt his hand shift. Two fingers pressed into her opening, his thumb circling her clit. It was overwhelming, almost too much for her to handle.

She dug her fingers into Hendry’s shoulders, her hips making aborted motions as he continued to work her over. Never had she felt more out of control of herself. And rather than wishing for it back, she embraced the falling sensation.

As white-hot pleasure coiled in her gut, she threw her head back, breaking the kiss without warning. Her entire being tightened, her abdomen flipping as pressure unlike anything else built, then dissipated in an explosion she had no way to fight. It stole her breath and delivered her soul directly into Hendry’s waiting hands.

“Ach, Aurora,” he cursed, using his free hand to bring her into another kiss, swallowing down the straggling sounds of her climax. “So bonnie for me, arenae ye?”

“For ye,” she managed to say against his lips, her hips twitching as the last threads of her orgasm slipped out of her body. “Aye, Hendry.”

His mouth met hers once more, the kiss much softer than the first. She melted into him, meeting each movement with equal fervor. It was somehow even more potent than the reactions he had just pulled out of her.

“Stay,” Hendry said when they pulled apart nearly a full minute later.

His chest was heaving, his pupils blown. She could see the evidence of his own desire stiff between his legs. Her fingers twitched, a strange desire to touch him, to reciprocate the attention. Before she could though, he caught her wrist, his touch firm but not unkind.

“Nae tonight, Aurora,” he said, his voice warm like an embrace.

She nodded, unable to find the words to respond. Instead, she answered with action, scooting back on the cot and lying back. Hendry’s breath hitched, and for a moment he seemed to be frozen in place. Then, he stepped forward, toeing off his boots before climbing onto the mattress next to her.

As his arms wrapped around her, Aurora felt completely undone in a different way. It was a kind of safety that she never anticipated she could have. One that she never thought she would get from Hendry. Her last thought as she drifted off was that she was glad to have this, that she was lucky to have been found by him.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The world returned to Aurora slowly, coming in flashes of pale light and waves of warmth. There was a scent, earthy and medicinal, that engulfed her senses. She wondered for a long moment if she was in a dream.

As she remembered where she was, she sat up abruptly, her fingers tightening in the warm wool blanket that had been draped over her body. Her mind struggled to catch up to make sense of whether or not she was dreaming. She closed her eyes, exhaling sharply through her nose.

“What am I doin’?” she whispered to herself, the smell of herbs caressing her nose as if it were trying to will her into calming down.

Beside her, another body stirred. Hendry made a sound of discontent, something that was so unlike the strong voice of a distinguished leader. For a moment, all she could do was stare and wonder how she had gotten lucky enough to experience this.

Am I lucky? Or am I incredibly foolish?

Deciding that she did not need an answer this early in the morning, she let herself gaze at him. His chest rose and fell steadily, and the sharp lines on his face that showed years of battle and difficult decisions were smoothed away. He looked so much younger, more like the boy that she imagined taking over the Lairdship.

For a few minutes, the world stayed still, and she existed in the bubble they had somehow formed the night before. Then, the dirt crunched in the courtyard, a carriage pulling into the castle walls. And, when she truly focused, she could hear the top notes of laughter carrying into the tiny cabin.