My Daring Highlander (27 page)

“Nay.” She would like to see him
better anyway.

After lighting a candle from the
low-burning flames of the hearth and securing it in a candelabrum
on the mantel, he turned to her. His normally light eyes were
darker in the meager light. “I’ve been thinking of naught but
you.”

She stepped closer to him and took his
hand. “I’ve been thinking of you also,” she confessed in a
whisper.

He lifted her hand and kissed the
back, his warm lips and beard stubble teasing her skin.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting
to talk to you about,” he said. “The last night we were at
Teasairg, when your aunt walked in on us in your chamber, I blurted
out something that may have shocked you. But I meant it.” He
lowered himself and knelt on one knee. “If your father agrees to
it, will you do me the honor of becoming my bride?”

Chapter Twenty

Seona could not believe
Keegan’s sincerely spoken words—
will you
do me the honor of becoming my bride?

He dangled what she longed for most
right in front of her. Something that would make her life joyously
worth living. Something she’d never imagined possible before she’d
met Keegan. The one thing she feared she would never
have.

’Twould be her dream come true. But
naught was more real than the look of sincerity and intense passion
in Keegan’s eyes. Her tears welled and spilled over, sliding down
her face. Her knees grew weak and she knelt with him. “Keegan, aye,
you ken I will. But I fear my father will never allow
it.”

Keegan released a breath, brushed her
tears away, then kissed her forehead. “Nevertheless… I’m going to
ask him. And I wanted to be certain ’twas what you wanted.” He rose
to his feet and helped her stand.

“Indeed, I wish it. More than
anything.”

“I’m not a laird; I own no property. I
hold no aristocratic titles,” he said, his tone a bit
dismal.

“Do you think that matters to
me?”

“I know not.”

She shook her head and pressed her
hand to his heart. “What matters to me is what’s in here,” she
whispered. “I know you will be a good husband. The best any woman
could ever hope for.”

“I’m uncertain of that, but I will
protect you and cherish you, Seona. I love you, lass.”

“And I love you,” she whispered, her
throat tightening.

He lifted his hand to lightly stroke
her cheek, then bent and kissed her lips, at first sweet and light.
But with his soft moan it shifted to something deeper and more
profound, a melding of their souls. She locked her arms around his
neck as she poured herself into the kiss, accepting everything he
would give her.

“Mmm, lass.” His hands slid to her
hips, only the thin material of her smock separating their skin.
When he gently caressed her derriere, carnal yearnings rushed
through her. Wanting him closer, she pushed her breasts against his
chest.

A low curse escaped him. His tongue
teased hers, provoking, inflaming her desires to a higher
level.

Gradually, he dragged her linen smock
upward, wadding it into his hands. Holding her breath, she could
hardly wait to feel his hands on her. When he finally reached the
hem of the garment, his warm, rough hands on her bare sensitive
skin felt glorious.

“Oh, Keegan,” she breathed.

“Seona, you feel so good,” he
whispered against her ear, his hot breath giving her delicious
chills. “I want to see you in the candlelight. Will you let
me?”

“Aye.” She would’ve agreed to anything
he wanted.

He pulled back and slipped the garment
over her head, then tossed it. She drew in a sharp breath,
shivering both from the cool air and from Keegan seeing her
completely naked in the dim glow of the candle. She knew she should
feel ashamed of her sinfully wanton behavior, allowing Keegan to do
such a thing, but this felt right. ’Twas almost as if he was
already hers. When she gave him her heart, she gave him all of
herself.

Would he make love to her now? Did she
want him to?

Standing back, he trailed his gaze
over her from her eyes to her toes and back again. He released a
harsh breath. “Saints, Seona, you are the loveliest vision I have
ever beheld,” he whispered.

She hoped he would disrobe as well.
Instead, he drew her close again and kissed a leisurely trail down
her neck, bewitching her with heated yearnings.

He brushed his mouth across her
breast, his short whisker stubble rasping her skin. She held her
breath in expectation. He kissed her nipple, then drew it into his
mouth. Desire and a sharp need for him stabbed her core. She
gasped, holding on ’round his neck, cradling his head closer and
supporting herself.

“A
ghràidh
,” he murmured, his breath hot
against her sensitive skin.

My love.
His endearment thrilled her.

Her derriere in his hands, he lifted
her and moved across the room. He laid her softly onto the bed,
still lavishing her breasts with abundant kisses. Her hands tangled
in his hair, holding his head.

Though she felt beyond wicked,
reveling in these exciting sensations, it felt natural for Keegan
to be doing these things to her.

He kissed down her stomach gradually.
“You smell so good.” At her navel, he dipped his tongue
inside.

Shivers covered her. She could not
believe it when he moved lower still and kissed the mound at the
apex of her thighs. Though she knew he should do no such thing, she
hadn’t the willpower to stop him. Whatever he wished to do would be
better than the last thing. He constantly surprised her with
sensual wonders she had not known existed.

When he pushed her thighs apart, she
grasped onto the sheets beneath her. He would make love to her, and
aye, she was ready. She forced her eyes open to see what he would
do. She was disappointed to see he still had not removed his plaid
or his shirt. Instead, he lay half on the bed, the lower half of
his tall body sprawled toward the floor.

He dropped his head and touched her in
a most illicit way. Nay, not a touch. A lick… against a highly
sensitive and intimate spot. She jerked in surprise, but at the
same time her hips lifted, seeking more. And he gave it. Another
lick that sent splendid sensations ricocheting through
her.

“Oh,” she breathed. She had thought
his fingers stroking that place were amazing. His wet, hot tongue
caressing it was beyond description, both slick and velvety. She
turned her head aside to muffle her moan in the pillow. She was
shocked at herself and the way her body moved with such wanton
undulations, pushing more firmly to his mouth. Surely this was a
most sinful activity but she could not bring herself to make him
stop. Nay, ’twas too sublime, the heat rushing through her making
her lightheaded.

She felt her hips thrust upward,
toward him. He groaned, vibrating her flesh, then his tongue
flickered over her. At the same time he pushed a finger inside
her.

Again, her body acted of its own
volition, her hips shoving toward him. Her breath hissed through
her teeth. “Keegan, I beg of you…”

“Aye, lass. Take your
pleasure.”

He was giving her pleasure; that was a
certainty. The tip of his tongue tormented her and drove her mad.
Her body bowed upwards. She didn’t even try to control it anymore.
Isobel had warned her about this. She had not thought it could
happen. Not like this.

Seona grasped the pillow beneath her
head and dragged it over her face to muffle her gasps and cries for
she feared she would not maintain control much longer. Nay, the
sensations were becoming overwhelming. She felt suspended, dangling
from some cliff face. But there was no fear. Nay. She knew she
could fly if she let go.

His fingers wiggled against her overly
sensitized flesh and his tongue slid back and forth, then in a
circle. A sort of pleasurable insanity seized her, just like last
time. She did not understand it but she let go and rode it like a
violent gale storm. The pleasure crashed and rolled.

Once the intense sensations ebbed, she
dragged the pillow off and gasped for air. She was so spent she
could barely lift her eyelids.

Keegan raised his head and stroked her
thighs. “That was beautiful.” He kissed her knee, then placed a
playful bite on her thigh.

He moved up beside her and pulled her
tightly into his arms. He tucked her head beneath his chin and
stroked her back and her hip. She loved being held in his arms, and
the way he always smelled clean and manly.

Why couldn’t they lay this way every
night? ’Twould be paradise.

“Keegan, I don’t understand what
happened,” she said, hoping he would explain a few
things.

“Did you enjoy it?” The smile was
evident in his voice.

How could he ask such a thing? “I
think you ken I did.”

“Good. That’s what I wanted. To give
you pleasure.”

“Why did you want to… use your
tongue?” Her face burned, but she had to ask if she wished to know
the truth about sensual pleasures.

“To taste you.” He growled. “You taste
damned good, lass. ’Twas a great pleasure to me.”

“I know I’m naïve, but I never
imagined people did that.”

“Aye, well, not everyone does.” He
leaned back a bit so she could look up into his face, dimly
illuminated by the candle. “One summer’s day when I was about
eighteen, I happened upon a couple on a plaid in the sand dunes and
beach grass. They didn’t know I was there, of course.” Keegan
smiled. “’Haps ’twas wrong of me to spy on them, but how could I
resist? They were aristocratic guests of Chief and Lady MacKay—I
don’t believe they were married either. They’d been swimming in the
sea. I could not believe the wicked things they were doing, but I
knew those were things I wanted to do one day when I found a woman
I wanted to kiss every inch of.” He touched the tip of her nose
with a finger.

Speaking of kissing every inch of… she
wished she could do that to him. “Why do you not remove your
clothes?”

He released a harsh breath. “’Tis best
that I don’t. I must maintain control.”

“But you made me lose
control.”

Keegan smiled. “I’m glad.” Aye, indeed
he was thrilled he was able to give her such a climax. He hoped she
enjoyed it. Of a certainty, he did.

His tarse was hard as stone, but he
couldn’t take her. Not now. First, he had to know she would be his
forever. He couldn’t risk getting her with child and then her
father marrying her off to someone else. If that happened, he’d be
forced to steal her away. And then clan war would follow. Though he
might have indulged in too many carnal pleasures with her, he
wanted to marry her first… not just to be honorable, but because he
wanted her in his life forever.

When Seona’s hand trailed down his
chest and stomach, between them, to his erection, arousal burned
through him even hotter. Through his clothing, her fingers brushed
his shaft. Though he ached for her to continue, he gently clasped
her hand in his and drew it away.

“You didn’t like that?” she asked. “I
was told…”

“Aye, I would love it more than I can
say but…” He blew out a harsh breath. “Who has been telling you
wicked things?”

In the low light, the look of guilt
and embarrassment in her bewitching dark blue eyes made him want to
grin.

“A friend,” she said.

He raised a brow, wondering who she
meant. “Isobel?” he asked, remembering the many times he’d seen
them whispering together.

“Aye.”

“Well, Dirk often has a smile on his
face, so I’m certain he is well-pleased with their bed-sport. Has
she told you things that singed your ears?”

Seona gave a soft giggle. “A few, but
one thing she said was that men like to be touched on… certain
places.”

“That we do, lass. I love it anytime,
anywhere you touch me. But it makes me want you even more
intensely.”

Her hand had somehow escaped his while
he wasn’t paying attention, and now it brushed over his hard tarse
again. Pleasure and powerful need bounded through him, urging him
to roll between her naked thighs and lift his plaid. He sucked in
breath and forced himself to remain still. If she wanted to touch
him so badly, ’haps he’d let her… for a moment.

Her fingers traced along his rigid
length through his clothing. “I don’t understand how it gets so
hard.”

Her naïve interest in his body almost
did him in.

“Saints, lass,” he hissed. “You drive
me mad. I want to… but I cannot.”

“What do you want to do?” she
whispered, still stroking lightly, tormenting him.

His body was starting to overheat. He
groaned, wishing he could rip every last stitch of his clothing
off. “In truth? You don’t know?”

“Lovemaking. I know that, but I don’t
know anything about it.”

He muttered a curse. Though he’d known
she was innocent, he couldn’t have guessed how incredibly curious
she was. Or how vocal, given her usually quiet nature. But, she
trusted him. His chest ached, for he treasured her trust as much as
her love.