Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) (13 page)

Let him in. 
Let him love you.

Love him, if only
for tonight.

“Kiss me again,”
Anna whispered, pulling her head up off of Rowan’s chest and looking into his
eyes.  Her hair fell loosely by her side and the firelight danced off her skin
as she looked up at Rowan, eyes beckoning him in open invitation.

Rowan reached up
and caressed Anna’s cheek, savoring the feel of her warm skin against his
fingers.  His breath came raggedly now and although he knew that he should not
press further, his heart would not let him back down.  He wanted Anna Stanton
more than he had ever wanted anything in his life.

“Kiss me, Rowan,”
Anna said again, more insistently this time.

“I …ye ken that I
want tae… but I’m afraid I willna be able tae stop this time,” Rowan said,
forcing his hand to withdraw from her, his eyes looking longingly at Anna’s
beautiful face in the firelight. 

Her full luscious
lips taunted him and when Anna began to chew absentmindedly on her lower lip,
the small action nearly pushed Rowan beyond the brink of his evaporating
control.  “I want you, Rowan,” Anna whispered, a faint blush lighting her face.

“If we do this
tonight, Anna, if ye agree tae be mine tonight ye must promise tae be gentle
with my heart,” Rowan breathed out slowly, begging for her mercy.  Conflicting
emotions played openly across his face, his emerald green eyes darkened with
desire.  “I think that it will be verra difficult for me tae let ye go and I’ll
need some space from ye tae do that.”

“Perhaps you will
not have to let me go,” Anna said, the words falling from her mouth
unexpectedly.  Her conscience screamed for her to tread cautiously, but her
heart could not help her from speaking the truth.  She wanted to choose Rowan,
but she was still unsure if it would be possible to breach her promise to
Arbor.

Anna took Rowan’s
hand and placed it over her heart.  Her pulse raced and her heart thundered in
anticipation of the reckless contract that she was striking with Rowan. “Do you
feel that?” she whispered, holding his hand to her chest in the darkness.

“Aye,” Rowan
whispered in return, closing his eyes and listening to Anna’s heart thunder for
him.

“Tonight I want
you to be mine, Rowan Murray, because you do this to me. You make my heart beat
like this,” she said as she continued to hold his hand over her heart. “And I
know that I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did not kiss you
again.”

Anna leaned
forward and twisted her hands into the loose fabric of Rowan’s shirt.  She
pulled herself down toward him with controlled precision, inching ever closer
to the warmth of his welcoming mouth.  Closing her eyes, Anna brought her lips
to Rowan’s, kissing him softly, her lips questioning.  “Tonight, you’re mine,”
Anna whispered against Rowan’s lips as she slowly withdrew.

Rowan groaned deep
in his throat and relented to his desire, folding Anna up in his arms and
drawing her down on top of him.  He slid a hand behind her neck and fisted it
in her silky hair.  His mouth was hot and needful, claiming Anna’s in a passionate
kiss.  His tongue thrust against her lips, demanding that she open for him. 

Anna was lost in
her desire.  She arched her back and kissed Rowan wantonly, running her hands
over his chest.  Her fingers eagerly explored his back and trailed through his
hair.

Anna’s uninhibited
touch caused the feelings that Rowan had worked so hard to repress to cascade
forth, unabashed and ravenous in their desire.  His mouth slanted over Anna’s
hungrily, seeking to stake claim upon her lips.  Anna met him at every turn,
fueling his passion with her own.   She nipped at his lower lip, moaning softly
as she arched against Rowan’s chest.  Her fingernails scored the skin of his
back, marking him as hers, claiming him.

Shaking with his
need, Rowan regained enough control to break the kiss, realizing that he was
now lying on top of Anna. He supported his weight on his elbows as he loomed
over her.  Anna’s hazel eyes were darkened with passion.  Rowan could see her
ruddy lips, marked by the scratch of his stubble.  He felt a surge of
possessiveness swell within.  Anna belonged to him.  No other man should touch
her this way, no other man should feel her beautiful body warm and willing
beneath him.  No other man should kiss her as he had just done.

Anna was his.

And he was hers.

And he’d be damned
if he could ever let her go.

Not now.  Not
after this.

Anna’s lips were
parted.  Her breath came in small, shaky gasps.  Her fingers delved into
Rowan’s hair, a soft, wanting smile curling up the corners of her mouth as she
guided him back to her.

Rowan lowered his
forehead so that it was resting against Anna’s, holding his lips just above
hers.  His heart thundered in his chest from the thrill of kissing her so
passionately.  Rowan closed his eyes, fighting to retain his control, and
placed a chaste kiss on Anna’s lips.  He could feel that they were now swollen
from the assault of his kisses.

“Please don’t
stop,” Anna whispered against Rowan’s lips, reaching up to tuck a strand of his
chestnut hair behind his ear.  Her eyes searched his face, longing for him to
kiss her again.

“How is it that ye
can do this tae me, woman?” Rowan gritted out, writhing slightly and uttering
the faintest groan.  “If ye had a shred of mercy about ye…ye would stop this
torment and go tae sleep.”

“But I’m not
tired,” Anna said softly, feeling wanton as the waves of desire that Rowan
kindled spread through her body.  She had never kissed a man before Rowan and
reveled in the power that her touch had in provoking Rowan.  She knew that she
should stop, knew that she should stop prodding him onward like a common
whore.  What would he think of her?

The fact was that
Anna suddenly didn’t care what he thought of her.  Casting caution to the wind,
Anna decided to play with fire.  She just wanted one more kiss. And she wanted
to know what it felt like to love a man before she was cast into a lifetime of
a marriage with a man that she quite possibly would never grow to love.

As if reading her
mind, Rowan gently kissed her, slowly and languidly, savoring her sweet taste
in his mouth.  He fought all of his instincts, his desire to ravish her, to
possess her completely and moved his lips over hers, tormenting her with his
tenderness.  After all, there wouldn’t be any harm in just kissing Anna
goodnight.  He would allow himself just this small pleasure.  Rowan was
certainly experienced enough to know when to stop.  He had been able to stop
with every woman before this one.

Rowan drew away
slowly, leaving Anna trembling with desire under his finger tips. He nipped
playfully at her collarbone and placed soft kisses up her neck until his lips
brushed her ear.  “And if yer no tired, what if I make ye tired?” Rowan
questioned boldly against his better judgment, suggestion heavy in his tone. 
“I’ll never neglect yer needs, Anna,” he whispered, brushing the back of his
hand across her breast.  “Tonight I’m going tae treat ye as if ye belonged tae
me.”

So much for
knowing when to stop.

Anna moaned
softly, closing her eyes and arching against Rowan.

 “Shh…” Rowan
whispered against her ear.  “Ye’ll have tae keep quiet,” he chuckled against
her skin, pleased by how her body reacted so readily to his touch.  Rowan
pulled the blanket up so that it completely covered them, affording what
measure of privacy that he could.  Hell, he wouldn’t have cared if the entire
world was watching. His body was wild with the need to touch Anna, to please
her.

Ever so slowly,
Rowan slid his hand under Anna’s skirt, taking his time to savor the silky
smooth skin of her legs.  He knew that he would stop if she asked him to, but
stopping this sweet torment might kill him.  He only hoped that he had the
strength to stop. 

Rowan’s nose
brushed against Anna’s.  He smiled when he thought of the faint spray of
freckles that graced the bridge of her nose.  She was so perfect, so beautiful
to him.  Rowan claimed Anna’s lips in another possessive kiss just as his hand
found what it had been so boldly seeking.  He groaned deeply when he learned
that Anna wasn’t wearing any undergarments.  She was completely bare beneath
her dress.  Rowan brushed over her curls lightly with his fingers, his hand
shaking with the need to touch her.

Anna took in her
breath sharply and jumped, startled by the wave of pleasure that she felt at Rowan’s
slightest touch. Never had she been touched so intimately by a man. Hell, she’d
never even kissed a man before Rowan.  And yet, here she was, unashamed that he
was touching her like this.  Not only was she unashamed, she was thoroughly
enjoying how Rowan was touching her.  She planned to savor this moment for the
rest of her life.

 “Rowan,” Anna
whispered against the stubble of his cheek as she held him close to her.  She
gasped as Rowan’s fingers brushed lightly over her most intimate flesh.  Anna’s
fingers ran through his unbound hair, cupping Rowan’s skull as he nuzzled her
neck.

Rowan froze,
flattening his palm against Anna’s belly and using all of the restraint that he
could muster not to move.

 Please do not
ask me to stop.

“We cannot do this
here, right out in the open!” Anna’s voice was insistent, slightly panicked. 

She hadn’t
asked him to stop.

“Aye, lass, we
can.  Right here,” he murmured, “Right out in the open.” Rowan trailed his
tongue up Anna’s neck, blowing his breath out to cool the trail that he had
left on Anna’s skin.  She moaned, her fingers tugging at his hair.

“Rowan!” Anna
whispered harshly.  “We’ll wake up Malcolm!”

“Ye’ll just have
tae be quiet then,” he coaxed, drawing Anna in for a tender kiss.  Rowan slid his
fingers lower, over Anna’s taut belly, brushing over her sex.  He arched above
her, watching her hazel eyes as they dilated with pleasure.  Anna gasped and
her eyes fluttered closed, an enraptured smile coloring her face.  Rowan’s
fingers worked nimbly, caressing his way through her curls to the heat of her
desire.  He intended to silence her protests by driving her mad with ecstasy. 

“Rowan,” Anna
gasped, never having felt such intense desire.  She raked the rippling muscles
of back with her fingernails, undone by the feeling of Rowan’s touch against her
most intimate skin.  Anna’s nerves were on fire and as Rowan’s fingers danced
over her womanhood, she arched against him, greedy for more.

Rowan parted her
with his fingers and she let out a moan of pleasure, which he tried to silence
with his kiss.  His fingers touched the wetness between Anna’s thighs, the
wetness that was there just for him and his cock bucked against his pants,
aching to be inside of her.  He began making slow, rhythmic circles against her
silky skin, relishing how soft, how wet she was beneath his fingers.

Rowan buried his
face into Anna’s hair.  “Ye feel sae good, lass,” he groaned, reveling in the
pleasure of touching Anna so intimately.  She was giving herself to him so
completely, so trustingly.  “Say my name again.  Cry out for me, sweetheart.”

A low cry of need
escaped from Anna’s lips and she instinctively spread her knees more widely for
Rowan.  “Rowan,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and
clinging to him, pleasure overwhelming her.  “I need you, Rowan.”

Rowan smiled
lustily at her response to his touch and increased the pressure of his fingers,
nibbling Anna’s ear and caressing her breasts through her dress.  He knew that
he was about to drive her over the brink and rose up above her, wanting to see
the passion that he had kindled reflect in her eyes.

“I wish that ye
were mine,” he whispered before settling his mouth over hers and claiming them
in a hungry kiss.  He slid a finger up inside of her, teasing, tormenting, and
driving in and out of her slick wet heat. 

Anna moaned
against him, no longer able to keep quiet.  “Rowan!” she whispered as the
unfamiliar tremors of passion took hold of her body for the first time. “Oh!”
she gasped as he teased her, making love to her with his hand.   Her body was
overwhelmed with the new sensations that Rowan was giving her.

Rowan quickened
the pace of his caresses, driving in and out of her tenderly as he increased
his tempo.  Anna’s hips began to move instinctively against his hand, she was
now wild with desire.

“That’s it,
sweetheart.  Give in tae it, let go,” he coaxed as his fingers played against
her skin.

“Oh – Rowan!” she
pleaded “Rowan!”

“Shh…” he
whispered, chuckling into her hair as he continued to drive her towards madness
with his fingers.

A low steady moan
escaped from Anna’s lips and Rowan slowed his caresses as he felt the first
tremors of release overtake her body.  He kissed her tenderly as her hips bucked
wildly under his hand.  Anna seemed to come apart in his arms.  Rowan held her
close and continued to make slow, sweet circles with his fingers as she caught
wave after wave of her first orgasm.

Rowan expertly
coaxed Anna’s body through the last spasm of her surrender, kissing her softly
and sliding his hand down her thigh, letting it rest there.  He lay watching
her in the dark, holding her and kissing her gently in the glow of the
firelight.

“Shh…” Rowan
whispered into Anna’s hair, holding her against his chest as the last tremors
overwhelmed her body. 

“Oh my God,
Rowan.  I had no idea…” she whispered, shaken from the power of her release.

“Are ye tired now,
Anna?” Rowan asked with a slightly naughty smile, chuckling slightly and
reaching his hand up to brush her disheveled hair from her face.

“Exhausted,” she
smiled and took his hand, kissing him atop the knuckles. “I had no idea that
you could…that I could…”