Claiming(16)

Her heart beat till she thought it would pound out of her chest. His lips against her palm felt daring and intimate, yet it didn’t warn her off, merely made her want more. She rose on her knees to him and brought her face to his. He smiled, knowing what she wanted and closed the distance by slipping his hand behind her head and bringing her to him.

Any lingering thought of resistance, of her plan to make him leave, of the morrow, vanished under the passion his lips incited. As the kiss deepened—their mouths opening and their tongues tangling—her body was shot through with a need so urgent she could hardly breathe. He thrust his fingers through her hair, loosening it, tossing her hood to the sweet-scented ground. His lips moved down from her mouth, and, breathless, she arched back, exposing her throat to his mouth and her chest to his lips.

He thrust down her gown, exposing her full white breasts, their cherry red tips tight as buds. His smile was short-lived as he moved his mouth first to one nipple—flicked it with his tongue and then sucked hard—and then the other. She gasped at the exquisite pleasure that consumed her and closed her eyes, her breathing coming fast as her body became overwhelmed with sensation.

He pulled away and stroked her face. “You are beautiful, my lady.” He put his arms around her and they rolled to the ground as one, the scented grasses crushing beneath their bodies as they lay on their sides. He kissed her and she surrendered to the mindless bliss of sensation that his lips, his tongue and his hands created in every part of her body.

Then he moved, eased himself away from her and his head blocked out the sun, casting her into shadow, revealing the tower on the hill that dominated everything. At the same moment she felt his rigid cock straining at his hose, against her.

She froze.

He pulled away. “What is the matter? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

She shivered. “I cannot, Saher, I cannot do this.” She struggled up to sitting and covered her face with her hands, whether for shame, embarrassment or fear, she couldn’t have said.

“And what is it exactly you cannot do? I think your response has proven to both of us that your body is ready for mine, that you can enjoy our coupling more than many. He knelt behind her and gripped her hips, bringing her to lie with her head against his chest. “You want me and you shall have me.” He kissed the top of her head but she shook it and stood up, swaying unsteadily.

“No, Saher.”

To her chagrin, he simply smiled as if she’d not said a word. “Look at you.” He rose and ran his fingers over her nipples, visible through her flower-laced hair that had spilled around her semi-naked body. He laughed. “You look like some ancient dryad, some siren of the land, about to seduce a man, to suck a man dry.”

She frowned at his words, recalling her mother’s intemperate passions and also her own first lover, who preferred a meeker love to her own. She awkwardly tried to pull on her robe once more, to cover her nakedness. “You see me as some unholy demon of a woman? Someone to be feared?”

It was his turn to frown. “Feared? Why would you think that?” He helped her adjust her clothing for her, tucking in her chemise and gown and smoothing it under her bliaut.

She shrugged. “Because…” Should she admit that her one and only lover had found her passion too overwhelming and had left her because of it?

“Rowena. Tell me, what do you know of sex?”

“I know of sex. I have lain with a man before.” She looked up at him with a defensiveness that made him laugh.

“Indeed? I am not shocked, my lady, although no doubt I should be. I guessed as much. For someone as passionate as yourself, there must be a reason you have sworn off men. It’s simple. You must have chosen poorly to have been disappointed.” He lifted her chin. “I will not disappoint, nor will I leave. Lay down, my lady and listen.”

The replies began to form in her head, only to die on her lips. She lay down, curled on her side and watched him sit opposite, idly pick a flower and tickle her hand with it. “So, sir, what tale will you tell me?”

“No tale, my lady, but a description of my intent. First, I would explore your body.” He smiled, a slow smile that heated her stomach. She smiled back. “I wouldn’t be able to move past your breasts for some time for they are indeed, perfect, and there is much to be admired. With my fingers, with my lips, with my tongue.”

She shivered and clenched herself inside but her eyes didn’t stray from his. “Go on.”

“I’d lave my tongue against that cherry red nipple until it grew tight under my caresses. Then I’d take your breast into my mouth, and suckle until you feel like you’re going to explode. You know that feeling, don’t you?”