She turned to press the front of her body to his. He wore a long shirt and trews. The thin material could not disguise the hard muscles of his chest pressing into her breasts.
A low growl escaped his throat.
Breathing a light moan in response, she slid her arm around his trim waist. He was so tall and broad-shouldered he aroused her woman's instincts. She loved how he'd always protected her.
He pushed his fingers into her hair and stroked his thumb along her jaw, gently over her cheek. "Isobel," he said in a soft, bemused tone. "What am I going to do with you?"
"This." Reaching up, she pressed her lips to his. Sweet heaven, his lips were warm and firm.
"Mmm." His lips parted and he flicked his tongue against her lips. Instantly, need flooded her, causing her to open to him. His tongue darted into her mouth. He tasted of hot aroused male and she wanted more. She buried her hands in his hair, wishing she could climb his frame and feast upon his mouth. He was heat and flame… the only cozy warmth in this frozen landscape.
His hands on her derriere, he lifted her exactly as she wished, drawing her legs around his waist, and she locked her arms around his neck, his mouth never leaving hers. He tasted of fiery, peaty whisky, a dark earthy flavor blended with heated male.
He drew his mouth away and pressed his forehead to hers. "Mmm, you taste so sweet," he murmured.
She moaned, yearning for more kisses.
"We should not be doing this," he said.
Nay, do not stop. She had craved this for the longest time. She had waited forever to experience passion. Fearing he would stop, she held on tighter and kissed a slow, sensual trail along his bristly cheek to his ear.
He moaned and hugged her tighter.
She wriggled against him, her sensitive, wet and tingling center rubbing against his abdomen, only linen separating them. How she wished to feel his hot flesh on hers, his hard shaft. How she wished he would lay her upon his bed, strip the clothing from her body and take her. She would welcome his invasion.
"Saints, Isobel, we must stop," he growled, then let her feet drop to the floor as he set her down.
Her knees so weak she feared she'd fall, she shook her head and held on. "I wish to please you in… whatever way you desire."
He muttered Gaelic curses and dragged her arms from around his neck.
She glared at him. He was rejecting her again, after she'd made it clear how much she wanted him.
"You drive me insane. But I cannot simply take you. Do you not know there will be consequences?"
"And what is the consequence of never knowing what it could be like between us?" she asked, frustration fueling her courage. "I know not what true passion feels like. I had hoped to find love, to find passion. But instead, my brother sends me to a man with one foot in the grave and a barbarian. 'Tis not what I wanted. My mother always said I would find true passion. Naïvely, I believed her. But perhaps I am only a foolish romantic." Dropping her tear-blurred gaze to the floor, she shook her head. "I wish I was stronger. I wish I had no heart and no dreams. Then perhaps I could be a brood mare for the MacLeod chief, and a whore to his brother as well. And if they sent me away, I could be chattel to some other chief. It would be better if I had no soul."
"Damnation, Isobel. Be quiet," Dirk growled.
"Whose body is this?" She placed her hand on her chest and looked him in the eye once again.
"Don't be ridiculous. 'Tis your body."
"But I have no say over it. I have no say over who touches or claims my body. So it must not be mine own. In truth, it is my brother's to give to whomever he sees fit."
"I didn't make the laws," Dirk muttered.
"I wish…"
Silence reigned.
Isobel's words gutted Dirk. To hear her hopes and dreams laid bare before him, such intimate thoughts. No one ever spoke to him this way. He knew not how to respond, especially since he wished more than anything that he could be the one to give her everything she wanted.
Though it made him daft, he could not resist asking. "What?"
"I wish I could do what you did… pretend I died, change my name and become someone else. Someone that no one would look for. I could be free to do what I wished."
He shook his head, letting the obvious go unspoken. She couldn't disappear and change her name without wealth of her own… or a man to take care of her.
He muttered a curse under his breath. Aye, he wanted to be the one to take care of her but… Apparently he was begging for an attack from the MacLeods. And they'd be well within their rights since he'd absconded with the chief's bride. Aye, 'twas a rescue but they'd not see it that way.
He couldn't send her back to them, especially with the brutal Nolan still alive. Not only that, he couldn't imagine her marrying the MacLeod chief, or any other man for that matter.