True to the Highlander(53)

“Aye, my people oft do the same.” He waited until she returned to her place beside him to continue. “Legend has it, if a couple drinks together from the spring, they will fall in love. And if a couple already in love drinks from the spring, their love will remain as evergreen as the cedars that surround us.” He nodded toward the trees.

“You’re making that up.” Her eyes grew large, and a blush rose to her cheeks.

“Nay,” he protested, giving her a smug smile. He watched her intently, wondering how she would react.

Her thumbnail came up to her mouth as she pondered the matter. She frowned at him. “You didn’t tell me this until after we drank together.”

“Aye.” He grinned at her, unrepentant. “The spring has one more boon to offer. If a couple is having difficulty conceiving a child, they come here, fast for a day and drink only water from the spring. Then they spend the night together within the circle of the cedars. If they do this, they’ll soon have a bairn.”

Her eyes searched his, focusing on him the way he’d noticed she did when listening for truth. He wished he could hear her thoughts and prayed his heart would say to her the words he feared to utter.

“Humph.” She gave him a disgruntled look. “It’s a lovely myth, nothing more.”

“Mayhap you are right.” Picking up the bowl she’d filled with spring water, he took a drink and handed it to her in challenge. “Drink. If, as you say, ’tis myth and nothing more, it matters not. Besides, you’ve already partaken.” He watched the emotions play across her face as she considered his words. The moment she made up her mind, her countenance changed, and her chin raised a determined notch. Pleased, he smiled and placed the bowl into her outstretched hands.

She drank.

Malcolm took the bowl and placed it on the ground beyond their blanket with the remnants of their meal. Drawing her close, he cradled her body next to his and kissed her with all the love he felt for her. Only kisses. He would take only kisses, he promised himself.

True freed the shirt from his belt and ran her warm hands over his back and around to his chest. He groaned, his passion flaring as she pressed her soft, womanly curves against him. His tongue thrust into her mouth to taste her sweetness as he sought the laces of her gown. She helped him free her arms as he tugged the garment free. Malcolm raised himself to gaze upon her perfect breasts. Enchanted, he watched her nipples harden as he traced around one dusky bud. Only a touch, he promised himself. Aye, and mayhap a taste.

Nuzzling the soft skin on her neck where it curved to meet her shoulder, he inhaled her clean, floral scent and kissed a trail down to the swell of one breast. She sighed. He took it as encouragement. Cupping her breast, he ran his thumb over the nipple while tasting the other. The sharp intake of her breath, the way her body tensed and stilled in his arms, let him know he’d pleased her, and his own pleasure and desire heightened.

Malcolm’s heart pounded; his whole body throbbed with need. He took the hardened nipple into his mouth and suckled, swirling his tongue around it until True writhed beneath him, arching her body into his. Her sighs and moans inflamed his senses. She twined her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, offering an open invitation.

He took that as encouragement as well, and accepted.

Lifting his head, he beheld the vision in his arms. Long lashes fanned her delicate cheeks. Her brow furrowed in sensual concentration, and her lips, swollen from his kisses, were slightly opened as if ready to sigh his name. Something greater than passion flowed from his heart into his soul: the primal need to lay claim to his mate, to make her his, and the certain knowledge he’d walk through fire for this woman. His entire body tightened, and the promise to wait until they were wed went up in smoke.

“I want you, Alethia.” He pressed against her. “More than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life. Let me touch you. I swear only to touch.” He groaned into her neck, “I need to touch you.” Her eyes opened. Full of trust and vulnerability, they met his and did not waver. His breath caught.

She whispered, “Yes.”

A low groan came from somewhere deep inside him, and his mouth found hers in a crushing kiss. He plunged his tongue deep into the moist sweetness as his hand found the hem of her gown. His breath came fast and hard as he skimmed up the length of her bare leg, coming closer and closer to that secret feminine place that promised ecstasy. The silky, warm feel of her inner thighs as they opened for him drove him wild. His member, hard and throbbing, strained to follow.

She fumbled with his belt, finally getting it free. With a single tug, his plaid fell to a heap on the blanket. She gasped at the same time he did, as her hand came around his hardened length. She stroked him from tip to base, finally cupping his weight in her hand.