Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43714 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 219(@200wpm)___ 175(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
I intended to be cautious, to go slow, but I throw all caution to the wind.
My hand slides along the side of her jaw and I draw her closer to me. I press my lips against hers in a long kiss.
When she gives another little gasp of breath, I flick my tongue over the seam of her lips, feeling them part to allow me in, exploring her mouth as soon as it opens to me.
The light moan, heady and breathy she lets out only makes me grip her tighter, my free hand going down to circle her hips and pull her closer to me.
Our bodies press together, hips against hips, beautifully aligned, her breasts pushing against my chest, surging my desire even further. Our arms encircle one another, hers coming up hesitantly around my back as if she wants to pull me closer but doesn’t know if she’s allowed.
She can do anything she wants with me.
I draw her in closer, rewarding her efforts by deepening the kiss.
I feel like a man who had no idea just how hungry he was until a single morsel of food showed me how starved I really am, and now I can’t get enough.
I want to drink her in, drown in her, and lose myself in touch alone. Bury myself in her until we are no longer separate, but instead, two halves of the same whole claimed and joined together for eternity.
It’s one hell of a kiss.
I break away from her only for a moment. Looking into her eyes, I push her cardigan off her shoulder and touch the strap of her dress and watch her reaction.
When she only surges forward as if to push herself into my hand, her mouth opens for more, her lips red and swollen from our passion, I know the heat I feel between us is not only one-sided.
I push the strap down and over her shoulder, then the other side, smoothing my hands over her skin, caressing her. The front of the dress falls with the motion, revealing her bra – a lacy number I’m sure she must have chosen with some intention of this happening.
“Alana,” I rasp, she moans in response at the mere sound of her name on my lips, and I know I’m not the only one who is lost.
She is mine, and all I have to do is claim her.
“Come,” I say, and it’s more than just a word. It’s a command, a request, a promise.
I pull her tight against me again, kissing her harder as my free hand roams across the fabric of her bra, enjoying the tantalizing promise of what lies beneath before sliding my hand upward to the strap and pushing it down her arm.
She gasps again, desperately, and I revel in her eagerness, the special spark between us. It’s deeper, more intense than anything I have ever felt.
My hand goes to her waist. I lift the hem of her dress and slide my hand up her thigh over her tights, intent on finding the fabric of her panties. I find the waistband of her panties ready to pull them and her tights out of the way….
Her hand lands on my wrist, holding it tight enough to make me stop, and pulls away from the kiss.
“What is it?” I ask. I have no idea what’s wrong, but I’m not the kind of man who would push her to do something she’s not ready for.
“I’m…,” she pauses and takes a deep breath.
It’s serious. I can see that.
But what…?
“I’m sorry, I have to tell you before we do anything. I don’t want to pretend. It’s just…I’m a virgin.”
I freeze, staring at her.
A virgin?
That changes everything. It has to. I can’t carry on now that I know.
“Finlay?”
The shout over the nearby hills has me flinching, shooting my gaze immediately to the window of the hide.
It might be enough to fool an animal, but it’s nowhere near enough protection to hide us from human eyes.
And I recognize that voice.
It’s Hamish – come to look for his Laird, who he probably expects to be alone in the hide.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Alana
As soon as I admit it, I see a change in him.
Something comes over Finlay like the shutters of a store at closing time.
I watch his eyes go dark as if the desire and heat he had allowed me to see is no longer permitted. The sinking feeling in my stomach tells me I made a mistake.
The sound of the voice only startles me into yanking my clothes back into place, my heart racing at the thought of someone else seeing me in this state of undress.
Finlay takes a step back from me and then backs out of the tiny hide, and if it’s possible for my heart to sink any further down, it does.
He’s disgusted, isn’t he?
I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s not as though he really needed to know. I could have just gone along with it, pretended to be overwhelmed instead of inexperienced, and let him lead.