The Chief (Highland Guard #1)(69)

He should be in the broch with Bruce’s guard, not here in this room alone with her, wanting nothing more than to take her in his arms and cradle her soft, naked skin against his and inhale her fresh scent like it was ambrosia to a dying man.

The sexual craving he understood. This craving to be near her he did not, particularly when it came at the expense of his duties. He was getting soft, and he better damn well do something about it.

He stepped back, straightening his back. “I’ve come to bid you good night.”

Her face fell. “Aren’t you—”

He ignored the stab in his chest. “It’s been a long day.”

She looked as if he’d just stomped on her favorite puppy. “Oh,” she said, twisting her hands, “it’s just that I …”

She looked down, avoiding his gaze, but he could see the soft rush of color to her cheeks.

So beautiful, he thought, the tightness in his chest rising to his throat. Sometimes it hurt just to look at her. Her sweet vulnerability called to him in a way he’d never felt before. His hand lifted to touch her cheek, but it quickly fell back to his side.

He forced his gaze away. This was crazy. He needed to get a hold on himself. She was a distraction he couldn’t afford. He’d started to bid her good night, but her next words stopped him cold.

“I was hoping we could try something different tonight,” she blurted.

His gaze shot to hers, his body jumping immediately to life. “Different?” His voice strangled in his throat. He told himself she didn’t mean what he thought. She didn’t know how provocative that sounded. Or did she? He’d sensed the burgeoning struggle inside her: her natural passionate curiosity warring with the deeply ingrained maidenly modesty. His innocent young bride was growing in boldness. Heaven help him when she finally gave free rein to her passion.

She came closer to him, close enough so that the ripe swell of her br**sts brushed the linen of his shirt. He damned near jumped out of his skin, the hard points of her ni**les pinning him. She placed her hands on his chest, tilting her head back to meet his gaze. The sensual look in those exotic dark eyes left no question as to what she wanted.

The weight in his groin intensified. His blood rushed hotter as her soft, womanly scent washed over him. She had no idea what she did to him. How he hungered for her. How her unabashed desire for him only made it worse.

“I wondered if we might …”

He waited. His heart pounding fiercely under her palm. He could tell she didn’t know how to say what she wanted. “What is it, lass?” he said huskily, unable to stop himself from caressing the velvety curve of her cheek. A fissure of sensation rattled through him, as it always did when he touched her. “Say what it is you want.”

“I wondered if we might try it the way … the first night …”

He froze. But the blood, the blood rushed and pounded inside him like an inferno. The chains of civility had never been pulled so tight. Every animal instinct in him rose like those of a lion ready to break out of a cage. His c**k stiffened, rock-hard and aching.

She couldn’t be asking …

But she was. Her eyes locked on his. “From behind.”

Fifteen

Christina blushed furiously, wondering whether she’d made a mistake. For one agonizing moment he didn’t move, didn’t say a word. Every muscle in his body seemed pulled as tight as a bowstring. The room echoed with a painful silence.

She couldn’t look at him, humiliated by her own boldness. What had she been thinking? What must he think of her wanton request? This had to be the single most embarrassing moment of her life.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, stepping away from him. “You wished to leave. Forget—”

The low sound he made in his throat sent shivers up her spine. It was the sound he made right before …

He seemed to snap. “Like hell,” he said, catching her wrist and pulling her roughly against his chest.

She gasped, the instant bodily connection making every one of her nerve endings crackle with instant awareness. She stared up into his face, finding his expression more fierce than she’d ever seen it before. The tic below his jaw pulsed hard and fast.

Unconsciously, she tried to pull away, a little frightened by what she might have unknowingly unleashed. He was every inch the terrifying warrior—more barbarian than knight.

But he wouldn’t let her go. His searing gaze caught her in its fiery trap. “I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you. Not with a request like that.” He scooped her up in his arms and carried her the few steps to the bed.

Christina’s heart raced with a nervous thrill. She could feel the tension raging inside him, his desire for her radiating on a level she’d never felt before. He seemed like a man pushed to the edge, hanging on by the last thread of his control. It was wild, dangerous, and exciting—very exciting.

He set her down on the covers with surprising gentleness, given the harshness of his movements as he started to remove his clothes. He jerked off the plaid he wore around his shoulders, his boots, and then his studded cotun.

But when he leaned over to blow out the candle she stopped him. “Please, don’t.” She didn’t want any more darkness between them. “Won’t you leave it?”

Their eyes met, his sapphire gaze dark and penetrating. He didn’t want to? But why?