The Chief (Highland Guard #1)(80)

He groaned, drawing her closer, fitting her body to his. She could feel his desire hard against her stomach. Warmth rushed through her, concentrating between her legs. At the sensitive tips of her br**sts. Her skin flushed tight. Closer, her body demanded. She melted against him, dissolving deeper in to the kiss. Into him.

The kiss intensified. Grew harder. Faster. More insistent. She moaned, opening her mouth against his, feeling the warm sweep of his tongue.

She gasped. The raw, carnal passion of it momentarily stunned her. But he gave her no quarter and no time to think, assailing her shock with the dark sensations wrought by his wicked kiss.

He probed. He plundered. Taking more and more with each sensual stroke. Deeper. Hotter. Wetter. Until her heart fluttered wildly in her chest and heat washed through her in heavy, quivering waves.

She breathed him in, never imagining a kiss could be like this. So powerful. It wasn’t just lust that she felt in his kiss. There was an edge of something far deeper. Something that grabbed her heart and tugged. In his kiss, she felt the yearning, the raw emotion, he’d always held back. It was tender and erotic, yet with a fierceness that took her breath away.

His tongue swirled against hers, demanding more. Tentatively, she joined him. Circling, twining, sliding her tongue against his in a warm, delicious dance that penetrated right to her toes.

He kissed her as if he couldn’t get enough of her. As if he was desperate for her. As if he could claim her soul with his mouth and tongue. His fingers threaded through her hair, angling her mouth more fully against his. She could feel the warm pressure of his fingers at the back of her head. The scrape of his stubbled jaw on her skin. The heavy pounding of his heart against hers.

He groaned, sinking deeper into her mouth, sinking deeper into her. The weight of his body pressed down on her. His hand squeezed her breast, his hips rocked against hers, in the same sensual rhythm as his tongue thrusting in her mouth.

She moaned, her fingers digging into his broad, muscled shoulders. She felt weak, boneless, her body aching for him to give her the release that she craved.

His hand skimmed her bottom, cupping her and lifting her so that he was wedged right where she needed pressure.

God, it felt so good. She moaned into his mouth, rubbing against the thick column of steel at her apex until her breath sharpened.

With a harsh sound, he tore his mouth from hers and pulled away. “Enough!”

Her body startled at the harsh curtailment of pleasure. Instinctively, she reached for him, but he held her forcibly at arm’s length.

She blinked. The haze of passion slowly lifted and she met his shocked, accusatory gaze. He was staring at her as if she’d just grown another head. As if she frightened him. Her eyes widened. She frightened him.

Because she made him feel something he didn’t want to. He cared about her. Though the stubborn, thick-headed man didn’t realize it. But he would. Her bruised, swollen mouth tugged to a smile. It was really rather sweet.

He recovered quickly, but not quickly enough. “I’m taking you back to the castle,” he said, grabbing her hand. “Now!”

Christina let him drag her along, not caring one bit about the sudden surly turn of attitude or the unmistakably grim set of his jaw.

None of it mattered. For nothing could take away the certainty of her newfound knowledge.

She’d penetrated the icy shield. It was the sign she’d been waiting for. He cared for her. The proof was in his kiss.

Tor didn’t know what in Hades had come over him. One minute he was furious, the next he was kissing her like he’d never kissed another woman before. Like he was ravenous in his need of her. The passion didn’t bother him; the sharp tugging in his chest, however, was a different matter.

Unconsciously, he’d held back from kissing her, as if instinctively realizing the danger. Now he knew why. The connection was too strong. The feelings were too powerful. Too intense. And trying to bottle them back up would be a Herculean—if not Pandoran—task.

Now that he’d tasted the honey sweetness of that mouth he would think of nothing else. He cursed and shoved a branch out of the way so hard it cracked.

He could hear her breathing hard behind him and slowed his step, realizing he was walking too fast. He gave her a sharp look. She was being quiet. Too quiet. Following along meekly beside him with nary a complaint.

And he didn’t like that look on her face. The slight upward curve of her mouth could almost be characterized as smug. What did she have to smile about? He’d nearly ravished her in the middle of the day against a tree, for God’s sake.

“We’re almost there,” he said brusquely.

“That’s nice.”

That’s nice? His eyes narrowed. What was she up to?

“Will you be attending to more clan business today?” she asked politely.

“Aye,” he said.

“Why have you never kissed me before?” He nearly tripped over a rock at the unexpected change of subject.

“I don’t know,” he said gruffly. “I suppose I never thought of it.”

She lifted a brow as if she knew he’d lied. “Well, I rather liked it.”

Good thing he wasn’t eating or he would have choked.

“Rather a lot,” she said. “I’m afraid I must insist upon it from now on.”

Insist upon it? Tor was incredulous. Was his wee wife issuing him orders? He was chief. No one else would dare speak to him with such insolence. He really should correct her. But before he could form a reply, she said, “What else have you not thought about?” She peered suspiciously into his horrified gaze. “I hate to think there’s anything else I’m missing.”