“I wasn‟t taking that long.” Her breath caught when he feathered light kisses all over her face. “I‟m just a little nervous, that‟s all.” She moaned when he nuzzled her neck. “And you startled me when you pulled my pants down.”
He lifted his head. “Right.” He kissed her quickly on the lips. “Thank you for reminding me.”
“Huh?” She blinked when he suddenly moved down to her feet.
He smiled. “Yer toenails are pink.” He kissed her big toe.
“You could have had pink toes, too,” she reminded him. He shot her a warning look, but she just smiled. “I thought you looked very handsome with your pink toes.”
He nipped at her toe. She squealed and tried to pull her foot away, but he gripped her by the ankle and wouldn‟t let go. He lifted her leg higher and trailed kisses up her calf to her knee.
Her heart raced, and her stomach fluttered.
“So yer knees are giving you trouble, are they?” He lifted her leg higher and kissed the soft skin on the back side of her knee.
She shivered. “That tickles.” It more than tickled. It was sending frissons of needy sensations up her leg. She had an overwhelming urge to squeeze her thighs together, but she couldn‟t when he had one of her legs lifted so high in the air.
He tickled the backside of her knee with his tongue while his hand skimmed up her thigh, closer and closer to her core.
She moaned. She‟d never felt so vulnerable. Or so desperate.
He set her leg down, then pulled her into a sitting position. “Lift yer arms.”
She started to, then gasped when he whisked her T-shirt off and shoved her back down.
She gasped again when he ripped off her panties and tossed them aside. “Good heavens! Aren‟t you being a little . . . abrupt?”
“Ye think I‟m moving too fast?” He settled beside her with a hand resting on her tummy.
His gaze wandered over her body. “I‟ve seen you naked before.”
“That was different. I was unconscious most of the time.” And not so intensely aware of him. Just the way he looked at her made her tremble.
“You‟re exceedingly beautiful,” he murmured.
“Thank you.” Good heavens, he was really looking her over. Her cheeks grew warm. “I just need a moment to adjust.”
“Ah.” His gaze rose to her chest. “I‟ve seen yer breasts before. I‟ve touched them.”
She struggled to breathe. “I know.”
He leaned closer, studying them. “Yer nipples are hard, ripe for sucking.” He moved back. “But I‟ll give you more time to adjust.”
Her mouth dropped open. He wanted to suck on her nipples? A new wave of sensation swept down her body and sizzled in her core. Moisture pooled there. This time she did squeeze her thighs together.
His nostrils flared, and his fingers pressed against her belly. “Lass, if ye adjust any more, ye‟ll be climaxing without me.”
She reached up to wrap her hands around his neck. “Then do it. Please.”
He smiled. “My pleasure.”
He kissed her slowly and thoroughly, nibbling on her lips and swirling his tongue inside her mouth. She responded, quickly sinking into a world of sensation where his every touch ignited shivers and sparks.
He kissed her neck and each time his tongue licked her skin, she felt a throbbing in her core. It made her desperate, made her want to squirm and press herself against him.
She tugged at his T-shirt. “Let me touch you.”
He pulled his shirt off, then leaned over to kiss her breasts. She ran her hands through his hair and along his bare shoulders. When he drew a nipple into his mouth, she groaned and dug her fingers into his back.
Oh yes, he‟d been serious about the sucking. More moisture pooled between her legs, and she squirmed.
He moved away from her breasts and grew still.
“Is something wrong?”
“I want to see yer face when I touch you.”
“You are touching—” She stopped when she realized what he meant. His hand skimmed down her belly into the thatch of curls. Her breath caught.
He slowly massaged her. “Will ye open yer legs for me?”
She did, and he smiled. “Och, now there‟s a glorious sight.”
She jolted when she first felt his fingers touch her core. She pressed a hand to her chest.
“I think my heart will burst.”
He lifted his hand. “Ye need a moment to adjust?”
“Don‟t you dare!”
With a chuckle, he put his hand back on her.
She winced. “Sorry. I don‟t know what‟s come over me.” She moaned when his fingers traced the folds. “I‟m becoming very . . . greedy.”
“Ye want more?”
“Yes!”
He flicked a finger over a very sensitive spot, and she squeaked.
He grinned. “Ye might like this, too.” He inserted a finger inside her.
“Oh! Oh yes.” She squirmed, pressing against him. A buzzing feeling skittered all through her. Her eyes flickered shut.
“Ye‟re verra tight. And wet.” He inserted another finger. When he waggled them, something broke lose inside her. It soared higher and higher. “Connor, I—I—”
He wiggled his fingers again, while his thumb rubbed the sensitive spot.
She screamed. For a second, she thought the world had come to an end, and the stars in the heavens had burst. But then she opened her eyes, and the stars were still there. And she was still alive, her body throbbing with incredible spasms.
“Qu’est-ce que tu as fait?
” she gasped.
Connor leaned closer, smiling. “Ye‟re speaking French.”
“Oh.
Lo siento
.” She rubbed her head. Spanish? “I think I blew a fuse.”
He laughed and gathered her in his arms. “I love you. I love you so much.”
“Do you?” She held him tight. “Oh, Connor. I love you, too.”
He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. “Lass.” He ruffled her hair and kissed the top of her head.
She sprawled across his chest, resting her head over his heart to hear it pounding. She closed her eyes. A vision flashed across her mind. A dark-haired woman, holding a newborn baby. They were beautiful. She pushed the thought away and nestled her cheek against the soft hair on Connor‟s chest.
If only this moment could last forever.
Her eyes flew open. Was that what she really wanted?
“Je t’aime
,” Connor whispered.
She lifted her head. “You speak French?”
He nodded. “And Gaelic. What about you?”
“I can speak to any human on Earth.”
His eyes widened, then he looked away. “I suppose I‟m being greedy to want you all to myself.”
She smiled and ran a finger along his jaw. “You make me feel very greedy, too.”
He kissed her finger. “Did ye want to scream again?”
Her cheeks grew warm. She really had screamed. “It was much more intense than I had expected.”
“We barely got started. I dinna get to taste you or make you come with my mouth.”
She blinked. Did he mean oral sex? “You want to give me a blow job?”
He laughed, then winced. “Och.”
“What‟s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
She sat up with a gasp. “I shouldn‟t have leaned on you like that. Your ribs could still be sore.”
“My ribs are fine.”
“Are you sure?” She smoothed her hands over his bare chest. “You‟re so muscular and strong.” She followed the narrow trail of hair to his navel. “I think you‟re beautiful.”
“Lass—” He gritted his teeth.
She jumped. “Connor, there‟s something moving in your pants.”
“Pay it no mind. Lass, no!”
She leaned over him to pull the waistband of his flannel pants down. His erection popped out, startling her.
“Oh!” She fell across his thighs. “Oh my. Good heavens.”
He groaned and dragged his hands down his face. “Ye needna stare at it in horror. It willna harm you.”
“It‟s . . . really big.”
He snorted. “It comes in peace.”
She giggled, then poked at it with her finger.
It twitched, and he hissed in a breath.
She sat up, amazed by how strong a reaction she had caused. She studied his erection curiously. Could she cause him to scream like he had her?
“Doona touch me again,” he muttered. “I‟m about to explode.”
Explode? That sounded interesting. “You know the problem with me, Connor. I don‟t follow orders very well.” She curled her hand around the staff and kissed the tip.
“Holy—” He gritted his teeth with a strangled noise.
She wasn‟t exactly sure what to do, but she recalled how much she enjoyed him tickling her breasts with his tongue and suckling her. So she ran her tongue up the length of his staff, then took him into her mouth.
She figured she was doing something right because he was groaning and clutching her hair.
“Enough!” He tossed her down onto the robe and wedged between her legs.
He kissed her hard, rubbing himself against her. The friction ignited her sensitive skin.
She wrapped her legs around him and dug her hands into his back.
Moisture pooled, and his movement became slick. An ache throbbed deep inside her, an empty ache that begged to be filled.
“Connor.” She wanted him inside her.
And the two shall become one.
He let out a hoarse shout, then shuddered as he found his release. He collapsed beside her, hugging her tight.
She held him, her arms and legs still wrapped around him. Oh God, she hadn‟t known this sort of love could be so powerful. She‟d come so close to begging him to take her.
She rested her head against his chest, listening to the wild thumping of his heart. The vision returned. The dark-haired woman, holding a baby. Connor‟s baby, she realized with a jolt.
She was seeing inside his black pit of remorse. His walls had tumbled down.
Fionnula
. That was the woman‟s name. There was so much love and sadness surrounding her. Why would a woman he loved be in the center of his remorse?
She sat up. “Connor?”
He groaned, his eyes shut. “Give me a minute.”
“You didn‟t tell me you have a wife.”
C
onnor flinched, his eyes popping open. “What?”
“You have a wi—”
“Nay!” He sat up. Holy Christ Almighty, she might as well have punched him in the gut.
“I‟m no‟ married.”
“And you have a daughter.”
His heart raced. He couldn‟t deny having a daughter. She had lived only a few hours, but for all eternity, she would be his beautiful daughter. He gulped. Would Marielle see his deceased wife the same way?
“I . . . have no wife.” He grabbed his flannel pants and cursed silently as he struggled to stuff his feet into the right holes. His damned hands were shaking.
“You did have one.”
He glanced at Marielle. She didn‟t look upset. How could she be so damned calm when he was stunned? More than stunned. Floored with a sucker punch. And now that he thought about it, damned angry. “While I was making love to you, ye were spying on me?”
“No.” Frowning, she hugged her knees. “If you must know, the lovemaking is so intense, I can hardly think at all. Just a few fleeting thoughts about how lovely it feels and how wonderful you are. And how much I love you.”
His heart filled with longing. It was going to kill him when she left. “I feel the same way.”
Her eyes softened with a tender look. “I know you were greatly affected. It made the fortress around your heart tumble down. So when I was hugging you just now, I saw them. Your wife and child.”
He finished pulling his pants on. “I doona want to talk about it.”
“I thought they were beautiful. And I could feel how much you loved them.”
“They died centuries ago. There‟s no point in—”
“I think there is. Because for some reason, they‟re at the center of all your pain and remorse. What happened—”
“Nay, I willna discuss it.” Damn, he regretted the hurt look on her face. “I‟m sorry, Marielle. But I confess nothing.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you think the Heavenly Father doesn‟t know?”
“Of course He knows. That‟s why I‟m on the list for hell.”
She made a face. “Stubborn man. That list is not written in stone. It can be changed.”
“I‟m a lost cause. But doona fash. I will still help you get back to heaven.”
She snorted. “You think I‟m only concerned about myself? What kind of angel would that make me?”
And what kind of man committed the terrible crimes he had? He couldn‟t tell her. He couldn‟t bear to lose her love. It was the only light in the darkness where he dwelled.
“We should be going back.” He grabbed his T-shirt, then noticed the mess he‟d made on Marielle.
“Och, lass.” He used his T-shirt to wipe off her belly and thighs. “Doona let this worry you. All my sperm is dead.”
She stiffened. “I could have a child?”
“Nay. No‟ with my—”
“But I have the right body parts for it.” She placed a hand on her belly, and her eyes widened with awe. “I could bring forth a living human being.”
He gulped. “I thought ye were going back to heaven.”
She blinked. “Oh. Yes, I am.” She reached for her T-shirt. “I was just . . . surprised for a moment. I hadn‟t realized . . .” She pulled her T-shirt on.
“We‟ll have to shower again when we return.” He located her underwear and pajama bottoms and handed them to her. “The ladies have keen senses of smell. I know the Vamp women do. I assume the shifter does, too.”
She slipped on the clothes. “So they‟ll know what we did?”
“Aye. After they arrive, I need to go to Romatech and see Angus. I think we‟re ready to face the Malcontents.”
“I want to go with you.” When he started to object, she touched his shoulder. “I‟ll be there at the battle. I have a right to know what the plans are.”
“All right.” He stood and pulled her to her feet.
She placed her hands on his cheeks. “Thank you, Connor. I will always treasure this memory. How you made love to me under the stars.”
He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. “I‟ll remember it, too.”
“I wish you would trust me with all the pain you‟ve been hiding.”
He sighed. He should have known she wasn‟t going to give up on that. She was a healer at heart. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to wash away his sins.
Nothing he could do, either.