Ten
As Bridgette melted into Lachlan’s arms he released the control he still held over his body. She filled his mind, his senses, and his hands. He moved his mouth over hers, devouring its softness and drinking in her sweet taste.
She moaned into his mouth, and he captured the sensuous sound as it became a part of his soul. He didn’t know what he had expected, but the frantic way she returned his kisses and the mewling sounds coming from deep within her throat told him her desire was every bit as great as his. He had an aching need to kiss her deeper.
A savage intensity gripped him as he slipped his hands under her legs and picked her up only to lay her gently on the ground. Her eyes widened, but she did not protest. He straddled her and then slid his hands through her hair, down the silken skin of her neck, and to her breasts. His fingers brushed the hard buds of her nipples, which strained beneath her gown, and a strangled cry broke from her lips. He expected her to jerk away from him, but her hands came around his neck and grasped him tightly, as if she were afraid he’d change his mind. Her legs wrapped around his waist and locked behind his back. A whispered warning sounded in his mind, but he ruthlessly shoved it away.
He pulled down the front of her gown to expose her full, beautiful breasts. Her rosy nipples formed perfect peaks, and he could not find any will left in him to resist her. When he took her breast in his mouth, she bucked underneath him, her hands fisting in his hair.
“Lachlan!” she cried out raggedly.
He flicked his tongue over the tip of her nipple, making her writhe and pant beneath him and causing his need for her to become painful. He trailed kisses up her belly and neck to her mouth before claiming her lips. Then he rose up on his knees and looked down at her. Her red, swollen lips appeared good and properly kissed. Her flaming hair fanned out around her face, and her emerald eyes fairly glowed with desire. With complete and utter reverence, he touched her cheek as his chest squeezed.
“Ye are so beautiful it’s sinful,” he murmured, caught in a dream.
Her half-lidded eyes flew wide, and her lips parted as if she’d just been awoken. Horror swept across her face as she reached down and yanked up her gown. “What have we done? What haveIdone? We let desire carry us away!”
What he felt for Bridgette was more than desire. “I need ye,” he choked out, surprised at his words and the desperate sound of his own voice. He did not look at Bridgette as he spoke but kept his gaze down to the ground as a war between honor and desire raged within him. “I need ye more than I need air to breathe.”
“That’s lust talking,” she replied in a determined voice. He knew what she was trying to do—to make what was between them simple. But it wasn’t. It was complicated. He didn’t even fully understand it.
He stared down at her. “It’s nae simply lust. I dunnae ken exactly what it is, but I ken it’s nae simply desire.”
Tears sprung to her eyes and leaked out of the corners to trail down the sides of her face. His heart clenched as he brushed them quickly away. She swallowed audibly and then spoke. “What of Graham?”
Lachlan moved to sit beside her and then held out his hand to help her raise up. Questions flooded his mind, and he was uncertain which to ask first. Finally, he settled with what he thought was the most important. “Why were ye going to marry Graham?” He had a suspicion, but he wanted her to confirm it.
Slowly, she turned her head toward him and their gazes locked. “Because he risked his life for me and sustained a terrible injury in doing so. But Marion made me see how wrong that reason was. Even greedy. I was marrying him to ease the guilt his selfless act caused me. But I ken I dunnae love him, and I dunnae believe I would ever love him the way he deserves to be loved—with all of a woman’s heart. It’s nae anything he’s done.”
He blew out a long, relieved breath. “When will ye tell Graham?”
“As soon as he returns to Dunvegan,” she replied, her tone filled with remorse and reluctance.
“Why did ye never show me yer interest?” he asked. Graham’s declaration of love for Bridgette had stopped Lachlan from ever pursuing her, but Bridgette had not known of that.
“I did nae ken if ye desired me,” she responded. “I was waiting for a sign that never came. Ye’re blind, though!” she accused. “I did nae hide it, really. Iain even teased me when last he came to my home with Marion, saying that ye were nae the man for me.”
“Did he?” Lachlan asked, shocked. “He never mentioned it.”
Bridgette eyed him. “Perchance he did nae wish anything to develop between us.”
Lachlan thought about this. Iain had not known of Graham’s declaration over Bridgette. Likely Iain had simply been teasing her or he had thought Lachlan had some settling to do. There had been a spell when he’d willingly accepted all offers of joining the comely lasses threw his way. He’d been searching for something, and he knew now the something could not have been found in a romp. He wanted something deeper, something he suspected he could only find with Bridgette.
“What of Lillias, Lachlan? And Helena?” Her tone was stilted, as if she had to know but feared his response.
The first part was easy to answer. “Lillias threw herself at me. I dunnae desire her at all. I set her aside as quickly and gently as I could.”
Bridgette nodded, her face softening enough to tell him she accepted what he said as the truth. “And Helena?”
He’d known when he had started this talk that she’d demand answers, but he had not known what he would say. Looking at her now, still flushed from their passionate embrace, her taste still lingering in his mouth, her smell still surrounding him, he knew he had to tell her as much of the truth as he could. He had made a vow to the king not to reveal his suspicions until he was ready, but Lachlan could tell her enough that she would no longer think him a dishonorable devil.
“I gave false pledges to aid the king. It is temporary and for the purpose of getting information from Helena. She is a cunning Campbell, to be certain,” he added, wishing he could tell her more but honor bound by his vow.
He heard her inhale sharply, but then she shook her head. “It should nae matter to me. I should nae have asked.”
“Why should ye nae have asked?” he demanded, unease pricking him. He did not want her to give up before they even had a chance. “Why should it nae matter to ye?”
“Do ye really need to ask?” she demanded, her green eyes flaring.
