Seducing the Highlander (29 page)

Meriel twisted her neck to look directly at him, keeping the rest of her body perfectly still. Nothing moved, only wisps of her hair caught by a sudden warm breeze. It was strangely chilling. “I also wanted us to be candid with one another.”

“I’m ready to be honest,” he replied, unable to hide the tension he felt.

Meriel narrowed her eyes and then suddenly rolled them in disgust. She returned her gaze to the water, continuing to ignore the McTiernay plaid he had laid down for her. “You still believe
you
have the right to be angry, when it is clearly mine.”

“
You’re cross?
With me?” Craig interjected, furrowing his brows in surprise. “About what? That I caught you and Hamish embracing where anyone in the world could have chanced upon you? Or was it that I punched him as he deserved for daring to treat you like . . . like . . .” At his unspoken insult her gaze shifted back to him. Her green-and-gold eyes flashed with suppressed anger, warning him to be careful what he uttered next. Part of him wanted to heed the silent counsel, but he believed she needed to hear what he had to say. “Like another one of his many conquests, not like Rae Schellden’s daughter!” he finished defensively. “You and I both know your father would have given Hamish far more than a simple tap on the chin.”

Meriel jumped to her feet and faced him, her back ramrod straight. How dare Craig spin this around on her! The man was impossible. “I am
furious
, not cross,” she began, ignoring the accurate charge about her father’s reaction. In her mind, Craig had given up any right to be outraged in her father’s stead. “You did not
chance
upon me. You were spying, just like you have been doing since you arrived here. Watching me wherever I go just in case someone else has the nerve to appreciate what he finds.”

Craig’s normally bright eyes darkened to angry blue-black thunderclouds. “You knew I was out there. Everything you did was so that I
would
watch you. So if I
spied
something you now wish I had not, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Meriel snorted and crossed her arms. “Oh, I knew you were out there. So did Hamish and probably half the castle staff. But as far as my
wanting
you to be there? Why would I? You and I talked this morning, and we parted accepting what we are to each other. This afternoon was about me and my desires—not you. Remember? You and I are
nothing but friends
. First by your choice, and now by mine.”

Craig’s voice was cold when he finally spoke. “I am your friend. A good friend who happens to know Hamish extremely well. I have every right to strike him for kissing you. I’m still debating whether or not I should do more.”

“Did you see me struggle?” Meriel challenged, spreading her arms out. “It was a
kiss
! No doubt you have seen much more on those fields without giving it a single thought.”

A tense silence filled the space between them. The crease between his dark brows grew deeper and the lines that bracketed his mouth tightened. Raking a hand through his hair, Craig finally exploded. “You were kissing
Hamish
! You know him. And more importantly,
he
knew better than to misuse one of Laird Schellden’s daughters.”

“He was not
misusing
me. Is it truly beyond your ability to comprehend that someone might be sincerely interested in me?”

“We are not talking about
someone
; we are talking about Hamish. He may be loyal to Conor, but to women? The man enjoys them and then forgets their names—often on the same night.”

Meriel waited until Craig was looking at her directly before she countered his argument. “Hamish asked me to marry him.”

Craig scoffed. “And you believed him to be serious?”

“I did.”

The cold gravity in her tone caught him by surprise and several thoughts hit him at once, none of them good. Ice spread throughout his veins as he recalled Hamish’s demeanor as he lay there on the grass, refusing to get up and engage him. The man had been infuriatingly relaxed. He had been his typical good-natured self, but with a touch of solemnity, which had made his pledge to pursue Meriel sound uncomfortably sincere. Craig had already decided to move back his and Meriel’s departure time, but now he was fighting the impulse to throw her over his shoulder and set out tonight. The only thing preventing him from doing so was that she was here, at the loch, by herself. Unless . . . she had not refused Hamish’s offer of marriage and had just asked for time to think about it.

Craig’s heart stopped for a second and then started again, slamming uncomfortably in his chest as fear swept through him. “You’d better have refused him,” he said in a raw, harsh voice.

Meriel could see the mixture of pain and panic etched in Craig’s face, but it provided no salve for her own aching heart. “
This
time.”

Her tone was hard, exact, and terrifyingly distant. Craig could feel part of him slipping away, and somehow he knew that when it was gone, he would not be able to get it back. In an instinctive urge to do something—
anything
—Craig grabbed Meriel’s shoulders and pulled her into his arms so that she collided with his chest. When she opened her mouth to protest, he took advantage and smothered her words, moving his lips forcefully against hers.

As soon as he tasted her, his body reacted and he plunged inside her mouth again and again, drinking in her essence, needing to replace the pieces of his soul that were being ripped away. Realizing Meriel was no longer resisting, he moved his hands to frame her face, changing the kiss from one type of intensity to another. Slowly, deeply, his tongue penetrated her mouth in an effort to use his own desire to ignite hers. He could not get enough of her and never would.

Fully aroused, he lifted his head, expecting to see similar passion swimming in her eyes. But what looked back at him was not heat, or even tenderness, just cold detachment. He knew she felt something for him, but that she could push it aside and deny its existence, shook his core.

Meriel stepped back, out of his embrace. “You were right. Desire by itself is not satisfying. Good-bye, Craig,” she said simply, and then stepped around him and began to walk away. There had been no bitterness, no ulterior motive.

Craig blinked. He stumbled back a step and started breathing heavily, unsure of what was really happening. All he wanted to do was protect her and safeguard their friendship. And yet, with her every step, she was not just walking away, but away from him.

Unease like he had never known began to swell in his chest, choking him. He fought to get it under control. Of all the emotions, panic was the deadliest, for it removed the ability to think, act, and be rational. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Images of his past and his future began to swim before him: A year ago, Meriel sensing the truth about his feelings on the unpleasant prospect of becoming a laird. Of her curled up in a chair and laughing with him about some secret opinion they shared about something or someone. Of Meriel dancing, smiling, her long hair swaying in a way that drew the attention of every man present. Of her rocking a baby in her arms, growing large with another child and reaching out to clasp the father’s hand lovingly in her own. A barely audible sound tore at his throat.

That hand did not belong to him.

Panic no longer described the terror shooting through him as the truth of his future fully revealed itself. From the moment he and Meriel had spoken on that fateful ride a year ago, she had become the most important person in his life. However, instead of embracing the depth of his feelings, he had called her his friend, all for the foolish belief that it would keep him from becoming weak, exposed, and defenseless. But he was already all those things.

Meriel knew him like no other person ever had or ever would. He did not have to explain, or justify, or even pretend with her. With others, even close friends and family, he always had to repress a piece of himself, keep it hidden away, but with Meriel he was free to be himself. She was his soul mate. She might cause him to be acutely vulnerable, but she also made him an infinitely stronger, better man. For only when he was with her, could he find true inner peace.

Craig sprang off the large stone and rushed to catch up with her. “Meriel!”

Meriel stopped and turned around just in time to be pulled once again into his arms. Her body was instantly stiff and unyielding, but a moment later he felt her tremble, which gave him renewed hope. Unable to stop himself, he brushed his lips lightly, persuasively against hers, letting her feel the endless need and love inside him.

Meriel tried to suppress her feelings. It had taken everything she had to deny her body from reacting and keep her soul from getting swept away with his last kiss. But this was too much for her to fight. His lips were so soft, so beautiful, so tender, her eyes filled with tears and her heart clenched in her chest. Kissing him felt right. She could feel the urgent need in him, but this time there was more than just physical need in his embrace. He loved her.

Overwhelmed and unable to rationalize what was happening, she clutched his arms, unwilling to discover that she might be wrong; that he only desired her and nothing more. So when he broke off their kiss, she nearly burst into tears when he forced her to look at him.

Then Craig cupped her cheek, his touch so tender she could barely breathe.

“I love you.”

Meriel held her breath. Three simple words. He had said them quietly and without elaboration, but as she stared into his deep blue eyes, she knew Craig had spoken directly from his heart. She had found the man that was supposed to be hers, and he loved her in return. “I love you too.”

Craig exhaled slowly, raggedly, completely overcome with emotion. He had not lost her. Just the opposite. She was his. Their unique bond now unbreakable.

“
Is tú mo shonuachar
,” he exclaimed, announcing his claim to her as his love and perfect mate. A smile broadened across his face and his blue eyes danced as they twinkled mischievously before he swung her around.

Meriel giggled, unable to help herself. “Put me down, you lunatic!”

He did as commanded, knowing she was his and that he would receive many similar loving endearments for the rest of his life. That knowledge sent another wave of elation through him.

He placed a quick kiss on her nose and then began to nuzzle her forehead, breathing in her scent. “I believe I have loved you since I first saw you force poor Merry to ride next to me when we rode from Caireoch a year ago,” he teased, the only way he was able to handle the joy of his emotions.

Slowly, he began to press soft kisses down the left side of her cheek, his long eyelashes fluttering along her sensitive skin until they reached the responsive spot below her ear. “I guess those days of having to ride close by and help you are over,” he whispered in her ear.

“Well, my bruised backside is telling me that I am not exactly a horsewoman yet,” she replied huskily, refusing to let him know the havoc his warm breath was wreaking on her stomach.

He cupped her face in his calloused hands and whispered hoarsely, “Good, because there are many things I still want to teach you.” Then, realizing how close he was to losing control, he swatted her behind playfully and turned to retrieve the blanket still on the ground.

Meriel pretended to be outraged, but the grin on her face gave it away. “I do seem to take instruction better from Hamish. Maybe I should—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Craig came back and crushed his mouth on hers with animal-like possessive fury. His tongue plundered with unleashed need and possession. Meriel put her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with sweet fervor. He had meant for her to feel and know that she was his, that she was completely claimed. But inside she was laughing with sheer joy.

Craig placed a hand on the back of her neck and unhesitatingly drew her to him with the intention of tasting all of the passion she had to give. Meriel offered no resistance. Her heart was pounding. The desire she had worked so hard to conceal for the past several weeks heated her blood, demanding this time to know satisfaction.

This kiss was not like the other ones they had shared. Those had only hinted at the passion and need Craig was now conveying with his lips, which were igniting something primitive, something utterly feminine deep inside her. She wanted more and intended to lose all inhibition and show him just what he was doing to her, when his lips left hers. Meriel wanted to speak, to plead for his return, but all ability to think went away as his mouth moved delicately down her neck, tracing the sensitive vein that pulsated rapidly with the rhythm of her heart.

Craig nuzzled and lightly sucked the side of her nape, savoring Meriel’s quiet gasps. Her head was buried in his chest and she clung to him tightly. A great shudder of need wracked through her and it created a raging hunger of his own. His mouth returned to hers and her lips parted, welcoming the sensual entry of his tongue. He could feel her hand slide around his nape, her fingers curling into the short, crisp hair at the back of his head. His desire was taking over, and he knew that soon all rational thought would be gone.

She was perfection, and he intended for their first time to be passionate and memorable. Knowing he was reaching the last of his defenses, Craig reluctantly pulled himself away from Meriel and rested his forehead against hers.

He had been totally naïve. He had believed his attraction to Meriel powerful and strong, but controllable—even if just barely. He had not been prepared for what it would be like when he became emotionally unguarded in the throes of desire. Even now, the need to taste her once again was almost crippling. If he did not somehow muster the will to step away and keep from touching her, it would be too late. If they shared even one more kiss, he would not be able to stop himself from possessing her as every instinct in his body told him he must.

When Craig withdrew his lips, Meriel was able to take a much-needed breath. She did not need to ask why he was pulling away from her this time. She knew. She might not have had personal experience with making love, but she was not ignorant of what took place between a man and a woman. And if the past few minutes was only a hint of the passion that would be shared between them, she was amazed at Craig’s powers of self-control. She certainly had not felt any inclination to stop.

Allowing him to pull back slightly, she was about to let him free himself completely from their embrace when she looked into his eyes. They were an intense, piercing blue, and filled with a primitive hunger. The knowledge made her realize that while Craig had incredible self-control, he was barely restraining his baser, primal desires.

Meriel had been waiting far too long to delay any longer. She cared not about the setting or the time of day. What she wanted was him. Kissing her, touching her, and making her his in every way.

Reaching up, she splayed her fingers over his broad chest, drinking in his strength. She could feel his muscles twitch as her hand came into contact with his leine; the energy between them was palpable. She bent down to feather kisses in the V-shaped space where his shirt had become untied. Then, withdrawing just enough to look at him, her hazel eyes, open and luminous, locked with his in a powerful hold.

Craig held his breath. He had been touched before by women, had their fingers caress his skin, and enjoyed the pleasure it had brought. But not like this.
Never
like this. It was as if Meriel’s fingertips were heated, making every fiber within him sizzle with awareness of the growing suppression of intense desire. Every impulse he had striven to suppress had now claimed his entire awareness. Meriel was more than he had ever imagined in a woman. More than he had ever wanted. She was his. And she wanted him.

He no longer possessed the will to resist.

Inspired by her open invitation, Craig discarded his noble thoughts and moved his hand to her neck, immersing his fingers in her soft hair. He breathed in her scent and then retook her mouth, cherishing the feel of her, relishing her reaction to his touch.

Captivated by the pliancy of her lips, he soon lost himself in their softness, his senses stirred by her passionate response. He wanted more. He needed more, and he knew she would not protest.

Meriel’s arms stole around him as he pulled her tighter to his torso. His lips moved hungrily against hers, reaching down to the very depth of her soul, paralyzing her with their intensity. Despite the thickness of her gown, she could feel the throbbing mass of his erection. The intimate contact of his arousal only renewed her desire. Lacing her fingers through his dark hair, she met his driving tongue, thrust for thrust, taking and giving back in turn.

This time she would not let him prematurely end their embrace.

Needing to touch him, she traced the patterns of the thick veins in his arms and kneaded his well-defined muscles before letting her hands slide under his shirt. There they flattened on the warmth of his sculpted torso, exploring the softness of his chest hair. His wide firmness, the overall potency of his physique, enthralled her. His gasp when she ran her hands around to stroke the corded muscles of his back freed her mouth from his kiss. Before he could recapture her lips, she leaned in and kissed his chest.

Knowing she was the reason behind the quick, hard beating of Craig’s heart created a desperation in Meriel that was quite outside of her experience. A deep, primal need grew within her, making her want to discover more. Without thought, she found the hem of his shirt and swiftly pulled it over his head, exposing his upper body to the afternoon sunlight.

Craig closed his eyes, straining against the urge to throw her to the ground and plunge deep inside her. With her every touch, his arousal surged higher so that now it spiked insistently in fevered pulsations. Unable to bear it a moment longer, he pulled her closer, sliding a thigh between her legs. She cried out and pressed back against him instinctively. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to tremble with waves of desire.

“I need to see you, Meriel.” His voice was hoarse and thick, scarcely louder than a growl. He pushed all of the reasons he should not be doing this out of his mind. With a groan, he kissed her again, crushing her to him as if he could take her into himself.

He began to undress her slowly, worshipfully, completely entranced by the softness of her skin. A deep groan of satisfaction escaped his throat as he slid her gown and chemise off her shoulders and down her arms. Then, with one arm wrapped around her waist, he lifted her slightly and let the garment fall to the ground, pooling around his feet.

Craig’s jaw tightened and his gaze swept over her, taking her in from head to toe in one swift, heated glance. Then he kissed her again with all the love and ardor in his soul.

His arms encircled her waist and pulled her as close to him as possible, and he deepened the kiss, crushing her soft breasts against his chest. With a guttural groan, he acted on instinct and lifted her into the cradle of his arms, carrying her to the outstretched blanket.

Laying her down, Craig kissed her passionately, drugging her senses so that he could pull away and quickly remove the rest of his clothes. He moved to lie down beside her and everything went still as their eyes met. She reached out to touch him and he pulled her hand to his lips, kissing the soft flesh of her palm slowly and deliberately.

Meriel closed her eyes, a moan escaping her as he moved his lips to the inside of her wrist, kissing her again with a gentleness that bordered on reverent. Then his hands began to explore, lightly tracing a path over her sensitive skin. Her heart was pounding. Desire surged through her, driven, hot and heady and compelling. The hot, sweet throbbing in her lower region was no longer a simmering fire but a blazing inferno. Her breasts swelled and she arched her back, reeling from the sensations he was creating. He seemed to know exactly how to touch her, where to touch her. Meriel never wanted him to stop, and yet her body was craving more, but she knew not for what.

Craig took a sharp breath the moment Meriel arched her body against his so that she was completely against his length. Her nipples had contracted until they were needy little nubs pressing urgently against his chest. Once again the world around them was lost. There was only her and him, and his need to know, touch, and taste her in every way.

His mouth came down hungrily on hers and he kissed her long and hard. The last of the pent-up worry and tension that had been growing for weeks left his body. Meriel felt so right. He knew without a doubt that God had made her for him and that no one else would ever satisfy him again.

He began to slip his hands up and down her arms, lightly caressing the sides of her breasts. They freely roamed her body, cherishing every detail while saving certain places for later. Finally, able to withstand his need no longer, his fingers began to outline the tips of her breasts, bringing their already tight pink buds to hard crested peaks. Her breathing became erratic and Meriel again arched her back, struggling to get him to obey her nonverbal command.

Easing back to give himself more room, Craig sucked in his breath at the sight of the sunlight gleaming on her ivory breasts. They were firm and ripe, sending a shudder of excitement through him.

Craig looked up to see Meriel staring at him with so much trust and love, he nearly choked. Her eyes begged him to touch her. Complying with her need and his own desire, he cupped one breast, filling his palm with its softness. One of them moaned, he knew not who, as he used his thumb to tease the rosy tip already firm under his touch. It was not enough and he bent down to give her a swift, passionate kiss.

Meriel tilted her head back and sank her fingers into Craig’s hair, groaning with pleasure as she felt his lips slide downward. Everywhere his mouth made contact, her skin tingled with arousal. He trailed kisses along the column of her neck and when he reached the base of her throat, his tongue began to swirl.

Running her hands lightly over Craig’s taut back, she knew Craig was straining against his own needs. His muscles twitched underneath her touch. She basked in his strength as her breathing became more ragged. His lips trailed lower. Desire now pulsed in her every vein, a wanting so intense her body wept with it, dewing her most secret place. His tongue paused to draw circles on her shoulder. His mouth was soft and wet and firm and the feel of it over her skin was making her dizzy.

Craig could no longer define what he was feeling. He only knew that the sensations coursing through him were savage and primitive. She was innocent and deserved to be treated with care, slowly introduced to the world of lovemaking. And maybe if she had been less responsive, less compliant and not so damn soft and sensual, he could have slowed down. But it was everything he could do not to take her right then. Only his desire to make sure she experienced pleasure in his arms provided him the will to keep his own needs temporarily restrained.

“Just let me touch you, love. I need to taste you,” he whispered, and then he lowered his mouth to her breast to fully encompass a pink bud.

Meriel sucked in her breath. At first, Craig did no more than gently hold the bloom between his lips, flicking his tongue over the sensitive flesh. She was unprepared for the sensations that coursed through her, caused by something so simple. Her pulse raced as he began to trace circles around her rigid flesh. Her body throbbed and, unable to stop herself, she began to squirm beneath him. And still he continued his blissful torture.

His lips began to gently tug the sensitive nipple and his teeth rasped across the very tip. She arched her head back, her mouth open, trying to draw enough breath. Again and again, he stroked the hardened peak. His tongue was velvet agony.

Instinctively, Meriel pushed herself more fully into his mouth, causing him to lose restraint. Capturing the throbbing nipple fully in his mouth, Craig began to suckle while his hand continued to caress her other breast. The added stimulus was too much, and Meriel began to writhe beneath him, twisting and moaning, her hands clinging to his shoulders. Her breathing became erratic, she needed him so badly.

For just a second, Craig raised his head. She let go a gentle mewling protest and a satisfied grin spread across his face. Then he switched to the other side, repeating his sensual assault. While he possessively cupped and stroked her swollen breast, he worshipped the other with his mouth. Sucking until the nipple was a hard nub, he could feel her growing ever more excited beneath him as her hips ground against his length.

Craig drank in her growing tension. She continued to writhe and run her hands through his unruly hair, all in an attempt to pull him even him closer. He reveled in the strained arch of her back, innocently placing a demanding pressure of her hips against his groin. The sensations she was creating were near unendurable.

His mouth let go of her nipple as he moaned uncontrollably, his pleasure in feeling her so close to him almost too much to bear. Both breasts were swollen. He had branded her, claiming her as his own. “You are so beautiful, you take my breath away,” he said and then once again captured her mouth in a long, searing kiss that only made them both desperate for more.

Craig felt a tremor inside her heated thighs. “More . . . ,” she begged. Hearing her soft plea, Craig had never felt more alive or more a man. A sense of certainty he could not put into words overcame him. And the need to have her became paramount. Obliging her will and his, Craig stroked the valley between her breasts before moving to caress the curve of her silken belly, and then lower to the swell of her hips. For several seconds, he explored the smooth, velvet softness of her thighs. Then his fingers moved up, hovering just below her soft mound.