A Lass to Love (Brides of Scotland #1) - Tammy Andresen Page 0,13

She leaned toward him, their bodies coming together. “How can I seduce him into marriage if I don’t even ken how to kiss?”

He didn’t utter a word as he stared down at her. She shifted, worried she’d pushed too far, too quickly. Licking her lips, she took a half step back, but his hand tightened at her waist.

“Never been kissed?” he asked hoarsely.

“Not even once,” she said, her voice wavering.

Tom growled, deep in his throat. His first thought was the woman unwittingly played with fire. A man could so easily take advantage of this situation.

How did she know he wasn’t the sort to really hurt her?

But he wasn’t and whether she sensed it or was just lucky, he’d give her exactly what she asked for. No more and no less.

Partially because Tom wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to do anything else in the world, but also because she was right. If he were really going to help her, she’d need this lesson.

Still, the thought of her kissing another man made his insides clench in possessive need, but he pushed that aside. Her touch now would be good for both of them and that was all that mattered.

Slowly, he lowered his mouth, brushing his lips on her forehead, then her temple. Her breath quickened as he skimmed his lips across the tip of her nose, her high cheekbone and then down in the hollow of her cheek. By the time he reached the corner of her lip, she was trembling in his arms. Damn, it was glorious.

Slowly, he placed his lips on hers, brushing her mouth closed. He could feel her hesitation, but he repeated the light touch several times as she began to respond, returning the tender kiss. And then he tilted his head to more fully take her lips with his. She slid her hands about his neck, pressing closer to him.

And then he slanted her mouth open, brushing his tongue along her bottom lip. She moaned into his and the sound nearly undid his control. He jerked back, needing to regain some of his composure, but that was a mistake too. Looking down at her, bathed in moonlight, he could see the flush on her cheeks, the passion sparkling in her eyes, the fullness of her dewy lips, fresh from their kiss.

She tightened her fingers on his neck. “I don’t want ye to stop.”

With a groan, he bent his head again, capturing her mouth with his own. She’d become pliant in his arms, her softness molded to his body. He wanted more from her. The press of her flesh without the clothing between them, the ability to kiss every inch of her skin.

Tom tried to rein in his thoughts. This was only a kiss. She belonged to another man. He lifted his head again. “Fiona, we have to stop. You shouldn’t engage in such behavior with a man such as myself.”

She didn’t kiss him again, but she didn’t pull away either. “Ye won’t hurt me.”

“Your confidence is lovely but you shouldn’t.”

She gave a light laugh. “I am confident in ye, but also yer my cousin’s friend and we’re trapped on a ship. If ye compromised me, Colin would see that ye made an honest woman of me.”

He stopped then, giving her a sidelong glance, his stomach clenching. “That is a good point. Except for being tied to a man who isn’t the marrying kind.”

She shrugged. “I’m already tied to a man who isn’t the marrying kind.”

Also true. “He’s an earl, at least. You’ll be well cared for.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Colin said yer very successful. Wouldn’t ye be able to care for a wife?”

He shrugged, finally tearing his gaze from hers. “Not like an earl.”

“Did ye build yer business yerself?” she asked, sliding her fingers into his hair, then gently massaged his scalp.

Closing his eyes, he leaned into the touch. This was what he’d been craving. “I did,” he mumbled, her fingers working deeper into his hair. This was perfection.

“So ye’ve grown a successful business that now supplies the crown with wool? I don’t ken about other women, but I can’t imagine wanting anymore from a husband than that.”

He appreciated the words. She was fulfilling her end of the bargain in saying them. “You’re doing an admirable job of soothing my ego but that can’t be true.”

She stopped her massage. “It is true.” Then she raised up on tiptoe and kissed him again. Long and slow and so soft, he ached. She