was truly all she’d ever wish to see again of this morning’s events. Brodie Kincade, coming to save her like an ancient warrior.
Oh heavens. Was she falling in love with him?
“Feel better, lass?” His hand cupped her chin, and she opened her eyes. She was lost. There was no other word for it. A knot rose in her throat, and she couldn’t speak. She merely implored him with her eyes to give her what she needed most in that moment. Him.
He leaned in over the tub, his fingers tickling her throat as he touched her. Her body hummed, and soon the hum turned to a passionate throb of need that she’d never experienced before in her life.
“Yes . . .”
“Yes?” He seemed confused.
“I feel better when you touch me. Please don’t stop.” She slowly rose from the bath, and he moved at the same time, reaching for a long cloth to wrap around her. She stepped from the copper tub and into his arms. He pulled her to him, almost roughly, but he seemed to catch himself, and his hands gentled.
“I’m sorry, lass, I dinna mean to be rough like this. ’Tis just that I want you so much.” His face turned a little red, and he pressed his forehead to hers. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply.
“I want you too,” she admitted. “So much it hurts.”
He exhaled a shaky breath. “I shouldna take you, lass. I’ve done nothing but put you in danger and hold you against your will. You canna want me or this . . . not now.”
“Shouldn’t I decide that?” she challenged in a whisper. “You haven’t been a gentleman, and now is certainly not the time to start. You promised me wicked things,” she reminded him. His gray-blue eyes darkened with passion, and she was lost all over again to this devastating man.
“I did promise that.” His lips curved in the slow smile that undid her.
“Then you had best deliver it, Scot,” she teased. “I’m here . . . I’m willing and begging you.”
“Never tempt a Scot, lass,” he warned. His eyes glowed like diamonds submerged in dark pools.
“Oh?” She slowly pulled the cloth away from her body, and he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her down upon it with surprising tenderness, and she did her best to resist the urge to cover her body. She had never been fully naked with a man before. She’d never been anything with a man before, and this was exciting and frightening.
Brodie swept his gaze over her body, bold and unapologetic. “You are more bonnie than I could’ve dreamed of, lass.” He stared at her for a long moment, and her heart raced as he began to undress. She took pleasure as he bared his body to her, for her. His strong arms flexed as he stripped down to nothing but his bare skin. Then he came toward her again.
Lydia swallowed nervously. How could he seem bigger when he was naked? Surely it couldn’t be possible, yet it was. He crawled onto the bed toward her and caged her beneath him. She melted in pleasure as he kissed her, long, slow, and deliciously open-mouthed. She adored the way he kissed, like he was hoping to get slapped for it. It was wicked, just as he was, and she couldn’t get enough.
She raised one of her hands to his chest, wanting desperately to touch him. He didn’t stop her. His skin was warm, and his muscles moved beneath her palms as he shifted his weight and settled on top of her. She parted her legs to allow him to settle into the cradle of her thighs. It was the oddest sensation to both want him inside her and to be afraid of it, but Brodie seemed to be in no hurry. He continued to kiss her leisurely, nibbling on her lips until she almost giggled. Somehow in that moment as they kissed and before he claimed her fully, a delicate invisible thread was spun between them by some ancient cosmic weaver.
“Please, Brodie. I need more,” Lydia said with a sweet, aching desperation.
“Yes, my bonnie lass.” He gently nipped her neck, and she moaned as he moved his hand down between their bodies. She tensed a little as he lifted his hips and gripped his shaft.
“Oh, lass, I hate to hurt you,” he warned, and she bit her lip the second he breached her, hard and fast.
The sharp pinch would have