The Sinner

He had one hand on her breast, massaging and kneading, as he held her buttocks with the other. His tongue and breath were hot in her ear. “You’ve too many clothes on. I must feel ye.”

She heard the ping of buttons as he pulled her bodice down.

“Aye,” she breathed when his rough palm cupped her bare breast. Her head fell back against the door. She was lost in a haze of desire as he squeezed her nipple and dragged his tongue and lips along the side of her throat.

“I need ye now,” he said, panting against her ear. “Oh, please, Glynis, right now.”

Aye. Now. She tugged at his shirt, but they were pressed too tightly together. His mouth covered hers again as he moved his hips away just long enough to jerk his shirt up.

“Oh!” She felt the tip of his shaft against her. When he paused, squeezing his eyes shut, she dug her fingers into his shoulders. “Now, Alex. Now.”

He made a strangled sound, and in one deep stroke, he was inside her. She wrapped her legs tighter around his hips. She bit his shoulder as Alex’s control broke, and he rammed against her, again and again. Her back banged against the door, and she didn’t care.

“Harder, harder,” she cried, as their bodies slammed together. She heard herself scream as he surged against her, and a shattering rapture shook her.

Alex collapsed against her, his body hot, his breathing harsh against her ear. She shivered as he ran his hands along her thigh and over her hip.

“Hold on to me,” he said, and then he carried her to the bed. With one hand, he pulled the bedclothes back and then fell sideways with her across the bed.

“By the saints, ye nearly killed me,” he said. “But it was like touching Heaven.”

He enfolded her in his arms and slung his leg over her as well. She fell sound asleep surrounded in his warmth.

Glynis didn’t know how long she had been sleeping when she was awakened by a breeze tickling her face. She opened her eyes to find Alex blowing on her.

“Why are ye doing that?” she asked with a slow smile.

“I woke up and wanted your company,” he said. “Do ye mind?”

“Nay.”

“Ye see, I’ve been lying here thinking of ways to make up for being useless the night of our wedding.” He had a devilish glint in his eyes that made the room suddenly seem warm. “I probably know a few things we haven’t tried yet.”

It would be easy to let him distract her, but Glynis had a serious question.

“Why did ye get so drunk that night?” she asked.

“I hadn’t seen Connor, Duncan, and Ian in a long while and—”

“I think it was something else,” she said.

Alex looked away and did not speak for a while. Finally, he said, “Ye know I had never wanted to marry—you’ve met my parents, so now ye know why.”

Her stomach tightened, but she had asked the question so she should have been ready to hear the answer.

“When they arrived at Dunscaith, it brought all that back to me—the bickering and fighting, the endless misery between them.” He turned his gaze back to her and touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. “It worried me for a bit, but it didn’t last.”

“I’m glad ye told me the truth,” she said. “I want ye to promise ye will never lie to me.”

“I won’t lie to ye,” Alex said. “And now I’ll tell ye what I want.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“I am happy to fight my clan’s enemies—in truth, I enjoy it—but I don’t want to fight with you.”

“We might argue once in a while,” she said.

He shrugged. “I want things peaceful between us.”

Glynis suddenly felt uncomfortable with her gown bunched around her. She sat up on the edge of the bed and tried to untwist it. “I hope I can find a needle and thread so I can fix my gown myself. If I have to ask one of the servants to do it, they’ll be talking about us for weeks.”

“Let’s take your gown off all the way,” he said, trailing his finger over her bare shoulder. One light touch, and she was like soft butter. What this man did to her.

He sat up and unfastened the rest of the buttons down her back and then pressed soft, warm kisses down to the base of her spine. Then he pushed her gown down farther and nipped at her bottom, sending little thrills of sensation that echoed in a tightening of her womb.

“Stand up so we can get this off ye,” he said.

When she rose up, he helped her step out of her gown. Then with sure hands on her hips, he pulled her back to sit between his legs. He moved her hair to one side and kissed her neck while one hand fondled her breast and the other inched up the inside of her thigh.

“When ye said ye wanted company,” she said, “I thought ye meant ye wanted someone to talk to.”

“I do,” he said. “I want ye to tell me all the ways ye want me to touch ye.”

“This is good,” she managed to say, as he started stroking and circling between her legs. She let her head drop