He searched her gaze, saw the amazement and pleasure in her depths and wanted more. Needed more.
If Hayden thought he had yearned before, it was nothing to what flooded through him now. Raw. Primal. Undeniable. It was desire unlike anything he’d ever felt before, rushing through his veins, blinding him to anything but Isla.
He pulled her against his chest, crushing her breasts against him so he could feel every inch of her. He sucked in a breath when her small hands gently, shockingly rousing, caressed his abdomen. Her eyes were wide and luminous as she stared up at him with a mixture of wonder and longing. A heady blend for any man.
She glanced at her hands, as if she had just noticed she caressed him. She swallowed, the pulse beating rapidly at her throat, and skimmed her hands up to his shoulders. Her touch reverent, exciting. And he wanted more.
Hayden tried to give her time to touch him, but need rode him hard. He tilted her face to him and wrapped both arms around her as he kissed her once more. This time he lingered, learning her texture, her taste.
He ran his tongue over her lips, and when she parted them, he swept inside her mouth to lay claim. To conquer and capture.
Hayden groaned at the exquisite taste of her, drowned in desire that swirled around them. She was like mead, sweet and flavorful. And he had to have more.
Hayden angled his mouth over Isla’s, his tongue dancing with hers as he cinched her tighter against him, his arms locking her in place so he could feel her lush, feminine curves. Her hands slid around his neck while her nails gently grazed his scalp and sank into his wet hair.
He felt her give into the kiss, felt her passion surge and manifest. When she kissed him back as flagrantly as he’d kissed her, it left him reeling and needing more. Always more.
Molten desire ensnared him and lured him deeper into the kiss, into Isla’s sweet mouth and sumptuous body. Turning away wasn’t an option now, even though he knew he should.
He teased, he coaxed. He burned. The kiss turned heated and frantic as his passion grew with every touch of her tongue against his.
Unable to keep his hands from her, Hayden learned the feel of her sweet body from her small waist he was sure his hands could span to her ripe breasts.
He cupped a breast, marveling at the weight of it, how it swelled in his hand. His cock jumped when her nipple tightened, the small bud straining into his palm hard and wanting.
Just as he was.
Hayden moaned into her mouth, a mixture of ravenous desire and satisfied male as her back bowed, her body pushing her breast into his hand.
Her fingers spasmed in his hair as he kneaded her breast. Her soft cry was like molten desire as it shot through him straight to his groin. He let his fingers circle her nipple, felt her body tremble.
He let the anticipation build as he got closer and closer to the hard bud. When he finally let his fingers close over her nipple, to expertly tease and pleasure, she moaned softly. He lingered, rolling the tip between his fingers before squeezing lightly.
When she rubbed her body against his, Hayden gloried in the feel of her, in the soft femininity that held him enthralled. He shook with desire. Never had he wanted a woman so. Never had he dreamed he could feel such yearning, such an ache for anyone.
Hayden was stunned by the ardor that blazed within Isla. She, the Druid who always kept her emotions in check, seemed to break out of her shell with his kiss, with his touch.
And Hayden enjoyed it. Maybe too much.
His hands smoothed down her back to cup her bottom and bring her closer to him, to his cock that ached to feel more of her. Her sweet, soft groan when he brought her up against his erection made his knees weak and his longing swell until he was drowning in it. He hungered for her like he’d never hungered for a woman before.
When he began to contemplate laying her on the sand and rocks and cutting away her gown with his claws so he could sink into her wet heat, he knew it was time to end it. For now.
He would have her. It was inevitable now, now that he had tasted her, now that he knew the feel of her body.
Hayden reluctantly ended the kiss and looked down into Isla’s dazed face. Her lips were damp and swollen from his kiss, making his balls tighten.
With her eyes half closed and desire smoldering in her ice-blue depths, Hayden knew he could have her right then and there. It wasn’t the time or the place, though.
He slid his fingers into her long black locks and wound the length around his hand, holding her to him, locking her in place. She was too tempting by far.
She was on her tiptoes and still he had to bend to kiss her, to take her lips once more. He was powerless against his desire for her. As long as she was near, he had to touch her, to have her.
His body shook as he fought against his need to bury himself inside her slick, hot center. His control was slipping away like the sand with the tide.
“You should return to the castle.” His voice sounded gruff even to his own ears.
Isla took a step away from him, her hands skimming his shoulders with her fingertips before falling to her sides. Grudgingly, half fearing he might never hold her again, Hayden released his hold on her hair and her body.
When she didn’t speak, Hayden searched her face for clues as to what she was feeling. There was still desire there, still need, but she was quickly, and all too clearly, regaining her composure.
The man in him roared to remind her how he could make her forget again, how he could call forth her passion with just a kiss.
“We will finish this,” he promised.
SEVENTEEN
Isla stood on the beach long after Hayden had strode away. She could still taste him, still feel him on her mouth and body. She licked her lips and shivered from the passion still inside her. For a moment, she contemplated following Hayden and kissing him again.
She looked down to find the hem of her gown soaked as the water swirled around her. The magic the sea had called forth had been unlike anything Isla had ever experienced. It was raw and pure, much like her need for Hayden.
Desire. Isla fisted her hands and turned her back to the sea. She ignored the jab of the smaller rocks as they bit into her feet. The large boulders called to her to sit and view the beauty of the coast, but she couldn’t.
She had been careful to keep herself from befriending anyone lest Deirdre use them against her as she had with Grania and Lavena. Now, Isla found herself in a situation where she could see herself coming to like Hayden very much. Too much, in fact.
It wasn’t a matter of
Isla looked up at the imposing structure of the castle built on the edge of the cliffs. Through destruction, fire, abandonment, and even isolation, the stones still stood proud and defiant. Much like the MacLeods themselves.
Could she find as much courage in herself? Did she dare?
Isla sat to put her stockings and shoes back on before she started up the path to the castle. She was halfway up when her foot slipped.
A hand grabbed her arm to stop her slide. Isla looked up to find Marcail smiling down at her.
“I think I found you at a good time,” Marcail said.
Isla returned her smile and regained her footing. “Thank you. This path is dangerous. I’m surprised Quinn hasn’t told you not to come down here.”
