“Business on the morrow, then,” said Andrews joining them, and the three unlikely partners had a drink to the new start.
27
Rachel was so exhausted from the revelries of the evening that she could hardly climb the stairs to the room she and Adam would share. Well, continue to share, she thought with a sleepy laugh, as it was where she had first stayed in the house some weeks ago. She wasn’t sure how all the Highlanders were all able to stay awake for so long. She could hardly keep her eyes open, and she was one of the first to retire. Adam followed her up the stairs, and she let out a bit of a shriek when he perhaps saw her fatigue and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her the rest of the way.
He carried her through the doorway to the bedroom, before gently laying her down on the bed. He looked down at her, a bit of a wicked grin on his face.
“How tired are you, wife?”
Her eyes flew open. “I am suddenly not so very tired any longer,” she said, feeling rather shy, though why she wasn’t sure. She had known this man before, and yet then it had seemed like something of the dream, while this felt all so real.
The smile remained on his face, however, and she focused on that. She loved to see the grin break through when he was usually so serious, and she would do all she could to keep it there. She sat up and he drew her to him. “You made me a very happy man today, Rachel,” he said softly as his mouth neared hers, brushing a kiss on the corner of her lips.
She felt her eyes close as he continued to rain soft kisses over her face, and her belly tightened in anticipation before spreading heat lower within her. “What are you doing to me?” she gasped as he turned his attention to the skin that swelled above the top of her dress, and as he inched the lace lower, he trailed kisses along the newly exposed flesh.
“I am making love to my wife,” he said, his hands coming to her hips, and she felt the hard length of him pressed up against her through his kilt. A moan began to climb in her throat as she felt a returning, aching pressure pulsing inside her, and she moved against him in an attempt to ease that ache. He groaned at her effort as he ran his hands up and down her hips in rhythm with her movements.
He reached his hands around her back, fumbling for a moment as he began to undo the row of tiny buttons that climbed the back of her dress. She tried not to laugh as he muttered and cursed his way through it, before finally sighing in relief as the dress gave way. He worked the material down her body until the white fabric pooled over the floor underneath them. He lifted her shift up over her head before tossing it away as well.
She felt rather than saw the heat of his stare, and she lifted her arms to cover herself. She knew she had the look of a boy rather than a young woman, her breasts small and her body rather unshapely.
“Do not,” he said harshly. “You are beautiful and I want to see all of you.”
She heard the desire in his voice, and let her arms fall to the side. He looked at her in worship and wrapped his palm around a small breast, deliberately exploring it. Her breath caught in her throat as he caught the small pink tip of her breast, rubbing it back and forth. He teased it until her hips began to buck against him, wanting more than he was giving her.
“You are exquisite,” he whispered, dipping his head, his lips coming around the bud of her nipple. He suckled, and she would have collapsed had he not been holding her. He guided her down to the bed, never breaking contact with her. He left her breast for a moment, only to bring his tongue to the other.
She bit her lip so as to not cry out too loudly, and he lifted a knee to gently nudge her legs apart. She felt his rigid, hard thigh against her core, and she could not keep herself from moving against him. She struggled to breathe and moaned, feeling scandalous and yet unable to help her response to him. What she truly felt was a hunger for more of him.
“I have been waiting to feel this again, ever since our time together in the cottage,” he whispered against her ear. “It has been far, far too long.” He kissed her neck, sending a shiver down her spine. She could no longer speak, but simply reveled in his strength and power, hardly believing that he could be so tender and yet evoke such strong emotions from her. He slid his hand atop her, and found her center with the pad of his thumb.
“Adam,” she cried, reflexively squeezing him with her thighs. He continued, palming her, apparently lost in his actions as Rachel let her legs fall open, wanting more of him. He slid a finger inside her, and she nearly came apart, her head falling back as she softly panted. He pushed back from her for a moment, and she felt utterly bereft until she saw he was dispensing of his kilt, untying the beautiful plaid, and pulling the leine over his head until he stood in front of her.
She could hardly breathe as she took in the beauty of the tight, corded muscles of his body. As he leaned over her again, she ran her fingertips along his biceps as they strained, holding himself up above her. She trailed her hands up, over his shoulders and down his chest, along
