Desiring the Highlander (29 page)

Ellenor watched with curiosity to see what Cole planned to do. She had assumed he had been intending to retrieve his horse so they could return to the castle. But when he had put her down, his eyes had become sapphirine fires, nearly burning her with smoldering passion. A long ride back was not what he had in mind.

When Cole reached to strip the plaid blanket from his mount, she guessed his intentions and wrung her hands in anticipation. Her fingertips felt spots of dried blood on her palms she had missed in her hasty cleanup. She looked down at her fingers and the bright moonlight revealed just how bloody her wrists and arms were, but even more so was her gown. She had been so focused on finding Cole she had not realized just how grimy and soiled she had become helping Laurel.

Ellenor glanced at the small ripples sparkling on the loch. Its enticing bank was just a few feet from where she stood. Making a decision, she reached for the strings binding her bliaut and pulled. When Cole took her into his arms, she was not going to be covered in someone else’s blood. Last time, he had kissed and tasted and teased her all over, and Ellenor wanted nothing preventing him from doing so again.

Stepping out of the caked garment, she kicked off her slippers and removed the diaphanous chemise made specifically for the once gorgeous outfit. She dropped a toe into the cool water and shivered, despite the unusual warmth in the air. Fed by the Highland mountaintop snows, the water was significantly colder than that of the rivers she had bathed in during the journey here. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to wade in, unaware of the two eyes following her every movement.

Cole had seen her naked before. He had even seen her wet, emerging from a river after bathing. He had tasted her skin and knew just how sweet it was, but it still had not prepared him for what he had just seen. Maybe it was the knowledge that this time he wouldn’t have to hold back, or that she loved him, or that all that beauty was truly and forever his, but watching her undress and then gracefully glide into the dark waters of the loch had created a storm of need within him that had been unlike anything he had ever felt.

Cole quickly laid out the plaid on the thick yellow grass just beginning to show new spring growth. Walking to the water’s edge, he yanked his belt free, ripped his leine over his head, and dove in.

Ellenor heard the splash and stopped rubbing her skin. She turned toward the sound but saw nothing but ripples of disturbed water. A dark head suddenly emerged and she instinctively screamed and tried to retreat. Cole’s arms stole around her waist and pulled her close. His mouth kissed the valley between her breasts and Ellenor suddenly felt very vulnerable. Last time, Cole had kissed her to a drugged state in which she had been aware only of him.

Ellenor pulled her arms in front of her. Cole chuckled and traced his fingertip across her lower lip. “I love you, Ellenor.”

Ellenor’s heart quickened. The sensual touch, the raspy sound of his voice that echoed her own longings, his eyes gleaming dark and hot—everything about him was weaving a spell about her. Her skin no longer felt cold, and an incredible warmth began to course through her blood and pool in her lower body.

Slowly, she lifted her arms and circled them around his neck. Cole sucked in a quivering breath as she pressed her soft round breasts and belly against his own desperate yearning. He closed his eyes and fought the overwhelming need to plunge inside her. The coldness of the loch’s dark waters was doing very little to help ease the strain. He was afraid to touch her. One more sensation could prove to be too much.

Ellenor drew closer, burying her fingers in the softness of his hair. She felt another shiver run through him and relished the newfound knowledge that she could excite and make this huge Highlander moan with need with just the mere touch of her flesh. Feeling both strangely powerful and safe to be her wild, adventurous self, she let her right hand drop from his hair to his neck, and with a featherlike caress down his spine, dip into the dark waters. Then her fingertips wandered over the dent created by his taut muscles before tightening around the round curve of his cheek.

Suddenly his hardness nestled between them grew longer and became very rigid. Cole groaned, “You’re killing me.”

Ellenor wondered if she had done something wrong, but before she could ask, Cole slid his body down until his lips were level with her nipples. “It’s dangerous to touch a man like that, love. I can barely control myself.”

Ellenor raked her fingers through his hair. “Then don’t,” she whispered and placed a loving kiss on his temple.

He lifted his head and gazed into her deep green eyes. There was no mistaking the yearning in the misty pools. Every nerve, every impulse ached to respond to her beseeching request and fulfill his own desire, which had been building since the day they met. But unless she was there with him, crying out with shared pleasure at the moment of their joining, it would be a hollow gratification. And that would be an even greater pain than the physical discomfort he was experiencing now.

He placed a soft kiss on the inside of one breast. “First, you,” he replied, and then trailed his lips all around the soft mound until he reached its peak. Laving it with his tongue, he took the already hard nipple into his mouth and teased it. His teeth lightly tantalized the pink berry until Ellenor squirmed with growing need. He held her close, massaging the muscles of her back and buttocks.

He finally freed the pink bud, and the moment the air touched the sensitive flesh, Ellenor cried out and arched upward, offering herself to his hungry mouth, hoping he would comply. Cole smiled and then roamed the valley between Ellenor’s breasts until he reached the other creamy mound. He found the nub already taut and waiting for him.

Ellenor was holding her breath, unable to speak, yet wanting to shout for him to take her in his mouth and love her as he was doing before. Slowly, his tongue traced circles around her nipple, until it flicked over the rosy peak. Ellenor gasped and clutched his shoulders. “Cole,” she moaned. It was half plea, half demand for him to do more.

Finally, he captured the throbbing nipple in his mouth and held the bloom between his lips, stroking the sensitive flesh with his tongue. Ellenor cried out and Cole began to suckle. Over and over, he stroked the hardened peak until it quivered, and then he gently pulled on the swollen nub with his teeth.

Cole shook with building need. He wanted to taste all of her, know her, feel her body react to his touch. With his mouth still warm and hot on her breast, his thumb skimmed across her other nipple one last time before sliding down under the water. Slowly his fingers trailed across her hip until he found the soft triangle of hair between her legs. He laced his fingers through its softness and tested her gently with one finger.

Ellenor cried out softly as a deep tremor shook her. She lost control of her legs and felt herself sink into the water before big, warm hands lifted her and carried her to the shore. The last time Cole had touched her like that, he had created a storm of sensations and she had lost control of her body. She wanted that again, but this time she wanted him to lose control with her, and purred her desire in his ear.

Cole almost lost his footing. He had already been shaking, and her nibbling on his earlobe had doubled the intensity growing in his loins, but when she had asked if he would like her to touch him, he had almost fallen. He wasn’t quite sure how he had managed to stay upright.

He made his way to the waiting plaid blanket and then gently eased her down on to the makeshift bed. He began to lower himself along the length of her and stopped halfway. The ground, which had never before seemed so hard, suddenly felt too severe for the soft beauty in his arms. “Are you comfortable?”

Sensing his concern, Ellenor raised an eyebrow mischievously as she slid her palm down his chest, across his belly, and lower until her hand cradled his sex. “Now I am.” She grinned.

“No, Elle…” Cole groaned in protest and was about to stop her, when she started moving the velvety skin up and down over his inner, rock-hard shaft. Instinctively, he pushed himself forward, deeper into her palm, and growled the word “yes” as she kneaded and stroked his flesh. Her semidamp hair had spilled around her head and her eyes glowed with desire as she increased the tempo of her caress. He knew he was about to lose control. Either he lie back and surrender to the climax building within him, or he had to stop her hands before he exploded.

Cole sucked in his breath slowly through his teeth and gathered all his will to pull her hand away. She was about to object when he kissed her heavily, silencing her protest and ending any other thoughts besides him. This time his hands did the roaming.

His thumbs grazed across her nipples and the curve of her hip lifted, pressing into his thigh. His mouth left hers to trail kisses down the side of her throat, until his lips found the softness of her breast and encompassed a pink bud. He began to suckle. She cried out, opening herself to him.

Ellenor lost all power over her body. His velvet tongue was both torture and exciting. And his hands were everywhere, lightly caressing, barely touching. The sensual assault was causing her to writhe and twist with a physical need she could not describe. She didn’t want him to stop what he was doing, but her body was screaming for more. All she could do was cling to his shoulders and say his name. “Ohhhh, Cole.”

Cole released her breast. It was swollen like its mate. Crushing them against his chest, his mouth found hers again with a hungry urgency. And his sweet Ellenor kissed him back, rubbing her hips against his thighs, her body desperate for more. His already aroused shaft tightened even further and the pain from holding back was mounting. He needed to be inside her. She was almost ready.

Reaching down, Cole stroked her from breast to thigh, enjoying her smooth, satiny skin. As he moved his fingers upward, she opened herself to him and arched her hips, hungry for his touch. His heart was pounding as he stopped just shy of the sultry heat that emanated from between her legs. Only his thumb moved in slow torturous circles as he waited.

Ellenor couldn’t take any more. She needed him to touch her soon or she would perish. “Please, Cole,” she begged.

“Please, what, love?”

“Touch me…I need you, please.”

Cole moved then, cupping her gently before easing one finger into her damp heat. Ellenor tipped her head back and a small cry escaped. She could hear the blood pounding in her veins as Cole moved within her, adding one then two more fingers, spreading her narrow passage. Every nerve ending in her body was alive and begging for release. She closed her eyes and forgot everything except for Cole and what he was making her feel.

His fingers probed and stroked, sliding in deeper, exploring her with a level of possessiveness that made her tremble. Then he teased the small female flesh and Ellenor no longer was in her body. The world exploded, just as it had before. This time, though, Cole didn’t hold her and rock her back to Earth.

He was hovering, waiting until she was semiaware of what was happening. “Love, I can’t wait any longer,” he groaned in obvious pain.

Ellenor blinked, trying to understand in her partially drugged state. “Wait? For what?”

“To be inside you, wrapped around me, letting me feel you tremble with need.” And to make sure she understood just what he was saying, he lifted her buttocks and pulled her against him, letting her feel all of him.

Ellenor felt his length. It was hard and impatient as it pulsated against her thigh. He was also huge and suddenly the idea of him being inside her didn’t seem possible…or enjoyable.

Cole settled himself between her legs and watched as the fear of what was to come flashed in her green eyes. He had never bedded a virgin before and doubt swam before him as he fought the fierce desire to bury himself in her. He wanted her to enjoy the experience, not cringe with fear. “Love, I promise to go slow. We were made for each other,” he whispered against her lips, kissing her back into a state of euphoria. He could feel her tension leaving and began to penetrate.

Feeling him inside her, Ellenor’s body clenched in reaction. Cole slowed his entrance but continued pushing against the natural resistance of her wet, tight passage. His breathing became harsh, uncontrolled, and ragged with need, and Ellenor suddenly understood the pain his own patience was causing him. Unwilling to deny him the pleasure he had just given her, Ellenor sucked in her breath and surged her hips upward, sliding his hard shaft in one swift thrust into her, letting it fill her completely.

He was inside her now, throbbing with incredible need, but the desire to quench his physical yearnings ended with her soft wrenched cry of surprise. Holding her closely to him, he whispered promises of never hurting her again. That she meant everything to him and nothing else mattered as long as she loved him.

Ellenor held on to him, listening to his promises and calming down. The unexpected sharp pain of his entry was subsiding and her body was starting to accept him, despite his great size and length. She twisted slightly and the sensation it created caused her to tremble with reawakened desire. She wanted him to move, do something. Her body was screaming for him to finish what he had started.

Cole gripped Ellenor’s hips to steady her rocking movements. She groaned in protest. “Tell me what you want, love.” As badly as he wanted her, he wasn’t going to do anything until she was ready.

“I want you,” she moaned, pushing against his hands, wanting him to move within her.

Cole almost shouted to the heavens in joy as he began to craft a slow pace. Each time he pulled out, Ellenor arched her hips, ready to take him deeper inside, and Cole’s ability to control their lovemaking soon gave way to a primal need that had been waiting for this moment, this woman, since he first understood the urgings of a man.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she surged to meet him with each deep thrust until she was crying out at the wonder of it. Her nails bit into his shoulders. She hadn’t known she could feel like this. His fingers had only introduced her to this world where sensual heat and passion overruled all other sensations. Suddenly her breathing came short and fast, and she felt herself quake with pure, unadulterated joy.