Gifts of Desire (31 page)

             
“
Ethan
believed
you
may have gotten lost”
,
he said softly, his voice
hoarse
, as if he found it difficult to speak. 
He took a few steps closer. 
The drums still
thrummed on the breeze
, adding to the
rhythm of her rapidly beating heart.

             
“No, not lost” she answered.
“Just…
taking a moment alone.”  She
looked
up
into his eyes, drawn by a force that seemed so much a part of this night that she did not question it.  The tension crackled between them, thick in the air, pulling, compelling
in the dim light
.  Her already racing heart sped up, her throat felt tight, and her stomach fluttered.  She felt as if her whole life had led up to this moment, and now she stood teetering on the edge
of decision
.
  Only there was really no decision
left
to make
. 

             
She leaned just a little
nearer
to the man who held her
so
captivated. 
She wanted nothing more than to melt into him, so that nothing could tear them apart. 
He sucked in his breath, and she
could feel
the power she held over him. 
The power of a woman over a man. 
Reaching up, she drew her fingers softly down his cheek, trailing them lower, across his chest.  She felt the muscles flex
in response
through the thin
fabric
of his shirt.  He trembled, and she knew he held himself back,
but
just barely.  She flattened her palm against the hard planes of his chest, and felt his heart pounding as urgently as her own. 
Was it true that she could affect him so, this powerful and fearless warrior? 
It felt
so right, being here with him.  S
he felt as wild and free as the nig
ht around her, and still the drums
sounded
in the distance
, with the rhythm of a swiftly beating heart
.
  Would he turn and leave her?  Run from her again?
 

             
“
Ceann
”, she breathed, her fingers tightening against his chest in a silent plea
to stay
.

             
He growled low and threw his head
back
, looking askance at the moon, trying to hold onto his last vestige of self control.  But
then
it slipped away
on the breeze
, and at last he let it go
.  He swore softly as he fell upon her, taking her mouth
. 
Just one kiss, one
more
moment to feel complete
. 
But it could never be enough.  The moment their lips touched he was consumed by an intense heat, and a need so great that it could not be contained.  He deepened the kiss, fisting his hands in her hair to hold her at
the
mercy
of his hunger
.
  He kissed her so deeply that his teeth clashed against hers; and it was still not enough.
 
In the back of his mind he thought he must be frightening her, should dou
btless stop, should pull away…
but then her hands came up around his neck to
bring
him even closer.  He groaned low in his throat as her body pressed against him.  He was burning out of control,
about to go
beyond conscious thought
;
he wanted only
to relieve the terrible ache
, to bring her closer still
, to be one
.
  His hands
slid over her body, touching the curve of her breast, cupping her bottom as
his hips
thrust against her, helpless to stop himself. 
His hands moved to pull at
the laces of her gown.  He needed to see her, all of her, kiss her creamy skin, hold her body against his. 
Then he would stop
.
He would
be satisfied with touching her, holding her
.
 
But he knew that now for the lie it was. 
At last the
gown
fell away, leaving her in just a
thin white
shift. 

***

             
Two figures watched from some distance away, safely concealed by the forest.  Iona placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.  “Come, leave them be now.  This night will see your friend
and brother
free at last.” 

             
Ethan could not look away, captivated by the sight of the two lovers.  “Are you certain?”

             
She smiled coyly.  “Aye.  ‘Tis certain he will take her this night, and once he mates with the woman born only for him, he will want no other.”

             
Ethan grinned.  “Chained to one woman for life, the poor bastard.”  He looked back and caught a glance of Ella’s form, barely visible in the moonlight.  “But… I suppose there could be worse things.”

             
Iona cuffed him playfully and then dragged him away by the ear.  “I think, Ethan, that a nice swim in the cold loch would do you good.”

             
“Aye, I think you’re right.”

***

             
Ella
knew
then
beyond a doubt that this was right
, this moment between them
.  She could feel it in her very bones that she was meant to be here
,
like this, with this man. 
All doubts were gone from her mind, yet i
n spite of the
fire
that flared
between them, she could sense his hesitation.  He was still trying to keep himself from her, only t
onight he was losing the battle against his passion, and his will.
  She
would
yet
see him lose the
entire
war
, she vowed
. 
Leaning
back, she grasped the fabric of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, catching her breath at the sight of his bare chest.  It was smooth with sculpted muscle, and as she drew her hands across, it felt warm
and hard
under her fingertips
.  She pressed her lips
there;
she inhaled the musk of his skin,
and
again
felt t
he fierce pounding of his heart.
 
S
he trailed kisses across to his nipple.  When she swirled her tongue there
he drew in a sharp breath and lunged for her, again claiming her mouth, overwhelming her with his
need
. 

             
His hands were everywhere at once,
mindless with desire,
needing
desperately to remove the last barriers between their naked skin.
  Finally he tore the thin shift from her body
and it fell to the ground.  Ella fumbled for
the buckle of his belt, and
began to unfasten it.  His hand came
firmly
down on top of hers, stopping her.  He could not keep it from trembling
violently
.  He looked at her with eyes dark with torment and
lust
, his breath coming in short
ragged
gasps.
 

             
“
Ella
… are you certain? 
I
… I
won’t
be able to
…
I don’t think I can…
stop.”

             
She looked up at him
, defiantly holding his gaze as she pulled the belt away and the pleated fabric fell away from his hips. 
She let her fingers dip down to brush against the
rock-
hard
proof
of his desire.  He shuddered and
a pained gasp escaped his lips, his muscles straining as if held by invisible bonds.

             
“
Ella
…” he bit out.

             
She stepped
nearer
and leaned her body
close to
his
, pressing her bare stomach against his hardness
.  She felt the
bonds
of his restraint
break
as if a physical thing
.

             
“
Christ
, I
warned
you
….” he growled. 
 

             
Before
Ella
could even draw her next breath she found herself atop the pile of discarded clothing
, cradled in
Ceann
’s arms as he kissed her with such intensity and
need
that for a moment she could not breathe.  But as he moved to kiss her neck, her jaw, her
ear, her desire grew to rival his own
.  When he
took her breast into his mouth
,
sucking hungrily,
she sobbed and twined her fingers in his hair
.
  She had waited so long for this moment.  She writhed against him, trying to press closer, to feel every inch of his warm naked skin against hers. 
God, she was in heaven. 
His hands were everywhere at once, his lips hot on her flesh, on her mouth,
overwhelming her
until she arched her hips against him in a silent
demand
.  Then she felt him shift, felt the tip of him press against her
opening
. 
There would be no return from
this moment
. 

             
Her head fell back and she
waited, looking up to see the moon above them, its pale light reflecting softly off of
Ceann
’s face as he looked down
at her face
. 
She knew there would be pain, the first time, but she didn’t care.  She would endure any amount of pain to have Ceann this close to her. 
To have him at all. 
The moment seemed to hang suspended in time between them, waiting
… waiting…
for everything to change.

             
Ceann
couldn’t stand it any longer, he had to be inside her
,
now
, or he would certainly die of it.
  He had given her the opportunity to stop him, even knowing that she
wouldn’t have been able to
, not now
, not anymore
. 
It had gone too far.  He could no more keep himself from taking her than he could refuse his next breath. 
He
held himself there
, every muscle tense, trembling, fighting to hold back.  When
she looked into his eyes and lifted her hips against his
, his control finally shattered. 

     “I’m sorry… I can’t wait…”

    
H
e
moaned
low
and harsh and thrust into her, hard.
 
The pleasure that he felt as her body yielded to him was so intense
that
it was almost
unbearable, b
ut then
an awareness
slowly penetrated his lust-crazed mind.  H
er body
had clenched
briefly
with pain
.
  He had felt something break…
  He loo
ked down at her, incredulous.  He was the first; s
he had been a virgin, after all. 
Bloody, bloody
, bloody
hell!
 
God, what had he done? 
But he was lost now,
it
felt too good. 
His body was not going to listen to his protests any longer. 
Heaven.  He had to move…
had to
.
 
Christ
, I can’t control it
.  I don’t want to
.

             
“I’m sorry”, he mumbled against her hair, and thrust deeper.

             
“
No,
not
sorry…
”
she told him.  But he was already in the grip of passion again,
frenzied,
thrusting hard and fast, even as her hips rose to meet hi
m. 
There was pain, yes, but the pain was overwhelmed
by all of the other sensations coursing through her body.  The weight of him covering her, the musky smell of his skin and sweat, the friction of his hard body against hers
, the incredible fullness
of him stretching her
where they were joined
.
She writhed against him
, her breath coming in little gasps and sighs.  Nothing else on earth could bring such perfect ecstasy as this…
she felt…
completed; whole like she had never felt before, as if there had always been a piece missing and she hadn’t even known
it was gone
until now
.