The Highlander's Conquest (21 page)

Shadows crossed over his features, and Aliah realized she might have said too much. She didn’t want this moment to be ruined, didn’t want it to end.
Not until they’d both found release as one.
Reaching up she pressed her lips to his, sliding her tongue along his lower lip. Blane growled deep in his throat, his hand pressing to the back of her head. He kissed her deeply, saying so much more with that kiss than what he was willing to with speech. Aliah understood it, accepted it, drank it in.

Her plan would work, she was sure of it.
N
ow was not the time for talking, and she knew that too. Now was the time for making love.

Blane caressed her every
where
, stroking, tickling, massaging. His lips pressed hotly to her breasts, his tongue teasing her turgid nipples. She did the same to him, delighting in the feral moan that came from deep in his throat. Aliah grew bold, sliding her hands
over his chest, the light crisp hairs tickling her fingertips. Bolder still she was, touching his thighs, running her nails lightly over the muscles. Aliah touched him everywhere as he’d done to her. Hips, chest, back, arms. His body was so different from her own, enticing her to do things, to feel things, she’d not imagined possible. Then she grew boldest of all, stroking
down his muscled belly to the thick shaft that jutted from his pelvis. She took hold, wrapping her fingers around his length, marveling at the breadth of him, and the silky feel of his flesh.

“Och, lass…” he trailed off. The veins in his neck pulsed, and his face looked strained. He was losing control.

Aliah stroked upward, brushing over the tip which made him gasp and made her all the more eager to do so again. He crushed his mouth to hers as she stroked him, laying claim to her just as she was doing to him. Then his fingers touched the folds of her sex, slipping between. He
slid
one inside her, stretching her. It felt so good… Aliah moane
d and squeezed his shaft as he pushed
another finger inside
.

“Do ye like that?” he asked between kisses and nips of her lips.

“Aye,” she moaned.

“God, lass…
Ye’ll
have me undone
a
fore my next breath.” With those words he swiped her hand from his shaft and settled more fully between her thighs
, the tip
of his member pressing against her opening.

“I want ye now, Aliah. Tell me ye want me too. If ye want to stop, we can. I promise.” His voice was husky, filled with tension and desire.

“Nay, I want y
ou
,” she whispered, lifting her hips.

“Thank ye…” Blane took her mouth once more in a carnal kiss, making her delirious, making her forget
…everything but him
.

When she thought she’d drown with passion, he thrust his hips forward, sinking his shaft deep inside her. A pinch of pain vibrated from her core, and she whimpered.
Glenda was right about something else after all.
Blane stilled his movements. Placing a hand on either side of her face, he brushed
stray
hairs and a few tears away.
He stretched her, filled her. Although she’d feared he wouldn’t fit, somehow he’d managed to push inside her.

“Aliah, look at me.”

Swallowing, she blinked open, staring into his
darkened
eyes. His face was calm, showing a shadow of concern.

“Are ye all right?” he asked. “Did it hurt much?”

She nodded, shook her head. Licked her lips.
Shifted. Something happened. The pain dissipated and was replaced with a needy, aching throb.
“It hurt a little, but I’m starting to feel a better.” She
move
d beneath him and pleasure washed over her. She did it again, disbelieving, and was once
more
rewarded with the same sort of delicious frissons that shot through her when he’d kissed her
there
. “Oh…” she murmured.

“Feels good?”

“Aye.”

Blane shifted too, pulling his hips away, his shaft dislodging from inside her, making her feel empty. That didn’t last long though as he slowly, gently
pushed
back inside and sparks of wondrous sensation lit through her.

“What about now?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “Oh, aye.” She was surprised with the sound of her own voice. It didn’t sound like her. Sounded like a completely different woman. A sensual woman. A woman who knew what she wanted.

Blane touched his forehead to hers, inhaling deeply. “Och, woman…”

Aliah lifted her knees higher around his hips, feeling compelled to hook her ankles at his hips. He sank
deep
er inside her and the sensation was even
more powerful
.

“
Ye’ll
be the death of me,” Blane said huskily as he continued his measured movements.

Aliah grew restless, wishing he would… What? She wanted to shout out with pleasure, with frustration. She bucked her hips upward, dug her nails into his shoulders, kissed his neck, his lips, sucked on his tongue.

“Blane, please,” she begged, not even sure what exactly it was she was pleading for.

“What, tell me?”

“I don’t know, I simply want…” She moaned as he quic
kened the pace, thrust harder. “Oh
!”

“This is what ye desire?”

She nodded, arching her back.

“I want to please ye,” he whispered against her ear as he licked the shell and
scraped his teeth over
the
lobe
.

“You please me,” she answered, her hands brushing hard down his back, sinking into the muscles, pressing him even closer than he already was. “Do I…please you?” she panted, her insides quivering, muscles constricting.

“In so many ways,” he answered.

Blane
stroked her hair, her cheeks, kissing her tenderly over her face, then moving toward her neck and kissing her at the hollow and side until she shivered and her nipples
tingled
.

The
time for talking came to an end as they both sought to pleasure the other and to hold back as much as they could from release.
Restraint made the pleasure all the more intense. Aliah’s limbs shook uncontrollably and Blane’s muscles trembled under her fingertips. Both of them panted
and moaned beneath the moonlit falls
. The noises they made were couple
d
with the splash of the waterfall. Anytime she came across a waterfall in the future, she’d never be able to look at it the same way again. Thoughts of Blane, of this most perfect, sensuous moment would forever cross her mind.

“I dinna think I can hold back much
longer
,” Blane ground out.

“Then don’t.”

He obeyed her, quickening his pace, gripping her buttocks and lifting her higher. His lips captured hers as he
drove
repeatedly deep inside her. Aliah rose with each of his thrusts, meeting his hips.
She clung to him, traveling with Blane to the heights of passion they created.

“Please…tell me your release is within reach,” he said.

Aliah sought to find her voice, nearly choking when she did.
If he meant that powerful fire…
“Aye!”

If possible, he thrust harder, deeper, taking complete control of her body. Tremors began in her core, radiating outward. Her mind became blank of anything beyond ecstasy, Blane, love. When the eruption occurred, Aliah cried out
his
name, her entire being
quak
ing with exquisite pleasure.

“Aliah!” Blane called, shuddering above her.
His entire body trembled and a guttural groan echoed from his lips making her shiver.
He thrust deep once, twice, then a third time before becoming still.
Blane
collapsed nearly on top of her, save for his elbows bearing the brunt of his weight.

They were silent for
several minutes, their heavy breaths mingling with the sounds of the waterfall
. Their limbs entwined, fingers laced through one another’s, surrounded by the heat they’d created and the beauty of nature.

At some point, Blane climbed up and ripped a cloth from his pack, wetting it in the falls
, sprinkles dripping down his thick arm
. He brought the chilly watered rag between her thighs
. She jumped from the frigid
cloth
touching the very
heat of her
, but soon welcomed the
coolness
as he washed
her.

They gazed into each other’s eyes as he did it. The significance of what had just happened was not lost on Aliah. She’d made love to a man. But not just any man—Blane. Love gripped her heart, making it clench. She wished more than anything to share with him how she felt, but knew that it was not the right time.

Blane collapsed beside her, pulled her flush against him and wrapped them up in the plaid.
Warmth encompassed her.

“Ye are,” he paused, “everything a man could ever dream of.”

The enormity of his words filled Aliah’s heart with happiness. In his own way, he shared her feelings.

Smiling to herself, after several minutes
Aliah
whispered,
“
I would not have given myself to another
.
”

Blane snored softly. He’d not heard her admission. She didn’t let disappointment shadow the beauty of what they’d done together. Instead, she curled up in his warmth and vowed to make him see the right of things.

Chapter
Twenty

B
lane woke refreshed. Stretched his arms over his head. He hadn’t slept so well in months. A movement o
f warm, naked flesh against his
jolted him.

Aliah.

The enormity of what happened the night before came ricocheting to the front of his mind.

He’d taken her virginity.

Bastard
. He was a complete and utter fool. In what world had he thought such an act
would be
acceptable? Did he think he could bed her and just toss her aside? While the prospect of having her at his side for a lifetime filled him with joy, it also caused him a wagon load of anxiety.

Guilt over his past ate at him. He couldn’t bring her into his damaged world. Couldn’t expect her to nod and smile as he left time and again on the many journ
eys he took throughout the year—bent on revenge and nothing more.

Aliah deserved better
than that.

And now he’d taken the most precious
thing she had. The bargaining c
hip she had for a good marriage. The virtue she needed to join the church. He’d forever ruined her. Not to mention a child could be begotten from this joining. Blane wished he could blame drink for his lack of thought, but that was not the case. He’d had only a few sips while they lay on the blanket at camp waiting for the wild pig
to roast. Nay, he’d been clear-
headed as he made love to her. And enjoyed every damn minute of it.

Tossing his arm over his head, he tried not to groan aloud as he thought of ever
y
possible repercussion from his selfish act. Aliah was sure to hate him the moment she woke. She was sure to curse him to Purgatory. Her father—once he was located, since he’d not yet been found when Blane left Dunrobin—would seek retribution.
That was another thing. When Aliah realized he’d lied about her father, she’d never trust him again.
Magnus and Arbella would surely take him to task.

Damn
.

Aliah shifted again beside him, her silky arse rubbing against his hip. She moaned a little in her sleep, reminding him of the way she’d responded to him the night before. The woman was a hellcat. A fiery, passionate lover. Admittedly, a large part of him was proud to have been her first love
r
. An even larger part never wanted her to love another again.

Mayhap it was possible for them to be together. A war started inside him between his desire for a life with Aliah in it, and the revenge he sought against his parents’ murderers. Blane had always thought to condemn himself to a life of work. Never thought to allow himself the indulgence of a family, people to love and who loved him in return.

From the moment he’d met Aliah, that desire, that need for his own family had begun to niggle its way inside his thoughts, his heart. What had she done to him? Turned him from a hard, vengeance
-
seeking warrior, to a lovesick pup. He
had to harden his heart. He couldn’t allow that to be the way of it. He had to be strong. Finding his parents’ killers was his number two
priority—number one having always been to take care of the clan the best way he could.

Where would Aliah fit into his plans?

She wasn’t likely to want to travel with him to market—and he wasn’t likely to let her. Too dangerous. He didn’t want her in the middle of any skirmishes, didn’t want her exposed to so much danger in the wild. Besides that, with each trip to market he made, he tracked clues to his parents’ killers. That was not something
he ever wanted to expose her to
.
Not while the bastards still lived.

There was no room for her in his life. Not yet anyway. If he ever came to find and
slayed
the murderers, it was possible… But who knew when that was going to be, and Blane couldn’t ask her to wait for him until then. He wouldn’t be able to explain to her why he asked her to wait, and she wouldn’t understand his request. Women wanted answers and Aliah in particular didn’t like not being informed. Such a bid wouldn’t sit well with her, would only make her angry, and then she’d most likely
resent him
.

Truth be told, as much as he wanted to try and make it work, he had some serious doubts.

“Good morning,” Aliah murmured, rolling over and tossing a long, lithe leg over his thigh.

She had the body of a goddess and he couldn’t help sliding his hand up the proffered leg.
He glanced down to see her bright blue eyes gazing into his, filled with tenderness. There had to be a way… Or else he had to put her aside now. And he couldn’t do that. Not yet.

“Good morning, lass.” Blane kissed her forehead, breathing in her
lemon
-scented hair, enjoying the softness of her skin.

“How did you learn to speak with an English accent?” she asked, her
voice still sleepy
. “You speak it so well, I’d not be able to tell that your true voice is so filled with a brogue.”

Blane chuckled. “’Twas actually a game when I was a child. The English
have long been a thorn in a Scotsman’s life
. My father brought many
Sassenach
prisoners
home. Mimicking them,
I used to walk around the bailey and keep pretending to be a
Sassenach
coward. The other children gained a lot of laughs from it and even my parents—” He paused a moment, his smile faltering, not having spoken of his parents in some time. “Even they thought it was good entertainment. So, I suppose, practicing so much at a young age helped me to hone it well.”

Aliah smiled. “Sounds like you were quite a jester as a child.”

“Aye.” Until that fated day… He still play-acted for the others, but it was never the same. From that moment he practiced so he might one day find the vile lechers who’d taken his parents from him.
“What of ye? Were ye a jester? Somehow I dinna think so.”

With a brow raised, she imitated his brogue, “Oh? What makes ye think I
wasna
funny?”

Blane chuckled, “
Ye’re
terrible!”

Aliah smacked his shoulder, bit him gently. Blane rolled over, pinning her beneath him.

“Ye were the serious type, I gather. Your head in a book. Praying for every childhood mishap that befell ye and mayhap even taking penance for the sins of others.”

Aliah gasped in mock exasperation, then sighed deeply. “Y
ou
’re right. Last night was the first time I’ve ever done anything for myself.”

Mentioning what had happened the night before made Blane’s blood run hot, surging toward his cock faster than an arrow to its target. Aliah’s eyes widened, feeling his arousal pressed so hotly against her.

“’Twas the same for me,” Blane whispered, seriously. “We both took what we wanted.”

“And we gave…”
She bit
her lip.

“Aye.”
H
e wanted to give again
—which he did with gusto.

Their bodies satiated and slick from lovemaking, Blane
rolled to the side.

Several moments of silence passed before Aliah spoke again. “Where will we rendezvous with your men?”

Reality came crashing back. “We shall meet them at the hollow tree.”

“Where is that?”

“’Tis a short ride from here.”

“Will they be waiting
?
”

“Aye, most likely they’ve sent out scouts already.” His men would have found the spot he’d shouted to Liam before riding away, after the skirmish with whoever surrounded them. But his men would have also known that Blane would find a safe spot for Aliah before risking
darkened
woods
and their capture
to find the hollow tree.

“What is the hollow tree?” Aliah’s fingers drew light circles over his chest, driving him wild.

He clapped a hand over hers, flattening it to his chest. “’Tis a tree we’ve marked as one of the many rendezvous points along our route in case we are separated.”

“Have you had to meet them there before?”

“Only once.”

“What happened?”

“English.” Blane lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingertips. “We’d best dress and head out.”

“Aye. Our clothes are most likely dry by now.”

“Hopefully. We
willna
dress until we reach the other side. Dinna want our clothes to get wet again.”

Aliah nodded, her cheeks turning pink.

“Come, let us depart, else they
may
happen
up
on us when ye stand so gorgeously nude along the
water
’s edge.”
His words had Aliah bouncing to her feet, and Blane itching to reach out and touch the lushness of her skin, the curves of her hips and rear. Her rosy nipples were hard as her breasts swayed while she walked to gather their garments. Seeing them standing, Frosty jumped from his spot near the waterfall as if he’d only just noticed their presence.

“Here, I’ll put the items in my pack.”

Aliah handed him all of their clothes, and he rolled up the plaid they’d slept in, then strapped the pack to his back
and secured his weapons
. For a moment, he thought about pulling her into his arms, carrying her into the water, then thought better of it. If her silky skin touched his… They’d not be leaving this cave for at least another hour.
With that thought, he plunged into the
icy
water, careful to keep his pack dry.

Frosty followed him, splashing hard and a more timid
Aliah slipped into the water with a squeal,
her womanly curves quickly concealed by the frothy swirls.
A swift rush of desire filled him and along with it a tender, cramping in his heart. He thrust his feelings aside.
While he’d
originally
told himself that she could be his
for last night only, he wanted her all the more now
.
For more than lovemaking. But in all reality, o
nce they reached Dunrobin, she
could
no longer
be
a part of his world.
How could she? Her father would surely never allow it… And yet…

When they reached the bank, Blane tossed Aliah her clothing
as she shivered and rubbed her hands furiously over her limbs. He had to use
sheer force of will not to look at her. But dammit, he couldn’t help a peek or two as she slid her chemise over her head and all her creamy skin disappeared. Now that the garment was dry, it wasn’t as easy to make out her form beneath it. That didn’t stop him from imagining though. He’d seen plenty, memorized every detail. Every dip and curve.

“Will you dress or just stand there staring at me out of the corner of your eye?” she asked with smirk on her face.

Blane gritted his teeth at having been caught. So much for subtle.

Aliah stepped forward, her eyes spar
k
ling with mirth. “Not that I mind your state in the least.” Her gaze hungrily devoured his form, and Blane felt his face heat. He was blushing
—again
. With a growl, he yanked his shirt over his head. Once he was dressed he stalked the rest of the way toward her,
haul
ed her up against him and crushed his mouth to hers. Immediately his body was on fire and he was glad to have had the forethought to dress
before taking her into his arms, else he’d have her up against a tree… And in reality that was still a possibility.

Frosty let out howl, baring his teeth at something in the woods.

Yanking Aliah behind him, Blane withdrew his claymore,
standing
at the ready.
Keeping a keen ear for any sounds out of the ordinary, he watched the forest closely. It appeared normal, peaceful. The branches swayed in the breeze and the morning sun crept down lazily. A few birds called and from his right a squirrel scurried up a tree.