Part 19 (1/2)

”You know how I told you about MacAllister, the man that my father had wanted me to marry?”

”Yes, how could I forget the b.a.s.t.a.r.d?” Devon said, tensing beneath me.

”He sent it to me as a betrothal gift,” I said, face flus.h.i.+ng with color as I remembered opening the package. I had always loved to read and initially I was overjoyed to have a book of my own. And then, I opened the cover and saw the pictures. ”When I opened it and I saw what it was about, I threw it into the fire,” I said quietly, remembering the sickening feeling that had overtaken me as I understood the true meaning of MacAllister's gift.

”A betrothal gift! What a disgusting man,” Devon seethed, imagining what audacity it had taken for the old man to send such a manual to his bride-to-be.

”How do you know of it?” I asked, intrigued.

”Well, my Da sent me to France when I was sixteen. For boarding school, ye ken. It's pretty normal for the second son to go away to learn the art of war and the French are known the world around for their crafty war tactics. Aye, that feels good,” he said in reference to my hand working the tension out of his neck.

I couldn't imagine what a journey this must have been for Devon. France must have seemed a world away from all that he had known.

”I'll not lie tae ye, Kate. Ye ken that I've bedded women before ye and that's where I learned of the Kama Sutra. It was no but a means to satisfy the needs of the flesh, the needs of a boy. They meant nothing tae me, Kate,” he said, lifting my chin and forcing my eyes to meet his steely gaze.

I hated the thought of him being with other women and I quickly looked away.

”Look at me, Kate,” he demanded, again using his forefinger under my chin to force my eyes to meet his. ”They meant nothing tae me. They meant nothing tae me, and you mean everything,” his green eyes were intense, sincere. ”You are everything tae me. Until I had you, I lived only for myself. I had no fear in battle. Now, I live for ye, for the fact that I must stay alive for the sole purpose of loving and protecting ye.”

His lips settled on mine in a kiss, strong yet sweet, professing his commitment to me. ”I need ye, Kate. I want ye. I've never gone tae battle afraid, but now I ken what fear feels like, heavy in the pit of my stomach, always in the back of my mind. The fear that I willna be strong enough tae fight, tae return to ye. I've never been afraid before, Kate, but now I'm terrified of leaving ye,” he confessed, shaken by what he clearly perceived as weakness.

”You will always return to me, Devon. I know it. You are strong, the leader of your men. I know that you will always return to me,” I said firmly, unshaken with my confidence in this man.

”Kate, I'm afraid I must go away again soon,” he said sternly.

”The Camerons?” I asked, knowing what his answer would be.

”Aye, I'm sorry. I hate tae leave ye, but it is my duty tae the clan.”

”Thank you for telling me.” I feigned a smile and stroked the hair at the base of his neck. ”When?” I asked, fear beginning to settle in the pit of my stomach. Last time Devon left me he had nearly been killed.

”I leaned the hard way about keeping things from ye,” he smiled, rolling over the memory of my anger at his omission that he would be leaving for battle last time that he left me. ”Soon. We'll leave within the next few days.”

I placed my hand on his face and drew him towards me for a kiss. It was hard to bear the thought of him leaving again, fearing the prospect that he might not return. It wasn't as if he was leaving for a friendly visit. He was leaving for war. He was leaving to fight a battle with enemies that were intent upon killing him. He was our Clan's war- chief and as such was a major target in any battle.

I surrendered myself to his kiss, enjoying the intensity of his mouth on mine. It was clear that he needed my rea.s.surance as much as I needed his. His lips slanted over mine hungrily, tongue probing and demanding. I relished the scratch of his day's growth of beard on my face, masculine and s.e.xy.

His hand was up my skirt, on my thigh, moving towards the heat of my desire for him. I had intentionally omitted undergarments today and his fingers quickly found what they were looking for.

”Katie, yer as slick as seaweed, wet with the wanting,” he groaned as his fingers met the wetness between my thighs.

”You have a way of doing that to me, husband,” I smiled into his hair as he placed kisses on my neck.

He bit my earlobe and rose up on his elbows to meet my eyes. ”You drive me to madness, Kate. I'll not claim to be a saint. Ye ken that I've been with others before ye. But never, never have I had a response to a woman like I have to ye. And never have I had a woman respond to me as ye do. The way yer body reacts to mine drives me to insanity. I could take ye again and again, never getting my fill. The best part is that yer mine.”

”I don't like thinking of you being with other women.” I said bluntly.

”Never again,” he vowed. ”How could I want another when I have this? This love that I share with ye. I am mad with the wanting of ye, Kate. Not just the wanting of joining with yer body, but with the wanting tae be with ye. Tae talk to ye, and to hold ye,” he looked into my eyes with an intensity that broke my heart. ”I love ye, Kate,” he whispered.

”I love you too,” I smiled, meaning every word, but feeling a pang of guilt about not being truthful about my ident.i.ty with this man that I loved so much. I knew that it would kill him when he found out and he was going to find out soon. I needed to find a way to tell him, to confess my lies.

”I love ye sae much that it pains me, a chuisle mo chroi,” he said, stroking the hair away from my face. ”I've never been worrit about going away to battle, but now, now...” he sighed, trailing off. ”Now that I have ye depending on me, I have someone that I need tae live for. Part of what made me sae fearless in battle was the fact that I only had me tae worry about. It didn't matter if I was killed as long as the clan was all right. Now it matters.”

I reached up and kissed the worry from his lips.

”d.a.m.n right it matters. I know that you will return safely to me, Devon, I don't doubt it for even a second.”

”Do ye ken that I felt it from the moment that I first saw ye before the fire in the great hall when ye were wielding that wee needle?” he smiled, fingers tracing the line of my b.r.e.a.s.t.s as they rose and fell at the top of my gown. ”Even then I felt it, the connection that we have. I was scared to death when Collin decided that we were to wed. Scared because I wanted ye sae badly, but I knew that having ye as my wife would make me vulnerable to my enemies. Vulnerable because I have never had something, someone that they could use tae harm me with. I'm just worrit that Collin will see how much ye mean to me and use it against me. If harm came to ye, it would kill me, Kate.”

”Take me with you, then.”

”Ye ken that I canna, la.s.s. I'll be worrit about ye enough as it is. I canna be worrit about where ye are during the battle. I can't afford to be preoccupied, or I might return to ye missing a few important parts.”

”Take me with you and I'll trail behind, I'll hide in the forest.”

”I'll not risk it. War is something that I'll not willingly expose ye to. I'll feel much better leaving ye in Nathan's care.”

”I'm just worried about staying here without you,” I confessed. ”I see the way that Collin watches me, watches us constantly, and it worries me.”

”Collin kens that if he sae much as touches ye, I'll kill him. Brother or no,” he said defiantly. ”I don't think he's brave enough tae make a move against me, but he's as slippery as a snake in the gra.s.s and that's why I'm leaving Nathan and a few others behind tae make sure yer protected.”

We pa.s.sed a moment in silence, churning over our thoughts about his imminent departure, and the conditions that I would face remaining behind at the keep.

”Make love tae me, Kate. Restore my strength and give me a reminder of what I'm fighting for,” he said smiling in a most devilish way as his fingers began stroking the wetness between my thighs.

I answered his request with a kiss, prodding him on with my mouth, expressing that I needed the fulfillment of his body too. I clung to him, relis.h.i.+ng to strength of his muscles beneath me, supporting me as he gently tormented me with his fingers beneath my dress. I raked his back with my nails, marking his body as mine as he kissed my neck and slowly removed his fingers from between my thighs.

”I need ye, la.s.s. I canna be gentle,” he warned, pus.h.i.+ng me up into a standing position. He stood from the chair and removed his s.h.i.+rt and kilt, now standing completely naked in front of the fire. My eyes scanned his body; he was beautiful in the firelight.

”Don't then,” I challenged, pressing myself against him to meet his need. The fabric of my dress was constraining and I longed to have my skin exposed so that I could feel him against the length of my body. ”Unlace me,” I demanded, turning my back to him, pressing my bottom against him in a way that I knew drove him mad.

His fingers quickly undid the laces of my dress and he slid it slowly down my body, running his fingers across my b.r.e.a.s.t.s and belly as the gown cascaded into a pool of cloth at our feet. His skin felt so warm against mine. I pressed against him as he wrapped me in his arms. I cradled his erection with my bottom and let my head fall back against his shoulder as he brought gooseb.u.mps out on my skin by running his fingers ever so lightly over my naked b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

”Mmmm....ye feel sae good against my skin. Sae soft and warm,” he said, as if reading my mind.

I wanted to wors.h.i.+p his body as he had wors.h.i.+ped mine.

I turned in his arms and slowly slid my hands down his chest as I knelt on the floor in front of him. My eyes flashed up to his in question, seeking permission to touch him so intimately.

His mouth was open, his eyes wild with pa.s.sion as he guessed what I was about to do. He gave me the slightest nod of invitation and I bit my lower lip in antic.i.p.ation, wondering just how I should start.

My fingers circled his c.o.c.k and he let out a gasp as I opened my mouth and slowly licked the tip of his arousal.

”Kate,” he growled, shuddering as he fought to remain in control.

As I took him fully into my mouth, he let out a groan of ecstasy and twisted his hands into my hair. I made love to him with my mouth, stroking him with my hands, enjoying the feeling of him shuddering under my touch, barely holding onto his control. I drove him to the brink of o.r.g.a.s.m, then slowly withdrew him from my mouth and looked up to meet his eyes.