Bound by Wish and Mistletoe (Highland Legends, Book 1.5) (12 page)

“What...what are you sayin’?” she shook her head, arching her neck away from his lips.

He moved a hand up to her head, letting his hips continue to pin her body, and brushed her hair over her left shoulder, gripping it tight within his fist. He dropped his lips back to her ear, sucking the lobe into his mouth. “Aye, you belong to me. But I also belong to you. We’re now husband and wife.”

He wanted to elaborate on his feelings; he’d become more a prisoner to her than she’d be in any way. He needed to clarify Iain’s concerned words; Brodie Castle held secrets and magick entrusted to the protection of their clan, a clan which now included her and relied upon her confidence. But with her delectable body and feisty spirit battling not against him, but her own desires, far greater wants and needs coursed hot through his veins, clouding sound logic.

Susanna growled deep in frustration, struggling beneath him with renewed strength. No amount of force she exerted, however, allowed her to move with the way he’d pinned her head and hips—leverage had its advantages.

“Submit to me, Susanna. Admit what I know you feel for me. Give yourself over, and I promise you unendin’ pleasure and happiness,” he said.

With his free hand, he brushed the side of her hip, trailed light fingertips along the dip at her waist, and caressed the side of her breast. He continued further, sliding his hand in beneath her, until he captured an already hardened nipple between his finger and thumb.

Her breath accelerated, but she remained rigid and perfectly still. He rolled her nipple and pinched it, lightly at first, then with increasing pressure. A moan came from her throat followed by a long growl, as if she’d grown angry at her own body.

“Well, Susanna? ’Tis your choice. I’ll not take what’s not freely given,” he said.

She held her breath, her every movement stilling. He stayed his hand, holding her entire body firmly as he waited.

“Aye, Robert,” she whispered.

“Aye, Robert...what?” he asked, tightening his hold at the hair at her nape, drawing her head back as he pinched her nipple harder.

“I
...submit.”

CHAPTER
TEN

Whatever power Robert possessed, it had more effect on Susanna than any amount of ale or spiced cider, casting her harrowing fears into faded memories. She had fallen under his spell and somehow couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. His incredible heat and power surrounded her, and all she wanted, what her body and heart, her very
soul
craved, was to be desired by him, to be protected by him...
to be his.

“Doona move,” he warned, his voice rasping out, vibrating the skin of her throat.

A soft laugh escaped her lips. “I canna move.”

As he held her head back with her hair fisted in his hand, his devastating lips dragged down the side of her neck and across her shoulder, burning her skin with slow kisses along the way. An unquenchable fire built within her again, the ravenous need of her body overcoming lucid thought.

She swallowed hard. He seemed perfectly content to spend an eternity with his mouth on her shoulder blade. Unable to stand the increasing need within her, she squirmed beneath his hips, trying to ease the tension. For a moment, pleasure coursed through her, the friction against the rug creating a new, exciting sensation.

A loud growl at her ear and hard tug of her head back made her freeze. She whimpered, her scalp stinging, while a surprising erotic heat radiated down, stoking her building fire.

“I said, ‘doona move,’ and I meant it,” he clipped out.

“Robert, I canna help it. I
need
to move,” she replied.

“Aye, love,” he crooned, his heated breath trekking over the shell of her ear, “I know you do. Be patient. The reward is greater, the longer we wait.”

A heavy sigh whooshed out of her lungs, her feisty nature holding true no matter his wishes. His low chuckle followed.

Silken strands of his hair brushed across her shoulders as he placed his teeth on the skin between her shoulder and neck. He bit down into the muscle; but instead of hurting, an aching pulse shot straight between her thighs. She gasped in shock. He released the primal hold, licking the skin and blowing on it. Goose bumps raced down her body.

“Do you trust me, lass?”

Did she? No one had held her trust other than Mama. She never thought another soul could hold it. Not in her wildest imaginings would she have thought
a man
could...or would. Yet Robert had proved he was no ordinary man. The impossible had become possible with him.

“Aye, Robert. Unbelievable as it seems to me, I trust you.”

He shifted above her, dropping his thighs between her legs. With his one hand still fisted around her hair, he pressed the other into the rug beside her. His knees put pressure between her legs, and he leaned forward, pulling her with him. She found herself on her knees with her hips in the air, her legs spread wide on the outside of his thighs, and her upper body pressed into the rug. She felt exposed. Vulnerable.

A firm pressure pushed at her entrance. Another pulse of pleasure fired into her from their point of contact. She steadied her breathing, preparing herself. No matter the pleasure that he’d brought her, the last time he’d entered her, it felt as if he’d pierced and stretched her just under the point of breaking.

However, Robert didn’t press in. While only the tip of his cock was lodged inside her entrance, he circled his hips. Without warning, he pulled out completely, and she groaned until he glided forward, his shaft sliding along her outside folds until he hit the spot that took her breath away. She gasped. He pressed forward, then eased back, forward and back, gliding across nerve endings that sparked alive at his touch.

Pressure within her grew, a devastating ache growing, and still she couldn’t do anything to satisfy her need. She desperately wanted to move—tried to—but Robert’s arm
lay across her left shoulder blade, still gripping her hair, and her legs were locked into position, his knees between them.

Finally, she managed to rock her hips back.

Robert froze on a growl. “Nay.”

As if sensing her frenzy, he pulled back and lodged his tip into her again. Against her bottom, he circled his hips, his shaft moving at her entrance, teasing her, taunting her. She panted, desperate for more.

Robert shifted again, the heat of his palm sliding over her right hip. It moved forward, across her lower belly, into her curls. She cried out the moment he touched her, a jolt of fiery pleasure clenching her muscles around his tip.

He groaned, sliding in only a fraction, before pulling back out, teasing her once again. With slow strokes of his fingers, he rubbed between her legs. Her panted breaths turned into moaned whimpers as raging desire threatened to overcome her. She moved back, and he froze, halting everything that felt good.

She gritted her teeth and focused on her breathing, wanting to please him, needing to obey him so he would please her. His fingers resumed their decadent torture, fueling the aching fire through her center once again.

“Good. Lass.” His growled words seemed to come from far away, muted by the racing blood thundering in her ears.

On the edge.

Robert kept her on the brink of explosive pleasure. Each time she’d get close, he’d slow his movements, calming the raging fire down to a low-roaring hum. She caught her breath and moaned deep, letting all the air out of her lungs. His pace increased for a countless time, and the pleasurable pain grew to near-unbearable. She dangled on the precipice of falling over, but tried to quiet her cries, hoping he wouldn’t know she was close
...so he wouldn’t withdraw the intensity again.

Somehow he knew, because his fingers slowed again, and she hung there. Her body tightened into a savage bundle of craving need. She couldn’t take it anymore, couldn’t handle the pressure
...needed the pleasure.

“Robert
...
please
...” she begged.

“Please
...
what
?” he asked.

Did he chuckle?

“Please take me, Robert! I need you inside of me!” she cried.

His hand went wild against her, and she sobbed, desperate and at his mercy.

“Aye, you do, lass. You need me
deep
inside of you. I’ll bury myself down so far, to remove me would tear out a piece of your soul.”

She panted, his words searing her heart, his touch setting her body ablaze. Her breath caught as a hard pulse fired within her. Robert plunged deep, spearing her. Hard hot spasms followed, and she screamed, burying her face into the rug.

Robert released her hair and braced his forearms tight against her sides as he rocked hard into her body, each thrust firing off more staggering pulses. She fisted both hands into the soft fur and turned her face to the side, trying to suck air into her lungs as wave after wave of pleasure flowed through her body.

She couldn’t move if she wanted to
...and she didn’t. Robert gripped her hips and pulled himself almost out. The shift caused him to penetrate her at a different angle. His quick, shallow strokes caused a new pleasure, and it fired through her like a bright bolt of lightning.

“Robert!” she screamed his name as another round of spasms claimed her, shuddering her entire body.

He gripped her hips harder, thrusting deeper, each delicious wave crashing one after another inside of her, around him. Her throat had gone dry from panting and moaning, and yet, she couldn’t quiet her cries.

A feral growl ripped from Robert’s chest into the room, drowning out her mewling sounds as his entire body stiffened. She felt a hot rush inside her body, distinctive pulses from his release mixing with hers.

His movements quieted, and she sighed. He lowered down to her side, scooping her backward into his warm embrace. A great peace filled her heart as her magnificent warrior wrapped himself around her, holding her tight while remaining embedded inside of her.

Her warrior.

He’d been right. He was already deep within her...already a part of her soul.

“Robert?” she whispered.

She felt his racing heart against her back. His deep breaths helped calm her breathing too, and she felt the beat of her heart begin to slow, matching his.

Warm. Protected. Cherished. She’d never thought it possible, but in a man’s arms, she’d found the one thing she’d wanted most in her dark world
...love.

“Robert?” she said louder.

“Mmm?”

“Will it always be like this?” she asked, her voice sounding dreamy to her own ears.

Tender lips placed a soft kiss to her shoulder blade. “Nay, love. ’Twill be better.”

She wrapped her hands around the muscular forearm nestled between her breasts. “Impossible. How could it be better than that? I’ll surely die if ’tis any more intense.”

A low rumble vibrated against her back as his chest shook. The unexpected laughter amid something so serious made her smile.

“Lass, I’ve gone easy on you tonight. I’ll tease and worship your body ’til you shake with need, then I’ll give you the pleasure you crave, over and over
...and over again.”

She sighed at the enticing thought, still not understanding how it could be true. But she did what he’d asked and what she had honestly admitted to; she trusted him. Her eyes grew heavy as Robert’s breathing fell steady, and she drifted away peacefully in his arms.

* * *

A sudden draft of cool air ran across Susanna’s back, and she shivered. Disoriented, she pushed herself up off the rug and looked around to find she was alone in the bedchamber.

Uncertain where Robert had gone, but exhausted from everything he’d demanded from her body, she eased back onto the floor and stretched. He must’ve stoked the fire in the hearth, because a strong heat emanated from it, and its glow illuminated more of the cozy room she’d been given.

She looked up at the large space from her low vantage point. The perfectly made bed had intricately carved bedposts. Two armchairs and a table sat beside the hearth. Next to the bed, a small stand held the ceramic pitcher that Brigid had used earlier to wash Susanna’s hair
, and a shallow ceramic basin sat beside it.

A muffled sound from the hall
drew her attention before the door opened. Robert appeared, his plaid draped around his hips, his chest bare. In his hands and arms was a bounty of food and a wineskin. He held a fierce expression, brows drawn together as he focused on holding all the items steady while he shoved the door shut with a hip. His gaze instantly softened when he caught her watching him, and he smiled. She moved to help him, but he shook his head.

“Stay there a moment, Susanna.”

She did as he asked, watching from below the foot of the bed as he spread the feast out over the bedcovers. He went over to the wash basin, poured water over a fresh linen square, and held it between his hands as he walked over to her.

“Spread your legs for me,” he said.

She blushed at his words, the gruffness in his voice and his furrowed brow catching her off guard. She bent her knees and eased her thighs apart, looking up at him all the while.

Had she realized only for the first time earlier today that Robert was handsome? He’d suddenly grown even more attractive to her. Two shining braids at his temple held his raven-black hair off his face, but it fell forward as he bent over her. His prominent cheekbones and dark brows had always given him a harsh quality, but now they were beautiful to her. Those full lips
...oh what the man could do with those lips...

“I dinna hurt you too badly, did I?” he asked, his voice softening. With care, he cleansed her, wiping the cloth over parts that indeed were tender to the touch.

“Nay,” she replied, smiling as warmth bloomed in her chest. “’Twas the most amazin’ thing, Robert.”

He left the cloth beside her and gazed at her naked form. To her surprise, she hadn’t wanted to cover her bared body. Perhaps, although she’d escaped on her own, she’d now been set free. Robert had done that for her.

“Come, we must keep your energy up. I’ve surely worn you out.” He took both of her hands into his and pulled her up from the bearskin.