My Highland Prisoner: A Highlander Erotic Romance (4 page)

"I'm sorra," Ailsa whispered, as she looked at the bloody teeth marks on his skin. Slowly, she leaned over and licked the wound, trying to help as much as she could. She felt something throb inside of her, almost like another heartbeat and Finlay moaned low and long above her.

"Never... apologize," he forced out, through gritted teeth.

Turning completely on her back, Ailsa stared up at him and saw the fierce expression on his face. Pain was etched into its contours and white lines formed around his mouth. Giving his head a quick shake, Finlay forced a grin and said, "I have to move, lass."

And with that said, she felt him press deeper, push wider, and then slide home. A moan escaped her lips, as she felt him penetrate deeper, then slowly draw out. Sweat coated their bodies and scented the room, as Finlay took Ailsa with a slowness no man had ever exhibited towards a woman before.

There was no rush in their joining, no mad dash to the end. Ever so slowly, Ailsa began to relax and open up to him. Her nails ran lightly over his clotted arms. Just when she opened fully to Finlay, some of the passion he'd been holding back leaked forward.

Callused hands moved under her thighs, as he drew back and sat on his haunches draping her legs over his hips and thighs. His strong arms slipped under her back and pulled her against him and her breasts crushed against his shirt-covered chest. Impossibly, he went deeper inside of her and carved into places she hadn't known existed.

Almost desperately, she pulled at his shirt, needing to feel his skin against her own. "Please," she said. The word slipped from her lips, as she tried to pull his shirt up. She found that she could not take it off because Finlay would not move. Instead, she said, "I want to touch ye, Finlay. Please."

On an angry growl, he tilted back and let go of her, tugging the shirt over his head. Then, he pulled her back and set his hands on her hips and lowered her body, as he thrust up.

Ailsa bit back her cry of pleasure, as the pain from having her maidenhood broken completely subsided and heat infused her blood. Moving her hands to Finlay's back, her eyes meandered his body, as she saw the dozens of scars protruding from his skin.

"Finlay, what--"

"No’ now, Ailsa. Dinna show me pleasure and then try to drag me back to Hell." His words were gruff and punctuated by a sharp thrust.

Biting back her retort, Ailsa gave him what he wanted. She allowed him to hold his demons for a while longer, while he sought heaven in her body. She loved him and gave herself to him. No matter what haunted his dreams, she would be there for him. They were together now, for better or worse, they were together.

***

A few hours later, laying in the dying candlelight in the middle of the bed with a sheet skin covering them, Ailsa finally asked the question that had been burning on her tongue. "What happened to ye?"

She'd felt the scars on his back and seen them on his face, arms, and, on closer inspection, chest. Some were small, others not; but, the worst of them were on his back. Those were the scars made by whips. There was not just one and they were not just made during a single event.

Soft lips caressed her hair and Finlay pulled her closer with the arm around her body, resting on her hip. "I was whipped."

"Where?"

"Ye know where."

The steel behind his voice surprised her, but after a moment of thought, she supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d heard stories about Invavary and the criminals held there; but, she’d also heard about their abhorrent treatment. If most of the criminals did not die within a few months, then they wish they would have. It was why she had cried for so long when her father had been taken away. Somewhere deep inside, she’d known she might never see him again. Plus, if she did see him, she knew he wouldn’t be the same.

Even Finlay wasn’t the same. Whoever he’d been before Invavary was gone and that life was dead and forgotten. Now, he was a man who worked hard, lived by his morals, and took care of those around him. Ailsa knew what kind of man he was and she accepted that she would probably never want to know the man he’d been.

A burst of cold air came from behind the tapestry and blew across her skin. Ailsa immediately moved closer to Finlay, curling her body tightly around him. Soft lips caressed her cheeks, as his calloused hands rubbed against her hips.

“Winter is coming.” Ailsa said quietly, listening to the steady beat of his heart. She would not pry into his past and open wounds that had healed. “Do ye think we will survive it?”

Sleep was closing around her, and the scents of lilac and something uniquely Finlay were pulling her into the dream world. Still, as Ailsa closed her eyes, she kept her ears open, waiting for his reply.

“We will, lass. And then the spring will come and all will be well.”

“Do ye promise?”

Finlay reached a finger under her chin and lifted her head up, looking deep into her eyes. “I will never lie to ye, Ailsa. Place yer trust in me, I will not fail ye.”

Tears sprung up to her eyes, but she forced them back. Then, she leaned forward to offer him her lips. Heat infused her body, as he claimed her lips and tongue in a fierce kiss. Ailsa knew that whatever lay ahead of them, they would face it together. They would weather the winters and welcome the new springs, year after year.

Enjoyed Desperate Measures 2? Be sure to check out other works by Kate Lawrence here. Touch/Click the covers for a sample:

Nina's life has fallen on some hard times. After failing to meet her payment for the third time, she is evicted from her home. Driven to desperation, she turns to selling the only thing she has: her body.
But when she picks up an undercover cop on a prostitution sting and threatened with the prospect of jail, is Nina willing to do whatever it takes to keep her freedom?

*****

Marion is a tomboy through and through, spending most of her days on the basketball courts. When a group of players from out of town show up to take over her home court, she gets a little defensive and isn't about to take it sitting down.
She challenges the best player on the outsider's team to a game of one-on-one ball. Winner takes all. 
The only problem is, Marion doesn't realize that winner takes all doesn't just end at the game.