Page 44 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

It wasn’t the first time he’d promised that, but she was mollified.

“And so the scared lass became a beloved artist, and yet she is still wedded to a terrifying highland laird,” Hamish teased. “Grace will be happy to provide sanctuary to ye when ye need it.”

“Never going to happen,” Theo growled. He didn’t want to admit that he was worried that Gemma might take him up on the offer. What would he do if Gemma ran from him?

Ye are going to run her off yerself, that niggling voice whispered in his mind. Hadn’t he already told her that she would have to relocate to raise their children?

His stomach twisted as he looked across the table at her, but there was a twinkling of mischief in her eyes. “I am looking forward to meeting my new sister.”

“Ye had plenty of sisters,” he reminded her.

“I did, but I didn’t really like them. I expect that it will be different with Grace. She is a warrior? Perhaps she could teach me a few things.”

“Ye doonae need to learn anything,” Theo said quickly. “I will protect ye.”

“You are protecting two territories, Theo. You won’t always be there.”

The image flashed in his mind; Gemma, huddled on the battlefield with a terrified boy under her arm while she tried to heft a sword. No, he never wanted her to be in that position again.

“Dinner is over,” he said abruptly as he gave Hamish a stern look. “I will see ye in the morning, Brother.”

A knowing smile crossed his face, and he nodded. “Have a good evening.”

Gemma looked a little disgruntled at the abrupt end to dinner, but she let him pull her up from the table and down the hall. He needed to erase that image from his mind. He needed to spend the rest of the evening with her in his arms, knowing that she was safe.

“I want to know how to please you,” Gemma whispered as she stretched in the aftermath of her orgasm. The light from the fire flickered over her sweat-covered skin, and her body still trembled against his.

“Ye please me vera much,” Theo said as he inhaled deeply. Her taste was still mingled on his tongue; her cries still echoed in his mind as he’d driven her to the top with his mouth on her sex, an act that seemed to terrify and exhilarate her all at the same time.

To prove his point, he nudged his hardness against her thigh, and she chuckled and reached down to grasp it. Moaning, he thrust a couple of times into her small palms, marveling at the softness of her skin.

“And that most definitely pleases me,” he said.

Wanting to make tonight last, he got up and poured them each some water from the pitcher. She watched him steadily as she drank hers and handed the glass back. Sitting back on the edge of the bed, he started to trace little patterns over her skin with his fingers.

“And if I use my mouth? Will that please you?”

At the thought, he froze the languid movements of his fingers over her thigh. His blood heated, and she let out a husky laugh. “So, you are intrigued by that.”

“Ah, lass. Ye have no idea how intrigued I am by that.”

She eased off the bed and knelt between his legs. “You will have to tell me what to do. I have only heard...” Her words trailed off as her cheeks pinked.

“And who have ye been talking about this?” His voice was gentle and teasing, but his interest was piqued.

“Women talk, Theo,” she chuckled. Her hands circled him again, and he found that he cared less about the gossip of women and more about what she planned to do with him.

She made the loveliest of pictures, kneeling in front of him with her large dark eyes staring up at him in earnest. Squeezing, she asked him what to do.

Afraid that he might lose control, he fisted his hands in the blankets and slowly guided her until her tongue was flicking out over the tip, driving him wild and making him ache. They had barely begun to scratch the surface, and already his need for her was beyond words.

Finally, she opened her mouth and took him in a few inches, playing that mischievous tongue under him and withdrawing, sucking him until he was groaning.

“Ah, lass,” he whispered, “ye are truly magnificent.”

Her throat vibrated as she moaned, and she moved again, a little faster, and he knew that he wouldn’t last much longer. Finally, with a cry, he pushed her back and hauled her up until she was straddling him on the bed. “Was I not doing a good job?” she asked in wonder.

“Oh, lass, ye were wonderful, but I need to be inside ye.” He nudged at her entrance, and her eyes widened when she realized what he intended. “Take me inside ye, Gemma.”