Page 59 of Forever My Lass

“Just because you fucked me, my lord, doesn’t mean you have to worry I expect anything from you. We had some great sex. But that’s all it was.”

Madeline’s words sliced through him as if she’d gutted him like a fish and had left an invisible, gaping wound in his chest. It was a tangible sensation that barreled through him and threatened to drive him to his knees. Iain barely had time to register the painful impact Madeline’s words had on him, before he was teetering on the precipice of an anger so fierce it threatened to eclipse anything his father had ever rained down on his head.

Iain heard the dark rumble of fury rising out of him as he swiftly closed the small space between them forcing Madeline to retreat until her back was against the wall. One hand pressed into the wood behind her, Iain pinned her in place as he slowly slid his free hand up over her waist to cup her breast. The memory of suckling her taut nipples as he slowly slid his cock into her body’s heat aroused him despite his anger.

He tried to suppress his desire, but it was impossible to do so. The soft, feminine scent of lavender and rose petals filled his nostrils, and the sweet smell fired his blood with a need that mixed with his anger until he was hard beneath his kilt. Desperate to avoid revealing how deep her words had wounded him and how easily she could arouse his desire, Iain narrowed his eyes at her.

“Ye have a way with words that belong in a whorehouse, mo leannan.”

“How typically male,” Madeline spat out with disdain. “It’s okay for a man to use foul language or have a good time in bed, but God forbid a woman do the same.”

“I am nae complaining, lass. In fact, I’m already hard and aching tae be buried inside that sweet honey pot of yours.”

Iain smiled with bitter satisfaction at the way her body became rigid, and she straightened to her full height. As his thumb rubbed across a hard nipple, a small gasp escaped her, and he couldn’t tell if it was a sound of anger or something darker. In the next breath, her hands tugged his kilt upward.

“Then I’m game for a little up-against-the-wall action if you are, Lord Glenburnie, simply to prove I’m right.”

Lust and something else threaded through her words as she wrapped her fingers around his erection. Iain jerked hard at her fiery touch. Madeline tilted her head back to stare up at him, and her sweet mouth formed a silent command that shot an explosive bolt of desire through him.

Without hesitating, he crushed her lips beneath his while tugging the skirt of her gown upward and trapping the material between them. In seconds, his hands were caressing silky thighs, and he quickly lifted her up to thrust his body into hers in one hard stroke. The strangled cry she released against his lips mixed with his own groan of pleasure. Christ Jesus, his body had been craving her since the morning he awoke to find her gone from his bed, but he hadn’t realized until now that his craving was driven by something far more potent.

There was a frantic urgency to her unrestrained kisses that stoked the fires igniting inside him as her tongue tangled with his. Every frenzied swirl of her tongue around his tugged an urgent response from him. Their kiss was tempestuous and filled with an unbridled passion that touched something deep inside him.

Arms wrapped around his neck, she pushed back hard against each of his thrusts in a silent demand for more. She was a firestorm of hot need and pleasure wrapped around his cock as his body hammered its way into hers. The intensity of her body’s response to his possession was swift, and as her muscles tightened around him, a low, guttural cry rose out of his chest.

§ § §

Madeline wanted to sob with joy and pleasure as Iain filled her completely. The night she’d spent in his arms had been one of passion and fire, but this moment was a seismic, out-of-control expression of hot lusty need.

It resonated with all the pent-up longing, desire, and pain that had been her constant companion for the past two weeks. In the back of her mind, she heard a voice warning her there would be a heavy price to pay for this lapse in judgement. She ignored it. It was too late for her.

Soon she would be gone from Muchalls Hall, and this brief moment of joy at being connected to him again would be worth the consequences. Her body responded to his thrusts with a frenetic passion that consumed her. Every one of her senses fired mind-numbing sensations across her skin as he drove his body into hers at a furious pace. The first spasm of her climax rippled through her with a wild intensity that made her draw in a sharp breath of ecstasy.

Clinging to him, she gasped loudly as another shudder skimmed its way through her. At her soft cry, his lips bruised hers, while the world exploded around her in one pleasurable, acute sensation after another. Fierce tremors rocked through her as his body hardened against hers, then with a low cry his hard muscles pinned her against the wall in an exquisite moment of release.

The sound of Iain’s ragged breathing echoed in her ears as his forehead pressed down into her shoulder. Eyes closed, Madeline drank in deep breaths of air as she slowly regained control of her senses. Remorse tried to set in, but she pushed it aside. As painful as it would be to leave him, she refused to regret giving herself to the man she loved. She would not allow herself to feel shame at having silently declared her heart to him.

Slowly, Iain’s body relaxed against hers, and as he retreated from her, Madeline swallowed hard at the finality of it. Her eyes fluttered opened to meet an unreadable dark blue gaze. An emotion flickered in the depths of Iain’s eyes, and her heart twisted painfully in her chest. Madeline wanted to believe he was experiencing pain and despair at her leaving Muchalls Hall, but she refused to indulge in the futility of such a thought. She freed herself from his embrace, then bent her head to adjust her clothing as she fought back tears.

The silence in the study was thick with tension, and Madeline quickly gathered her wits determined not to let him see how shattered she was. When she’d entered Iain’s study, she’d known he would press her for why she was leaving. Why she hadn’t prepared a response he would have accepted was a question she already knew the answer to, but didn’t want to admit.

Worse, she’d made the mistake of confessing her heart had found a home at Muchalls Hall. The moment she’d seen Iain narrowing his gaze at her, Madeline had known he was considering the possibility he was included in her confession. Desperate to convince him otherwise, she’d lost control of her tongue. Her grandmother had been right when she’d said Madeline’s sarcasm was going to come back to bite her.

Madeline should have known it would be a mistake to tell Iain their night together had been nothing more than a one-night stand. All she’d done was make him angry, and the moment he’d touched her every rational thought had gone out the window. She should have simply left when he pushed her for an explanation.

Perhaps worst of all, she was forced to admit that deep down she’d come to Iain hoping he would give her a reason to stay. Leaving Grace and Ainslie was going to be difficult enough. Walking away from Iain would be the same as having someone rip her heart out of her chest. Fingers trembling, she shook out her skirts then took a step toward the door, but strong hands caught her arms and pulled her back into a hard chest.

“Ye cannae deny there is something between us, Madeline.”

Iain’s brogue was as seductive as always, but this time she thought she heard something else echoing through it. For a fleeting moment, she allowed herself to believe his voice held the tender, fervent emotion every part of her wanted him to feel for her. A second later, her heart convulsed viciously in her chest until it made her think she was bleeding out because there was no way to staunch the blood flow.

Even if she stayed, Iain Fraser would never allow himself to give his heart to her unreservedly. That fact above all others was why she had to leave. With a firm tug, she pulled herself from his grasp and put a small amount of distance between them before turning to face him. The frustration on his face was mixed with another emotion, but she refused to contemplate what. With a sharp shake of her head, she released a small sound of pain.

“I’m not denying anything, but my mind’s made up, and either you’re going to give me a ride to Aberdeen or I’ll find some other way to get there.”

Madeline experienced a small amount of relief at the quiet firmness of her voice. At least he wouldn’t see how hard it was to walk away from him. She knew Iain well enough to know he wouldn’t hesitate to use that knowledge to his advantage if he thought he could convince her to remain. Without waiting for him to respond, she whirled around and raced from the room.

Chapter 16