Page 96 of A Touch So Wicked

“Kimbra,” Damian hissed. “She must have filled the king’s ear with poison.”

“What about Mama and Lora? Will they suffer on my account?”

“Your mother and sister are safe here,” Damian promised. “’Tis doubtful Captain Harding even knows they exist!”

“Thank God,” Elissa said on a sigh. “But how can you help me if the king has forbidden you to leave Misterly?”

“I’d defy the king for you,” Damian murmured.

The strong emotions flaying Damian were so profound, the shock nearly sent him to his knees. Common sense told him he didn’t merely lust after Elissa, for his feelings went far deeper. Was love the sentiment he was experiencing? What else could it be? He wanted Elissa in his life, in his bed, in his arms, and he wasn’t going to allow the king to destroy what he’d found with her.

“If you disobey the Hanover you will forfeit Misterly,” Elissa reminded him.

His eyes glittered with determination. “Do you think I value Misterly more than I do your life?”

Elissa’s smile held a hint of regret. “You’ve given me sufficient reason to wonder.”

“Wonder no longer, love. Why do you think I married you?”

“Because you needed my clansmen’s cooperation.”

“Nay. Your clansmen didn’t enter into my decision. Misterly was mine whether or not I gained their loyalty. I wed you for myself, because I wanted you for my wife. I knew what I was risking and it mattered not.”

Elissa melted against him, her eyes misty. “I love you, Damian, and I always will. No matter what happens to us.”

Damian opened his mouth to speak but the words froze in his throat. He’d never verbally expressed love for a woman and wasn’t sure he was capable of admitting to so tender an emotion. What if it came out wrong? This was all so new to him. Instead, he kissed her with all the feelings that were in his heart, filling her with his breath, his unspoken love, passion, hoping they sufficed until he found the words to convey his true sentiments.

Elissa tasted love in his kiss…and something else: the gnawing tang of desperation. Fear clenched her gut. Despite his brave words, Damian was as worried as she. They both knew there was little he could do to change the king’s mind. She’d be punished for conspiring with Tavis Gordon even though she’d committed no treasonous act.

“Make love to me, Damian,” Elissa pleaded. “This could be the last time we’ll be together.”

“Gladly, but it won’t be the last time, sweeting.” He grasped her shoulders. “Listen to me, Elissa. We’ll be together again. Do you trust me?”

“Aye, but it will take more than trust to save me. Nan predicted we would be parted. We should have listened to her.”

“To what purpose? Neither of us knew King George would order you to London, and Nan offered naught but an obscure warning.”

“We have what’s left of today and tonight,” Elissa murmured. “I donna want to waste it talking.”

She pulled his head down, rose on tiptoe, and kissed him with all the passion and love within her heart. He groaned. She trapped it in her mouth and returned it on a breathless sigh. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly, as if he never wanted to let her go. But before she could satisfy herself with the taste of him, he drew back and began kissing her throat as his hands released the hooks on the back of her gown. She felt the neckline sag, felt his lips following the curve of her breasts. Then her gown pooled at her feet. His eyes glowed like silver coins as he dragged her shift over her head and tossed it aside.

“I want to make love to you,” Elissa murmured against his lips.

She retreated a step, her smile seductive as she began to undress him. When he tried to help, she shoved his hands aside. “Nay, let me do it.”

She slid his jacket down his arms and unbuttoned his shirt. She stared at his bare chest, her eyes glittering. Then she dropped to her knees, placed her mouth on his nipple, and pulled on it.

“You’ll kill me if you continue,” he moaned.

She grinned up at him, then ran her tongue along the furrow of dark hair on his chest. But she wasn’t through with him yet. She pushed the shirt down his arms and off. Her tongue delved into his navel; she felt him shudder as he grasped her head and buried his fingers in her hair to hold her in place. Her smile rippled against the taut planes of his belly as her fingers began working loose the buttons of his trousers. In moments she had them free, tugging them down, freeing his swollen manhood.

She stared for a breathless eternity at the turgid head and the pearly drop clinging to its tip, then feathered her tongue across the silken surface.

“Bloody hell!”

Damian tried to lift Elissa to her feet but she wouldn’t budge. She gazed up at him, her eyes luminous, watching his face as she took him into her mouth. His expression was everything she could have asked for. Tormented, stricken, passion glazed. She tasted his pleasure and the scent of hot excitement on his skin.

“Enough!” he cried.