Ryan"s face drifted through her mind and she fought the urge to cringe. If they failed to make it to England, he would be her fate.
He would never make her feel the way Ewan did.
Her body was hot and s.h.i.+very. Needful.
What if no man save Ewan ever made her feel this way again? If she turned him aside, she would go to her husband with her body intact.
Ryan cared not a whit about her virginity; "twas only her coffers that concerned him.
But Ewan...
He needed her. She felt it deep inside.
She"d always wondered what it would be like to lie with a man. In her mind, she had always pictured a softspoken troubadour who won her heart.
But it was the quiet bear who called out to her.
Don"t.
The word hovered in her mind. If she did this, it would change her forever. She would no longer be innocent. She might even conceive his child.
But something deep down inside told her that carrying this man"s child would be far from a hards.h.i.+p.
In the end, it was her curiosity and desire that got the better of her. Her mother had always said it would lead her astray.
Tonight it had led her to Ewan MacAllister, and here she was where she wanted to be.
"Make love to me, Ewan."
Chapter 7.
Ewan was dumbfounded by Nora"s words. He had expected Nora to turn him away, not welcome him to her body.
She wasn"t supposed to want him.
A decent man would pull away from her. But he wasn"t decent.
He was feral and hard. The kind of man who took what he wanted without thoughts about tomorrow.
It was what had gotten him into trouble with Isobail. He had acted in the heat of pa.s.sion and then paid dearly for it.
Decorum and he were strangers.
He"d never been that kind of man. He"d left manners and refinement to his brothers, while he had made his own way without those strict bindings that society and his mother would have placed on him.
Now he wished he did know the words to tell Nora how much this moment meant to him.
How muchshe meant to him.
He"d been so long without the comfort. So long without the warmth of a tender caress.
How could he walk away now? Especially since her sweet, precious taste was branded on his tongue.
The silken heaven of her mouth was more than he could resist.
He was a mere mortal, not some saint.
Nay, he"d never been a saint.
Ewan traced the curve of her swollen lips with his fingertip before he parted her lips and kissed her deeply.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the sweetness of her breath as he let loose his tongue to dart against hers, to sweep up to the palate of her mouth until she moaned and writhed from it. Her supple body pressed against his while he loosened the stays of her chemise.
"You should push me away," he said, pulling back from her kiss to stare down into her gentle, welcoming eyes.
"Perhaps, but I oft do the opposite of what I should do."
"Aye, la.s.s, you do. And that is one of your more endearing qualities."
"Are you mocking me?"
"Nay, love, I would never mock you."
Nora"s heart fluttered as he offered her a real smile. It was unexpected and breathtaking.
His eyes fair glowed in the faint moonlight. His heat surrounded her as his arms cus.h.i.+oned her from the cold, damp ground. The heat and strength of him surrounded her.
And she wanted more.
She actually purred as he returned to her lips to kiss her softly. She"d never been touched like this.
Never thought a mere kiss could be such a wondrous experience.
And when his warm, callused hand closed around her breast, she jumped in nervous excitement. Pain and pleasure stabbed through her body as heat pooled itself between her legs.
What was this burning in her body? This strange ache that craved him?
She didn"t understand these foreign sensations. They were confusing and consuming.
Electrifying. Tormenting. And they left her wanting more of him.
Ewan left her lips to kiss a trail down her throat to the breast he cupped. Nora swallowed at the sight of his dark head at her breast, at the feel of his tongue teasing her taut nipple. His tongue was rough and hot, his lips soothing and tender.
She clasped his head to her, and let the locks of his hair tease her fingers.
He was so beautiful there, tasting her, teasing her. His beautiful face showed the pleasure he received just from touching her.
She sighed in contentment and let the incredible earthy sensations sweep her away until she was nothing but an extension of the man holding her.
Tonight she would be his.
Ewan had never tasted anything like her body. She was so warm, so inviting. More so because he knew she was sharing with him what she had shared with no one else.
He was her first.
Why she would choose him, he couldn"t imagine. He was so unworthy of what she offered. So unworthy of her, period.
She was lightness and joy.
He was darkness and sorrow.
But he was glad that tonight, for this one moment and for whatever reason, she was with him.
Nora tugged at his s.h.i.+rt.
Eager to oblige her, he pulled it off, and his trewes followed soon after.
She gasped audibly as she ran her hands over his tense arms. He clenched his teeth as his head reeled from pleasure.
The things her touch did to him...
It was incredible. Invigorating. It made him feel virile and wild.
He was hard and aching. Most of all, he felt vulnerable to her.
But he couldn"t pull back. Nay, he needed more of her. Needed to touch every inch of her body and to claim it as his own.
Nora felt a moment of panic as he removed her chemise from her. She was suddenly exposed to him.
It was scary and strangely erotic. She couldn"t recall ever being naked in front of another person. No one knew what she looked like bare.
No one but Ewan.
Her heart pounding, she stared at the large size of him and tried to imagine what it would feel like to take that into her body. Surely it would cleave her in two.
"Will you hurt me?" she asked hesitantly.
He stroked her cheek with his fingers. "I will do my best not to."
She smiled up at him, trusting him completely even though she wasn"t too sure he spoke honestly. How couldthat not hurt? It was huge.
He lay down on top of her and gathered her into his arms. Her thoughts scattered at the glorious feeling of his skin against hers. Of his heavy weight that felt good instead of oppressive.
Ewan took her hand into his and guided it back to him. "Don"t be afraid of me, Nora," he whispered.
Nora ran her hand down his shaft as the tip of it probed her maidenhead.
"Tell me to stop and I will."
She smiled up at him, knowing most men would not offer her that. It made her even more tender toward him. "Don"t stop."
He kissed her again, then drove himself deep inside her.
She tensed at the burning pain of him filling her.
Ewan whispered sweet encouragements in her ear while he used his tongue to toy with the tender flesh of her neck.
She panted against the pain and tried to relax as he coaxed her. She had never imagined a man would feel like this, but she was glad it was Ewan who was inside her.
Glad for the strength of his arms around her and the sound of his deep voice in her ear.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against his muscled neck and inhaled the warm scent of him. It gave her courage and strength not to push him away.
She wanted this. She wanted to share her body with him and to have it be Ewan who filled her for the very first time.
Ewan ached with want as he forced himself not to thrust even deeper into her.
But it was hard.
He wanted her in a way unimaginable. She surrounded him with heat, and her breath against his neck sent a thousand chills over him.
She felt wonderful and he never wanted to let her go.
"Relax, love," he said gently. "I promise I won"t move until you"re ready for it."
He waited until her hold on him loosened. She looked up at him, her face trusting.
He smiled at her courage and at the sight of her lying underneath him, her body bare and joined to his.
It was the most incredible thing he"d ever seen. A wave of fierce possession tore through him then, especially when he looked down to see them joined.
"You feel so strange inside me," she said.
Ewan laughed at that. He"d never had a woman speak of such things. But then talking was what she did best, and he found her innate curiosity fascinating. She was completely uninhibited with her questions and comments.
"How do I feel?" he asked.
"Full and deep. I can feel you all the way to my core."
He sucked his breath in at her words and the image they created. He liked to hear her speak of such things. "Can you now?"
She nodded.