The words trailed off as Keegan stared at Willow’s lips. But he shook himself and restarted.
“I willnae do anythin' ye daenae wish for.” Willow’s jaw dropped slightly, and Keegan smoothed his thumb over her bottom lip. “It has been painful to keep meself from ye, lass. If only this, I must touch ye, but I willnae claim ye as mine if ye are put off by the notion.”
Confusion and excitement and apprehension tumbled through Willow’s body, and she was thrown about by the emotions and thoughts as if she were a boat that had lost its mooring.
“I am yer wife, Keegan.” Willow’s voice was soft, unsure. “Ye are permitted to consummate the marriage. Between this and the words at the exchange, it is believed that me honor has been compromised already. I willnae see another day when the clans think me untouched.”
Both of Keegan’s hands came to Willow’s face, and he looked her dead in the eye, the low flicker of the firelight making them glow like sapphires.
“This isnae about what anyone might think or the fact that ye’re me wife now. This is about what ye wish for, Willow.” Her husband closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath that shook his entire body. “I have thought of ye nearly every moment, memories of the study impossible to leave behind me. Yer presence does something to me, Willow. It has since that first day with ye.”
Willow had never thought that she might see Keegan like this, so stripped down and open. She could see such a light behind his eyes that shined with a potent, raw need. As much as she knew that she should feel differently—him being a former enemy and the very man who stole her from her previous engagement—Willow had also been fascinated by Keegan since the moment she laid eyes on him.
And he was listening to her wishes. He was willing to deny himself to give her the space to make this choice for herself.
So she did.
“Keegan,” she put her hands on top of his, guiding them down from her face to the back of her neck, “ye talk too much.”
And with that, she kissed him, giving every fiber of herself to the feeling of his lips on hers, of him.
Keegan, Laird Brahanne, and her husband.
25
Keegan tasted like heaven on her tongue, a now familiar and still bewildering taste that left Willow nearly at a loss of breath. She could remember the taste she had had in his study, the way he’d made her feel, and Willow’s body roared to life in a way that was incredibly intoxicating.
Keegan shifted forward, kneeling over her as she lay back against the bed as their lips still tangled together in a maddening kiss. His length brushed against the thin fabric of her shift, and Willow shivered.Oh God, I feel as though I’ve waited me whole life for this.
At once, the laird’s grip became demanding, and he pressed Willow against his chest with his arm firmly wrapped around her. The loose fabric of the shawl slid down her shoulder. Without breaking the kiss, Keegan unwrapped it from her shoulders. Her breath shuddered in as Keegan at last parted from her lips to pull the long swath of fabric from her and toss it to the floor.
Before returning, Keegan pulled his shirt over his head, and Willow’s eyes widened at the sight of him. He must have been chiseled from stone for how stark his muscles stood out from his frame, and arousal pooled in Willow’s core.
In a flash, he was back atop her, running his tongue across the seam of her lips, and Willow eagerly let him in, a soft moan escaping her.
“Keegan,” she whispered, her body humming with desire.
“Aye, lass. I feel it as well. It is like I might perish should I nae have ye at once.”
As he shoved the thin fabric of her shift off her shoulders, Willow gasped, trying to mumble his name once more.
But the word was quickly stolen away, and all she could do was give herself over to the bliss as Keegan kissed down her neck and found the peaked buds at the tip of her breast with his lips. Willow arched against him, whimpering.
The delicate, smooth fabric of her shift warmed as Keegan worshipped her nipple through it, and he took her with him as he guided them farther onto the bed. Guiding her down once more, Keegan pushed Willow to lay flat as he stripped the shift that hid her from his hungry stare, and she trembled with nervous excitement.
Getting her shift off was uncomplicated, and still, Keegan made it a sort of dance, slowly pulling on the lace that kept the wide neck secured around Willow’s shoulders. She could hardly stand the way he dragged out each moment until the bow was finally undone.
The nearly transparent fabric, so very fine and well-spun, slipped from her should, and then Keegan yanked it down her legs.
“Och,” Keegan stared down at her as if he were about to devour her, “ye are bonnier than anythin' I’ve laid me eyes on, lass.”
He grinned down at her, and Willow’s cheeks heated, undoubtedly turning a bright pink as self-consciousness and flattery consumed her like a flame. She’d never been seen like this before, and Willow’s heart put up a furious beat against her ribcage, all her body thrumming with ecstatic energy.
“Keegan, I—” He leaned down over her again, then circled her bare nipple with his tongue, nibbling gently, and her eyes rolled closed. “Oh, God.”
“That’s it, lass. I cannae wait a moment longer to claim ye as mine. Mine for always.”
Her husband—a wondrous and strange thought right then—started again with his caresses on her breasts, and Willow arched into his mouth at the alluring sensations. The motion allowed Keegan the perfect opportunity to slip his hand under her, firmly holding the curves of her rear.