Highland Thirst (30 page)

Lucy
glanced down, noting that the wet tunic she wore was now clinging to her
curves, accentuating nipples that were erect from the cold. She felt a blush
crest her face and instinctively raised her hands to cover them.

A
low growl drew her head back up and Tearlach immediately covered her mouth with
his. Lucy’s lips parted on a gasp of surprise at the contact. That was all the
encouragement Tearlach needed, in the next moment his arms were around her,
drawing her through the water and against his damp tunic.

Startled,
Lucy went stiff in his arms, but it was a very brief stiffening, then his
tongue slid into her mouth and rasped against her own and she gave a surprised
moan of pleasure.

Lucy
had never been kissed. She had seen others kiss; servants she’d stumbled upon,
her parents, and even her brother, John, with one of the maids once, but she’d
never paid much attention to the actual mechanics of it, usually turning
quickly away in embarrassment. She’d never realized that tongues were involved.
Lucy had always thought it was just like the perfunctory pecks her mother had
planted on her cheek at bed time, only on the lips. She now saw how wrong she’d
been. There was much more to this kissing business than she’d realized, at
least there was with Tearlach. There was nothing quick or perfunctory about his
kiss. It was slow and wet and deep and brought forth responses and sensations
from her body that she’d never before experienced, sensations that left her
feeling somewhat weak in the knees.

Lucy
dropped the braies she’d been clutching, and caught anxiously at Tearlach’s
upper arms. At first it was to steady herself, but then she found that, rather
than using the hold to help her stay upright in the water, she was slipping her
fingers up around his neck and trying to press him closer. She wanted...

Lucy
wasn’t sure what exactly it was that she wanted. She just knew she wanted more,
and she wanted him closer though they were already pressed as tightly together
as they could get. Her breasts were actually being crushed against his chest,
but rather than pain she was experiencing a tingling there that made her want
to rub them more firmly against him.

As
if reading her thoughts, Tearlach’s hand suddenly slid between them and closed
over one breast. Lucy groaned into his mouth and almost bit his tongue in
reaction to the excitement sent spiraling through her. She then moaned as he
tweaked at her erect nipple through the damp rough cloth of the tunic.

Shuddering
as spasms of excitement shot all the way from her breast down to a spot between
her legs, Lucy instinctively pressed herself against him there, but quickly
drifted away again. Tearlach was taller than her and while he stood with his
feet planted firmly on the river bed, he’d lifted her up out of the water a bit
to kiss her. Her legs were ungrounded, floating freely in the water and not
staying where she wanted.

Moaning
her frustration, she wrapped her legs around Tearlach’s waist, then gasped in
shocked pleasure as her naked core rubbed against a cloth-covered bulge in the
front of his braies, increasing her excitement.

This
time Tearlach also groaned. She felt his fingers convulse briefly on her
breast, squeezing almost painfully, and then his other hand clasped her bottom.
His fingers briefly froze on the naked flesh he found, and Lucy suddenly
recalled that he’d had his back to her when she’d gone into the water.
Apparently he’d assumed she’d gone in fully clothed. The fact that she hadn’t
seemed to be a pleasant surprise if she was correctly reading the growl that
slid from his mouth into hers and the way his hand suddenly curved over the
soft skin of her behind and squeezed even as he pressed her more tightly
against the bulge in his braies.

When
his hands left her moments later, Lucy clung to him feeling bereft, but then
she felt the cloth of her tunic being tugged up her back. Breaking their kiss,
Lucy released her hold on his neck and leaned away from him in the water, her
arms rising to allow him to remove the garment.

Tearlach’s
eyes darkened as the tunic slid off over her head, baring her breasts to his
view. He was suddenly so absorbed, he didn’t even look away as he tossed the
soaking cloth toward shore, but threw it blindly. Despite that, the tunic
landed on shore with a splat, she noted.

“Where
are yer bottoms, lass? I didnae see them on shore ere I came in after ye.”

“I
am not sure. I had them in my hand a minute ago, but I think I dropped them,”
Lucy admitted breathlessly, but wasn’t feeling much concern over the item at
the moment.

Tearlach
still had enough sense to consider them an important matter. Urging her back to
his chest, he peered around, and then lunged slightly to the side to snatch the
floating braies out of the water when he spotted them. They followed the tunic
to shore, landing very near the tunic, but Lucy hardly made note of the fact.
The moment they left his hand, Tearlach had turned his attention back to her
breasts and her mind was fully taken up with her shock, awe, and pleasure as he
lifted her slightly in the water to fasten his mouth on one erect nipple. His
mouth was like the flame from a fire compared to the chill of the water and
Lucy clutched at his shoulders with her fingers and tightened her legs around his
hips as she shivered and shuddered against him.

The
action brought Tearlach’s hands down to her bottom again. This time he used
both of them to urge her more tightly against his bulge, almost seeming to
encourage her to ride it. Finding all of it together somewhat overwhelming,
Lucy cried out and tugged at his hair, murmuring incoherent pleas for him to
kiss her.

Tearlach
obeyed at once, lifting his lips to claim hers in a kiss. She’d hoped it would
help ease some of the tension clambering inside of her, however, this
combination was just as overwhelming. Now she was being assaulted by the feel
of his rough tunic brushing across her breasts, his hands urging her against
his hips, and his mouth on hers, his tongue thrusting hungrily and deeply until
Lucy sobbed into his mouth with need. She didn’t try to break the contact, but
couldn’t have in any case since one of his hands had left her bottom to clasp
the back of her head to tilt her face to a more satisfactory position.

Distracted
as she was by all the sensations he was stirring in her, Lucy wasn’t aware that
he’d carried her out of the water until she felt the ground press against her
back. Shivering as the dew-covered grass cushioned her, she let her feet unhook
and drop to the ground as he settled on top of her, then immediately began
tugging at his tunic, eager to remove it as a barrier between them.
Unfortunately it had been a bit snug to begin with and—now wet—was impossible
for her to remove unaided.

Tearlach
broke their kiss long enough to rise up on his knees and drag off the clinging
cloth. He tossed it aside with little care or concern and lowered himself over
her again, but did not return to kissing her. Instead, his attention moved
lower and he pressed kisses along her collarbone before dipping to latch onto
one breast again.

Lucy
groaned and caught her hands in his hair, writhing under the caress as she felt
his hand begin to slide up her inner thigh.

“Tearlach?”
she whispered uncertainly. He immediately slid up her body, claiming her mouth
once more in an almost soothing kiss. His hand, however, continued to slide
gently up and down her thigh, raising goose bumps and stringing out her tension
as it neared the top, then bringing about a confused disappointment and
restlessness as it drifted away.

Much
to Lucy’s surprise, the action soon brought a low growl of frustration from her
and she was the one to deepen the kiss and thrust her hips upward in demand as
his fingers slid up her thigh once more. Despite that, she cried out in
startled surprise when his fingers finally continued their upward journey until
they found her core. Her body shook as a whole new, much more intense set of
sensations exploded inside her.

Sobbing
his name, Lucy pulled on his hair and kissed him frantically as he began to stoke
a fire like none she’d ever experienced. Her body seemed to be aflame, every
inch of skin suddenly burning for him. She wanted to be touched and kissed
everywhere and wanted to touch and kiss him everywhere too, but couldn’t seem
to figure out how to do that without his stopping what he was doing. Lucy did
the best she could, however, running her hands over his naked back and arms,
then up into his hair again. She kissed him with all the passion he was
eliciting until she almost couldn’t bear it anymore, then she pulled her mouth
free and began to press kisses to his face and forehead.

The
moment Lucy broke their kiss she lost him. Tearlach immediately began to snake
his way down her body, stopping here to nip and suckle, and there to lick and
kiss. His mouth traveled over her collarbone, to each breast, down her stomach,
to one hip, and then suddenly it was replacing his hand between her legs. Her
eyes immediately shot open and she cried out loud enough to send birds flying
from their nests as she bucked into the caress.

Tearlach
merely caught her thighs to hold her in place as he ministered to her, driving
her into a frenzy of need and want. Just when she was certain the overwhelming
sensation and excitement would surely kill her, it suddenly exploded, wrenching
a full scream from her throat as her body convulsed with spasm after spasm of a
pleasure as hot and bright as the sun overhead.

That
thought knifed through Lucy’s pleasure like a hot blade through freshly churned
butter. As hot and bright as the sun overhead? Dear God, the sun was up!

It
was now high in the sky and burning its way through the last bit of cloud cover
that had hidden it. Lucy could feel its warmth, see its brightness, and taste
the fear for Tearlach that suddenly filled her...and then he was shifting above
her, blocking the sky from her view. Feeling something nudge her between the
legs, she lifted her head to peer the length of their bodies. Her eyes widened
as she saw that he’d shed his braies and was preparing to mount her. Moments ago
she would have welcomed him, but that was before she’d realized that they’d
taken too long and the sun had snuck up on them. He couldn’t. They couldn’t. He
had to take cover.

Before
Lucy could speak, his mouth covered hers. She nearly sank under the pleasure
reawakened in her as his tongue burst through her lips even as his hardness
again brushed against her still tingling skin.

“Nay,”
she groaned into his mouth, but her hands started to slide up his arms. Surely
a few moments would not kill him? Surely just this once...?

While
Tearlach had spoken of his family and home, they’d not spoken much on his being
a vampire, or what his kind could and could not do. For some reason they’d
avoided the topic since Wymon had made known the fact Tearlach was one. But she
had never yet seen Tearlach in daylight. He always insisted they keep to caves
and other shelters in the day, traveling only at night despite the urgent need
to get to his cousin.

Lucy
had heard many tales and rumors about his kind and the sun. They were said to
abhor daylight. It was said they could not bear sunlight, and even that it
could kill them.

She
blinked her eyes open and peered down his naked back as her hands slid over it,
and immediately moaned in horror. His flesh was turning bright red. It looked
like a sunburn, but was happening much too quickly.

Just
as Tearlach started to push his way into her, Lucy broke their kiss and shoved
with all her might. “Nay, Tearlach! The sun.”

She
suspected it was more her words than her own puny efforts that made him stop.
Stiffening, he suddenly pulled back and glanced skyward. Lucy saw the fear and
realization slide over his face, followed by pain, and wondered if he’d really
been so distracted he hadn’t noticed it ere this, or if it had only just set
in.

Tearlach’s
eyes shot back to her, sharp and piercing, and then he began to move. He
levered himself off her, stood, and then caught her arm to help her to her
feet, but Lucy’s legs were still weak and trembling from the pleasure he’d
given her. She wasn’t at all sure they would carry her to the cave just then.
Even if they did, she knew it wouldn’t be quickly. She would simply slow him
down.

“Go.
I shall follow with our clothes and Trinket,” she said, sitting up.

Tearlach
hesitated, but really had no choice. Giving a quick nod, he turned and hurried
across the clearing to disappear through a pair of bushes. Lucy watched, making
note of the spot, knowing it must be the entrance to the cave, then drew her
legs against her chest, resting her head briefly on her knees as she waited to
recover enough to be able to follow.

Six

“Rosscurrach?”

The
whispered question drew Tearlach’s gaze away from the dark outline of the
castle in the distance and down to the woman cradled in his arms. He’d thought
she was still sleeping. Lucy had slept through most of this last night of their
journey.

Much
to his relief.

Unfortunately,
Tearlach found her presence and nearness trying since that episode in the
clearing the night before. The memories of her feel and taste and her little
gasps and moans of pleasure—not to mention her outright shouts—had driven him
wild all through their ride that night. It had been hardest when she was awake
and shifting restlessly about in his lap, her bottom unintentionally rubbing
against him as her soft voice caressed his ears. But it hadn’t been much better
when she was asleep, curled cozily against his chest.