Highland Vow by Hannah Howell Page B

were my knight. I found ye wounded, being hunted by men who wished ye dead for a crime ye didnae commit, and ye were such a bonny lad e’en then. Aye, and then ye kissed my hand in parting.” She took a step closer to him so that she could caress him with more ease, delighted at the pleasure he so obviously received from her touch. “At first they were sweet, childish dreams of heroic rescues, but then I grew older and learned something about the ways of men and women. Then those dreams were nay longer so sweet, but hot. Verra, verra hot.”
    Her soft husky voice stroked him almost as well as her long slender fingers. The thought of being the man in her dreams for years was a heady one. It could also mean that it was not simply desire that drove Elspeth into his arms, that her feelings ran a great deal deeper than she admitted. It would explain a lot. It would also mean that it would be most unkind of him to indulge in a brief affair with her, then cast her aside once he was reunited with Isabel.
    He was just about to ask her, as bluntly as he dared, what she did feel for him when she suddenly went down on her knees in front of him and ran her tongue along his aching length. His whole body swayed from the force of the delight that rushed through him. Cormac tugged on the ribbons at the sleeves of her gown and watched it slide off her body. With his hands on her shoulders, he struggled to contain his passion long enough to savor the way she loved him with her mouth. She followed his hoarse requests with a sweet willingness that made him dizzy.
    Finally, knowing he could endure no more, he pulled her to her feet and nearly threw her on the bed. Despite the crippling need he felt to be inside her, he held back, wanting to be sure she was ready for him. When he slid his fingers through the tight curls at the juncture of her thighs and found her already damp with invitation, he lost the last shreds of his control. With a soft cry he plunged into her. It was a wild, frantic ride, and when she cried out in release, he was right there with her.
    It was a long time before Cormac regained the wit to recall just how fierce his loving had been and he cautiously raised himself up on his forearms to look at her. The faint smile on her lightly flushed face was one of pure female satisfaction. Cormac did not think she knew what a wonder she was.
    “Did I hurt ye, lass?” he still felt compelled to ask.
    “Nay,” she replied, then grinned. “But the headboard of this bed was a wee bit hard.”
    He laughed as he eased the intimacy of their embrace. After cleaning them bothoff, he quickly rejoined her in bed, lying on his back and tugging her into his arms until she was sprawled on top of him. He was in it now, knee deep and sinking fast, but Cormac decided he would worry about it all later.
    Elspeth felt him harden against her and her eyes widened. “Again?”
    “Ah, angel, now that we have begun this affair, I mean for it to be the wildest, most passionate, and most exhausting one there has e’er been.”
    That suited Elspeth just fine. It meant he would not be pushing her away again. And just maybe, he would find beneath that wildness and that passion the spark of love. And if not, if she lost her gamble for his heart, once the pain eased she would have a lot of sweet memories.

Chapter Six
    While she waited for Cormac to finish stabling their horses, Elspeth wandered to the doors of the warm, and a little too fragrant, stable to take a deep breath of fresh air. It had troubled her a little to find that Cormac had gotten her her own horse, but she had firmly told herself not to be so foolish. The need for one was easy to see and she could not put their lives at risk just because she liked to be close to Cormac. He was no longer trying to push her away. She did not have to greedily cling to every small opportunity to be near him.
    Although their affair was only two days old, he was certainly living up to his promise to make it a