Reunited (Book 2 of Lost Highlander series) by Cassidy Cayman

around so she was astride him. His hands slowly moved up and down her sides and she opened her eyes to look at him. His dark blue gaze met hers questioningly.
    His rugged face was half hidden in his sleep tousled hair and she reached down and brushed it back, sliding her hands down the hard planes of his stubbled jaw. She gently touched the edge of his bruise. He smiled so sweetly that her breath hitched.
    When she and Mellie had first seen him stumble out of the tower room wielding a battle axe, they’d both been ready to scream bloody murder and take off running.
    Then the guileless smile that took over the fierce warrior’s face stopped them in their tracks, and they knew they could trust him.
    He was the sun in her sky and she yearned to bask in his smile forever. She traced his dimple with her fingertip and leaned over and kissed him.
    “There were times,” she started, not taking her eyes from his face, “that I thought it wasn’t real.”
    She shuddered at the memories of the sleepless nights without him and he stroked her arms, took her hands in his and kissed them.
    “It was hard for any of us to talk about what happened. We had to keep quiet about so much.”
    A tear rolled down her cheek and he brushed it away with his thumb.
    “Piper,” he said huskily.
    She shook her head and continued. “There were times that I was scared you weren’t real.”
    He pulled her down to kiss her deeply, parting her trembling lips with his tongue and holding her tight against his strong body, so she could feel his heart beating next to hers.
    “I am real,” he said, shifting them effortlessly so she was underneath him again. “We are real.”
    Pressing her hips up to meet him, he gripped her bottom and slid into her. She gasped and clung to him as he pressed his forehead into her shoulder.
    “I love ye so,” he said into her neck, kissing her as he drove deeply.
    She wrapped her legs around him and met his every thrust.
    She wanted him. All of him, not just the slow building sensation that grew and radiated and would soon overpower her from the caresses of his body, but his heart and mind and soul.
    She had never known such a hunger.
    As they moved together, his breath warm against her throat, his hands sliding sinuously along her body, Piper wrapped her arms around his neck and held on, almost strangling him as she succumbed to the ecstasy he gave her.
    Her skin felt like it shimmered all over, burning and then finally doused. He collapsed on top of her and rolled slightly to the side, taking her with him since she refused to let go.
    She shook in his arms from her wild release and he held her tight, absorbing the tremors.
    When she released her limpet grip and rolled onto her back on the mat, she made sure to keep one hand on him, just in case.
    “I shall do whatever ye say, Piper,” he said finally.
    “I don’t know yet,” she said. “I’m just glad you’re here with me.”
    He put his arm around her and leaning over, kissed her deeply, then looked into her eyes.
    His were burning and darkest blue and they seared into the depths of her. She had to struggle to breathe against the intensity of her feelings.
    She swallowed hard. “I like to do things, get things done,” she started hesitantly, trying not to get lost in his gaze. “I’m not a cold hearted person, but I’ve never been that troubled by feelings.”
    She squeezed her eyes shut to keep more tears from rolling out. “But now, you make me feel …”
    “What?” Lachlan asked softly, after she was silent for a long moment.
    “Everything,” she said, opening her eyes and taking him in, this big stranger who had her heart. “All of it. Good and bad. It scares me.”
    “I shall protect ye,” he said.
    Piper laughed and brushed his hair back. “You can’t protect me from my own feelings.”
    “Aye, I can.” He smiled down at her. “I will.”
    His kiss swept her free of her worries, fortified her with the strength of his love.
     “Can