Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

T he words were out of Bonnie's mouth before she could stop them, but she didn't want to take them back. At first, she had been a little hesitant, especially as she remembered Evan's warning that he would not take her as a husband takes a wife, since they were not married. But then she couldn't help but crave him, every part of her body calling to her to be as close to him as she could. She didn't want anything to separate them any longer. She didn't want to hide a single part of her from him.

She had come close to death, and she knew the day could come when Evan would be in dire danger. If anything, that day was close. He was going against powerful men, men who could kill him with a simple order, and Bonnie couldn't handle the grief that welled up inside her at that thought.

Before that day came, she wanted to be his and for him to become hers.

Evan showed no resistance as he kissed her, despite his previous claims. Had he changed his mind, Bonnie wondered? Did he, too, want it as much as she did after realizing that they could lose each other at any moment?

She didn't want to break the spell cast over the night by asking him, and so she remained silent as he pushed his cloak off her shoulders, smoothing it down onto the ground, and then unclasped hers, doing the same. Bonnie shivered as the cool night air hit her exposed skin, but Evan's warmth, coupled with the heat of the flames, was more than enough to keep the chill of the night away.

Just as the cloak fell off her shoulders, though, Evan hesitated and Bonnie realized it wouldn't be as easy for her to convince him that it was alright, even if she was unmarried.

"Are ye . . . are ye certain?" he asked, himself sounding entirely uncertain. "Ye ken what could happen if this is revealed. If anyone finds out?—"

"I ken," Bonnie assured him, nodding. She wasn't a fool. She knew that any hopes of marriage with anyone but Evan would be ruined for her if anyone ever found out, but the truth of the matter was that she didn't want to marry anyone else. "I ken, Evan."

"I cannae promise ye anythin'," Evan said in an anguished tone that had Bonnie frowning in confusion. "As much as I would love tae promise ye that I'll make ye me wife, I must first speak tae me council. They've been lookin' fer a wife fer me an' I tried tae avoid it as much as I could, but they may have found one already, an' I . . . I wish tae wed ye, Bonnie. I dinnae want anyone else, but if me council?—"

Bonnie hushed Evan gently, pulling him into another kiss to soothe his fears. All that mattered to her was that he wanted to marry her, just as she wanted to marry him. As long as they had each other, as long as they loved each other, then that was enough for her.

"Please," she said, whispering against his lips. She looked right into Evan's eyes, gazing into their dark depths. "I want ye."

It was that which convinced Evan in the end and he wasted no more time before he began to push Bonnie's tunic down her shoulders, eager hands exposing her breasts. Then, he paused, looking down at her body as though he was in awe of what he saw, before he quickly helped her take off all her clothes, leaving her entirely nude.

"Yer so bonnie, lass," he said, leaning down to drag the flat of his tongue over her nipple before his lips wrapped around it, sucking hard on the pebbled nub. Bonnie moaned, loud an unabashed, and Evan's hips jerked against her, a gasp shuddering through him as he drew back. "Make that sound again."

Evan's hands found her breasts, fingers toying with her nipples, and Bonnie didn't need to be told again. She couldn't stop the moans that tumbled past her lips even if she tried, the pleasure shooting straight to her core. Against her thigh, she could feel Evan's manhood already hardening, a thick, solid heat even through their clothes.

"Ye make the loveliest sounds when I play with yer breasts," Evan said, one of his hands sliding lower and lower as he stared at Bonnie's heaving chest, tongue darting out to lick his lips. "Dae ye like it? Does it make yer bonnie cleft all wet fer me? Let us see."

Bonnie's face burned at the seemingly endless stream of filthy words, but as embarrassed as she was to hear Evan speak like that, it also only served to make her want him more, spark after spark of lust igniting inside her. When Evan held her thighs apart, his hand reaching between them to brush over her folds, Bonnie realized with growing embarrassment that she was, indeed, already wet, Evan's fingers rubbing slickly over her flesh.

"Soakin' wet," he said around a deep, rumbling moan as his thumb circled her sensitive spot, drawing out her pleasure. Bonnie was entirely at his mercy, caught between the pulsing pleasure in her core and the strange mix of lust and embarrassment that fogged up her mind. "Keep yer legs spread wide fer me. I want tae watch ye take me inside ye."

"Evan," Bonnie whined, heart hammering in her chest. "Ye cannae say those things! It's . . . it's utterly indecent!"

"Then let us be utterly indecent," Evan all but growled as he brought his fingers to his lips, both wetting them and tasting Bonnie on them at the same time. "If only I could taste yer sweetness all the time . . . but nay. We shall try somethin' different now an' I wish tae look at ye."

His fingers found Bonnie's opening once more, a wicked grin on his face as one of them slipped slowly inside her. Bonnie cried out, half in surprise and half in pleasure, her innermost walls fluttering around Evan as they adjusted to the new sensation. Evan, true to his word, never once looked away from where they were joined, staring like a man dying of thirst who found an oasis.

"So tight . . . I can only imagine how tight an' hot ye'll be when I push inside ye."

Nothing could have prepared Bonnie for the intensity of her need when Evan began to talk to her like this, teasing out things she didn't even know existed within her. Certainly, on the one hand, she could hardly bear to listen to him, feeling as though she would combust from sheer embarrassment, but on the other hand, she never wanted it to end. She had never felt such desire, such lust before. Nothing could compare to this urgent need that left her gasping and moaning and begging for more.

"Ye want more?" Evan asked, and Bonnie realized she had begged him out loud for it. "I'll give ye more, mo ghraidh . I'll give ye anythin' ye want. I'll make ye come apart fer me, listen tae yer bonnie moans as I plunge inside ye an' make ye mine."

"Yers," said Bonnie mindlessly, hips rolling ceaselessly against Evan as she sought out more from him. "All yers."

"All mine, aye," said Evan, and then pushed another finger inside her, making her arch off the cloaks and into his touch. His hands were still gentle as he thrusted inside her, but the rhythm of his fingers was demanding, Evan determined to draw the first orgasm out of her.

When he curled his fingers, hitting a spot inside Bonnie again and again that made everything else melt away, her world turning into nothing but blinding white, her body surrendered to him, Bonnie reaching her peak with a scream of his name.

At first, there was nothing but the warm, pulsing sensation travelling up and down her body, her mind beautifully blank, anything that wasn't Evan too far away to matter. Bonnie came slowly back to her body, thighs shaking as Evan gently removed his fingers and draped himself over her, pulling her into a deep, searing kiss.

Bonnie lay there, practically boneless, lazily kissing Evan back, all the urgency now gone—from her, at least. Evan was still eager, hips twitching against her as though he couldn't help it. A laugh bubbled out of her, bright and happy, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as they kissed, letting the joy wash over her.

It had been a while since she had last been so happy. Being with Evan was a relief like no other.

Soon, though, she remembered that Evan hadn't had the chance to reach his own release, nor had he truly taken her as she had asked. Breaking the kiss, Bonnie looked at him, her hand sneaking between them to wrap around his length over his clothes.

It had an immediate effect on Evan. He froze, his entire body shuddering with pleasure, eyes falling shut. Bonnie loved to see him like this, so affected even though he had been with many others before.

"I told ye I want ye tae take me," she reminded him. "An' I still dae."

"Are ye certain?" Evan asked. "We can?—"

"I am certain," Bonnie insisted. "I want it, Evan. I want ye . Please . . . dinnae make me wait any longer."

For a moment, Evan was stunned into silence, but then he nodded and pulled back from Bonnie. In only a few seconds, he had ridded himself of his clothes, throwing them in the same pile as hers, and for the first time, Bonnie could appreciate him in all his beauty.

Under the light of the fire, he looked as though he was sculpted from marble; broad shoulders, thick arms, a muscular chest and stomach. And right below, his length curling towards his belly, thick and weeping from the head.

Bonnie swallowed in a dry throat. She had never seen a man entirely nude before and certainly no man who looked like Evan. Too late, she realized she had been staring, and Evan chuckled as she quickly averted her gaze.

"Yer allowed tae look," he said, shuffling closer to her. "Dae ye like what ye see?"

Bonnie nodded, one hand tentatively reaching out to caress the grooves of his muscles on his chest and stomach. They were hard under her fingers, the skin a little rough from the sparse coating of hair, dark as that on his head. A trail of it led under his bellybutton to his crotch, drawing her gaze back to his manhood once more.

She had to admit it was rather intimidating. Evan was a big man—proportionate everywhere. Compared to him, Bonnie felt too small.

Gathering some of her wetness in a sudden movement that had Bonnie gasping, Evan brought his hand to himself and stroked his length languidly as he watched her. Then, he draped himself over her once more, his other hand carding gently through her hair.

"If ye wish tae stop, ye'll tell me."

It wasn't a question—more of an order—but Bonnie nodded regardless, even if she knew she had come too far now to stop. She wanted Evan more than she had wanted anything in her life and she would be damned if she left that clearing without having him at least once.

The first thrust was torturously slow as Evan entered her, taking his time and giving her time, too, to adjust. He was shaking above her, seemingly using all his willpower to go this slowly, controlling himself as well as he could, his eyes firmly shut and his lips parted around a moan. Bonnie clung onto his shoulders, fingers digging into the rigid flesh, her breath caught in her throat as Evan filled her to the brim, taking up all the space inside her.

By the time he was buried in her to the hilt, they were both covered in a thin sheen of sweat, panting as they tried to catch their breaths.

"Ye truly are . . . so tight," Evan said, voice strained as he stopped himself from moving, his hips only giving small, restrained twitches. "Yer heavenly, lass. How I wish I could remain inside ye, pleasurin' ye time after time."

Bonnie didn't respond. There was nothing she could say when each and every sense in her body was overtaken by Evan and by the pleasure, he was giving her. Slowly, he withdrew his hips and then plunged himself inside her once more, twin moans falling from their lips.

"Evan . . ."

She didn't know how to finish that sentence, but Evan nodded anyway, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I ken," he said. "I ken."

And it was then that Bonnie knew he felt the same thing she did, the two of them lost into each other, chasing the same release.

Nothing could have prepared Bonnie for this. Nothing could have prepared her for how close she felt to Evan now, how it felt as though they were becoming one. More than ever, she knew just how much she wanted him by her side, the two of them spending the rest of their lives together.

Every thrust of Evan's hips sent a jolt of pleasure through Bonnie, the brush of his manhood against her walls driving her mad with need. Her body responded to each of his movements, legs wrapping tightly around his hips to keep him close, her opening parting eagerly for him as he pushed deeper and deeper. Whatever she couldn't say to him, she showed it in the way she kissed him, deep and greedy, their tongues twining as they rocked together on the ground.

Slowly, her pleasure grew once more, Evan's ministrations bringing her closer and closer to another climax. She could feel him everywhere around her, inside her, the sweet assault on her senses too good to resist.

"Evan, please," she said, the words coming out in a breathless gasp.

"Are ye close, mo ghraidh ?" Evan asked, doubling his efforts. "Come . . . I wish tae see ye again."

It only took a few more thrusts for Bonnie to be tipped over the edge, diving into the depths of another climax. Her body shook with the force of it, head thrown back and ears buzzing with the rush of blood in her veins until it was the only thing she could hear.

Warmth spread all over her body, her core pulsing even as she came down. The aftershocks of pleasure drew a startled gasp out of her as Evan gave a few more thrusts in quick succession, and then buried his face in her neck with a groan, spilling against her thigh.

Afterwards, neither of them could move. They stayed there, entwined as they tried to catch their breath once more in silence, their chests heaving. It was only when Evan became too heavy to bear that Bonnie pushed him off, and though he went easily, he quickly pulled her into his arms.

Bonnie was grateful for it as she snuggled against his chest. Now that they were finished, the cooling sweat on her body had left her shivering, even with the warmth of the fire.

"Did ye enjoy it?" Evan asked, and Bonnie looked up to give him an unimpressed look. She was quite certain that her enjoyment had been more than clear, and yet Evan still asked. She could only assume he was trying to stroke his own ego.

"Must ye ask?" she said, giving him a playful shove. "I think ye ken the answer."

"I wish tae hear it from ye," Evan said with a small shrug. "I truly dae. Is that so bad?"

It occurred to Bonnie then that Evan was not asking because he wanted to hear her admit it, but rather because he feared there was a chance, no matter how small, that she had not, in fact, enjoyed it. The realization stunned her into silence for a few moments, but then she rolled on top of him, bracing her hands on his chest to look at his face.

"I enjoyed it very much," she said. "In fact, I dinnae think I have ever enjoyed anythin' as much as this."

As he looked at her, Evan's lips split into a wide grin, genuine joy radiating off him in waves. "I'm glad," he said. "I enjoyed it very much, as well."

For a while, they stayed like that, content to simply enjoy each other's presence. Then, they quickly cleaned up and dressed, before settling in for the night, once again in each other's arms. The only difference now was that Evan had his sword right next to him, and the mere sight of it brought some uneasiness to Bonnie at the thought that there could be an attack.

There was another thought, too, which filled her with unease. She remembered what Evan had said about the two of them getting married, and she didn't know if she should believe him or if he was only using the council as an excuse. He had told her repeatedly that he loved her and his actions spoke of the same, but Bonnie had long since learned to be wary of people.

What if he doesnae wish tae wed me? What if it was naething but an excuse?

"Hush," Evan said, his eyes closed, as though he could sense what Bonnie was thinking. "Relax . . . go tae sleep. I'm right here."

He's right here . . . he's nae lyin' tae me.