Tryst

A s she felt her way up the stairs to the floor above her bedchamber, Willow knew she was taking a big risk. She'd dispensed with a candle, fearing the flickering light might alert her brothers whose chambers were on the same floor as hers. They'd never let her out of their sight since breakfast, even after her beloved left for the shipyards.

She tapped lightly on Niven's door, hoping he wasn't sleeping so soundly he might not hear.

Surprise lit his eyes when he opened the door, but it was a surprise of delight, not censure. Tapping a finger to his lips, he ushered into his room.

Averting her eyes from his naked chest, she whispered, "This is highly improper."

He silenced her with a kiss.

She melted into his strength, playfully welcoming his tongue with hers. The urge to remove her night attire and be skin to skin with him was nigh on overwhelming. It amazed her how quickly she'd come to trust him, to thirst for his touch, his taste, his scent.

She arched her back, mewling with delight when he cupped her breast and brushed a thumb over the nipple. This was a new liberty with her person, but Niven was the man destined to possess her.

"Willow," he growled. "I crave ye."

Willow had led a sheltered life, but she'd often overheard her brothers boast about their male "weapons" and how they swelled to gigantic proportions when in the presence of a willing female. She'd thought gigantic a typical exaggeration on their part, but there was no denying the substantial maleness pressing against her mons as Niven held her close. "I want to be yours," she replied, sifting her fingers through the fine dusting of hair on his broad chest.

"Then we'll elope," he declared, drawing her to the bed. "To Gretna."

He must have sensed her hesitation. "Ye ken 'tis in Scotland? Just o'er the border."

She cuddled into his warmth, wondering how he could be so hot when he'd dispensed with the shirt held over his male parts and wore not a stitch. "Yes. I suppose we'll continue north after that. To your village."

"Aye. But I warn ye, life there isna like in London. The winters are cruel and long. The people arena always friendly toward strangers, especially Sassenachs."

"I'm hardy," she replied, only too aware she'd been spoiled all her life. "And they'll just have to get used to me."

"Bravely spoken, lass, but ye ken ye'll be married to a distillery worker."

Her heart raced. "Sounds like you're trying o talk me out of it."

"Nay. I just want ye to be sure."

"You've much more to lose than I do," she countered. "Your standing with my father, your job, your family's arrangement for free shipping. Who will take care of the warehouse and marketing your whisky here in London?"

"'Tis true, we've both got a lot to lose. But if we want to be together…"

Troubled by the consequences of their plan to elope, she plucked up her courage and put her hand on his maleness. His throaty growl prompted her to move her fingers.

"Ye're playin' wi' fire, lass," he rasped. "I want ye so much."

Despite her wish to belong to him, she was afraid she'd gone too far. She knew so little about men.

"Dinna fash," he said. "We're nay married yet and we both want ye to be a virgin bride when ye come to my bed."

Heat flooded her. She'd never had such an intimate conversation with anyone. "I know nothing of what happens between a man and his wife," she confessed.

"'Twill be my honor to teach ye. Let me give ye a wee taste o' the pleasure to be had. I promise I willna dishonor ye."

She was convinced when he gently squeezed her nipple.

Niven had never been driven to taste a woman's juices. But he was now. Intoxicated by the tempting aroma of female arousal mingled with Willow's unique scent, he hoped he could keep his word and not go too far with her. She trusted him and he would rather die than betray that trust.

It was an easy matter to coax her out of the bed-robe she'd worn for her clandestine adventure. She whimpered when he suckled a nipple through the silky fabric of her nightgown and made no objection when he untied the laces and eased the garment off her shoulders. Wishing there was more light in the room, he gazed at her ripe, moonlit breasts, feasting like a rabid beast when she cradled his head to her chest.

The rhythmic movement of her hips as he suckled one nipple then the other told him she was close to spending. Quickly, he knelt between her legs, grasped her thighs and lifted her intimate folds to his lips. "Niven," was all she whispered, so he assumed she liked his mouth where it had no business being.

She tasted sweet like honey, sinful like forbidden fruit. He couldn't get enough, intensifying the penetration of his tongue as she thrashed and moaned. Soon, her body went rigid as she keened her release. He smothered her screams of ecstasy with his kiss.

Bleary eyed and ready to kill whoever had knocked on his door in the middle of the night, Rowan was surprised to see Ash and Thorne in the corridor. "This had better be good," he growled. "I was sound asleep."

His brothers pushed inside and shut the door behind them. "We think Willow has gone upstairs," Ash whispered.

It took a moment for his meaning to penetrate, then he reached for his bed-robe. "I'll kill him."

Ash blocked his way to the door. "We don't know for sure, and surely you don't want to burst into his room and find we were wrong."

Rowan hesitated. "True, so what do you suggest?"

He fumed when, as usual, they dithered, obviously having no plan of their own to offer.

"Shall we just let him deflower our sister then?" he goaded, wishing they weren't having this conversation in the dark.

"Listen," Ash replied. "We all recognize that Niven isn't that kind of man, and Willow isn't a wanton."

Rowan recalled how difficult it had been not to sneak Daisy off and have his way with her, but he wasn't about to divulge that titbit to his brothers. However, what they said made sense. "Perhaps they are just plotting their elopement."

It was impossible to see, but he wouldn't be surprised if both silent brothers were rolling their eyes at that possibility.

"We'll have to keep an eye on them in the coming days," Thorne eventually suggested.

Rowan tapped his chin as an idea formed. "Better still, we'll remove Niven so there is no danger of an elopement."

"Remove him to where?" Ash asked.

"We're off to Flanders in a few days, aren't we?"