His gaze drifted lower to the small patch of curls nestled at the apex of her legs, guarding her innocence and the sweetness found within.
He hadn’t thought it possible to grow harder than he already was. His c**k strained against his trews until the very feel of the material drove him mad.
He didn’t want to frighten her, but if he didn’t shed his clothing soon, he was going to claw it from his flesh.
“Lie there while I undress,” he said in a low voice.
Her eyes widened as his fingers fumbled with the laces of his trews. Then he peeled the material away and his c**k sprang free. The relief was so acute that he nearly went to his knees right then and there.
He yanked at his tunic and sent it sailing across the room. When he returned his gaze to Keeley, he saw that her gaze was fixed on his groin. He wasn’t sure whether she was appalled or curious. Her expression was a strange mixture of both.
He stepped between her thighs, and her hands rose automatically as if to ward him off.
He caught her wrists and held them as his thumbs caressed the soft pads of hers.
“ ’Tis nothing to be afraid of, Keeley. I won’t hurt you. I’ll be as gentle as a newborn lamb.”
And if it killed him, he wouldn’t break his word.
Chapter 18
Keeley held her breath until she was light-headed and near to fainting. When she let it out, it came out in a rush that unsteadied her.
Before her stood a man—a warrior—that had no equal. He was honed by the fires of battle. Muscled. Scarred. Lean. No spare flesh on any part of his body.
He towered over her, his strength a tangible thing in the small space of the chamber. He could so easily hurt her, and yet she trusted him fully. His gentleness soothed her and made her ache with longing.
But looking at his groin with his … appendage … jutting upward like a battle flag, she cast a doubtful look upward. “Are you sure … Are you sure we’ll … it’ll … fit?”
She nearly groaned with her humiliation. How was she supposed to act like a grown woman who’d been on her own for the last years when she swooned at the mere sight of a man’s shaft. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t seen one before. She’d seen his for that matter, but they’d all been at rest. Not flagging upward like a battle-ax.
It amazed her that something soft and unremarkable could grow to such a size and appear so menacing.
Alaric laughed softly, and his eyes gleamed with amusement as he gazed down at her.
“Aye, it’ll fit. ’Tis your duty to accommodate me.”
She arched an eyebrow at his arrogance. “ ’Tis my duty? Who made this rule, warrior?”
He grinned. “You’ll soften and grow damp. ’Tis my duty to make that happen.”
“I will?”
She tried to keep the confusion and question from her voice, but it came out breathy, almost excited.
He moved in close and then leaned over her, his body so close to hers that his heat surrounded her and seeped into her flesh. “Aye, you will. I’ll make certain of that.”
He settled onto her, scorching her as their skin molded and her body melted into his. The hair on his chest lightly abraded her skin and his hair fell over his shoulders and onto hers.
“ ’Tis unseemly for a man to have such beautiful hair,” she murmured.
He levered up and scowled down at her. “ ’Tis unseemly to tell a man he has beautiful hair.”
She smiled. “Oh, but I love to run my fingers through it. Do you remember me washing you when we were still in my cottage? I dried it and put a brush to it and then I rebraided the strands at your temples. ’Twas like silk, the finest I’ve ever felt.”
“I remember an enchantress with her hands sliding through my hair. ’Twas like a dream I never wished to waken from.”
She reached up to capture his hair with her fingers and let the strands twine around the tips.
“And this is a dream I never want to waken from,” she whispered.
He captured her mouth. Fierce and hot. Not as gentle as he’d been before. He stole her breath. Demanded it and her kiss. His body moved urgently against hers, roughly as their legs twined and he branded her flesh with his.
His arousal was bold and hard, butting against the juncture of her legs. Instinctively, she parted her thighs, and then she gasped when the length of him slid along her most intimate flesh.
Indescribable sensations jolted through her body as his thick shaft rubbed along the tiny nub of flesh between her folds. She lifted her thighs, wanting more, but he pushed himself off her and slid down her body.
She would have protested, but his tongue swirled around her navel, and she promptly forgot all but his sinful mouth. But when he dragged his tongue even lower, she raised her head in alarm.
When he looked up at her, his eyes glittered, reminding her of a predator about to charge his prey. She shivered at the sheer intensity in his gaze. And the promise.
Slowly he lowered his head as his fingers gripped her thighs. He spread her, gently, but with enough force that she was helpless in his grasp. He pressed a tender kiss just above the thatch of curls and her entire belly quivered in reaction.
Her mind was afire with naughty, delicious thoughts of him touching her even more intimately with his tongue. She tingled from head to toe, and the room was so hazy around her that it felt as though she were swimming in waters heated by the sun.
“Oh,” she gasped when his fingers gently parted the delicate folds between her legs.
His thumb brushed over the sensitive little nub, and he trailed a single fingertip to her opening where he continued to tease.
When he touched his tongue to where his thumb had rested, the most peculiar, spectacular sensation thrilled through her pelvis and into her limbs. Her belly tightened with unbearable pleasure. It flooded her, tightening every muscle until her body quivered with the strain.
He continued a slow, decadent dance over feminine flesh, lapping and licking like she was a sweet treat. Her legs shook uncontrollably. Her senses spiraled out of control.
She reached down and thrust her fingers into his hair. Her breaths came in ragged, painful bursts, burning a path up her throat before exploding into the quiet.
“Alaric!”
He continued to nuzzle between her legs, kissing and tonguing her until she begged him to stop, not to stop, for more. And more.
She had no inkling of what was happening or what she should do. So she put herself into his care, gave her trust to him, and she let go of her fears and reservations.