Free Redemption (Book Two of the Shipwrecked Series) by Jenna Stone

happened tae ye!”
    “Nothing is going
to happen to me!” Sarah said firmly.  “You are strong and brave and-”
    “And sometimes
being strong or brave isna enough!  I’m just worrit that I willna be able tae
protect ye from Adahy and if I canna, it would be more that I could bear,”
Quinn said, his handsome features racked with emotion.
    “Look at me,
Quinn,” Sarah said firmly as she grasped Quinn’s face and forced his eyes to
meet hers.
    “I believe in
you.  I have never felt this way about someone before.  You’ve brought
joy and happiness into my life.  I trust you to protect me and Mairi and I know
that-”
    “May I kiss ye?”
he asked suddenly, interrupting Sarah’s defense of his character.
    “Will you run away
this time?” she asked, searching his face.
    “Nay, I won’t run
from ye.  I’m sorry for that,” he said sincerely.
    A moment passed in
silence and all that Quinn could hear was the soft rising and falling of
Sarah’s breath and the thundering of his own heart while he awaited her
permission.
    “Yes.  You may
kiss me,” she whispered as she bit her lower lip and contemplated what she had
just embarked upon.  Sarah knew that this kiss was the beginning of something
between her and Quinn.  She hoped that it would be.
    Sarah held her
breath as Quinn leaned towards her.
    His gaze dropped
to her lips, causing tingles of anticipation to run the length of her spine.
    He lifted his eyes
to meet hers and came nearer, his pulse hammering in his veins.
    His mouth brushed
softly against hers, causing butterflies to take flight in her stomach.  She
was startled by his tenderness as he slid his arms around her to pull her
closer, pressing her body intimately against his
    Quinn’s lips moved
over hers, sending a shivering sensation all the way to her toes.  She
abandoned herself to the thrilling feeling and moaned softly against his lips
as his kiss became more urgent, more insistent.  Quinn’s tongue traced her full
lower lip and when she granted him entry into her mouth, the kiss took her to
new heights of pleasure.  Never had she dreamed that kissing a man could feel
so wonderful.
    Quinn pulled back
from her and traced his fingers lightly over her cheek.  He rested his forehead
against hers and listened to his heart thunder in his chest.  How could this
woman unnerve him so?
    Sarah stared into
his eyes.  They were so very close to hers.  She focused on their gray depths
and saw the deep penetrating hurt that resided there.  She also saw an honesty
that she had never witnessed in the eyes of a man.  Quinn Murray held her now
in his arms and bared his scars, his vulnerability openly to her. 
    She vowed silently
to piece back together Quinn’s broken parts.  She vowed to work as hard as she
could to restore love and joy in his wounded eyes.  Oh how she wanted this man,
broken parts and all.
     Sarah slid her
hand from beneath Quinn’s shirt and grazed her fingers over the warm skin of
his neck until they settled behind the base of his head.  Quinn closed his eyes
in response to her touch and his breathing became ragged.  His gray eyes opened
and locked with hers as she raised her lips to meet his.
    The kiss began as
a question, as her lips brushed lightly across his.  The question was answered
when Quinn claimed her lips beneath his own, kissing her urgently now, with all
of his pent up longing.  His lips surged over Sarah’s and he buried his hand in
her thick, black hair.  His tongue was probing, begging for entry to her sweet,
wet mouth, and when she gladly yielded to him, Quinn groaned with pleasure. 
His tongue dipped into her sweet mouth and when it brushed against hers, Quinn
thought that he might combust from the raw desire that Sarah’s mouth kindled
within him.
    Sarah welcomed
Quinn’s kiss and she moaned with pleasure as his tongue dueled with her own. 
Her palm pressed against his sinewy chest and she relished the taste of his
insistent mouth upon her