Free MacAlister's Hope by Laurin Wittig Page A

beneath his, hoping she would kiss him back, even if it were for the last time. Suddenly, she rose up onto her toes, deepening the kiss he’d started, and holding onto him with a ferocity he would never have expected. His heart fluttered, skipping a beat, then doubling its effort as she threaded her fingers into his hair and tilted her sweet mouth, opening for him with a need so fierce it would not be denied. He could not help but run his hands over her back and down to her backside, pressing her against him until he could barely think. She shivered, and he could not tell if it was from the passion that exploded between them, or because she was cold, but either way, they could not stay out here. He scooped her up, never breaking the kiss, and carried her to the tiny cottage that she and Annis were to have shared.
    When they were inside, he let her slide down him until her feet touched the floor. He trailed kisses over her cheek and down to the hollow behind her ear, then down the pale column of her neck. He ran his hand up her side, letting his thumb just skim along the side of her breast. She turned just slightly, allowing his hand to cup her breast, as she gave a low satisfied moan. She leaned against him, creating an exquisite pressure along the length of his erection where she trapped it between their bodies.
    He reached down and cupped her bottom, pulling her closer still, as she found his mouth with hers and kissed him again.
    He stopped.
    He stopped his hands where he caressed her backside.
    He stopped their kiss.
    He realized his breath came hard and fast as if he’d been running. He set her just far enough away to create a little space between them so he could try to form the words that needed to be spoken. He looked her directly in her amazingly big blue eyes and almost lost his ability to speak. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his heartbeat.
    “I need to say something, Fia. I dinna want you to think…”
    “What is it?” she asked, her voice breathy as if she, too, was having a hard time slowing her heart.
    “I need to say…” He closed his eyes again, steadying himself lest he get lost in her gaze and the sweetness of her breath upon his face, lest he divest her of her clothes and make her his this very moment. He took another long shuddering breath.
    “Whatever it is, Kieron, just say it.”
    He opened his eyes and ran a thumb over her cheek. “I love you.”
    The most wistful smile he had ever seen spread over her heart-shaped face as if his words saddened her. “I know.” And now it was she who closed her eyes and took a long, slow breath. “I am sorry I did not tell you earlier today.” She lifted her chin and gazed up at him. “I thought it would be easier to leave you if I did not say the words, but even the few hours when I kept myself away from you this afternoon proved to me that it was too late. I love you, too,” she said, laying a hand on his chest just as she had when she slept in his lap. “I always will.”
    “Oh, thank God,” he said, pulling her into a kiss that was more fierce than loving, more claiming than coaxing by both of them.

Chapter Eight
     
    Fia was nervous and happier than she could ever remember being. Kieron loved her and she loved him. The man made her body hum in a way she’d never experienced before just by saying her name, or looking at her, but now…this…now she was on fire and the only thing she knew was that Kieron fanned the flames higher and hotter with every touch of his lips, every caress of his hands.
    “We should stop,” he said, raining kisses down her neck and back up to that sensitive spot behind her ear that she had not known was there.
    “Aye.” She leaned her head to the side. “Aye,” she said again on a sigh of pure pleasure. Neither of them ceased their explorations of each other.
    Fia slid her hands up his arms, as he cupped her breasts in his hands, running his thumbs over the peaked nipples. She pressed