Shadow Highlander

NINE

Reaghan’s body was on fire. Every place Galen touched, kissed, caressed set her ablaze. She was excited, and eager to discover more of the thrilling passion Galen created.

She threw caution to the wind and pressed herself against him. Her mind spun as the wondrous feel of his rigid arousal teased and stimulated her sex. Each time his rod stroked against her, an astonishing new sensation stirred within her, centering low in her stomach and tightening, making her limbs heavy and her breathing ragged.

No man had ever touched her like this, but she knew the release, when it came, would be glorious. How she understood what to expect she didn’t know. And at the moment she didn’t care.

She wanted more of Galen, more of his hands, his mouth, his hard, muscular body against hers.

His fingers fondled her breasts, tweaking her nipples until her hips were moving against him in a rhythm that was as old as time itself.

The music drummed in her ears, the cadence enchanting. Just like Galen. Arousing. Exhilarating. Stimulating.

She never wanted this night to end.

His large hand splayed against her bottom and held her still as he ground against her. She moaned, and his lopsided grin was all pleased male.

It made her heart skip a beat. She lifted her face and kissed him. She loved the taste of him, his scent of pine, of the forest.

“God’s teeth, you feel so good,” Galen whispered in her ear just before he nipped her earlobe.

Reaghan shivered against him. “I’ve never felt anything like this.”

“There’s so much more.”

“Show me.”

His stunning cobalt eyes caught and held hers. He gazed deep into her eyes, as if he searched for something. “I should no’ be touching you at all.”

“Maybe not, but tell me if this doesn’t feel right to you. Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll leave.”

His fingers dug into her skin as he clutched her tighter. “I’m afraid I willna ever be able to let you go.”

“Then kiss me. My body is on fire, and I need more of you.”

His mouth slanted over hers, his tongue mating with hers in a frenzied, passionate kiss while his hands roamed over her body, learning her.

All Reaghan could do was hold on to him. She learned the feel of his thick shoulders, the way his muscles moved and bunched in his back beneath her palms.

She was breathless, her body flooded with passion. The tightening inside her continued, until she didn’t think she could stand another moment.

Then, his hand cupped her sex.

Reaghan gasped at the pressure he applied to her swollen sex. His fingers tangled in her curls, pushing them aside so he could fondle her.

She held still, afraid he would stop. And afraid he wouldn’t.

When his finger dipped inside her, she sighed, the pleasure so intense she couldn’t breathe. But then he pulled his finger out of her and began to slowly, gently, rub against her clitoris.

Reaghan’s eyes rolled back in her head as she savored the sheer delight that slowed her blood and sped up her heart. Each stroke of his finger was like lightning through her body.

Her hips moved of their own accord, seeking more of the pleasure that was building, steadily growing, swelling inside her. Small cries fell from her parted lips as his strokes grew faster, sending her spiraling down a path of potent pleasure.

Until the climax claimed her, dragging her into an abyss of never-ending ecstasy.

She cried out, Galen’s name on her lips, but he took her cries into his mouth with a scorching kiss. He held her against him as she slowly came down from the exquisite orgasm.

Reaghan could feel his heart beating as rapidly as her own, could hear his harsh breaths. When the kiss ended she opened her eyes to find him watching her.

“That was glorious,” she whispered into the silence. She didn’t know when the music had stopped, only that it had.

He smiled and tugged at one of her curls.

“Galen,” she said, and rubbed against his hard cock.

His eyes closed as he groaned. “Doona do that. I want you too desperately as it is.”

“And if I want to feel you inside me?”

Galen’s eyes snapped open. “You doona know what you are saying.”

“I do. I want all of you.”

She saw his need warring with what he somehow thought he should do. For too long Reaghan had watched as others experienced life. She wanted this, and she wasn’t about to let Galen go without a fight.

“Please,” she whispered, and kissed him.

He reacted instantly, the kiss deep, hot, and frantic. All of his passion, all of his longing, was poured into that kiss. And it left her breathless.

She reached and unfastened the brooch that pinned his kilt over his heart. Her hands eagerly lifted his saffron shirt and met warm skin and solid muscle.

He broke the kiss long enough to tug off his shirt, and then he took her mouth again. Reaghan’s sex throbbed, eager to have him touch her once more, to take her on that incredible journey over and over.

“I want you naked,” he said between kisses.

Reaghan pulled off her gown, her hands tangling with Galen’s as they each tried to rid her of her clothes. They shared a laugh, their eyes locking.

In the next moment he shifted them so that she was on her back. She felt something soft beneath her and realized it was his kilt.

While he removed his boots, Reaghan quickly shed her shoes and woollen hose. And then he stood staring down at her. She gazed up into his face now cast in shadow. The moonlight bathed his skin and hair in a bluish glow.

She was able to see the magnificent muscles of his chest and abdomen in all their defined glory. She marveled at the corded muscles in his arms and neck and legs. His wide chest tapered into a vee leading to his trim waist and hips.

And jutting out, hard and thick, was his arousal, the very thing she yearned to feel inside her.

Galen had never been so entranced. The woman lying on his kilt, the woman who now offered herself to him, was the most stunning creature he had ever encountered.

She had thin shoulders, delicate wrists, and long, slim fingers. Her breasts were small and firm, the nipples pink. Her waist was narrow, her hips gently flared. Her legs were long and lean, and Galen hungered to feel them wrapped around him again.

But it was the auburn curls that hid the most precious part of her that held his attention.

He knelt between her legs and ran his fingers from her ankles to her hips. Her breath hitched and shivers raced over her skin.

Galen still couldn’t believe he wasn’t seeing into her mind. He had touched her repeatedly and yet it revealed nothing. He didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t about to turn away from this precious gift. After being without human contact for so long, he couldn’t get enough.

Now, as he slid his hands up to her small waist, all he thought about was filling Reaghan, stretching her until he was deep inside her.

He cupped her breasts and held her gaze as he bent and took a tiny bud in his mouth. She groaned low in her throat. Her hands stroked up and down his back, spurring his desire with every beat of his heart.

When he reached between them, she was still wet. Galen wanted to take it slow, to savor every moment with her, but it had been too long since he’d had a woman, too long since he’d been able to make love without reading another’s mind.

He guided himself to her entrance and pushed inside her. She was incredibly tight and startlingly hot. He leaned over her, his hands on either side of her head, as he thrust inside her slowly.

She gripped his hips, her back arching, as he filled her. Her lips were parted, her breathing erratic. Galen couldn’t take his eyes off her, watching every fascinating emotion that crossed her face.

When she bent her knees and wrapped her legs around him, Galen gave a final push that seated him to the hilt. She felt so good that for a heartbeat he stayed as he was, reveling in the exquisite feel of her.

His tempo was slow, steady as he began to move within her. His yearning, his hunger wouldn’t be denied though, and soon he was plunging hard, deep, and fast inside her. She matched his thrusts, her glorious curls spread around her.

Galen could feel his climax building, knew he was on the edge. Reaghan’s body began to stiffen beneath him, and a moment later she peaked a second time.

The feel of her walls clutching him sent Galen tumbling to his own climax. He threw back his head as he thrust once more, burying him deep, as his seed filled her body.

When he was able to open his eyes again, he rested his forehead on Reaghan’s and smiled. Not yet willing to let her go, he pulled out of her and rolled to his back, tugging her against his side.

Silence stretched between them. Galen was content, his body sated, but in the back of his mind he knew he would have to face the fact that Reaghan hadn’t been a virgin. She said she hadn’t been with a man, but maybe it was before the fever and she couldn’t remember.

It didn’t make him want her less. Reaghan had no reason to lie to him, and he knew the men of her village. Still, he found himself curious.

“I don’t want this night to ever end,” Reaghan said.

Galen rubbed his hand over her back. “I know, but it must.”

“Will you take me with you when you leave for MacLeod Castle?”

He hadn’t expected her to ask, though somehow he wasn’t shocked. “You would leave your people, your home to come to a place you know nothing about? You doona even know me.”

“Ah, but I do know you.” He felt her smile against him. “And aye, to answer your question, I would leave it all behind. It will be difficult, but I feel that not only must I learn who I really am but I also want to help in your fight against Deirdre.”

“I willna lie. Deirdre is hunting us. Until we are at MacLeod Castle anything could happen. Everyone here thinks the village’s magic will keep Deirdre out.”

“You don’t, do you?”

Galen bent his other arm and put it beneath his head. “I know Deirdre was on her way here when we attacked her. Her black magic prevented her death, but as soon as her full magic has returned, she will come here looking for the artifact we seek.”

“Have you told the elders?”

“I’ve spoken to Odara. She plans to speak to the others.”

Reaghan let out a soft sigh. “We’ve always been safe here.”

“And the wyrran attacks?”

“The wyrran have been unable to penetrate our magic. They’ve taken those of us who haven’t been inside the shield.”

Galen looked down at her and marveled yet again at how good it felt to touch her, hold her without his power intruding. “I’ve asked to take the entire village to MacLeod Castle.”

“This is our home. They will not leave.”

“Yet, you want to.”

She shrugged and burrowed more tightly against him. “I love it here. I am a part of this village. For too long the Druids have hidden from Deirdre. We need to take a stand. Now is a good time.”

“I need to find the artifact. It is important to our cause, and to the safety of every Druid in Scotland.”

“Then I will help,” she promised. “I questioned Nessa tonight. She said only a few knew of it. When I asked why I didn’t know of it, she said only a handful needed to know and I wasn’t one of them.”

He kissed the top of her head. “We’ll find it.”

“I hope so. If the elders do not begin to trust you and Logan, then it will be only a matter of time before Deirdre comes to claim the artifact.”

“Aye,” he murmured. The thought of Deirdre invading the beauty of Loch Awe left him with seething anger.

Galen thought over all Reaghan had said. She wanted answers, answers she might find with the Druids at MacLeod Castle.

Just thinking about the castle made him recall how he had wandered Scotland for many decades searching for someplace he felt connected to, a place he could be a part of something.

That hadn’t happened until he found the MacLeods. He’d found a home and a family at MacLeod Castle. Maybe Reaghan would as well.