“You taste better than I imagined,” he whispers. He brushes a strand of hair out of my eyes, cups the back of my head, and kisses my forehead. I close my eyes against the rush of emotions, and to my utter horror, I feel hot tears splash my cheeks.
I try to turn away so he doesn’t see. It’s important to me that I appear strong and in control in front of him.
But with his hold on the back of my head, I can’t look away.
“Fiona, why are you turning away from me?”
I sniff and try to look away, but there’s no escaping.
“I don’t want you to see me cry again,” I whisper.
His hand travels to my jaw, and he lifts my face gently so I’m looking straight at him.
“Why?” he whispers back.
“I don’t want you to think I’m sad.”
He studies my face with stern concern for a moment. “Then why do you cry?”
A lump forms in my throat again. I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t. His eyes go to my parted lips, and with a groan, he brushes his lips to mine again. I taste my salty tears.
“Come here,” he whispers when he pulls away again, holding me to his chest. “I imagine it’s overwhelming, isn’t it? I spanked you. I made you climax.”
I nod against his chest.
And I’ve wanted you so long.
“I’m sorry,” he says, shaking his head. “I think I was so relieved at finding you that I didn’t hold myself back like I should.”
“Oh, God, Lachlan,” I say, my tears drying up. I look back up at him and frown at him. “No. Don’t you bloody do that to me again.”
He blinks, then he scowls, caught halfway between stern and confused. “Do what?”
I lean closer, capture his face between my hands, and speak so earnestly my voice cracks. “Hide yourself from me,” I whisper. “Leave me. Turn away.” I swallow hard and press on, determined to speak the truth even as it splits me wide open. “You wouldn’t have taken a private jet here if I didn’t mean something to you.”
“Mean something to me?” he says in a hoarse whisper. “You’re bloody everything to me.”
And then we’re kissing again, and he’s lifting my t-shirt, and baring me to him. My body finds his, skin to skin, and he cups my arse in his big, strong hands, as he cradles me atop him before he rolls, positioning himself above me. My hands encircle his neck, and he holds himself on one knee beside me when he finally drags his lips from mine with reluctance.
“Bloody hell, Fiona,” he says. “I can’t seem to stop kissing you.”
I grin at him. “Fine with me.”
He gives me a teasing smack to the side of my leg. “Would you at least try?”
“Try to what? Not kiss you. No.”
“Bloody hell,” he groans. “Should’ve given you a proper spanking.”
My heart thunders again. I prop up against the pillows as he pushes himself out of bed and adjusts his hardened length with a tortured groan.
“Lachlan, I could… we could... you know, you’re awfully, um —”
“No.”
The look he gives me brooks no argument. I close my mouth and don’t push the issue.
Okay, then. Somehow it’s okay for him to give me pleasure, but his own will have to wait. Fine.
When I get my chance, I’ll make it epic.
The thought alone makes my cheeks flush, but he’s already pulling on clothes and checking his phone.
“No word from your guard yet,” he says tightly.
“It’s odd,” I say, sitting up in bed. “They were with me, no question, then somewhere between the harbor and the hotel, they were gone.”
He pauses in buttoning his trousers. “The harbor?”
“Aye,” I say. My stomach growls with hunger, and I eye the room service menu beside me curiously. I’ve never ordered anything like room service before. Hell, this is the first time I’ve even been in a hotel. “I went with Aisling and some…” I pause, certain that he’ll want to throttle someone if he knew we were with other guys. “…friends of hers.” I finally finish lamely.
He tugs his shirt on, and I swallow hard at his rippling muscles. I may be mentally much older, but my body’s still ripe with hormones and unadulterated lust.
“Friends of hers?” he asks, and a muscle in his jaw twitches. “Why the harbor?”
“Because we’re in Boston,” I say, as if that explains the situation.
“So?”
“So, people hang out by the beach.” I shrug. “Aisling hooked up with one guy and I… well, I spent a little time with another.”
He growls low in his chest and looks at his phone again. “No more.”
“No more what?”
“No more separation from you. No more hanging out with other men.” He scowls. “If any of them ever touched you, I’d have to kill them. Keenan wouldn’t be happy.”
I’d laugh, but he isn’t joking. He means every word.
I smile shyly, because it warms me through that he’s affirming what I’ve hoped for so long.
“Okay, then,” I say. “Are you going to make me go back?”
So soon, when I just barely got here.
He looks away from me as if mulling this over, then shakes his head. “No, lass,” he says. “We won’t run from them. We won’t hide. And it’s far safer if I can vet out who’s behind any threat to you while we’re on this soil. We do have alliances here in Boston, and we’ll see to it that we have the strength of support at our backs.”
I nod.
“What are your plans?”
“Well,” I begin. “First, I was planning on heading out with Aisling to the campus, to get the tour and get settled.” I don’t want to be here now, though.
Just saying the words makes an ache grow in my belly. I only came here to escape him, and that clearly didn’t work.
He nods. “Fair enough. Reach out to Aisling, see if she’s okay.”
My phone rings. Sheena.
“Have to get this,” I tell him. “It’s Sheena.”
He holds my gaze and gives me one firm nod.
“Hello?”
“Fiona, thank God,” Sheena breathes.
“I’m fine, Sheena. Don’t you worry about me.”
“Of course I worry about you! Don’t you tell me not to worry about you. I spent half the night up just pacing the floor, I was that worried, and when Keenan told me—just a minute.”
I hear Nolan’s voice, calm and steady, in the background behind her. She sighs, and returns to the phone. “I was just a little worried is all,” she says, and I can almost imagine her pretty eyes flashing at him. “Which is an older sister’s prerogative thank you very much.”
“Of course,” I tell her. “What on earth did Keenan tell you?”
“That your guard’s gone missing and Lachlan came to take over.” She exhales. “Thank God.”
Would she be saying that if she knew what he just did to me?
“Yes,” I say to her, my eyes meeting Lachlan’s across the room. “He came. Thank God. I’m fine.”