“Aye,” said Deirdre in a whisper. “Please, Kian . . . make me yers.”

Kian couldn’t deny such a sweet request. He wanted nothing more than to give her what she was asking for, to sink himself inside her and share in her pleasure. He kissed her and dragged his hands all over her body, enjoying her warmth, feeling the swell of her curves under her clothes before he pushed up her tunic, exposing her body to his gaze.

Deirdre was outlined in the soft light of the torch, her skin glowing under the flames. He couldn’t resist the sight of her full breasts and he leaned closer to mouth at the soft skin, gasping as Deirdre’s hands threaded through his hair and tugged.

Though the room was secluded, it was far from private, but there was an exhilaration in the risk, in the chance that they would be caught. He doubted anyone would come near, but he did his best to keep himself quiet anyway, though Deirdre didn’t seem to have the same luck—or concern. Perhaps she was already too far gone to care and Kian couldn’t help but preen at the thought that he had managed to bring her to that point.

When she wrapped herself around him, arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, clinging to him like she wanted to pull him impossibly close, Kian smirked against her cheek and reached between them, her tunic falling back down to her thighs. His fingers found her opening and when he first touched her, she gasped, her hips mirroring the movements of his hand as he caressed her folds. As he found her most sensitive spot, rubbing slow, gentle circles against her, Deirdre buried her face in his neck with a moan, her lips pressing on his heated skin.

He loved those sounds she made for him, loved that he could make her sing like this. They made him ache, his manhood hardening until he had no choice but to rub up, trying to relieve some of the pressure. The more they did this, the more she seemed to open up to him, her shame diminishing with every orgasm he gave her, and Kian couldn’t wait for the day when she wouldn’t be ashamed of her desire at all, when she would take everything, she wanted from him.

“I want . . .” Deirdre said, but she didn’t finish her sentence. She lifted her head and Kian saw the collar on her cheeks, bright red even in the half-light of the room.

“What dae ye want?” Kian asked, leaning closer to kiss and bite at her neck, gently pinching the delicate skin between his teeth. He wanted her to say it, to let go of any embarrassment she was still holding. “Ye have tae tell me if ye want me tae give it tae ye.”

“Ye ken what I want,” Deirdre said. “Dinnae tease me.”

“I’m nae teasin’,” Kian said, though it was a lie, at least partly. He did want to tease her, but he also wanted her to tell him so that she could see it wasn’t that serious and certainly nothing that should bring her shame. “I only wish tae give ye precisely what ye want.”

No words came past Deirdre’s lips, but Kian was determined to do nothing more than kiss her and touch her gently, until she had no option but to ask for more. His hands worked her faster and though she still hesitated to speak, she whimpered, wetness dripping between her thighs.

“I want ye tae have me,” she said, cheeks burning. “Properly this time. I wish tae be yers.”

Groaning softly, Kian nodded and immediately abandoned his pretenses. After he hooked his arms under her thighs, he pulled them flush together, Deirdre sitting on the very edge of the table, her chest heaving with anticipation. When Kian’s hand returned between her legs, one of his fingers plunged inside her for the first time, ripping a broken moan out of her.

Knowing it was her first time, Kian moved slowly, exploring her body at his leisure and trying to make her relax and open up for him. She was beautiful like that, her thighs spread wide for him, her breasts bouncing, her nipples hardened in the chill of the room, poking against the fabric of her tunic. He loved the way her back arched for him, the way she took him inside her as if he belonged there. Now she was eager for it, pleas tumbling past her lips with every thrust of his fingers.

“Please, Kian,” Deirdre said, reaching for him, trying to pull him even closer. “I need ye.”

“Patience, love,” Kian said with a soft chuckle. “I dinnae wish tae hurt ye.”

Deirdre was having none of it, though, and she sat up, grabbing Kian by the back of her neck and pulling him into a bruising kiss. “I’m ready,” she said. “I said I need ye.”

Chuckling again, Kian shook his head, but he didn’t try to argue this time. He knew better than that. “As ye wish,” he said, pushing her back down on the table. “Ye’ll tell me if ye wish tae stop?”

Deirdre nodded, breathing heavily. Kian teased her a little more, playing with her breasts, her nipples, wanting to drive her crazy with lust. After he pushed up his tunic, Kian took his length in his hand and leaned closer. At the first press of his manhood against her, Kian wondered, for a moment, if he should have prepared her more, but then her folds parted for him and he finally entered her, his entire body trembling with the effort it took to move slowly.

It took a few shallow, careful thrusts before Kian could bury himself inside her, the soft drag of skin against skin tearing a groan out of him that he couldn’t stop no matter how much he tried. Deirdre’s back arched of the table when he was as deep as he could go inside her, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist. Her hands reached for his shoulders, holding onto him as he gave her thrust after thrust, pushing himself impossibly deep, as if he wanted them to become one.

Deirdre was a vice around him, tight and hot and velvety around him, her body pulling him deeper and deeper. His hands were bruising on her thighs, his fingers digging into her flesh while her nails scraped down his back, surely leaving marks behind.

“Yer so bonnie like this, moanin’ fer me,” Kian said, his voice low and rumbling in his chest. “I wish tae hear ye. Dinnae hold back.”

With every thrust of his hips, Kian brought himself closer and closer to the edge, heat curling in his stomach. He was chasing his release, but he wanted to bring Deirdre to the brink first, to feel her come apart around him. When he reached between their bodies once more, thumbing over her folds and dragging her wetness up to circle that spot again, her climax crashed over her almost instantly, tearing a scream of pleasure out of her.

Kian groaned as Deirdre squeezed around him. He grabbed her thighs and spread them open once more, burying himself inside her to the hilt and watching as she threw her head back in ecstasy. The few thrusts that followed were fast and erratic, until he stilled above her, spilling himself inside her as he moaned her name, his orgasm so intense that his knees barely held him.

For a few moments, they both remained still, breathing each other’s air, both basking in the afterglow. It was Kian who moved first, pulling himself back from Deirdre with some difficulty, everything inside him screaming at him to stay where he was, to keep her in his arms. He took her hand and pulled her up into a kiss, and Deirdre kissed him sweetly, her arms coming to wrap around his neck, smiling against his lips.