Gifted

First Kisses

Alina wavered under the intensity of the stormy eyes roaming voraciously over her face. Her body was wrapped entirely up in this bear-like man, this virtual stranger. And yet, he didn't feel like someone she'd just met. She felt the heat and strength of him pressed all along her front while his muscled arms banded around her back. He could easy break her, dominate her at will, but she had no doubts that she was safe with him.

He said he was going to kiss her but seemed content to linger for now, holding her tight, mapping her face with his eyes. She freed her hands from between them and slid her palms up his unyielding torso, stopping one over his heart and draping her other arm over his massive shoulders. She pressed her meager breasts against him, enjoying the sensations, then tilted her head up further in case he needed more encouragement.

Dimples flashed under the dark bronze of his beard.

"I'll not be hurried, lass. I mean tae savor ye," he murmured.

The deep bass of his voice vibrated down to the marrow of her bones. She narrowed her eyes playfully at him then experimented by subtly rubbing her body against his. The tips of her breasts tingled and the ache between her legs sharpened.

She raised onto her toes and whispered in his ear, "Take yer time, lad. I'll find ways tae entertain myself."

' She nuzzled her cheek against his beard, thrilling the tickle at her neck when he moved to press his lips to the delicate skin under her jaw. She shivered as the tip of his tongue flicked out. One arm slid down her body and wrapped around her hip to boost her higher against him, lifting her off her feet. The opposite hand moved to her nape so her could angle her head where he wanted. She clutched at the tunic over his heart as he licked, nibbled and sucked all over her neck and along her collarbone. They somehow knocked the sporran in front of his plaid off to the side and Alina felt the insistent hardness of his manhood press against her belly. She instinctively ground against it.

He groaned and lifted her onto the high counter. She had a very brief but delicious moment of feeling him press right where she wanted before he pushed away, leaving her bereft. She turned to see him braced on his elbows beside her, head down, breathing heavily.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and said, "Sorry, love. That was meant tae be a tender first kiss. Look at yer puir neck, all scratched and raw."

Alina removed a glove and touched bare fingers to her tender neck. She quickened at the thought of being marked by him.

She said, "Don't be sorry. I liked it. Besides, that didn't count as my first kiss."

"Give me a minute tae get control of myself and we'll get tae it," he grumbled.

"What I mean to say is, I've had a first kiss already," she said. "But I've never done what I did with ye just now. I liked it much better."

"Who?! What man has kissed ye before?" Magnus demanded.

Not a man... she thought. Her mind flashed to ginger-haired Irene and the abbey library where they shared their first kiss.

"Doesnae count if it's a lass." He scoffed then paused before asking,"Unless... ye prefer lasses?"

"Nay. I wondered about that at first. None of my suitors stirred up any desire until ye. But when I seek... satisfaction... at night," she flushed, "I imagine myself more as Ovid's lover than Sappho's."

When he looked confused, she clarified, "My fantasies are always of being with an imaginary man: Lancelot instead of Guinevere if ye want an example closer to home."

"But never with a real man?" Magnus asked. "Until me of course."

"No kisses - real or imagined - with men in real life until ye. But ye're wrong," she challenged. "It does count with a lass. It was sweet with her. I just like what you and I did just now better. Maybe I prefer carnal to sweet."