I was still dressed and awake when Raudrich finally made it up to the room. He sighed at the sight of me sitting next to the dwindling fire when he entered.

“Ach, Laurel, ye truly dinna need to stay awake for my sake. I knew ’twas likely to take me some time to calm Sydney down. Ye must be bone-weary, lass. Stand and I’ll tuck ye into bed nice and warm then I’ll hold ye while ye sleep.”

While I appreciated his thoughtfulness, I was still much too aroused from our journey back from the tavern to sleep. Standing, I walked over to him and reached to run my fingers through his hair.

“I do want you to hold me while I sleep, but if it’s all well and fine by you, I’d like to do a few other things with you first.”

I’d definitely had more ale than I’d realized. Either that or the characters I was trying my best to imitate had straight up decided to possess me. Such bluntness wasn’t at all in my nature.

It felt nice, though. Perhaps, I should work on saying what I wanted more often.

And seeing the lift in his expression at my words made me tingle with anticipation. He wanted me too, just as badly—possibly worse—than I wanted him.

“Are ye sure, lass? I’d consider it an honor to simply sleep next to ye. Ye needn’t feel any obligation.”

“Raudrich…” I stood on my tiptoes to reach him. After kissing him until he began to tremble, I trailed my lips toward his ear where I whispered, “I want you. I’ve already had you in my dreams, but tonight I want you in real life. I want to see you and taste you and feel you moving inside of me. Undress me and take me to your bed.”

His response was immediate as he spun me away from him.

“This dress, lass, it suits ye.”

I laughed as I looked down to see my breasts jiggling as he pulled at the laces of Freya’s gown.

“It’s too tight.”

He bent to nip at my neck, his tongue warm against my neck.

“Precisely. Yer breasts barely stayed inside it while ye danced at the tavern. Every time I glanced at ye, all I wanted to do was taste them.”

I gasped as his hands slipped inside the opening at the back of the gown and slid around my waist before slowly pushing upwards until he cupped both my breasts in his hands. He pushed outwards with his arms and in one quick sweep, the dress fell to the ground, leaving me naked and exposed to him.

I didn’t move to cover myself. Instead, I leaned back into him as his hands roamed over me. He pulled me tight against him, and I could feel his erection pressing into my back as one hand dipped lower and deftly slipped into the warmth between my legs.

“Christ, lass, I have never wanted a woman so much.”

I couldn’t speak. My breath was coming too quickly. My heart was beating too fast for me to do anything but writhe against him.

He moved his fingers quickly until my knees buckled from pleasure. As I began to tremble, he spun me toward him once again, quickly lifting me in his arms as I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me over to the bed.

The moment he lay me backwards, he removed his shirt and I reached for the tie on his breeches as I greedily slipped my hands inside to pull them downward.

I reached for him, taking his length in my hands as he groaned and bent to crush his mouth to mine.

The heat of his chest pressed against my bare skin only increased my need for him. Moving my hands to either side of his face, I kissed him as I spread my legs wide.

He felt me open myself to him and plunged inside as I screamed into his mouth.

We found our rhythm quickly. He took care to make sure that he matched his pace with my own, and when we both finally did climax, it was together.

It was hands down the best sex of my life, and from his endless exclamations I expected he would say the same come morning.

---

“Why do ye write about love, lass?”

“Hmm…” I was half asleep when he spoke. We lay in just the same position I’d woken in several nights before. Tenderly, he twirled a lock of my hair with his fingers. “What was that?”

He lifted himself and my head dropped from his chest to the mattress as he propped himself up on his elbow.

“I asked why ye choose to write love stories.”

“How do you even know that? I don’t remember telling you that’s what I wrote.”

He smiled and immediately I knew.

“Ye dinna. Marcus told me.”

Seeing in his expression that he really did wish to talk, I pushed myself up and moved to sit cross-legged on the bed as I pulled the blanket up with me for warmth.

“Almost everything is a love story at its core. The love story is just more central in the things that I write. It’s what life is about, isn’t it? We all have the same basic need to connect deeply with another person. I enjoy exploring that. I enjoy writing about all the different ways people can find love.”

He was staring at me with great interest, and I could see that another question was right on the tip of his tongue.

“What?”

“Nothing, lass. Ye fascinate me, is all. If ye understand the value and importance of love so well, why then have ye resisted it so fiercely for most of yer life?”

“How do you…” I paused and shook my head. “Marcus again? Man, he was on a tear with you, wasn’t he? What didn’t he tell you about me?”

Raudrich laughed and leaned forward to kiss me quickly.

“He dinna tell me much, lass. And ye,” he pointed at me playfully, “dinna answer the question.”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know, really. I guess I never found anyone that made the risk of getting hurt worth the possible reward.”

He smiled at that.

“But I am?”

“It would seem so, wouldn’t it? I’ve not been very successful at resisting you, at all.”

With a flick of his wrist, he extinguished the flames in the fire and reached for me in the darkness. As we came together once more, he whispered into my ear.

“I’ll not hurt ye, lass. Not now, nor ever if I can keep from it.”

I didn’t doubt the honesty in his words for a moment.

That didn’t mean that I was safe in the least. But for once in my life, I simply didn’t care.

Love with this man was worth it, no matter how risky.