Corinne’s heart hammered wildly as Reid descended on her, kissing her with such fierce urgency that her breath whooshed from her lungs.

Could this be real? Reid had come up with a way for her to be helpful to the clan and make use of her skills? She kissed him back hard, using her lips to wordlessly tell him how much his idea meant to her.

In response to her own boldness, he rumbled his approval low in his throat. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss, and their tongues tangled in a sensual embrace.

Heated memories flooded back to her—of their bodies joining, of Reid’s driving strength over her, around her, inside her.

Reid abruptly broke their kiss and swept his arm across the desk beside them, shoving everything—quill, ledgers, inkwell, and all—to the far end of the vast wooden expanse. Just as swiftly, he lifted her behind the knees, wrapping her legs around his waist, and carried her to the desk’s edge.

Corinne gasped in shock, but when her bottom came to rest on the desk’s surface, her legs still hooked around Reid’s hips and the hard ridge of his manhood wedged between them, she understood what he intended.

And oh, what a wickedly erotic intention it was.

His lips fell on hers once more, but then he trailed kisses down her neck and over her collarbone. In anticipation, her breasts grew tight and needy, the tips pearling beneath the bodice of her gown.

As he clawed frantically at the laces down her back, his mouth dropped to one aching breast. Even through her woolen dress and chemise, a bolt of sensation shot through her. She moaned, her head lolling back as he shifted to her other breast.

When he had her laces loosened enough, he simply yanked down on both dress and chemise. Cool air hit her exposed skin even as she heard a faint ripping noise.

Ah, well, she thought distantly. The gown would need attending anyway, since she’d gotten ink on the sleeve. What would the staid, serious Gellis say when Corinne handed her not only a stained gown but a torn one?

All thoughts of her lady’s maid fled when Reid’s lips closed around one of her beaded nipples.

Corinne arched, moaning with abandon as he laved first one and then the other breast. His hands clamped on her hips and he ground his rock-hard manhood against the crux of her legs through her skirts. She was already damp there, she realized, the heat building layer upon layer as he continued with his attentions on her breasts.

“Bloody hell,” he hissed, his warm breath drawing her nipples even harder still. Before she could ask what was the matter, he pulled away, stepping out of the circle of her legs.

“Reid—” she began, her voice raw with need.

“I have to taste ye,” he rasped, gripping her skirts. “Tell me ye’ll let me.”

“A-aye,” she replied, though in truth she wasn’t sure what he meant.

In one swift motion, he threw her skirts up, exposing her lower half. Before she could contemplate what he was about, he lowered himself between her legs and skimmed a finger along her sex.

She felt completely exposed with her skirts around her hips, her feet dangling from the desk and Reid positioned between her knees. Yet his teasing touch made all her shyness and inhibitions flee. She shuddered as his finger found that sensitive spot between her folds. But what he did next stole the breath from her lungs.

His hot tongue slid where his finger had been, licking her, taunting her, making her hips tilt in wanton invitation for more. He rumbled his pleasure against her sex, sending vibrations straight to her core.

She could not seem to get enough air. Her fingers clawed at the smooth wood beneath her, looking for purchase, but the only thing anchoring her in the storm of sensation was Reid’s big, strong hands on her hips.

“Oh, God,” she panted as the pleasure began to ascend toward the breaking point.

Reid abruptly stood, his gaze like molten metal as he stared down at her. “No’ yet, love,” he grated. “No’ until I’m filling ye with my cock.”

The wicked words should have made her blush, but instead of warming her face, they sent spikes of hot desire between her legs. She suddenly felt empty in a way she’d never experienced before—aye, she needed him inside her.

He yanked his kilt up, exposing the long, hard length of his manhood to her brazen gaze. The tip touched her wet entrance, pushing, filling, just as Reid had promised.

He drove himself to the hilt, his pants of exertion and barely held control mingling with her moans at the overwhelming sensations. He paused, giving her a moment to adjust to his size. She was still tender, even two days after their wedding night, and she felt drawn tight, barely able to take him.

But then one of his big hands brushed her exposed breast, and the wave of pleasure she’d been riding a moment before began to rise once more. She let herself fall back completely onto the desk, surrendering to the building ecstasy.

Now Reid began to move, pulling out of her and driving back in—hard. His thrusts shook the heavy wooden desk beneath her with their force. She, too, was jolted with each powerful plunge. She locked her legs around him tighter. All she could do was hold on as he pushed her closer and closer to a shattering release.

Through the mounting pleasure, Corinne realized just how much restraint he’d shown on their wedding night—for her. To make it good for her, and to avoid hurting her as best he could.

But he wasn’t being gentle now—and it was so much better this way.

He loomed over her, one hand clamped onto her hip and the other cupping her breast as he drove into her again and again with enough force to steal her breath and make her legs tremble around his hips. Reid was every bit the fierce, wild Highland warrior now. She loved this untamed side of him.

Her pleasure suddenly spiraled upward, the sensations cresting and breaking in a surge of ecstasy. She arched off the table, crying out as wave after wave of pleasure swept her. Just as she began to drift back to earth, Reid shouted his own release, holding himself deep within her. At last, the tautness in his body began to drain and he slumped over the desk.

“Bloody hell,” he breathed, easing out of her after a long moment. She let her quivering legs fall from his hips with a ragged exhale.

Tenderly, he smoothed her skirts down and eased her chemise and gown back over her chest.

She stared at him, her heart still thrumming swiftly. “That was…”

“Forgive me,” he rasped. “I dinnae ken what came over me. I hope I didnae—”

“Nay,” she blurted, pushing herself up. “Don’t apologize. That was incredible.”

He met her eyes then, and his gaze smoldered with stormy passion once more. “Ye are incredible.”

As she stood, he pressed a slow kiss to her lips. Drawing back, he looked down at her, brushing a wayward lock of hair from her face.

“This is just the beginning for us, Corinne,” he murmured. “I promise ye, it will only get better from here.”

She wasn’t sure if he was speaking of their lovemaking, or the emotion she felt budding in her heart and saw reflected in Reid’s gray eyes, or mayhap simply her new role as the clan’s scribe. Whichever he meant, she could not deny the burst of warmth spreading through her. It was something like happiness.