Cameron could see indecision flicker over Elise’s face. Slowly she slid her arms from around his neck and his heart slammed against his ribs. Had he pushed her too far?

Without taking her gaze from him, she loosened the ties of her bodice. With tantalizing restraint, she pulled her gown over her shoulders and then her breasts. For a moment, she clung onto the material as though it was a shield before she took a deep breath and released her grip.

His mouth dried and his breath lodged in his chest. With her golden hair cascading over her shoulders and the firelight bathing her in an ethereal glow she looked like a goddess from pagan times.

His goddess. A secret he would confess to no one.

He ached to cup her full breasts, to rub his thumbs over her erect nipples. But he resisted and his mesmerized gaze drank in the shapely curve of her waist and hips before focusing between her thighs.

Her pale curls caressed her pussy. Her musky scent perfumed the air. Before he could stop himself, he dropped to his knees and pressed his lips against her sweet slit. Her curls dusted his lips and she tasted of heaven.

“Cameron.” The uncertainty in her voice and the way she dug her fingers through his hair penetrated the lust pounding through his body. He dragged his face from her succulent flesh and looked up at her. Goddess. The word slid into his sex-drugged mind and it sounded so right. “What are you doing?”

Her breathless question made no sense. He offered her a savage smile and grasped her thighs. In the same second that she stiffened, he felt scarred ridges burn his palm.

Instantly he relaxed his grip. He’d forgotten about her injured leg. Without dropping his gaze from her, he slid his hand over her thigh. Something kicked against his heart. Even without looking, he could imagine the damage she had sustained. “Am I hurting you?”

She swallowed. “No.” She didn’t sound certain.

He wrapped his hand around the back of her knee. “Do you trust me?” He wasn’t sure whether he asked the question more for her or himself. He knew she trusted him not to harm her. But did she trust him not to shatter this precious moment?

Her grip on his hair tightened, as though she was bracing herself. Then she gave the smallest nod. “Yes.”

He drew back. He could feel tension radiating from her. Slowly he raked his gaze down her body. The primitive urge to forget everything and possess her once again hammered through his mind.

With rigid determination, he dragged his ravenous gaze from her tempting sex and focused on her leg.

Shock speared through him and gripped his heart in a merciless vise. The light was muted, but he could see how her flesh and muscles had been mangled by her accident. God Almighty. He’d watched men die on the battlefield with injuries less severe than these.

Tenderly he traced a finger along one jagged scar. The flesh was raised and he could see how the wound had been closed by stitching the edges together.

Whoever had saved her life had been guided by the hand of God.

Or the gods from ancient times.

A shiver rippled over him. Not merely at the errant thought but at the possibility behind it. There was no doubt in his mind Elise should have died that day when she’d fallen into the river. He would thank any god responsible for the miracle of her survival.

“Cameron.” Her voice was soft but he could hear the grief behind it. “Please…”

He kissed her disfigured skin, his fingertips trailing along the back of her thigh. He heard her catch her breath and tremble beneath his touch, and he wrapped his other arm around her, flattening his hand against the small of her back to hold her steady.

He inched down her leg, pressing his lips against every particle of twisted, damaged skin. One hand caressed her thigh and his other molded the curve of her arse. He reached her ankle and retraced his path, but this time he slid his fingers between her thighs and teased her wet folds.

As he reached her hip, the heady scent of her arousal invaded his senses and thickened his blood. He cradled her backside and tugged her forward. She gasped and clutched at his hair as he bent his head to taste her once again.

His tongue circled her swollen nub and she moaned softly. He massaged her rounded arse, his grip remorseless. She swiveled her hips and her fingers dug into him, a silent command he was only too willing to obey.

He sucked on her clitoris and her gasp of shock arrowed straight to his heavy balls. He groaned inside her slick cleft and relished the taste of her juices in his mouth.

All he could hear was her ragged breath and it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard.

She pulled on his hair. Her request was plain. He teased her silken slit with the tip of his tongue until she writhed with need before rising to his feet. Elise’s eyes were glazed, her lips were parted and he couldn’t hold back any longer.

He plunged his fingers through her glorious hair, gripping her head. His mouth captured hers. She was so soft. So willing. His tongue thrust into her wet heat and he heard her muffled gasp. Her tongue met his, an intimate kiss, and need thundered through his blood like a ravenous beast.

With a smothered curse, he tore free and lifted her into his arms. She wound her arms around his shoulders and her erratic breath matched his own. He strode to the bed and laid her on the furs. Her hair spilled across the pillows like sunlight and he gave a twisted grin as he ripped off his boots. Why did he always think such fanciful things when he looked at this woman?

He straddled her thighs and planted his fists into the furs beside her shoulders. “You have bewitched me.” His voice was raw with lust and for answer, she smiled up at him as though she knew quite well she had bewitched him and saw nothing wrong with it.

“And you, Cameron MacNeil, have stolen my senses.” She brushed his hair back and then wound the strands around her fingers and gently tugged. “I never thought to find a man such as you.”

Her artless words made him laugh. She could always make him laugh. He’d forgotten how good it could be, to laugh at irreverence.

“You deserve a prince.” He was a Scot and with that heritage could never be a prince. “No. A king.” He slid one knee between her thighs and spread her legs. He wasn’t a prince and would never be a king, but for Elise he wished, futilely, he could be both.

She wound her leg around his backside. He hastily shifted position so she might wind both legs around him, and let out a relieved breath when she did.

“I have no use for a prince or king.” Her heels dug into him, enticing him closer. He resisted for a few moments so he could continue to admire her irresistible pussy, and then lowered himself onto her lush body.

Her erect nipples pressed into his chest and he swayed over her, just so he could feel her full breasts rub against him. She scraped her nails along his back and he arched into her, his cock branding her belly.

She rocked her hips in clear frustration. “You tease me unmercifully.”

“I enjoy teasing you, my princess.” He shifted, so the head of his erection nestled against her swollen bud. She groaned and arched her throat. He couldn’t resist such a blatant invitation. His mouth fastened on her unblemished flesh and he sucked her sweet skin, relishing the way she writhed beneath him. Panting he released her and satisfaction speared through him at his mark of possession.

His. Forever his.

Her fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled his head down. Their mouths met, hungry and demanding. She thrust her tongue inside, feverishly exploring, and he could wait no longer.

He penetrated her slick folds and a guttural groan razed his throat. She was so hot. So tight around his cock. Her choked gasps as she tried to catch her breath stoked his lust and his body shook as the pressure built.

But he remained unmoving, savoring the way her sheath expanded around him. Memorizing the way she looked at him as though he was her world.

Trying to prolong this moment so it would live inside his heart for all time.

But like all moments of perfection, it was fragile and transient. Elise wrapped her legs around his back and speared her fingers through his hair. Her musky scent invaded every breath and fired his blood. Her silken core rippled around his shaft, and he shoved into her, up to the hilt, and her moan vibrated through every straining muscle.

Bracing his weight on one hand, he cupped her breast, squeezing her succulent flesh and dragging his thumb across her hard nipple. He bent his head and licked her peak, then trailed possessive kisses over her ripe mound.

Her sheath contracted and he slid his hand between their slick bodies. Her pussy was wet, and he circled her sensitive pearl with the pad of his thumb.

“Cam.” Her voice was choked, and although he knew she didn’t realize she’d used the shortened form of his name, he relished the sound.

He rocked into her and pressed his thumb against her clitoris. She bucked frantically and her nails tore into his head. He tried to go slow, but her uninhibited cries of pleasure and the way she writhed and clutched at him were too much.

With a guttural growl, he hammered into her, pinning her into the furs with every savage thrust. His balls tightened, drew up and he gritted his teeth. Not yet. But the scent of sex and passion thickened the air. Filled his lungs. Elise hitched in a strangled breath and her tight crease flexed around his thrusting shaft.

He held on as long as he could. But he was at the edge. He started to withdraw, and Elise’s legs tightened around him.

“No.”

“Elise.” He could scarcely think let alone speak. But she had to understand, surely she knew…

“The goddess protects me.” Her ragged words made no sense. “Come inside me, Cam. I want to feel you come inside me.”

And his last remnants of discipline shattered.

Hands flattened on the furs he rammed into her. Her core quivered, squeezing his cock, and the frenzied beat of his heart filled his ears. He stared into her passion-flushed face. His princess, the woman who had filled his nighttime fantasies for endless weeks, the woman he had never believed could be his. For even a fleeting moment.

As her second orgasm consumed her, he followed her over the edge. His hot seed filled her as he pumped inside her. Her slick sheath milked his cock, demanding everything he possessed.

With a final thrust, he collapsed onto her willing body. He could barely breathe. His heart thundered so fiercely that his ribs ached. Elise’s legs slid onto the furs and her arms wound around him, holding him tight.

He kissed her throat. Her skin was damp and her tangled hair caressed his face. He could feel the erratic beat of her heart against his chest and her uneven breath feathered his shoulder.

A strange sense of peace engulfed him. A soft, warm wave that flowed through him, cleansing the darkness in his soul.

He closed his eyes. It was an illusion. He knew that. But for now, he would embrace it. This was as close to heaven as he was ever likely to be.

Minutes slid by. Timeless moments. He breathed in Elise’s womanly scent and gently threaded her hair between his fingers. Their breathing calmed and heartbeats slowed. And Elise stealthily shifted beneath him.

Instantly he was on alert. “Are you all right?” He propped himself onto his elbow and stared down at her. He cursed his negligence. He was no lightweight and Elise had an injured leg to consider. “Did I hurt you?”

She laughed softly and cradled his face, as though he was the one who should be comforted. “Of course not. And I don’t want you to move but alas I can’t breathe properly with you crushing my chest.”

He could feel a frown gathering. “I didn’t mean to crush you.” He eased out of her slick sheath and rolled onto his side. “You should have told me earlier.”

Elise sighed and rolled onto her side so they were facing each other. “Why would I do that? I didn’t wish to break our connection until the last possible moment.” She smiled as though the thought amused her and once again cradled his jaw. “You take my breath away, Cam, and I am very happy for it.”

Despite cursing himself for his thoughtlessness, he couldn’t help a reluctant grin. “No woman has ever said such things to me before.”

She pouted her luscious lips in mock disapproval. “I should hope not. You are mine, Cameron MacNeil, and I savor every second we’re granted together.”

He wrapped his arms around her and hauled her on top of him. She nestled into him as though they had been made for each other. “Aye, that goes both ways, princess. You are mine and don’t you forget it.”

She laughed and wriggled, teasing his cock with her swollen pussy lips. His shaft thickened and he groaned as she slowly sank down his length. She was his for tonight. His for another few nights. He would look no further into the future where nothing was certain.

He cupped her breasts, feeling their weight fill his palms, and squeezed her ripe nipples. She arched her back, thrusting her breasts forward and flattened one hand on his chest.

Her eyes never left his as she started to ride him. He sculpted the curve of her body down to her waist and then grasped her hips.

Her breath shortened and she fell forward, both hands braced against his chest. Her breasts bounced with every thrust and his mesmerized gaze flicked between them and the look of ecstasy on Elise’s face.

She rode him harder. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders giving her a wild appearance. Her mouth opened as she sucked in air and her pussy tightened around him.

Primal need hammered through his groin. Gripped his balls. As Elise gasped his name, he pounded into her, grasping her hips so she took every last inch of him.

He fucked her hard, giving her everything that he was. It shouldn’t be possible but his seed flooded her, filling her, and still he fucked her. Held her. Could not let this moment end.

Until she finally slumped onto him, her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. Exhaustion and satisfaction radiated from her, an intoxicating mix that spun a fragile cocoon around them both.

It was a false sense of serenity. But he would enjoy it while he could.