Makenna lowered her hand and spoke. “Colin, please don’t. Don’t say it if you don’t mean it. What we have is good enough, but it won’t be if you lie to me.”
Her voice was hollow and filled with pain, and Colin knew then the agony he had inadvertently inflicted upon her. He reached over and clasped her hand, pulling them both up out of their chairs. Colin folded her tightly against him for several minutes before framing her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. No one had ever looked at him the way Makenna did. The love in her eyes was so bright and clear, he knew it would never waver, regardless of what was to happen.
“If I lost you, it would destroy me. You are the most important thing in my world. I have never felt for anyone what I feel for you. It’s so strong it terrifies me. I can deny it no longer, to you or to me. I never thought it was possible to love someone as much as I love you.”
Colin loved her.
Without saying a word, she lifted her face and kissed him, slowly, deeply. Powerful emotions raged through him. Wild, desperate hunger flooded him.
He shrugged off his leine and turned her around, leaning her back against him. The heaviness of his arousal pressed into her buttocks, reminding her of the heat and strength of his body. Makenna could feel his breathing. It matched her own—excited, uncontrolled, ragged with need.
Makenna felt his fingertips slowly maneuver the chemise off her shoulders. The sensual movement captivated all her senses.
His hands shook as he drew his palm down between her breasts and over the small curve of her stomach and then lower. Makenna grabbed his thighs and felt his muscles flexing beneath her hands.
The full, heavy heat of his erection rubbed against her backside as she squirmed beneath his touch. “I need to touch you, love, so very much.” It was half plea, half demand.
She arched herself against him as his fingers cupped the heat of her, pushing aside the tight curls of her red hair. Slowly, at an almost torturous pace, he edged a finger inside the already slick, hot channel.
Makenna cried out softly and closed her eyes. He was driving her wild with need of him. She wanted to order him to throw her on the bed and bury himself in her, but she just trembled, losing her ability to speak or stand. Colin held her upright and continued to tease her senses with his fingers. She writhed within his grip, grabbing his neck, pleading for more. She was so incredibly hot.
Makenna shuddered beneath the sensual onslaught. She thought she was going to die from pleasure, but did not pull back from it.
“God, Makenna, I don’t think I am going to live through this if I wait any longer,” Colin groaned as he drew her back toward the bed.
Makenna moaned a soft whimper mirroring his own need. The primitive erotic sound nearly drove Colin mad. He came down on top of her and pulled her into his arms. She didn’t resist. Colin growled and sought the intimate connection with her body.
Makenna’s need for him was beyond urgent. Her body took control. She parted her thighs wide for him, and he lowered himself over her. He gripped her hips, and Makenna felt Colin’s broad shaft brush against her, probing gently. Unwilling to wait, Makenna met his exploration with an upward thrust of her hips and they were one.
Colin pulled out and drove slowly into her again, feeling her close around him, clinging to him. She was incredibly hot, wet, and so very tight. She was more than ready for him.
Makenna captured his lips and dove into his warm mouth, kissing him with an almost violent need. She crushed her body against him, rocking, taking him deeper and deeper inside her with each thrust.
Suddenly, Makenna arched against his aggressive hardness and cried out. Colin answered her with an explosive climax so overwhelming he shouted out her name again and again. He was out of control. He was safe. He was loved.
Their bodies were damp with perspiration, and the scent of their love filled the air. Colin didn’t think he had the strength left in him to roll away from her and decided to kiss her instead. First, he kissed her brow, then the tip of her nose. Then he captured her lips, kissing her slowly, taking his time, letting her feel the endless need and love inside him.
“You are so beautiful,” he muttered, awed.
“I’m a complete mess,” she countered, her voice still husky with passion.
“I’m the luckiest man in the world,” Colin sighed with a sense of peace deeper than he had ever known.
Makenna put her arms around him and stroked the sleek, muscled contours of his back. “Why do you say that?”
Her deep green eyes were dark with passion and love. He had never known such contentment. “With the exception of my parents, and to a degree my brothers, I have never felt completely accepted by another soul. I didn’t realize how lonely I had been until that night at the loch when you first told me you loved me. The depth of your confession shook me deeply. I couldn’t sort out my emotions. The only thing I knew was that I wanted you more than ever, and that I had to protect you.”
“People say they love each other every day. You heard it many times from Deirdre. Why should my declaration be so different?”
“People fall in love every day, and their love is real. But it is a rare thing for a man to be completely loved by another. To be accepted without question. To be trusted with blind faith. My parents had such a bond. They would fight, sometimes furiously, but oh, how they loved. Visiting Conor last year, I realized that he had found it with Laurel. You’ve seen them. It is as if they are each parts of the other. Watching them reminded me how rare it was to find someone to share your life with that loves you in that way. I knew then that I would never know the solace it brings. The day I married you I asked you to trust me, and you did, more than anyone had ever done before.”
“Many men have trusted you with their lives.”
Colin rolled onto his back and tucked his arm beneath his head. “Not like that. It is one thing to rely on someone to save your life, but it’s another to trust someone with the quality of your life. The latter takes a far greater leap of faith. You gave that to me, almost from the very beginning. Without it, I don’t know if I would ever have had the courage to love again.” Colin turned to his side and captured her gaze with his own. “And that is why I am so lucky.”
“You are luckier than you think.” Makenna sighed as Colin pushed the heavy weight of her hair aside and started a trail of kisses down her throat.
“Aye, I sure am,” he murmured against her skin, ready to show her again just how much he loved her.
“If being completely loved by one Dunstan is enough to make you lucky, how about being loved by two?”
Colin craned his head back and propped himself up on his elbows. He furrowed his brows questioningly. “By two?” he asked, not understanding.
“Aye, by two. Me and our child, whom I have no doubt will love you and think you are the most wonderful father in the world, just as you are a husband,” she clarified while scattering small kisses along his chin and neck.
“A baby?” he croaked. “We’re going to have a baby?”
“Aye, in the late spring. Are you sure that you are fine with the idea? I know it is soon. We have not been married long, and you have so much on your mind with the—”
Colin lightly pressed his finger on her lips and then slowly released them. His eyes were alight with pleasure. “It is not too soon, though you may think so tomorrow when I assign a hundred men to follow you about and see to your safety.” He bent his head and again started kissing the sensitive areas of her neck before moving lower.