Read Online Judith E French by McKennas Bride - Free Book Online

eyes glistened with emotion.
    “Pretend that this is the dock,” she whispered. “I’ve just caught sight of my husband and he of me.”
    “I’m no man for play-actin’.”
    “What wife would not give her man a proper greeting?” she murmured. And, standing on tiptoe, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips.

Chapter 5
    The instant her mouth pressed against Shane’s, Caitlin stepped off a cliff into thin air. Her senses reeled as his scent filled her head and the taste of his mouth brought back a rush of memories.
    His arms tightened around her, clasping her to his broad chest. Shamelessly she clung to him, molding the curves of her body to his, tilting her head so that her lips fitted his perfectly.
    She had intended the kiss to be a tender greeting, but she hadn’t anticipated the intensity of his response … or her own.
    A flash of heat swept over her as Shane parted her lips with his tongue and thrust deep inside her mouth. She shut her eyes and savored the feel of him, reveling in the sensual joy of the embrace. For long seconds the searing kiss deepened, as her blood pounded in her ears and her thoughts tumbled, giddy with wild, sweet sensations. And when at last he pushed her away, she was stunned and gasping for breath.
    Shane had wooed and courted her. He’d wed her with book and ring, and they’d consummated their union on a bed of wild heather in a wooded glade. Shane McKenna had taken her maidenhood. He’d made her a woman, but he’d never before kissed her like this.
    Shane shook his head and stepped away from her. “I missed you more than I thought, Caity,” he murmured hoarsely.
    Without his strength to support her, she swayed, nearly losing her balance. She felt drunken, dazed. She blinked and tried to think of something to say that would hide her confusion. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue and looked into his eyes.
    “Caity …” Shane’s mouth—the mouth that she had known so intimately only seconds ago—tightened.
    Kiss me like that again! she wanted to cry.
    “I want you, Caity.”
    Trembling, she waited.
    “I want you bad. But this is happening too soon between us. It will only complicate things if I bed you now.”
    Shane’s gut wrenched as he watched a deep flush creep up Caitlin’s throat and lightly freckled face. Her eyes dilated, and her lower lip quivered.
    An oath rolled off his tongue as he realized just how badly he’d hurt her. And himself … It took every ounce of his will to keep from crushing her against him and devouring her trembling, honeyed mouth.
    His hands ached to stroke the lush curves of her body. He wanted to strip away her layers of silk, undo the ribbons and lace, peel the stockings from her long, shapely legs, and bury his face in her firm breasts.
    He remembered Caitlin’s nipples, ripe buds of rosy pink against her white breasts. He’d seen her nipples only once, in the misty dawn after their wedding night, but they were not a sight a hot-blooded man was likely to forget. He’d been told that some women’s breasts changed after they’d given birth to a child; he wondered if her nipples had darkened in color.
    She turned her face away from him, and in that second, he would have given a year of his life to undo those words.
    Why had he rejected her? She’d come willingly into his arms, as hot for him as he was for her. He ached, his sex pressed tightly against his trousers. She was his lawful wife, and he was a fool to turn away what was so clearly offered—what was his by right.
    “I only meant a kiss,” she stammered. “No more than that. A kiss between husband and wife.”
    Lies. Lies came easily to a woman’s lips. Still, he’d shamed her, and he could hardly blame Caity for trying to salvage her pride.
    A few soft words and he might still have her. But he knew the price might be more than he was willing to pay. He’d let one woman lead him by his