Chapter 2 #2
nearby, awaiting her mistress’s orders.
“Fetch our guest some broth,” Lindsey
called.
“Aye, my lady.” The servant hurried from the
room.
Jamie lay quietly, his eyes closed, listening
to the occasional hiss and snap of the fire. It seemed to him, in
his pain-clouded mind, that the fire had spread to his body and had
centered on his shoulder and chest. What had this damnable female
done to him? She had taken hot coals and heaped them upon his body.
And in his weakened condition he had been unable to stop her.
He moaned softly. Alarmed, Lindsey perched on
the edge of the bed and touched a hand to his forehead. He burned
with fever. Wringing out a cloth, she began to sponge his forehead.
Within a few moments he became still.
Setting the damp cloth aside, she walked to
the foot of the bed and struggled until his boots had been removed.
Standing over him, she studied his soaked breeches. They would have
to come off, as well. Bending over him she reached a hand to the
hilt of the knife tucked into his waistband. Strong, work-worn
fingers instantly closed over her own. She was stunned to find
herself lifted off her feet and hauled roughly against a wall of
muscled chest. For a moment her breath was knocked from her lungs,
leaving her speechless.
“So. You would render me helpless, lass?”
“I...” She struggled to regain her breath. “I
merely intended to undress you.”
“Ah.” The pain in his eyes was replaced with
a hint of laughter. “Then by all means, I am your willing
servant.”
“You—tricked me. You led me to believe you
were too weak to move.”
“And you were going to take advantage of my
weakness, lass?”
“I thought to make you more comfortable.”
“And you have.” He drew her closer, enjoying
the flush that suddenly reddened her cheeks. “I am exceedingly more
comfortable than I was just moments ago.”
“You are despicable.” She pushed against him,
but he merely tightened his grip on her. She was amazed by the
strength in his hands.
He looked at the woman in his arms. Wisps of
hair tumbled wildly across one eye and cheek. Her bodice gaped
open, revealing the soft swell of her breasts. Her skirts were
twisted around her knees, revealing a fascinating view of shapely
legs.
It would seem that beneath the disheveled
appearance was a very soft, very womanly creature.
In his fevered state all Jamie’s pain was
forgotten, as was his reticence toward this female. In that moment
he could think of but one thing. He had to taste her lips.
Lindsey felt his gaze burn over her and
settle on her mouth. Color flooded her cheeks. She touched a tongue
to her dry lips and realized her mistake when she saw the way his
gaze followed the movement. A tiny shiver of alarm raced along her
spine. Fear? Aye. It must be fear. What else could she possibly
feel for a man who had frightened her, attacked her, used her to
get to her father and brothers?
Jamie’s fingers tightened on her arms,
drawing her inexorably closer. His look devoured her. And though he
cursed himself for every kind of a fool, he could not deny his
need.
“Nay.” Lindsey reached out a hand to stop
him. As she did, he caught her palm and lifted it to his mouth.
With his lips pressed to the soft flesh of
her palm, liquid heat pulsed through her veins, setting her limbs
on fire. The protest died on her lips. Never, never had she known
such wild, tumultuous feelings.
She lifted wide eyes to his and could read
his intentions. God in heaven. He was going to kiss her lips, as
well. She forgot to breathe. Her heart forgot to beat.
His mouth closed over hers. It was the merest
brush of lips to lips. His touch was firm, his kiss easy and
practiced.
Her lips trembled. Never before had she been
kissed like this. There had been lads in the village who had tried
to kiss her. A few had even succeeded. Always she had turned away
from hem, more annoyed than pleased. But this. This was no clumsy
youth, struggling with the first stirrings of manhood.
Lindsey experienced a rush of feelings like
nothing she had ever known. Her heart was beating so wildly she
thought it would surely explode. Her palms became moist. She kept
her hands firmly between her body and his, hoping to hold him at
arm’s length. But slowly, with a will of their own, her fingers
splayed across his naked chest, tingling as they came in contact
with his hair-roughened skin.
Jamie drew her closer, allowing his lips to
move seductively over hers. The jolt was sudden, shocking. This had
been a mistake. He knew it as soon as his lips touched hers, as
soon as the first wild spark raged through him. But there was no
way to stop it now. His body was suddenly alive, surging with need.
But his fevered mind was befuddled. He seemed robbed of his usual
discipline. He knew he had to stop this. From the way she kissed
him, he knew her to be an innocent maiden. She would be shocked and
disgusted by his hunger. By angering her and her family, he would
destroy everything he had worked for. But God in heaven, she was so
sweet. And though he knew he must end it, he could not. Not yet.
One moment more. One more brush of his lips to hers.
Lindsey’s hands curled around his arms,
holding on as if her very life depended on it. Ofttimes, lost in
sleep, she had dreamed of a knight who would carry her off to some
distant shore and make her his own. But always, when she awoke, she
felt ashamed of such foolish dreams and renewed her determination
that no man would ever claim her. Some inner demon had plagued her
from childhood, building a wall of fear around her heart. She knew,
if she let go, the spell would be broken and she would awake in her
own bed, awash in trembling feelings of guilt and fear.
She kept her eyes firmly closed as his lips
moved over hers. And though it was merely a kiss, she sensed the
passion, the fire, which he kept so carefully banked.
With his last desperate burst of
self-control, Jamie managed to surface and pull himself away.
Holding her at a distance, he watched the play of conflicting
emotions on her face and recognized astonishment, then fear, and
then growing disbelief that bordered on anger.
He lifted a hand and brushed an errant strand
of hair from her cheek. Eyes the shade of a Highland pool stared
deeply into his.
Color suffused Lindsey’s cheeks. This was not
a dream. The man beside her in the bed was real. And very much
alive. She was achingly aware of his arousal. Surely the wild
beating of his heart matched her own. She struggled to regain her
senses.
“I can see that you are quite strong enough
to undress yourself.” She pushed herself from his arms and
struggled to climb from the bed. She prayed her legs were strong
enough to hold her.
He lay quietly, enjoying the sight of her
wriggling efforts to smooth down her skirts. What a magnificent
body she hid beneath those petticoats. His mouth curved into a
roguish smile.
“It will not be nearly as pleasurable as
having you undress me, my lady.”
“It is as I first thought.” She turned to
face him. Her hands were shaking so badly, she brought them to her
hips to steady them. She hoped she gave the impression of righteous
indignation. “You are a villain masquerading as a Highland
gentleman.”
“Does this mean you will not help me
undress?”
“Oh!” As she flounced to the doorway, she
nearly collided with the servant who was just entering. “Leave the
broth on the bedside table, Moira,” she ordered. “My Lord MacDonald
is strong enough to feed himself.”
Jamie watched until she disappeared from
view. Then he lay very quietly, feeling the need for her still
throbbing within him. His hands, he noted, were not quite steady,
and his heart was beating far too rapidly. With a moan of
discomfort he rolled to his side and willed himself to bank his
desire and seek the rest he so desperately needed.