The Highlander's Bride(16)

“You’d make an excellent warrior.”

Sara slipped off the bed and stretched her back. “I’ve been one all my life.”

Cullen grinned. “I’ve just learned something about you.”

“Please, I felt sorry for you and threw you a bone.” She wasn’t about to admit she had slipped up and allowed him a peek at her. She had to keep her confidence high in order to rattle his confidence.

“I’ll take the scrap and any more you wish to throw me.”

She admired his response. He hadn’t let her rattle him a bit, or at least he hadn’t shown it. He remained calm, which indicated confidence on his part. He felt he’d have his way.

A strong wind suddenly whistled around the cottage, catching both their attentions.

“This storm will delay us,” Sara said, feeling a bit disappointed. She was looking forward to returning home, seeing her sister, showing her father that she was capable of finding her own husband and finally living life as she chose. She also looked forward to uniting father and son. She believed the risk she had taken was well worth it and would prove even more laudable once Alexander was in his father’s arms.

Cullen stretched himself off the bed. “We’re going to need more firewood if this storm continues to rage.”

He was a fit one, muscles tightening and stretching his shirt, reminding her that when she chose, she’d know his taut flesh intimately. She wrestled with the exciting and frightening thought, though outwardly did not show it. “You’re right, the table won’t provide sufficient firewood.”

Cullen reached for his fur cloak on the peg. “I’ll go see what I can find.”

“Be careful,” she said, joining him at the door.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back.”

“I have no doubt you will,” she said softly, leaning forward and brushing her lips ever so faintly over his.

She noticed a stirring in his dark eyes and was pleased with herself, so much so that she dared to brush another kiss across his warm, moist lips. And to her surprise found it sent a tickle through her. Seduction wasn’t difficult at all.

Suddenly, she was swooped up in his arm, her startled gasp caught in a feverish kiss that had his tongue mating with hers and her blood rushing like wildfire through her until she thought she’d spark and burst like a flame.

It was so sudden and so unexpected and yet so unbelievably wonderful. She actually didn’t want him to stop. She wanted more, much more.

He tore his lips away from hers and pressed them near her ear. They pulsated against her flesh while her own throbbing lips ached from his abandonment. And when he spoke, his warm breath whispered across her face and sent tingles and gooseflesh rushing over her.

“Now tell me who will decide when we mate.”

He left her staring at the closed door, the heat from her body melting the flurry of snowflakes the wind had driven in to fall around her.

She was in trouble. Big trouble. She splayed her hand against the door to gain balance and perspective. If one kiss could turn her so utterly mindless, he’d have his way with her in no time.

But that was what she wanted, so why make a problem out of it? Get it done with as he had said.

Sara pushed away from the door, her legs surprisingly weak and her body still trembling. She sat on the edge of the bed, determined to make sense of her situation, see it for what it was and make no more of it.

Be honest, Sara, you must be honest with yourself, she warned silently.

She didn’t want to just be done with it. She wanted a memorable night, and it was because of Cullen. He was a fine-looking man with good teeth and a good mind, a man who, under different circumstances, she would have considered for a husband. If he had been similar to Harken McWilliams—she cringed at the thought—she would have bed him fast. A necessary approach since she would have had to hold her breath.

But from what she had determined thus far, Cullen seemed a good man, and good men were hard to find. So could she blame herself for wanting to enjoy him under her terms, and not feel their shared intimacy meant anything more than sealing their bargain?

Besides, she wanted to experience kisses and touches and not just the act itself. She wanted to feel it all, enjoy it all, savor it all. After Cullen, there would be no one, and at least she’d have the precious memories to keep her warm on cold lonely nights and as fodder for good dreams.

She understood his misgivings, his desire to have some say in the forced arrangement. She had experienced the same herself when her father informed her of the marriage he’d arranged for her.

But hers had been no bargain. Cullen would benefit from their arrangement, as would she. She would get what she wanted…