Page 27 of A Virgin for the Icy Highlander
“There willbenay weddin’ night,” Hunter snapped, though the flare of his temper wasn’t entirely his brother’s fault.
In truth, after that dance, Hunter’s thoughts were in disarray. He had meant it when he’d said that distance was likely the key to a good marriage—for him and Grace, at least.
Dancing that close to her, holding her against him, spinning her around with her back arched and her hips pressed flush to his thighs, hadn’t been part of the plan.
If there hadn’t been anyone else in the room, he dreaded to think what he might have done or suggested. He doubted he would have been able to stop himself from picking her up, feeling her legs wrap around him, and carrying her over to the feasting table, where he would have satisfied his hunger again and again, until she could take no more.
His tongue craved her sweetness. His fingers longed to touch forbidden fruit. His loins stirred every time he thought of how close she had been. His manhood yearned to fill her, to satisfy her, to leave her ravenous for more.
I cannae be near her again. I shall send for a lass tonight, before this gets any worse.
Yet, he knew he wouldn’t. In his mind’s current state, another woman wouldn’t do anything. It would be like returning from a hunt to the promise of succulent meat, only to be given a plate of limp, flavorless carrots.
“What if she comes to expect it?” Thomas asked seriously. “What if, in time, she grows to want it?”
Hunter swallowed thickly. “She’ll have to learn how to be disappointed.”
As will I, for that dance is as close as we shall ever get again.
The following morning, having received news that the Laird had ridden out early to see how the nearest villages were faring, Grace felt at ease in the gardens of Castle MacLogan.
It was set to be a beautiful day. The low autumn sun cast a molten glow over the grounds, offering warmth despite the chill of the wind.
Although if it was warmth she needed, all Grace had to do was think about last night, and it was akin to summoning a fever.
“It was easier than I had expected,” she said, picking up where they’d left off a moment ago. “I thought I would die of embarrassment after pulling that face about the snails. Helooked at me as if I had taken leave of my senses, so I’m pleased I managed to succeed.”
Maddie offered an apologetic smile. “My fault, entirely. I should have known he wouldn’t be the least bit affected by the idea of eating snails.”
“Is it really true, though?” Lilian asked uneasily. “Do the French and Spanish eat them?”
Maddie stifled a laugh. “Alas, it is. Then again, if they are so commonly eaten there, perhaps they aren’t as bad as we fear. No one would keep eating something that is revolting.”
“Unless they have nothing else to eat,” Lilian pointed out, somewhat sagely.
“Ah… I hadn’t considered that,” Maddie murmured, scratching her head, looking suddenly shamefaced. “Anyway, let us return to our celebrations of Grace’s success. Who knew that inviting him to dance would have caused such disgust?”
Grace chuckled whilst stooping to admire a late-blooming flower. It was the only one protruding from the flowerbed, small and purple, bending with every cold breath of the wind.
“I think it was the English part of the dance that disgusted him,” she said, refusing to dwell too much on the moment, for her entire face would flush pink, and she’d need more than the wintry wind to cool it.
Maddie crouched down to inspect the flower, touching it gently. “The man definitely despises dancing. I don’t think he smiled once throughout.”
“Youwere smiling a lot,” Lilian said shyly. “I thought your smile would reach your ears when you bent backward like that and he twirled you around. In all my twenty years, I do not think I have ever seen anything so… romantic. I daresay I swooned. I am not ashamed to admit it.”
The first wave of heat began to creep up Grace’s neck, prickling up toward her face, where she wouldn’t be able to hide it, least of all from her friends, who knew her so well. It didn’t help matters that she’d had such vivid dreams about that dance and being held so masterfully in Hunter’s arms. Dreams that meant she didn’t feel well-rested.
“It was the music,” Grace mumbled. “I couldn’t help it, but I assure you, it wasn’t romantic in the slightest. It was… freeing, that is all.”
Maddie stood up. “So, you aren’t beginning to like the man?”
“Not in that way,” Grace insisted, giving herself a moment longer to cool her face before she got to her feet. “I maintain that he might be my best choice, and that is enough for me, at present. And Ellie is so lovely. Indeed, it’s rather ironic that we are discussing snails, for I do believe she is starting to come out of her shell.”
Lilian sighed. “If any man were to dance withmelike that, even one who did not smile at all, I think I would fall in love right there and then. I would not be able to prevent it.” She chuckled to herself. “I suppose you are made of sterner stuff than I, Grace. You always have been.”
“I hope that one day, a man dances with you like thatandsmiles too,” Grace said, rising. “You deserve that.”
“And what of you?” Lilian countered, blushing slightly. “You deserve that, too.”
