Page 24 of A Virgin for the Icy Highlander
“You might smile a little,” she teased as they came to the end of the first repetition.
Her palm rested against his as they turned in a circle before spinning and circling back in the opposite direction.
“I cannae smile when this isnae dancin’,” he replied. “It’s too slow.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “It isrefined.”
“It’s dull,” he corrected, clicking his fingers at the musicians.
In an instant, the sedate music became a wild wave of instruments and voices. The lively song awakened something in Grace’s body: a vibrancy she’d only half-felt outside thecèilidhin Lockton, peering through the windows, watching the men and women whirl around together. An instinct that she hadn’t had the opportunity to hand the reins to was roused.
She gasped as Hunter’s arm slipped around her waist, his hand grasped hers tightly, and his hard body moved so close that there was nothing between them but fabric.
It was possibly the last breath she was capable of drawing as he began to dancehisway, leaving her with two options: keep up or be dragged around the makeshift dance floor.
And she wasn’t one to back away from a challenge.
Held flush against him, clinging on for dear life, she let herself be carried away by the music and the magic of the unrestrained dance. Her feet found their place between his as he twirled with her, spinning her around and around until her head swam and the room was a blur. Her heart thudded along to the rapid rhythm of the drum.
And when he picked her up, holding her aloft and spinning her in a circle, as if she weighed nothing at all, she thought she might scream with the utter joy of it all.
Her entire life, she’d never felt delicate. Graced had envied the slender girls who looked so dainty beside the gentlemen whose attention they’d caught. But in Hunter’s arms, she finally had a notion of how those young ladies felt.
Gradually, as she settled into the wild nature of the dance, hopping and leaping and twirling with Hunter without error, her grip on him loosened, and her fear of falling over vanished. This was pure ecstasy, and her body was feverish with the gloriousheat and excitement of it all. Her smile grew so wide that her cheeks ached.
He won’t let me stumble,she realized, trying something she’d seen one of the women at thecèilidhdo.
Bending backward at the waist, her arms falling backward with her, she trusted Hunter’s strength. His grip tightened only a little as he whirled around with her, spinning her in a way that felt like true freedom, like she might be able to fly if she willed it hard enough.
She closed her eyes and let that feeling take over.
Grace soared with every rotation and was anchored to the earth only by the feel of Hunter’s arm around her waist. His other hand cupped her side just beneath her breast. The touch was a little familiar, perhaps, but she didn’t care; it just added to the feeling that she was free, safe in the embrace of her warrior betrothed as she had never been before.
How could she ever go back to London after this?
11
Suddenly, a yelp slipped past Grace’s lips. Her body tipped further backward, and her hands clutched at Hunter’s shirt. Something had touched her leg. Something wasstilltouching her leg.
She glanced down in alarm, but her shock softened at the sight of wide blue eyes and a gap-toothed smile. Little hands were tugging at her skirts and Hunter’s kilt.
“Can I dance?” Ellie asked, beaming.
Hurried footsteps clattered across the flagstones as an old woman with a long mane of white hair scooped the little girl up into her arms. “Apologies, Nephew. The wee mouse escaped me! I took me eye off her for a second, and she was gone.”
“I heard music,” Ellie said, coiling a lock of the old woman’s hair around her forefinger, looking suddenly shy.
Breathless, Grace took a step away from Hunter, noting that he, too, seemed short of breath.
“Nephew?” Grace echoed. Her gaze flitted between Hunter and the woman.
The old lady smiled. “I’ve been away, tendin’ to a sickness in the borders. The moment I returned, I had to see me wee niece. Her nursemaid told me to watch her for a while, so I did, but I didnae keep a close enough eye on her.”
“Niece?” Grace’s head hurt, trying to figure it out.
“Ailis,” the woman said by way of introduction, chuckling softly. “I’m the aunt of these two lads, and I suppose this wee rascal would be me grand-niece, but it’s a mouthful. I’m the castle’s healer and all, if that helps.”
Grace nodded slowly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am?—”
