Page 34 of The Highlander's Dare
“Did ye know anything about this before ye came to England?” There was no inflection in his tone as he hid away all of his deliberations.
Clara flashed an irritated glance his way, wishing she could read his mind. “Of course not. Are you accusing me of such?” Why did that notion hurt so much more than it ought?
Graham shook his head vehemently. “Nay.”
“But the thought crossed your mind.” She chewed her lip.
“As it would anyone’s.”
Clara pursed her lips, about to be offended, but she realized that he had a point. She’d have thought the same thing if she were in his shoes.
“Ye mentioned there were a couple of things,” Graham urged.
A shudder passed through her. She’d nearly forgotten, forcing herself not to think about Baston and what would happen if he got everything he wanted.
“Baston plans to wed me tomorrow night.” The words tumbled out in a rush, and once she’d said them aloud, her heart started to hammer, and her breaths came uneasy. It was as if keeping them bottled up had made them impossible but voicing them aloud brought them into reality.
Graham’s face clouded. “After the melee.”
A slash of fear batted at her spine. “You’re to fight him in the melee?”
“Aye. I believe he plans to kill me. He has an idea of my feelings for ye, my plan to steal ye away, and he intends to make sure I canna do it.”
Clara shook her head. “Nay, you cannot die.”
He grinned down at her, brushing his lips over hers. “Nay, I canna, else I’ll never get to kiss ye again, and I’ve come to learn that kissing ye is my favorite thing.”
And with that, he swept her into his arms and kissed her deeply, claiming her, and wiping from her mind, any more thoughts of Baston Ross.
10
There was something different about this kiss, and Graham knew it the moment he pressed his mouth to hers. The passion that had been building up inside them both for days was reaching a head. They’d confessed love, planned to wed and planned to defeat Baston Ross. There was nothing they would allow to keep them apart. Nothing had kept them from making promises of the heart—what was to stop them if they were to make those same promises in body?
But Graham could not take what she hadn’t offered.
Reluctantly, he broke their kiss, pressing his forehead to hers he tried to catch his breath. “I want ye, lass.” His voice was deep, guttural, filled with the pent-up need he’d been about to unleash. “I want to make love to ye… but we should wait until we’ve been properly wedded.”
This was a gallant offer. The most decent thing he could say. Brave too, considering the blood rushing through his veins, and the way his cock had sprung to life, hard and pulsing, begging to sink inside her silken heat. Graham drew in a ragged breath.
Mayhap it would be a good idea to visit the river for a cold dunk. Anything to get his mind of her lush curves and the way he imagined her creamy flesh would look when he laid her bare on the bed.
Clara’s hands slid from his hair, bracing against his shoulders. God, he loved the way it felt when she touched him.
“But…” she said, her voice breathy, enough to make his knees feel weak. “Do we have to?”
That simple question, spoken so innocently, sent a fresh wave of desire rushing through him. Did they have to? God help him…
“Nay, we dinna have to wait, but I’m trying to do the chivalrous thing by ye, lass.”
Clara’s palms pressed to his face. “I love you, Graham. Nothing is going to change that. I want to marry you. Nothing will change that, either.”
“Ye trust me.” He didn’t mean for it to sound so much like he was in awe, but he was.
“Should I not?” Her tone was teasing.
“Ye should have run away from me a sennight ago,” he mused, capturing her lower lip with his teeth.
“I do not think I could run away from you if I tried. My body would betray me and turn right back around despite my demands. Ruled by my heart, you see.”
