Free Highland Heat by Jennifer Haymore

body wanted him there.
    He kissed the sensitive skin of her inner thigh—all the way down her leg until he pressed his lips against her ankle. Then he slipped her shoe back onto her foot and rose.
    He kissed her on the lips once more, long and languid, the fingers of his good hand playing at the curls that wisped down at the back of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him until she was breathless.
    Finally, he pulled away, smoothing her skirt back over her knees. “Our time is up.”
    Grace wanted to say,
Who cares
.
Forget the time. Forget the major and society and my father and the
ton
and everything and everyone
. She felt like she could wrap herself in Duncan and nothing else would ever matter.
    But as he settled her back onto her feet, her logical mind clicked into place. Those were foolish thoughts.
    Duncan was right—they were out of time.

Chapter 6
    Duncan stood beside Grace at the deck rail as the coast of England grew closer with each wave that rolled under the ship.
    She stared at the land ahead of them, and he stared at her. In a matter of an hour or so, they would part. She was right when she’d said they might never cross paths again. At the time, he hadn’t wanted to think about that. But now, as they drew close to an inevitable separation, he found himself thinking of ways he might be able to see her.
    Her sister was married to his commanding officer. That fact made it possible—even likely—that they’d meet again.
    “Meeting” wouldn’t be enough, though. He wanted to be
alone
with her. The thought that they might never have that opportunity gutted him.
    Feeling his eyes on her, she turned to look at him. “This—” She abruptly stopped talking and looked down, seeming to try to build her strength to say whatever it was she wanted to say. “I’ve enjoyed this time with you, Duncan.”
    “
Enjoy
is an understatement for how I feel about our time together,” he said honestly.
    She glanced around to ensure nobody was listening, then nodded. “Yes,” she agreed. “For me too.” Her pretty blue eyes shone. “But my life is nothing like these past few days have been. I am an earl’s daughter and the lady of my father’s house. I entertain guests, I manage the household, I ensure everything is proper and respectable.”
    “And you havena been proper and respectable with me, have you?”
    She shook her head. “No. But”—she sounded surprised by this revelation—“I’ve
liked
not being respectable and proper. I’ve…I didn’t know how it would…make me feel.” Her fingers curled around the deck railing. “Still, this is my life. I like being a respectable spinster. I like running my father’s household. I like being the Earl of Norsey’s elder daughter.”
    “Of course you do.”
    “My father is a good man. I would do nothing to hurt him or bring scandal upon his house. If he knew what I have done…”
    “I understand,” he said.
    She blew out a breath. “Thank you for what you’ve given me. But…I need to walk away now. Even if by chance we see each other again, we mustn’t…”
    Something twisted in his gut, and he forced himself not to audibly grind his teeth. Every inch of his body told him that he needed to hold on to her, to explore this burgeoning feeling he had for this remarkable, beautiful woman.
    But she was right. He was a kilt-wearing son of a Scottish sheep farmer. He was a penniless sergeant in the British Army, not even an officer. She was an earl’s daughter, beautiful and aristocratic. She should marry an earl or a duke, or one of Wellington’s top advisors. Or maybe even Captain McLeod, one of the officers who was accompanying them back to London, who was himself the son and heir of an earl, albeit a Scottish one.
    There was no future for Grace and Duncan. No way on earth could he hope to attain something lasting with a woman like her.
    They needed to stop this, to nip it in the bud before real feelings began to grow between