Free A Laird for Christmas by Gerri Russell

east side of the castle, tucked between the walls of the outer and inner bailey. He had seen the tranquil location as they had ridden through the bailey gates upon their arrival.
    The snow in this area of the castle was still undisturbed. As they walked, they left a trail of impressions in the two-inch deep snow. Colin smiled. His breath curled in the chill air, floating toward the heavens. He loved the snow, and he could definitely become accustomed to the lovely Lady Jane Lennox at his side.
    He had won the first competition with his spirited dance. Now he had to woo her with talk as he had for the past two hours in Lady Margaret’s presence. That first test had gone well, and had won him this time alone in the garden with Jane where they could talk in private. Colin swallowed roughly. Discussions with ladies were not his strong suit, especially ladies who looked like Jane. Her unbound, shining golden hair fell in a luxurious tumble overher shoulders and back. Her tresses framed a face of striking beauty. Her finely molded cheekbones were high, her skin creamy and glowing, her lips generous and soft. But it was her eyes that drew his attention. Beneath delicately arched brows, long curly lashes fringed eyes that were a vivid, startling violet.
    They walked in silence until they reached a half wall that separated the farmed part of the garden from the fruit trees. “May we walk among the trees?” he asked.
    “I played there as a young girl. The gate is ahead,” she said, stopping her progress along the snowy path.
    “We need not enter through the gate.” He dusted the snow off the top of the fence before he brought his hands to her waist and lifted her onto the ledge.
    “Oh,” she breathed, startled, and her cheeks flushed.
    “Remain there a moment.” In his eagerness to help her down, he vaulted over the divider as though it were nothing. She was taller than most women and voluptuously curved. He placed his hands on her waist once more and lifted her down. He did not set her on her feet right away, but gazed into her beautiful eyes as he slid her down his body, enjoying the feel of her softness against his hard chest. The friction between them was delicious, and he felt her knees wobble for a moment before she found her stance on the snow-covered ground.
    “Now we will not be interrupted,” Colin said, then drew a deep breath of fresh, cold air before they started walking through the snow once more. “Might I ask you a question, Lady Jane? Why did you choose me for this first round? You already know so many of the others.”
    “Honestly?” she asked, peering at him from beneath her lashes.
    “Of course. I am a warrior. Nothing you say will hurt me.”
    A hint of an apology lingered in her eyes. “It was easier to choose you, a stranger, than to pick one of them.”
    He was wrong. That hurt, just a little. “I understand,” he said, feeling slightly deflated about his time alone with her before he caught himself. It did not matter how he had gained this time. It was up to him to use it well.
    He took her hand in his. They walked along an open area Colin could only assume was a path beneath the snow. He helped her toward a swing that hungfrom a stout branch of an apple tree. “If I’d had more time to prepare, I would have arranged a meal for us to eat beneath the boughs of this leafless tree.”
    “A meal out in the snow?” Jane asked with a chuckle.
    “At the moment, I would like nothing better,” he said with a smile.
    Jane felt his smile all the way to her toes. Her pulse raced as she tried to ignore the tug of his eyes and voice. She had seen that momentary hurt in his eyes when she had told him the truth. The honest truth about the competition was she was not sure how she would choose any one among the others. Perhaps she should insist the next competition be the drawing of sticks. The suitor with the shortest stick would win her hand, sparing their feelings and her heart.
    Colin stopped before