Free The Highlander's Bride Trouble by Mary Wine Page A

as proof of her virginity.
     Of course, that was before her reputation was tarnished.
    So it didn’t matter what she did tonight. At least not to anyone except herself and
     Saer.
    Besides, if he ravished her, she could at last stop fearing it. That thought filled
     her with courage. Or maybe it was desperation. But the idea of being free of fear
     was enough to shed the last of her reservations.
    She turned and found him submerged to his chin. The moonlight flashed off his eyes
     as he watched her. But instead of making her self-conscious, his gaze made her bold.
     He was the definition of strength, and she was not going to cringe in his sight.
    The first touch of the water sent a chill up her leg. She stifled a giggle before
     plunging her foot all the way in. It was cold only for the first moment. She hurried
     deeper in and began to swim to accustom herself to the temperature. Within moments,
     she was comfortable, the cool water soothing. She ducked beneath the surface to wet
     her hair and smiled when she came up. Until she opened her eyes to find Saer right
     in front of her.
    The smile faded from her lips as their gazes locked. She felt the challenge coming
     from him and stared straight back. She lifted her chin.
    “Are ye satisfied, Laird MacLeod?”
    Her tone had turned sultry, stunning her with how wanton she sounded.
    “Aye…” He closed the distance between them. “And yet, nae.”
    He offered her the bar of soap. Anticipation tingled in her belly as she eyed it.
     There wasn’t enough light to judge his expression, but she felt he was testing her.
     She reached out for the soap, curling her fingers around its slippery surface, but
     he didn’t release immediately. For a moment, their fingers mingled, the soap coating
     their skin.
    She shook her head, not trusting her voice. Being near him was unleashing something
     untamed inside her that was drawing her closer to him and his unabashed ways. With
     him, there were no rules to cage her. But that was dangerous.
    She tugged on the soap, and he released it.
    Dangerous because there was nothing to bind them to each other. Part of her reveled
     in that idea, but there was still a whisper of caution holding her back. Women who
     fell from grace did not meet good ends. She swam closer to the shore where she could
     touch the bottom, and began to wash herself.
    “Admit it, Nareen, no tub of well water would please ye so much.”
    He’d followed her, standing the same distance from her.
    “Ye’re testing me.” She’d stopped short of exposing her breasts to him completely,
     but the water made it difficult to move quickly. It was both comforting and confining.
    “Aye, I am,” he admitted freely.
    She turned to eye him, her hand stilling on her arm as she became more focused on
     his words than her bath. “Why?”
    “Strength begets strength.”
    She was mesmerized by the way he moved closer and stopped just a foot away from her.
     She’d never been so completely bare in the presence of a man before, but it was more
     than their lack of clothing. Saer saw more than most. He stripped away her words and
     stared at the raw wounds still open across her soul.
    “Ye are a survivor.” He plucked the forgotten soap bar from her hand and cupped her
     shoulder. “So am I.” He turned her away from him and swept her hair over her shoulder
     before applying the soap to her back. She shivered, the knowledge that she was nude
     becoming almost overwhelming. “Ye care not for the rules because ye did nae receive
     the security they promised when ye were compliant.”
    “Some would say I am simply making excuses to do as I please. I think they may be
     partially right,” she warned him. “I am nae obedient.”
    But a queer sort of compliance was taking hold of her, a rationale that made it acceptable,
     because he was also bare. In that moment, they were simply the same, neither more
     exposed than the other. Both of them being more honest than they might be