Free My Daring Highlander by Vonda Sinclair Page A

a lie, she knew,
even as more tears formed in her eyes. She didn’t want to cry and
didn’t understand why she was. She simply felt overwhelmed and
confused by her own surging emotions, added to her earlier fear of
the bolting horse. And Keegan’s close proximity only made
everything more powerful.
    When tears spilled from the corners of
her eyes, she was mortified and tried to avert her face. Surely, he
would think her a bairn.
    He held her still and brushed his
thumb beneath her eyes, catching her tears.
    “Shh.” He kissed her forehead, his
lips and breath warm and soft on her skin.
    Feeling both comfort and excitement,
she slipped her hands around his lean torso, her palms pressing
against his sides. Moving closer to him and pushing her hands
around to his back, she found most of the aching pressure leaving
her chest. She could not believe how much she needed him and wanted
him.
    He held her close, pressing kisses to
the top of her head. She laid her head against his chest and
listened to his heart pounding in her ear. The appealing scent of
him—male, spice and leather was like a bewitching potion to her
senses.
    ’Twas perfection.
    Shortly, a bit of her
sanity returned. Heavens! What must he think of her, embracing him in such a
way? She drew back and glanced up at him.
    His heavy-lidded eyes searched hers.
She was glad he didn’t ask why she’d been crying for she couldn’t
have answered. Merely that her rampant emotions had gotten the
better of her, which almost never happened, and she couldn’t let
him know the depth of her feelings for him. At the same time, his
gaze was so spellbinding, she could think of naught but touching
him.
    Before she knew what she was about,
she lifted her hand and stroked her fingers along his square jaw,
delighting in the prickly golden-brown stubble. She had wondered
what it felt like—very masculine and harsh, so unlike her own
skin.
    She raised her gaze and found his eyes
darker than before, the color of the sky near gloaming. She dropped
her hand, but he caught it and kissed her palm. His lips and warm
breath on her sensitive skin fragmented her thoughts. His gaze held
hers with that intense, magnetic force she didn’t understand. It
compelled her to draw closer to him, and she did.
    He leaned forward and placed a sweet
kiss on her lips. It surprised her and served as a potent
temptation.
    Unable to quell her enthusiasm, she
lifted herself onto her tiptoes and tilted her chin up, hungering
for another kiss like the one they’d shared the night
before.
    “Saints,” Keegan growled then took her
mouth. His wicked tongue flicked at her lips and she opened for
him, completely ready to devour him. But he did not seem in a hurry
as he tempted and taunted her. Barely touching his tongue to hers,
then retreating.
    A sound escaped her and she was
shocked to realize it was halfway between a moan and a needy whine.
He gave an answering groan and stroked his tongue inside her mouth.
It darted around hers, then swirled.
    He hummed a soft sound. “So sweet,” he
whispered.
    Whatever magic possessed her increased
with each kiss he placed upon her mouth.
    She became aware of strands of his
soft hair between her fingers. When had she buried her hands in his
hair to hold his head?
    He pulled her tightly
against his hard body, and she had never felt anything so
exquisite. This, combined with his kisses, consumed her thoughts
with a fiery, carnal sensation. Oh
saints. She craved his bare skin against
hers. She wanted him to touch and kiss every inch of
her.
    What was wrong with her?
    Keegan was thankful his sporran
disguised his body’s fierce response to her. He was mad to indulge
in such luscious kisses with her, but he could not stop himself.
Especially when she made it abundantly clear she wanted
more.
    She shyly flicked the tip
of her tongue against his, stirring his lusts into a boiling
caldron. Mo creach! She was too innocent for him to kiss this way. He was indeed a
rogue, as