Free The Highlander's Conquest by Eliza Knight

teased and wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Irritation warred with humor . “Do you take pleasure in humiliating others? ’Tis a sin , ” she said with mock haughtiness.
    His brows raised and he took a step toward her. “Do you lecture me, my lady ?” His voice was low, underlined with a note of sensuality that worked its way up her spine. “’Tis a sin to be so tempting.” The last of his words were said on a breath as he dipped low and captured her mouth with his.
    She was taken aback at first and gasped. Her lips parted a little and Blane’s tongue swiped for only a second at the small opening. He tasted of whisky, but this time it wasn’t a fire that took her breath but rather a slow, sensual burn. H e pulled back, abruptly in fact, and away from her, leaving her dazed and confused. Her legs shook, and she was in danger of collapsing. Her breaths came quick and her heart pounded in her ears. Not even a minute had passed since his lips brushed hers and his tongue slid enticingly over her parted mouth, but it rocked her to the core all the same. There was a blatant difference between their first kiss and this kiss.
    Their first kiss had been sensual, slow and decadent. This was none of those things. It was hot, tantalizing and wicked. And Aliah wanted him to do it again.
    Oh, Saint’s toes … She ought to march herself to the nearest church and have the abbot send a missive straight away to Mother Superior , explaining that Aliah was not right for a life of servitude. She was a wicked, wanton woman, filled with a strong desire to taste the hot blooded man standing before her.
    Aliah’s face blazed with heat, that heat searing a path down her neck to her chest and to her breasts . H er nipples were hard, aching buds. And…she wanted Blane to touch them.
    Thank goodness for her cloak, which she tugged closer , grasping it like a shield. But as much as she tried, she wasn’t sure she would ever be completely shielded from this man .
    Blane raked his hands through his hair and gazed into the forest beyond. “My lady, I apologize for taking liberties that are not my own.” The way his voice was deep and hoarse with desire, licked its way along her wanton nerves.
    What was it about this man that made her want to be wicked ?
    W as it a blessing in disguise? Was this her path? Was this God’s way of showing her that she was meant for something different? For love?
    Aliah shook her head. That couldn’t be true. While her father wanted her to marry, she’d decided long ago she would go into the church. A place where she always felt comfortable, a place where she felt closer to the mother she’d never known. Arbella had fought against marriage for years and when she’d finally be en coerced into an arrangement , Aliah had seen her sister’s unhappiness , thus her own goal to join the church and never ha ving to enter the bonds of marriage were fortified.
    But according to Sir Blane, Arbella was happy in her marriage. Mayhap things could change. But could she? Would she ever be forgiven for having taken her mother’s life?
    “You had best get back to sleep. We shall pack up camp and resume our journey when dusk approaches.” Blane’s voice held an edge, as if he were on dangerous ground.
    She supposed if he’d been as affected as she was by their kiss, that he was indeed facing a perilous precipice .
    Aliah nodded. She opened her mouth to thank him for his advice, which had calmed her guilt, but he stopped her with a hard stare and the flexing muscle of his jaw.
    “Sleep well, my lady.”
    Was it possible he still wanted to kiss her? Confusion filled her. She didn’t understand men at all —often butting heads with her brother and father— and Blane was sending her one mixed signal after another. She frowned as she marched back toward the cave. He wasn’t the only one sending mixed signals—Aliah was doing the same thing to herself.
     

     
    Blane marched with purpose along the perimeter he’d