Free Highland Spitfire by Mary Wine

kiss.
    It was disappointing, because she wanted to find a man who stirred her the way Bhaic
     had. But it was clear it wasn’t Lye Rob. He was fun to dance with, and his brown eyes
     were warm, but they did not excite her.
    Not like Bhaic.
    She turned around, and her skirts spun up. Cool air teased her ankles and calves before
     the fabric settled.
    “Are ye enjoying putting the horns of a cuckold on me head?”
    She stared at Bhaic in stunned silence, wondering if she’d conjured him with her daydreaming.
     But the men at his back confirmed that she was not locked in another memory of their
     wedding night. “I’m nae doing anything of the sort.”
    He snorted and reached out to finger her hair. She jumped, the single touch setting
     off a reaction that rippled throughout her entire body.
    “Unbound hair is the right of a maiden.”
    The truth of his words rolled through her, stunning her at just how foolishly she’d
     betrayed the facts of her unconsummated vows.
    “It’s so nice of ye to make sure everyone knows.” He jerked his head to get her to
     look beyond him. People were standing three and four deep, many of them whispering
     as they looked at her.
    “She was dancing with me,” Lye Rob interrupted.
    Bhaic turned on him with a soft growl. “Unless ye’re a fool, ye know she’s wed to
     me.”
    Her temper flared up, the public declaration feeling like a collar going around her
     neck. Perhaps she hadn’t made as clean an escape as she’d thought.
    “Enough bickering,” she admonished. “’Tis May Day. Everyone is dancing.”
    Bhaic was crowding Lye Rob, towering over the other man by at least a foot. Somehow,
     she’d missed the fact that Bhaic was bare chested.
    That was a sin, to be sure.
    One ye enjoy…
    The man was sculpted to perfection. She’d felt the ridges of muscles on her wedding
     night, but seeing them let loose a whole different surge of excitement. This time,
     her nipples puckered behind her stays, longing for the chance to be pressed against
     his bare skin.
    It was a red-hot craving, one that felt worse than any hunger she’d ever endured.
    “There is little point in bickering,” she said.
    He turned to face her. “Aye, enough is right, Ailis.”
    He captured her hips and pulled her forward. She ran into his chest, raising her hands
     out of instinct to break her collision with him. He leaned down and pressed his mouth
     against hers, running one hand up her back to capture her head and hold her still.
    The kiss was ravishing. It bore little resemblance to the tender ones he’d given her
     before. This time he demanded, and her will crumbled beneath the hard motions of his
     mouth. This was the kiss she’d truly wanted.
    The crowd watching them cheered, the men roaring with approval.
    Bhaic lifted his head, and she glimpsed his pleased expression right before he tossed
     her up and over his shoulder.
    She squealed, her skirts flying as she kicked, but the crowd applauded and cheered
     him on.
    “Put me down!”
    He smacked her bottom instead.
    A bolt of hot need pierced her in response. Her cheeks flamed, making her grateful
     no one could see her face. The sounds of the music diminished into the distance as
     he climbed into the forest that surrounded the crossroads.
    He tossed her down the moment they were hidden from the fair.
    She’d forgotten how mesmerizing he was. She wished she might forget again. But he
     was huge, and for some reason, she found his dark hair extremely appealing. He was
     a beast.
    He was also virile…
    “Perhaps it was a mistake to leave ye a virgin.”
    Her temper sizzled, and she propped her hands on her hips. “What happened to yer notion
     that I was in agreement with the earl’s plot? I would think ye would be pleased to
     see me making it plain that I have no claim on ye. Do ye no’ feel liberated?”
    Her argument hit a soft spot. He paused, his eyes narrowing.
    “It does nae please me to see ye dancing with Lye Rob