Free Highland Jewel (Highland Brides) by Lois Greiman Page B

further charms.
    "Mayhap," Colin breathed, "ye dream of me just as I dream of ye."
    She moaned again and in that moment it seemed to Colin she revealed the truth of her need. She was not detached and cool, but lonely and vulnerable, keeping herself from him only by the harshest discipline. Poor lass, he thought, and, realizing he could no longer delay the kiss, he leaned eagerly forward.
    "Leith," she whispered in her sleep.
    Colin's head snapped back. Leith! He was on his feet in a moment, glaring down at the first woman who had refused to be moved by his presence. Leith!
    "Dream on then, widow," he declared, striding away to his post.
    And in the darkness, Devona smiled.
     

Chapter 7
    “Awake, lass."
    Rose heard Leith's voice through the fog of her slumber, but her dreams were too rich and warm for her to be drawn immediately from sleep. He was there again. The tall, sable-haired man with the compelling eyes. He was there in her dreams, kissing her, his chest bare and ...
    "Mayhap I shall need to kiss ye again," Leith suggested.
    Rose's eyes popped open.
    God's teeth! He was there—in the flesh and...
    "Where—where are your clothes?" she gasped, taking in his changed appearance with openmouthed shock.
    Leith placed his fists on his plaid-covered hips and laughed aloud. "I am a Scotsman, wee Rose," he reminded her. "Na one of yer coddled English lords."
    "But..." She'd known he was a barbarian, but never had she seen his barbarism displayed with such breathtaking boldness.
    His hair was dark, long, and loose but for the narrow braids—one nestled beside each ear. His shirt was made of brown wool, soft as hide and open at the neck to show his broad, dark throat. A length of plaid wool crossed his left shoulder, pinned by a pewter brooch, and wrapped around his chest and abdomen to meet the same tartan fabric that was held to his waist with a broad leather belt. In the center, but just below the belt, was a leather bag, perhaps the width of both her fists side by side. It was covered with a flap of the same fine hide and kept closed with a narrow thong. Against his right hip his sword was strapped and across his thighs lay the pleated wool of his plaid.
    But below that... God's ears! His lower thighs and knees were bare—broad and corded with muscle above the tall horsehide boots that covered his flesh from toe to upper calf.
    "You ... cannot mean to tell me you go about wearing tiny gowns?" she murmured in awe.
    "Gowns!" began Leith with a scowl, but Colin's laughter cut him short.
    "Leith wears a wee gown." He chuckled, striding forward to stand beside his brother, arms akimbo in the same manner. "But we true Scotsmen wear plaids."
    Rose's eyes widened even further, for Colin too wore the indecent garment. "But your..." Her voice failed her for a moment. "Your knees are ... naked!" she squeaked.
    Leith's scowl deepened. "Need I remind ye, wee nun, that I've seen ye ... "
    Her eyes were huge gems of terrified amethyst as she stared at him in mute appeal, begging for his silence.
    Leith's dark eyebrows lowered even further, but in a moment his expression softened. "That I've seen ye... sleep too long," he finished roughly. "Get yerself up, lass," he said. “Today ye see Scotland."
     
    The countryside had changed little since they'd crossed the border, Rose thought. But everything else had. No longer did they travel at a moderate rate. And no longer did she ride in the rear.
    Leith kept her at his side now, seeming ever-watchful and causing her to wonder whether he half-expected her to drop from the saddle again like an overripe plum.
    The day turned gray and the wind rose, but they hurried on, keeping their mounts at a rapid trot.
    Rose bounced along beside Leith's noble stallion. A trot, she knew, greatly increased their pace while saving their mounts' strength. But still... Her head snapped up and down, and her bottom burned like fire, making her regret her refusal to ride the smooth-gaited black.
    It seemed her