Free Gifts of Desire by Kella McKinnon

small library. T he room itself was extravagant .  Rich carpets lined the floor, and the wood of the walls and trim was polished to a gleam.  But the books… she had always loved books, had quite a few of her own at home.  Well, five, but that was still far more than most people had.  She brushed her fingers softly across the volumes, eagerly reading their titles.  Could what she sought be a book?   A volume of forgotten lore or long lost magic?  An enchanted text, perhaps ?  It certainly made sense, but even so, it would take a while to find among so many , and how would she know which it was?   She began scanning the titles, occasionally pulling out a volume that caught her eye, before carefully replacing it.  She was so absorbed in her investigation that she didn’t even hear Ceann come up behind her.  S uddenly feeling that she was no longer alone, Ella turned around and gave a startled shriek .   Without thought, she struck Ceann ’s s teely chest w ith one small fist .
                  “ Ow!”  She shook her now throbbing hand.  “ God, you scared me!   Don’t do that! ”
                  Ceann fought back a look of astonishment.  H ad she really just hit him?  No woman had ever hit him before, even thought he knew he had deserved it on more than one occasion .  Well, apart from Maggie , but she had known him since he was a boy , and he had deserved it then, too.   Ella did not cower when he raged at her; she did not lower her eyes when he met her gaze, and now she was beating him.   It was…. fascinating .  Her spirit was like a wild thing he wanted to possess.  He caught her fist as she raised it to pummel him a second time.  He thought for a moment s he might have tremble d at his touch, and he looked into her eyes .   No, there was no fear there.   Still holding her fist, he raised an eyebrow at her.  “ Don’t do what, lass?  I’m laird of Tulloch ; I can do what ever I please.”
                  She exhaled, and gave him a look of exasperation.  “ Don’t sneak up behind me and scare me half to death.”   She pulled at her fist, and he released it, wary lest she try to use it on him again.
                  “Tell me then, what you are doing in here ”.
                  She narrowed her eyes at him defiantly.  She was so full of fire, and Ceann imagine d for just a fleeting moment that he could have such a woman for his own, be the one to tame her, to bend her t o his will. .. to…
                  “I ’m looking at you r books .   Where ever did you get so many? ”  She tried but could not completely keep the awe out of her voice .   To have this many volumes in one place…  
                  He shrugged.  “Most were my father’s.  He collected them.  Some were his father’s before.  Some are mine.”
                  “I love books.  Would you mind if I borrowed one?   I mean, since I am not free to leave… ”
                  “ You can read? ” he asked, in what he hoped was a tone of indifference .
                  She looked offended.  “Of course I can read .”
                  He had not really needed any proof, but here it was ; she had unwittingly given him a clue .  She was well-born, for certain .  There were almost no commoners in the highlands who could read, and even fewer of them women.  That fact made it all the less likely that he had found her on her own for innocent reasons.  If she could read, she could perhaps try to intercept his personal correspondence.  Something was definitely afoot here, and he would find out what if he had to follow her around every minute of the day, until she gave herself away with some misstep.  He leaned closer to see the title of the book she still held in her hand, but then his nostrils flared as he caught her scent, soft and sweet and womanly.   Heaven .  The