Free Claimed By A Charmer (The Pith Trilogy) by Kara Griffin Page A

they’d shared in the
stable. His body grew stiff thinking about her bonny face, and the way she had
felt in his arms. Douglas had watched her assess him in the stable, and at the
time, his body reacted to her boldness when her eyes raked over him. Damn, but
she’d enchanted him, yet she had been dauntless when he’d confronted her. He’d
never met a lady who hadn’t backed away from him. He’d decided to pacify her
anyway, being the gentleman he was. That certainly hadn’t lasted long and
against his better judgment, he kissed her.
    His intention to kiss her senseless
only caused his own mindless state. He didn’t know why he had deepened the
kiss, but he intended it to be hard, hot and swore to intimidate her. Her
reaction was quite the opposite of what he’d imagined it would be. She had pulled
him closer, wanting his kiss. Damned if that didn’t make him harden with need. He
wanted the minx, more than any other. Lord, but she could kiss. It took him a
few minutes to get over that fact. He remembered standing in the stable for
several minutes trying to gain control.
    Douglas recalled his conversation
with Brendan about keeping her, too. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from the
fiery lass, and as he rode through the Gordon gates, he kept looking back at
her, swearing that one day, he would have a wife as beautiful, and one as sweet
and enchanting. Aye, he remembered saying to himself, he wanted a wife who
would be faithful and loving, a wife who would give him find sons and daughters,
a wife who wasn’t afraid to challenge him.
    He had dismissed his thoughts of
her for such a long time and now the memories flooded him. Sleep continued to elude
him, as the night wore on, even though he was beyond tired. He recalled their
last encounter and smiled. Isabel Calvert would probably carp at him the whole
ride to the Highlands. He recollected her lack of fear of him and Brendan. His
cousin was fearsome, and most ladies ran the other way at the sight of him, but
not Isabel. She stood up to them at supper that night.
    He remembered how Isabel’s hair
swung by her derriere and the way her green cat-like eyes looked at him. He
swallowed at the vision. For the love of God, the woman invaded his sanity. He
scoffed, trying to dismiss the vision. She haunted his dreams from time to
time, and he hadn’t been able to forsake her. Now with her is such close proximity,
he was certain to have more difficulty dismissing the woman.
    Unsettled, he tossed again, staring
into the darkness of his chamber. Her sweet freckles and soft lips waved before
his eyes. Candace had his promise to bring her back, and that’s exactly what he
intended to do. However now he wasn’t sure if he was bringing her back for
Candace or for himself. He finally fell asleep and dreamt of her.
     
    *****
    Laughter erupted as soon as Douglas
left the hall. Brendan knew that Douglas had to feel petulant about the
journey, and it appeared that his reaction hadn’t changed at all. Brendan
watched Candace leave the hall on Douglas’ heels.
    “I’ve never seen Douglas’ mood turn
so foul. What’s amiss, Brendan?” Colin asked.
    “He’s in for it. I was with him
when he had a run-in with her. She gave him hell.”
    “So Douglas doesn’t want to have
another run-in with her? Why did she give him hell?” Gil asked, grinning like a
lad.
    “I think deep down that he does
want another encounter with her. She stood up to him. I never saw him react to
a woman like that. He regretted leaving her behind,” Brendan said.
    “He wasn’t charming? I cannot
believe that.” Gil’s laughter boomed forth. “Finally, a woman who didn’t fall
for that cosh.”
    Brendan chuckled. “Nay, he wasn’t
charming. He was upset about his da dying, and went to bring Candace home for
the burial. Isabel didn’t take kindly the way he imparted the news to Candace. She
reproached him. You should have seen the way he watched her.”
    “I wish that I were there to see
that.