Free Seducing a Scottish Bride by Sue-Ellen Welfonder Page B

gloom.
    Only the MacKenzie guardsmen sat quiet, their solemn ranks lining four trestle tables against the far wall. Paying no heed
     to the rich food and drink laid out before them, they kept their eyes on their lady. Eyes shaded with disapproval when, just
     before the dais steps, she stopped to shrug out of her traveling cloak.
    Ronan’s own eyes narrowed. “That was unwise.”
    She smiled.
    A flashing, triumphant smile that proved her to be a woman of even greater spirit than he’d already surmised. Disturbed by
     the discovery, Ronan’s mood darkened with his worst temper since he’d learned of her imminent arrival and the reason for her
     coming.
    As if she sensed her power over him, she preened, turning just enough so the glow of the torches spilled full across her display.
    Ronan sucked in a breath, anything but unaffected.
    “I see you know your worth, lady.” He winced at the harsh words, but he could feel his body stirring in hot response, tensing
     and tightening in ways that were dangerous.
    Bold as day, she held his gaze. Her eyes, an unusual shade close to fire-lit amber, shimmered, their depths shone with pure
     female willfulness and something he could only call amusement.
    “I know your worth as well, Raven.” She stepped close, so near her breath warmed his cheek and her breasts teased his plaid.
     “We will be good together. The hills will sing in approval, you will see.” She tilted her head, her tone full of challenge.
     “I will not allow it to be any other way.”
    A muscle in Ronan’s jaw leaped. “I want only what is meet for you,” he said, taking her cloak.
    That, at least, was God’s holy truth.
    And the reason her shining-eyed eagerness pierced him like a white-hot blade.
    Feeling as trapped as if such a blade pinned him to the rush-strewn floor, he thrust the mantle into the arms of a passing
     servant. He scowled at the man’s back, tamping down the urge to hasten after him, retrieve the cloak, and then swirl the thing
     around her shoulders again. Hiding the creamy expanse of her breasts and the well-defined curve of her hips, the glittering
     gold chain that circled her waist twice and then dipped low, ending in a great green bauble that rested
just there
, gleaming and winking at him from a place he had no business admiring.
    Not if he wished his plan to work. Biting back a curse, he tore his gaze away and clenched his fists.
    He could not, would not, fall prey to her charms.
    Green bauble bouncing at her woman’s mound or nae.
    Her smile deepened, revealing a dimple. “The chain was a gift from Evelina of Doon, a friend of Devorgilla’s,” she said, looking
     pleased that the stone had caught his eye.
    And not a bit surprised.
    Ronan frowned, determining never to let his gaze light on the bauble again.
    Not that she needed such wickedly placed gemstones to draw a man’s attention.
    He’d noted her sparkle, as his grandfather called it, outside, in the mist and shadows. Here in the great hall, under the
     blaze of the torches, she was dazzling.
    Possessed of such fire and light that Dare’s infernally cold-flamed torches sparked and flared with heat. Even the candles
     of a nearby standing candelabrum danced in her wake, those flames, too, giving off a burst of warmth he could feel from several
     feet away.
    Unfortunately, he could also feel other stares.
    Already seated at the top of the high table, Valdar lairded it in style, lifting his wine cup in repeated toasts and looking
     more jovial than Ronan had ever seen him.
    The Black Stag sat as if carved of stone, his expression leaving no doubt that he, too, had seen him eyeing the green bauble.
    “He didn’t know I have it.” Gelis lifted the chain, twirling a length of it around one finger. “He wouldn’t have approved.
     I wanted it because Evelina swore it would bewitch a man.”
    “Indeed.” Ronan could scarce push the word off his tongue.
    “You do not like it?” She let the chain drop. “ Evelina