Free The Highlander's Woman (The Reckless Rockwoods #3) by Monica Burns Page B

out in a harsh voice and with obvious reluctance.
    “I need more time, Julian,” she whispered. “Whether your lies were well-intentioned or not, you still deceived me. You’re asking for blind faith, and that doesn’t come easily to me, any more than it would for you.”
    With a shake of her head, she started toward the door. The moment she tried to pass him, his hand snaked outward to wrap around her arm. With a swift tug, he pulled her into his arms. Instantly, her body was on fire, and the air left her lungs as a longing deep inside her wished this nightmare wasn’t happening. The scent of the outdoors flooded her senses as he pulled her tight. He always smelled good. Tonight he smelled of horse, leather, and the crisp night air. She trembled at the way his scent assaulted her senses.
    “How many times have I showed you how much I love you?”
    His warm silky brogue wrapped its tendrils around her in a way that had always been her undoing. Julian bent his head to brush his lips across her cheek until his teeth grazed her earlobe. The shudder rippling through her had to have told him the effect he was having on her. And it was a potent effect. Her mouth was dry, and she was on the verge of losing herself in him.
    “What reason would I have to bed another woman, when the only woman I want is the one I’m holding in my arms?” The softness of his voice mesmerized her. The sincerity in his words made her want to believe him.
    “Let me go, Julian,” she whispered. It frightened her how easily he was seducing her into forgiving him. Or was it exactly what she wanted?
    The dark growl rumbling in his chest should have warned her, but she wasn’t thinking clearly. As much as she hated to admit it, her body was betraying her as easily as he’d lied to her. A tremor swept through her as his lips grazed across the edge of her jaw downward until his mouth lightly touched hers.
    “Answer me, mo leannan . Why would I bed another woman, when you’re the only woman I want? The only woman I’ll ever want.”
    “Please don’t do this, Julian.”
    “Do no’ do what, mo ghràdh ? Love you? That would be like asking me to stop breathing,” he whispered as his mouth brushed over hers again. His words hypnotized her. Deep inside, she didn’t question his sincerity, only her own inability to believe him.
    Sweetly, tenderly, he kissed her. The light touch of his mouth on hers was that of a lover unwilling to do anything that might frighten her. In the back of her mind a voice warned her not to give way, but she did. Just as she always had where his touch was concerned, she melted into him. He murmured something just before his mouth hardened on hers. The moment his tongue slipped into her mouth, she knew she was lost.
    As her tongue mated with his, her body hummed a familiar rhythm. Her hands spiked in his silky, dark hair as she pressed her body into his. The warmth of him seeped its way into her until she was aware of nothing else but him. He was all male, and for this particular moment in time, he was hers. The pain in her heart eased at the tender kisses he planted on her face.
    He whispered words of love. Words that sank their way into her subconscious and told her to forgive his transgressions. His hands slid across her shoulder in a loving caress as his mouth blazed a path across her cheek then down her neck.
    “I love you mo leannan . Forgive me. Come home to me.”
    Sanity returned to her the moment he asked for her forgiveness. With a hard shove against his chest, Patience broke free of his embrace.
    “No, Julian. You cannot seduce me into forgiving you or believing what you say. I need something more than sweet words whispered in my ear,” she said quietly.
    “Something more than my sweet words ?” Julian’s voice was tight with anger. “What is it you really want Patience? Do you expect me to grovel? That I will no’ do. Not even for you mo leannan .”
    “No, I don’t want that,” she said with a shake