Free The Imposter by Jenna Stone Page B

slapped him.
    This was not the
response that I had expected when I was trying to assert my independence to
this insolent man.  Anger boiled up inside of me as he chuckled, still smiling
that devilish smile.  I reached up and smacked him across the face again, this
time using all of my might.
    A low growl
escaped his throat and he was inches away from my face, backing me against the
large fir tree.  His muscled frame towered over me and he placed one arm on
either side of me, resting his palms against the bark of the tree and glowering
down at me.  “I happen tae like my women on the feisty side.  But I’m warning
ye, Kate.  Ye’d best not try that again.  Doona play too close with fire wee
hell kitten.  Ye might get burned,” he warned, voice challenging me. 
    His lips settled
on mine in a shocking surprise, demanding that I open my mouth to receive his
kiss.  Devon’s hand was at the base of my neck, wound in my hair, pressing me
towards his mouth.  His touch sparked the fire inside of me again and I
couldn’t deny that I wanted more of him. I forgot all about being mad at him
and met his kiss with fervor, body pressed between the contrast of his
insistent muscled chest and the rough bark of the tree.  His velvety lips
slanted over mine and I opened my mouth in response. 
    I pressed my body
against his, and ran my fingers over his arms and back.  I felt his desire for
me pressing into my belly and I wantonly pulled him against me more fully.  I
felt him stiffen against me and a masculine growl escaped from deep in his
throat.   He slowly ended the kiss and drew slightly away from me.  As the heat
of the moment passed, I realized much to my shame that I had not wanted him to
stop.  Thank God that he had stopped.
    “I thought ye
might be like that,” he whispered, using his hand behind my neck to draw me in
again and place a chaste light kiss on my lips that were swollen from his
greedy assault.
    “I am not a whore,
if that’s what you mean,” I said looking away, suddenly embarrassed by the
impassioned response that my body had to his touch.  I was ashamed of myself
for kissing him back, for prodding him onward, for encouraging him.
    “That’s not what I
meant, Kate.  I ken yer not a whore.”  He took a deep breath, recalculating his
thoughts.  “I meant that I thought ye might respond tae me in such a way.  I
felt it between us the first time I saw ye.”
    I felt the color
flush my face, which tingled from the scratching of his stubble where he had
kissed me so passionately.
    “Doona tell me
that ye dinna feel it as well,” he challenged, alluding to the chemistry, the
energy that was between us.
    “I don’t know what
you’re talking about,” I whispered, lying, eyes downcast looking at the leaves
fallen on the forest floor.
    “Aye, ye do,” he
said sternly.  “I can feel it within ye.   I ken that ye feel it too,” he said,
lifting my chin with his finger, forcing my eyes to make contact with his.
“Believe me, I didna want tae stop, but someone had tae or well……ye might have
taken advantage of me right here against this tree,” he joked, seeking to
lighten the mood between us, but still not allowing me to deny the energy that
was there, palpable, right between us.
    “I’m sorry for
taking advantage of you in such a way, but it serves you right after abandoning
me in the woods.” I said tartly, slipping out of his arms and stomping off
towards the horse.
    He shook his head
and walked after me, running a stray hand through his disheveled hair.  “Ye are
likely to drive me insane, Kate.  I swear that I will never understand women,”
he mumbled underneath his breath as he followed me towards the horse.
    Devon settled the
plaid about my shoulders and lifted me in his arms.  He strode, carrying me as
if I weighed nothing, from the forest and mounted his horse while still holding
me.  I felt warm and safe against his solid body.  We did not speak. I was ashamed
of