Free Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) by Jenna Stone

reclined next
to Rowan on the sand, her chest still shaking with the occasional fit of
laughter.  She looked over at Rowan.  There was a broad smile still coloring
his face.  Rowan was beautiful when he smiled.  His green eyes twinkled from
the thrill of his mischief.  Anna could not help but notice how handsome he
looked sprawled shirtless and smiling upon the sand.  Rowan Murray was a very
attractive man.
    Rowan’s eyes
locked with Anna’s and the smile suddenly faded from his face. His smile had
been replaced with a look of raw, intense longing.   He reached over and
brushed some sand off of Anna’s cheek and then retracted his hand when he
realized that his action had perhaps been too familiar.
    “I needed that,
Rowan,” Anna said as her eyes searched the planes of his handsome face.  “I
needed to laugh.  Thank you,” she said with a sweet smile.
    “I needed that,
too,” Rowan admitted.  He stood abruptly in an effort to stop the undeniable
energy that he suddenly felt flowing between them.  Rowan felt the urgent need
to place distance between himself and the beautiful lass that was sprawled next
to him on the beach.  The fleeting thought of kissing her had just invaded his
mind and he needed to get away from Anna before he acted upon the impulse.
     
    ..ooOoo..
     
    “Let’s rest for
awhile,” Rowan called up the beach towards his brothers.  Anna’s paced had
slowed remarkably and Rowan had begun to worry.  She had been without food for
too long, not to mention fresh water.
    “I’m quite alright,”
Anna insisted as she trudged past Rowan.  “There is daylight remaining, we
should keep walking.”
    “Anna, ye need tae
rest,” Rowan said as he reached out and grabbed her elbow.  “Malcolm needs tae
rest too,” he said with a flick of his head, motioning for Anna to look up the
beach.
    Anna’s eyes
glanced towards Quinn and Malcolm.  Both had already sat down in the shade
beneath a small cluster of palm trees.  Anna sighed heavily.  Perhaps she could
use a short respite from the heat.  She walked up to the base of the nearest
palm tree and settled herself into the sand.  Closing her eyes and leaning her
head back against the tree, Anna realized that she had in fact desperately
needed to rest.  She was exhausted.
    Rowan sat down in
front of her, his concerned eyes never leaving Anna’s face.
    “Why are you
looking at me like that?” Anna asked as she scrunched her eyebrows together and
ripped out the twine that bound her hair back at the nape of her neck.  She
threaded her fingers through her blonde curls and began braiding her hair.
    Rowan’s face
flushed with color.  He raked his hand through his hair and looked out towards
the sea.
    “I canna help it,”
he said quietly.  “I’m looking at ye because ye are beautiful,” Rowan said,
returning his eyes to Anna.  His lips curled into a half-smile as he watched
Anna’s reaction to his admission.
    Anna felt her
heart go wild inside of her chest.  She was unaccustomed to receiving
attentions from a man, especially a man as handsome as Rowan Murray.  With the
financial ruin of her family occurring slightly before her eighteenth birthday,
Anna had never debuted in London society.  Therefore, she had never experienced
the thrill of a man’s attentions.
    “I’m hardly
beautiful,” Anna retorted, her eyes drifting down to Rowan’s tattered shirt
which draped her body.  Her fingers had abandoned the pursuit of braiding her
hair, so taken aback that she had been by Rowan’s unexpected words.  Anna
wondered if perhaps the sun was getting to Rowan.  She knew that she must look
affright.
    “Ye are beautiful,
Anna,” Rowan whispered.  He reached towards Anna and trailed his finger lightly
down the line of her jaw, feeling his pulse race at the boldness of his
gesture.  Rowan regretted the act immediately, having seen the spark that it
ignited in Anna’s bright hazel eyes.
    You cannot have
her.
    “Rowan!”