Free Highlander Avenged by Laurin Wittig - Guardians Of The Targe 02 - Highlander Avenged

feel him relax as he slowly backed her out of the bright circle of torchlight and into the deep shadows where the tower and the curtain wall met. He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek, then leaned in and laid a gentle, chaste kiss where his fingers had been.
    “I thank you,” he said.
    The touch of his kiss on her cheek lit a yearning deep within her and for once Jeanette did not think. She acted, capturing his face in her own palm before he could move away. She turned to meet his lips with her own. Still, he was tentative, careful, as if he thought she might break if he dared more. And she wanted more.
    She took his face in both hands and whispered against his lips, “I will not break if you kiss me.” Truly she did not understand her own actions, but in this moment she did not care. Later she could figure out what had driven her to such boldness, for now, she just wanted him to kiss her.
    And he did.
    He wrapped his strong arm around her waist, pulling her close. He tilted his head slightly, and the kiss went from careful to . . . more. So much more.
    Heat poured into her, starting where her lips met his, then cascading through every part of her, over her skin, and deep inside where the yearning grew into wanting. A rushing, tingling sensation flowed from her feet to where he nibbled at the corner of her mouth, and then laid a trail of kisses to the hollow behind her ear. Wanting grew into needing. He pulled her closer, or maybe she pulled him closer. Their lips met again, hungry, so hungry, and suddenly his tongue slipped inside, twining with hers in a dance she’d never danced before. Her mind was overwhelmed with sensation—with glorious, powerful . . . desire. Her body hummed, as if she vibrated from the inside out. Malcolm pulled her closer still, and though she’d never been with a man, she knew enough to recognize that his desire was just as powerful as her own.
    And then he stopped, his forehead leaning against hers. Her body still melded to his. But his lips were too far away. She stopped the whimper that wanted voice just before it slipped out of her.
    “Jeanette, angel, we must stop,” he said, but now there was a different sort of strain there. “We must stop,” he said again, as if he spoke the words as much for himself as for her. With a sigh, he released her, steadying her with a hand on her hip until she proved stable on her feet. When he dropped his hand at last, the need within her writhed.
    Every nerve in her body was alive and very nearly painfully so, and yet she did not mind. She was sure she would regret her impulsive actions in the morning when she had to face him in the light of day, but in this moment she could not. In the past few hours he had made her remember that there was more to life than fear and grief, with his easy grin, and gently teasing words. And just this once, he’d made her stop thinking, and taught her how to feel.
    “I will not apologize for kissing you,” she said.
    “I would be offended if you did.” Laughter lit his eyes in spite of the deep shadow in which they stood. “I will not beg your pardon for kissing you, either. Indeed, I intend to do so again, if you would not mind.” He reached for her hand and pulled her just close enough to place one more chaste kiss on her cheek. “I do not think you will mind,” he teased.
    “I do not think so, either.” She was suddenly shy with this golden man who seemed bent on making her smile.
    He looked out over the bailey and they both realized that the next group was readying to leave the castle.
    “Do you think we were seen?” she asked, suddenly aware that they were not in as private a place as it had seemed to be.
    “I am sure we were not. Someone would have been over here long before now if we were.”
    “Uilliam, for certain. He is my father’s eyes and ears, even when Da is not here.”
    The truth of that hit her. If her father were here and had seen them, he would have stopped them, might even