Now he was making it sound like she was stupid.Which I just called myself minutes ago.But, still. She lifted her chin.
“I was cutting greens for decorating the hall.” She held out the small bunch she had collected to show him. “I was about to return to the castle.”Which isn’t a lie.She desperately wanted to return to the castle.
He crossed his arms and stared at her. “Ye are lost.”
“I am not.”Well…that is a lie.
He raised one brow. “Which direction is the castle, then?”
She frowned. Why was he goading her?Because that’s what we always do.Had she forgotten how they’d acted at Strae Castle? They’d goaded each other every chance they got. Not this time. She tilted her chin higher and waved her handful of greens in the direction that he’d come from. “That way.”
He smirked. “Easy for ye to say, since ye saw me coming from there.”
He wasn’t going to make this easy for her. Her frown deepened. She would have thanked him—andmaybeeven admitted she’d wandered too far—if he hadn’t taken this attitude with her. She waved the greens in what she hoped was a dismissive manner, although she’d never mastered the art of fan waving. “Could we just go home?”
“Aye, we’ll go home.” He raised his brow once more. “Ye just need to tell me where it is.”
“Oh!” She waved the greens again. He was the most infuriating man. “I…I am sure Baron knows the way home.”
“I’m sure he does, but I am asking ye.” He grabbed the greens that were nearly smacking him in the face. “And I doona think we need these…” His expression changed as he looked down at them, and then he started to grin as he plucked one out. “What have we here?”
Mistletoe. Juliana felt her cheeks heat in spite of the cold. She’d come across the cluster intertwined with the mossy bark of a tree and pulled it loose since Greer had said it was good luck for each girl to bring a sprig back. She reached for it. “I was supposed to bring some back.”
He lifted it out of her reach, his eyes darkening as he stepped closer. Her mind registered he was holding it over her head just before he bent and covered her mouth with his.
…
All the conflicting emotions that had been roiling inside him since sighting Juliana exploded like gunpowder as his lips touched hers.
That he’d seen her at all was nothing short of divine intervention. The ground near the road had been cleared past arrow-shot decades—if not centuries—ago as a defensive measure, but the woods just beyond were dense. He might have mistaken the movement for a deer, except that her glorious red hair had been a beacon for him.
He’d had an instant of nearly paralyzing fear when he realized she was this far away from the castle by herself, followed by a flash of anger that shewasout here by herself. Why had someone not watched over her? Or had she deliberately struck out on her own? That was more likely the truth, given that Juliana was Juliana…a conclusion that did little to mitigate his ire. He might have been a bit harsh with his first question, although it was born out of fear and also relief that she appeared to be all right. His temper had risen again with her apparent nonchalance over the situation.Andthe fact that she wouldn’tadmitthat she was lost. Stubborn woman.
Then he’d seen the mistletoe. All his tumultuous feelings had swiftly changed to just one—theneedto kiss her senseless.
Her soft lips heated quickly under his. Although his brain made a feeble attempt to remind him that a mistletoe kiss was not supposed to be a prelude to tearing off one’s clothes and tumbling on the ground, he had a hard time recognizing the thought. His mouth plundered hers. Dropping the mistletoe, he cradled her head, angling it for better contact, then he swept his lips across hers, nuzzling, nibbling at the corner of her mouth, then returning to her lips, increasing the pressure until she began to respond. He sucked in her lower lip, causing a mewling sound to come from her, then licked along the crease as she gasped. He took the opportunity to thrust his tongue inside her mouth and began to thoroughly explore its warm wetness as his cock hardened in anticipation of thrusting into another hot, wet area. His hips gyrated against hers instinctively.
Vaguely he became aware that something was pushing at him. Pounding his chest. His mind niggled at him that Juliana was trying to get him to stop. In confusion, he broke the kiss and stepped back.
Juliana stared at him, her ginger eyes dilated so much they looked near black. With desire? He felt a moment of male hubris, then he frowned. If she desired him, why had she pushed…? Rory blinked when he realized she was shaking. She couldn’t be cold, not with the heat that had risen between them. Then what…? The answer came to him with the swiftness and clout of a horse’s hoof to his stomach.
She wasscared. He had frightened her. Instinctively he reached out to touch her, but she drew back, reaffirming his conclusion.
He dropped his hands. “I am sorry. I dinna mean to offend ye. Are ye all right?”
She stared at him for a moment longer, her face still pale, then shook her head. “I…am fine.”
She didn’t look fine. She looked as though she might bolt back into the woods if he even breathed hard. He furrowed his brow, remembering her reaction to his first kiss at MacLean’s. There had been nothing demanding about that one, and yet, she’d stiffened as if she’d feared something. He didn’t think then—or now—that she was actually afraid ofhim. He didn’t even think she disliked him. Not anymore.Andshe had started to respond to him. He’d felt that.
So what was she afraid of? It was a question he wanted to ask, but it would be totally inappropriate. Right now he had more pressing matters to consider. Like how he was going to get her to ride with him on Baron.
“’Tis getting dark. We had best return to the castle.” He stepped back, giving her room to walk past him. For a moment he wondered if she would. She was still eyeing him as though he were some wild animal about to pounce. The thought wounded his pride. Surely his finesse wasn’t that bad? He couldn’t remember any lass ever complaining about his skills… Then he gave himself a shake. Juliana’s near panic—and he suspected he’d get a complete dressing-down if he called it that—had something to do with more than stealing a kiss, albeit it a lustful one, under a sprig of mistletoe.
“We need to go before the laird sends out a search party for ye.”
That seemed to spur her to action. Color returned to her face, and she walked past him. At least she didn’t gather up her skirts to avoid any chance of contact. He supposed he should be grateful for that. Hopefully she wasn’t going to argue about getting on the horse with him.
He should have known that she would. They had no more than reached Baron when she began to walk along the road.
