Page 51 of Hard-Hearted Highlander
Miss Holly could have ended it. She could have kicked him, hit him, any number of things to make him stop. But her arms slid up his chest and around his neck, and she pressed right back into him.Diah,everything about this woman was unexpected and difficult.
He slid a palm down her arm, to her hand, his fingers tangling with hers before slipping his hand to her waist and around to her hip, squeezing it, pushing her harder into his body. There was fire in his groin, the flames on the verge of surging out of him and engulfing the air around them. He felt hot in his plaid and wanted to rip it from his body. He wanted to put this woman on her back here and now. He had not felt such raging want...ever.
He’d never felt it like this.
Miss Holly fanned those flames. She cupped his face, she stroked his hair. He dropped his hand to her bosom, caressing it with his knuckles, then dug his fingers into her cleavage, pushing deeper, until he was able to free her breast from the low décolletage, and she arched her back, lifting herself to him. He took the tip of her breast in between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it. Miss Holly gasped, jerked her head away from his kiss and looked wildly around them. “What—”
No, it was too late for her to protest. He didn’t allow her to finish, and with one hand around her waist, he easily lifted her off her feet, twirled her about and pushed her deeper into the shadows, into a space between the stairs and the wall. He moved himself down her body, brazenly taking her breast into his mouth, nibbling at the peak, lashing across it with his tongue.
Miss Holly’s breathing turned quick and shallow. She pressed the back of her head against the wall and closed her eyes as she dug her fingers into his shoulders.
Rabbie’s desire had ratcheted to the end of his tether. He was as hard as granite, his cock pulsing with need. It was as if someone had flung open the gates of all the emotions he’d kept caged, and they were stampeding out of him, chewing up the earth, the wall, and the woman before him.
When she slid her leg between his and pressed into his erection, he could bear it no more—it was either end it now, or have all of her. He forced himself to lift his head. He gulped for air as he pinned her to the wall with arms on either side of her and glared down at her like a fire-breathing dragon. “Donna pity me.Neverpity me.”
With that, he spun around and stalked away, dragging the back of his hand across his mouth, his jaw clenched against the sheer agony of no satisfaction. He didn’t look back at Bernadette Holly because hewasthat hard-hearted.
And she would never question it again.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SHEWASINLOVE.
Avaline had received not the slightest encouragement from Aulay, but she understood that because he was such a gentleman, he would never do something as dishonorable as that to his brother’s fiancée. She’d not received any encouragement from him...but she’d tried with all her might to give him every indication of her interest. She’d sat next to him tonight, had positioned herself in such a way that she was certain he could gaze at her bosom at his leisure. Whether or not he took advantage of her seating, she didn’t know, because she also strove to demonstrate how demure she was.
She’d danced with him, too, and she could say without reservation that Aulay was a far superior dancer to anyone with whom she’d ever been partnered. He was quite light on his feet and was very good in his instruction to her. And oh, how he made her laugh as they dined, teasing Catriona about the silly things she’d done when she was a girl!
Avaline was so in love that she could almost,almostforget the horrible thing Rabbie had said to her.
A mistress!
What a wretched, cheerless, harsh man he was! Avaline didn’t believe for a moment that he meant to take a mistress—she didn’t believe he even had one, quite honestly—for Catriona had told her he’d shown not the slightest interest in any woman since his fiancée disappeared. Why did he say it, then? She didn’t know and she didn’t care.
She thought again of dancing with Aulay and smiled.
Catriona had likewise confessed that Aulay had never seriously pursued an acquaintance with any woman of which she was aware. “Perhaps he has a mistress in every port,” she’d whispered, her eyes dancing devilishly at the look of shock on Avaline’s face.
Well, of course, Avaline had been shocked. No one ever spoke so boldly around her. But she was not entirely naive, and she didn’t believe that of Aulay. Perhaps he’d never felt a particular esteem for anyone because he was waiting for the right woman to come along. She’d heard of love stories like that. Mr. Kessler, their elderly neighbor at Bothing, once told her that he’d not married until he was well into his thirties, because he’d been waiting for Mrs. Kessler to appear. Perhaps all this time Aulay had been waiting for her and never knew it.
Avaline stifled a giggle with her pillow.
She’d danced with Aulay twice, and her mother had told her that was quite enough, that everyone would wonder why she danced so often with the brother of her fiancé and would assume there was bad business there. Avaline didn’t argue with her mother, but she suspected they’d all understand why she did—because Rabbie Mackenzie was haughty and cold and there wasn’t a woman in all of Scotland who would want to dance with him. Certainly not her. She’d been very disappointed when he’d cut in on her dancing with Aulay.
Oh, Aulay—he was everything she’d ever wished for, the perfect man who would make a perfect husband. Her belly filled with butterflies just thinking about him.
She thought of Bernadette, sitting at the far end of the dais, staring off into space. Bernadette had not been herself these last few days. Scotland didn’t seem to agree with her. She seemed quite tense and rather too tart when she spoke to Avaline. Perhaps she was unhappy that Avaline was to marry and she would never marry. Oh, how she wished Bernadette could experience such happiness! Avaline knew that Bernadette had once tried to elope. Or perhaps she had eloped? She really couldn’t recall the details of it now, and Bernadette had never spoken about it, of course, because that would be terribly inappropriate. But Avaline’s mother had confided that no one could offer for Bernadette now—she’d been irreparably ruined by whatever it was she’d done. It was really all very sad, because Avaline loved Bernadette, and she wanted her to know such sheer happiness as she felt in herself tonight.
She wished Aulay would irreparably ruin her. There it was, her truest, most secret desire, a shocking wish, and Avaline didn’t care! She wished Aulay would ruin her as Bernadette had been ruined, and then, Avaline would not have to marry that odious brother of his. She moaned with despair at the thought of marrying him and rolled onto her back.
Her thoughts drifted back to Rabbie. What a silly man he was, thinking he could convince her to end their engagement. It would take more than a mistress to end it. Frankly, the only way this engagement could be ended is if one of them was to die. Avaline was simply too frightened to risk her father’s displeasure, and too determined not to leave Aulay behind in the Highlands.
She wishedRabbiewould end their engagement, and then she’d—
Avaline suddenly gasped and sat up, staring into the dark of her room. A thought occurred to her—if she could seduce Aulay into ruining her, then Aulay would have to marry her! Of course there would be quite a lot of commotion and hurt feelings surrounding it, and Rabbie would beveryangry...but he wouldn’t be forced to marry her.Aulaywould. Her father would still have his alliance with the Mackenzies, and Rabbie could go and hide away at Arrandale for all she cared and leave them all in peace.
Avaline stacked her hands over her heart and pressed against her rapidly beating heart.Could that really happen?She didn’t know the first thing about seduction. Bernadette would know—she’d obviously seduced a man to elope with her.Yes. She would ask Bernadette to teach her.
But Bernadette would be suspicious, and Avaline had to be very careful not to give anything away. She thought hard about that...and then it suddenly struck her—she would simply explain to Bernadette that Rabbie had threatened to keep a mistress, and then implore her to teach her how to seduce her husband so that he would not take a lover.
