Page 28 of The Highlander's Auctioned Virgin
Ciaran nodded. “I see.”
“Why daenae we continue playing?” she prompted, breaking the silence that had lingered for too long.
They played again and finished in a tie.
“So I was right—ye let me win the first round.”
“I suppose I am all out of favors to give,” Ciaran drawled.
At the end, he won. Again.
“Perfect ,” Elinor breathed.
“Would ye pick me?” he asked.
She looked at him. “What?”
He dropped the stone in his hand onto the floor. A resounding thud echoed in the air, and he inched closer to her.
“Let us say the auction has ended,” he started slowly, stopping a mere inch before her. The scent of her bathing oils filled his nostrils. He could well detect the lavender in it now, unlike earlier in the rain when she was in his arms and he was too distracted getting them to safety. “And it was time for ye to pick a winner. Would ye pick me?”
Elinor’s eyes flicked to his lips. Then, she looked back into his eyes, which seemed to darken in the firelight. “I daenae ken. Do I have a reason?”
“I rescued ye from the rain,” he pointed out, his voice dropping. “That should be enough reason, should it nae?”
Elinor swallowed, and a part of him wondered if she could feel just how flushed her face was at that moment.
“I suppose that is enough reason.”
“So would ye pick me?” he pressed.
Elinor swallowed again. “As long as ye promise nae to touch me.”
Ciaran smiled, his eyes twinkling in the firelight. “If that is what ye want.”
Elinor took a deep breath. He was close. Way too close. Close enough to kiss her that a part of her wondered if that was what he was going to do.
All he had to do was lean forward a little more, and their lips would meet. She wondered what the kiss would be like. Tender? Raw and hungry?
The intensity of his gaze sent shivers through her. Every nerve ending felt like it was on fire for some reason, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t ignore the feeling.
Because he was still staring at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
