Page 119 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
“I should not have done that,” he growled, angry with himself. “Again! Please forgive me.”
“I liked it,” Minna admitted, smiling. “There is nothing to forgive.” In truth, she would have asked him to do it again if he had not been so angry with himself.
“Not like that. I should have known better.” His voice was grim. “Will you tell your brother about me?”
“Do you want me to?” she asked, surprised.
“No!” he cried, then sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I can't stop you if you want to, though.”
“Then I will not say a word to anyone,” she assured him. “I swear to it, and I am a woman of my word.”
“I believe you. I have known you for such a short time, and yet I trust you, Minna.” He gave her one last longing glance, then turned and left.
Minna sat down again and touched her sensitive, swollen lips. She had thought before that kissing was merely a gentle touching of lips, but now she knew there was so much more.
However, if it was a skill she had to learn, she would only let one man be her teacher. She would see Gowan Hepburn again - she would make sure of it, then he would show her all there was to know about the mysteries of - love? She shook her head, dismissing the thought and berating herself for being stupid.
She heard a rustling sound from outside and was immediately on the alert, but a quick glance out of the doorway told her that it was only a deer, which bounded away as soon as it saw her.
She looked around herself at the old hut that was barely big enough for Gowan to stand up in and thought about what kindof hopelessness and fear made a man shut himself off from the world altogether. He was all alone in the world, thinking that his disfigurement set him apart from his fellow men, and he had never given himself a chance to find out if this was true.
‘Well, Gowan, you are not alone any more,’she thought grimly,‘because I will fight for you.’
CHAPTER 16
When Minna woke up the next morning the first thing she saw was Gowan sleeping a few feet away from her. He was lying on his stomach and his arm was stretched out in her direction, with one of his hands lying over hers. Since she had seen his face, he had removed his hood and was now bare-headed, his bright hair bared to the daylight. It was longer than Minna had thought it would be, and she was tempted to reach out and touch it, to run her fingers over the silky strands, but she was afraid to wake him up.
She liked looking at him this way, when he was so innocent and vulnerable. He was lying on the scarred side of his face so that the rest of it was visible, and what Minna could see was classically handsome.
For the same reason, she did not move her hand away from under his. Anyway, she was enjoying its warm pressure, and the rough texture of his calloused palm resting on her wrist. Minna looked at the firm, strong body spread out next to her, and a pulse began to throb between her legs. It was the same sensation she had felt when they were kissing, but it had never happened before that.
There was no doubt that Gowan knew exactly how to kiss a woman, and how to make her respond to him so that she almost melted in his arms.
As her eyes traveled down Gowan’s body, from his broad shoulders to his well-muscled arms and torso, firm buttocks and powerful thighs and calves, Minna knew she was looking at a perfect male. This was the kind of man women dreamed about - an ideal example of rampant masculinity, opposite to her in every way.
She realized that she could not lie about all day, so she carefully slid her hand out from under Gowan’s and stood up. She could hear the howling of the gale outside and thought wryly that it was a perfect late summer day in Scotland! She had heard that there were places in the world where it was so hot that you could cook an egg on the rocks at the seaside, and she laughed at the thought. That would never happen here in the Highlands!
Her giggle woke Gowan, who sat up groggily, then stretched and yawned, showing Minna the perfect musculature of his chest.
‘He is so beautiful,’she thought again, unable to take her eyes off him.
Gowan stood up and caught Minna staring at him, and for a perfect moment they gazed at each other in mutual admiration before he took three strides across the room and swept her into his arms.
Minna gave a little squeal of surprise as his mouth plundered hers, taking what he liked and giving it back in equal measure. Gowan tilted her head back and held it so that she was a prisoner of his lips, completely at his mercy, but Minna would not have wanted it any other way. She gave herself up to him without hesitation and felt herself almost melting in his arms. What was he doing to her?
Gowan ground his erection against her as he held her, and was rewarded by her soft moan. His hand moved over her at will, only settling when he found her breast. He rested his hand on it for a moment then squeezed gently, hearing her sigh in pleasure. He might have gone further with the seduction but she drew away and he dropped his hand, thinking that he might have offended her in some way, but Minna was not offended.
In the few moments of their connection, Minna had been so aroused that she was afraid of how far she would let him go. She might even have let him take her virginity and ruin her marriage prospects, so for her own protection, she stepped back, breathing heavily. It was the most difficult thing she had ever had to do.
“I am so sorry,” Gowan said again, and this time he ran his hand through his glorious hair, unimpeded by his hood, while his brown eyes, now almost black with desire, gazed at Minna sorrowfully. “You - you are so lovely, and I behaved like an animal. It will not happen again.” He turned away and began to stack wood on the fire.
Minna watched him for a few seconds, then went to the door and undid the bolt.
“Where are you going?” Gowan asked suddenly, straightening up.
“To relieve myself,” Minna replied, before stepping outside. Gowan, listening to the gale outside, decided to go after her if she was not back in a few moments, since it was not unheard of for trees to fall in very high winds.
She came back a short while later, though, but her hair had been blown into tangles by the wind. Since it was falling into her eyes, she had to disentangle it, but she had no comb, so she began to do the job with her fingers. It was painful and slow, and there was a whole section at the back that she could not manage to reach, so she eventually gave up in frustration.
