Page 16 of In the Highlander's Bed

“A first kiss should mean something,” she whispered, not looking at him.

Dear God, had he ever been that innocent?He couldn’t remember.

“Kisses rarely do,” he answered, and kicking his horse forward, he set off for Ben Dunmore, the mountain camp where his clan waited.

Constance sat on the saddle’s pommel. The only way she could keep her balance and be comfortable was to sit on his thighs, her shoulder against his chest. The hardness of his body surrounded her—and she hated him for it.

Galloping through the night was madness, but gallop they did. She feared that his horse would stumble, fall, and they’d break both their necks, but she wasn’t certain she wouldn’t welcome that fate now.

She couldn’t believe she’d let his kiss distract her. She should have fought harder. Fighting didn’t cost her anything, whereas that kiss had cost her pride…

Until that moment the only kissing she’d done was with her pillow. There had also been a moment at Madame Lavaliere’s where several of the girls were demonstrating on the back of their hands and she’d secretly tried it herself. If she ever returned to the academy, she’d tell thegirls that the feeling of a man’s mouth was completely different than the back of one’s hand.

A mouth moved. It took. Itclaimed.A good kiss, a powerful one, drew you to its will.

Mr. Lachlan’s kiss had mastered her…and Constance sensed it wasn’t just the kiss. It washim.

Sitting in the haven of his strong arms, surrounded by the heat of his body and that clean, almost spicy male scent that was all his, she knew her wisest course would be to put space between them as quickly as possible.

In fact, she was going to stop referring to him with a courtesy title. He was Lachlan to her from now on. Lachlan the Rebel, the Insufferable, the Annoying.

Kidnapping was nothing compared to the unnamed threat she sensed from him. Her body responded to him in ways her brain could not control, and if she wasn’t careful, he could crush her pride.

Fiercely, she vowed, “I will not be a docile captive.”

His lips were close to her ear as he answered, “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Constance. I don’t want to like you.”

He liked her?It wasn’t the response she’d expected.

“You don’t know me,” she challenged. “If you did, you’d know I don’t make idle threats…orgive up.”

There was a moment of silence, as if he were mulling her words. He brought his horse down to a walk, obviously feeling the animal needed a rest. The men behind grunted their approval. They lagged behind, seemingly lacking Gordon Lachlan’s determination.

“I saw the knife you were carrying,” he said to her. “You handled it well, lass. I imagine if you’d had a mind to, you could have carved out my liver.”

“I had a mind to.”

He shook his head. “You are no murderess.”

No, she wasn’t. However, with one shove of her shoulder she could unseat him from his horse as she had done with Robbie.

She shoved.

He didn’t move.

Instead, his arm came around her waist. He jerked her back against his chest. His thighs could have been formed from steel. “I’m no fool, girl, and you’d be unwise to believe so. If you unseat me, we fall together. Is your defiance worth breaking your neck?”

“My freedom is,” she answered, although she wondered how she found the courage. Thisman threatened her more than any she’d met before. She couldn’t control him. He played by his own rules.

“Iknow about wanting freedom,” he answered. “You’ll have yours once Colster pays the ransom.”

The man was so single-minded, he was irritating. “I told you there is no reason for him to pay a ransom. He doesn’t know me. We aren’t even truly related.”

“Your sister is married to his brother. You are one of his. He’s the duke. He’ll take care of his own. He’ll pay my price.”

“And what if he doesn’t?”

There was a beat of silence. Soberly, he said, “You’d best hope he does.”