Page 54 of The Laird's Masked Passion
“Aye. Treacherous things.”
She hated him. She certainly hated him. It was the only explanation for the furious heat in her face and the way she wanted to either slap him or drag him back. Perhaps both.
He leaned in again.
She turned her head slightly, though not far enough to escape. “I have paid yer wish.”
“Have ye?”
“One kiss, we agreed.”
“That felt like several.”
“Then ye have overcharged me.”
His breath moved near her ear, and she shivered before she could prevent it. Colin went still. The change in him was not large. He did not laugh. He did not smile. He simply became very attentive, as if every small betrayal of her body had spoken a language he understood fluently.
Elspeth swallowed.
“Dinnae look at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“As though ye ken something.”
“I dae.”
“How fortunate for us both thatsomeonedoes.”
His hand moved from her waist to the side of her ribs, still above the fabric of her gown, still proper enough that she could accuse him of nothing and feel everything. “Ye enjoyed that.”
“I didnae.”
“Elspeth.”
“Ienduredit.”
“With yer hand clenched in me shirt?”
“I wished tae make certain ye didnae escape before I could decide whether tae strike ye.”
His smile returned. “Liar.”
The word should have offended her. It did… but not enough.
She pushed at his chest. This time, he let her create a little space, though his hands remained near enough to remind her that space existed only because he permitted it.
“I am nae lying.”
“Nay?”
“Nay.”
“If I put me hand beneath yer dress,” he said quietly, “I would find ye ready fer me.”
The words made no sense. They also made all the sense in the world.
Elspeth stared at him, heat draining from her face only to rush back twice as fiercely. “Ready?”
