Highland Scoundrel (Campbell Trilogy #3)(59)

He hated weakness of any kind, but he had to admit she did something to him. She got to him the way no other woman ever had.

She was so damned beautiful. Standing there with her eyes flashing, cheeks flushed, her hair shining like copper in the sunlight.

All that passion, all that emotion … for another man.

He wanted it for himself. The primitive urge to drive away all thoughts of another man surged inside him. His fists clenched at his sides as he fought for control. His gaze met hers, hot with challenge. “How do you intend to stop me?”

Her absolute refusal to help him, to consider that her husband might have had a part in what happened to him ate through the walls of his indifference like acid. The sanctity of her husband's name mattered more than his freedom. Mattered more than right or wrong.

What had he expected? Nothing had changed. Misplaced or not, her loyalty to her family still hung between them.

Once again the line had been drawn in the dirt and she'd chosen to stand on the opposite side. To prove his innocence he needed to investigate her family—possibly uncovering some ugly truths—and she would do everything she could to prevent it. It seemed their interests would always be at odds.

“I could call the guards,” she threatened.

And she looked angry enough to do it. “But you won't,” he said with more confidence than he felt. She held his gaze for a long beat and he wondered if he'd miscalculated. He used to be able to read her emotions so easily, now she was cool and controlled. Her indifference riled him. But it was her unquestioning loyalty to her damned husband that egged him to recklessness.

He took a step toward her, letting his body tower over hers, forcing her to acknowledge him, wanting to prove that it had meant something, that he wasn't the only one to remember. He could see her tense, see her pulse beating faster at her neck, see the way her senses flared. She wanted to retreat, but her pride wouldn't let her. “Because no matter what you claim, Jeannie, I think you still remember how good it was between us.”

“Youthful fumblings? You forget I was married for ten years and have learned the difference.”

White hot rage flashed inside him. God's wounds, she pushed too far. Just thinking about—imagining—her with another man drove him insane.

He pulled her into his arms, crushing her body to his. He heard her gasp, and felt the shudder ripple through her and wanted to roar with satisfaction when her ni**les hardened against his chest.

God she felt good. His body exploded with hot, heavy sensation. Desire pounded through his body, so hard that he shook with it.

“I think it's you who forget,” he challenged, lowering his mouth. Youthful fumblings? Inexperienced they might have been, but he remembered only too well how good it had been between them. His skills no doubt had improved over the years, but passion like they shared could not be learned. It was something in the blood, in the senses, a visceral connection that defied description.

Damn her.

He crushed her lips to his and kissed her with all the passion she'd unleashed inside him with her taunts. He groaned at the first taste of her. At the honey sweetness he'd never been able to completely forget.

Her lips were softer than he remembered; her skin and hair more fragrant. Everything was more.

His kiss was punishing. Hard and deep. Starving. One hand slid behind her neck, winding through her silky hair as the other moved over the round curve of her bottom to lift her against him.

He needed pressure. He needed to release the tension that had been coiled inside him from the first moment he'd seen her.

She froze as if too stunned to respond. For a moment he felt her body sag, felt her relax and open to his kiss …

Suddenly she made a strangled sound and jerked away, pushing against his chest and breaking free of his hold. She stared at him, cheeks flushed, breath heaving, eyes hard as emeralds, mouth swollen a deep pink. “You're wrong, I don't want you.”

Her barb struck with the opposite effect than the one she intended. It didn't dissuade him, rather only made him more intent on proving her wrong. She wanted him every bit as badly as he wanted her, he knew it with every bone in his body.

He took a step toward her, lust and anger coiling inside him ready to strike. Her eyes widened.

The flash of fear stopped him cold.

It wasn't him she was afraid of, but of how easily he could prove her wrong. But it was fear all the same.

He took a step back, and forced his blood to cool. God, what the hell did she do to him? One taste of her and he turned half-crazed. His desire was too close to the surface, ready to flare at the first scent of her. He'd never had a problem controlling his base impulses, except with her.

He'd spent part of his manhood trying to ease the stain of treason and his bastard birth, gaining fame and fortune as the “Black Highlander.” Honor, nobility, duty—those were what he believe in. But one day in her presence and he was acting like a damned barbarian, ready to press his point to satisfy his damned masculine pride.

He'd let her keep hers—this time. But if she pushed him again …

Perhaps sensing her narrow escape, Jeannie said, “One more day, Duncan. That is all. I want you gone in the morning.”

And without another word she turned and left.

She was right; he needed to get the hell out of here. This place was too dangerous for him. It wasn't the threat of calling the guards that worried him, but the memories—the very sharp and visceral memories.