Highlander Unmasked Read online

  He didn’t say anything for a moment but simply stared at her, piercing her with the heated intensity of his gaze. Somehow, she managed not to squirm.

  “I’m not angry with you,” he said finally. “I’m simply attending to your welfare.”

  Meg couldn’t help it, she let out a little snort of disbelief. “And was I in some kind of danger?”

  Obviously, he didn’t like the flippancy of her response, because he took a step closer. An intimidating step closer. Close enough for Meg to feel the warmth of his body and see the tiny silk fibers on his black peascod doublet. His chest was a wall of granite. This man was built to dominate. Though the knowledge sent a perverse thrill through her, Meg knew she had to stand her ground. Drawing up every inch of her diminutive frame, she squared her shoulders, refusing to cower before him.

  “Flirting like that, you could have been,” he said flatly.

  Incredulous, she gaped at him. “You can’t be serious. Me, flirting? How dare you criticize my conduct! I was not the one kissing a serving maid in the open for everyone to see.”

  He was obviously struggling to control his temper. His arms stretched taught along his side, and he looked up to the heavens as if asking for patience. “I was not kissing her,” he said through clenched teeth.

  She turned away and made a sound, surprised by the painful twinge in her chest. Gazing up at the starry sky, she was keenly aware of the man standing next to her. The sinfully handsome face, the soft, shiny waves of dark golden hair that just grazed the top of his collar, the tall, powerful physique, the strength she felt beneath his callused warrior’s hand.

  But Meg knew it was far more than simply physical attraction that she was responding to. It was his utter command over everything around him. Alex was a man who made her feel wonderfully feminine. His dominance was strangely reassuring; he had a subtle way of taking charge just by his presence of authority and strength. When she was with this man, she felt as if nothing could harm her. Her problems did not seem so insurmountable. She did not feel so alone. With Alex, she could relax.

  He let out a long sigh. “It’s not what you think.”

  For some reason, she sensed that he was telling the truth. Even hurt and angry, she remembered his gentle rebuff of the pretty maid and his attempt to unwind her arms from around his neck. “Then what was it?”

  His face went blank. “It’s none of your affair,” he snapped. Then, more kindly: “It has nothing to do with you.”

  His honesty hurt. He was right, Alex MacLeod had nothing to do with her.

  She felt a suspicious burning behind her eyes, but she quickly put a grip on those unwelcome emotions. Meg never cried. But it seemed that ever since she’d met Alex, so much of what she’d thought she knew about herself had changed. She could read Latin, Greek, and French, could run an estate as well as any man, but at her core she was just as vulnerable as anyone else. She’d tried to hide from her emotions, but they’d found her. “You’re right,” she said with a catch in her voice. “It is none of my affair, but neither do you have any right to interfere in my business. From now on, I’ll thank you to mind your own.”

  He took her arm again and whipped her around to face him, forcing her to meet his implacable gaze. “You go too far,” he said in a low voice that carried the faintest hint of a threat. “It is my responsibility to see you are safe tonight. So do as I say and stay well away from those men.”

  She lifted her chin defiantly. He had no right to order her about. And her conduct tonight was beyond reproach. He’d taken his duties well beyond the scope of an escort. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Don’t you? You play a dangerous game. Those men will eat an innocent like you for breakfast.”

  She laughed. The pulse appeared in his jaw again, but Meg didn’t heed the warning. “Surely you jest? I’ve known most of those men for years. They are quite harmless, I assure you. I was merely enjoying myself. You might try it sometime.” She paused, daring to add, “And how do you know I’m innocent? You presume much, my laird.”

  His eyes flared, and he tightened his grip on her arm. “Don’t press me, Meg.”

  She didn’t miss the intimate use of her Christian name, but there was no mistaking the threat this time. His voice was deep and liquid and seemed to wrap around her. She knew she shouldn’t provoke him, but he brought out a mischievous side of her long forgotten. Lifting one brow, she asked, “Or what?”

  Before the taunt had left her mouth, she was in his arms again and jerked firmly against the broad chest she’d just admired. She gasped. Not from shock, but from the realization of how much she liked being pressed against him. Of how she savored the sensation of her breasts and hips molded against the hard length of his body, of melting against him, of being secured in his arms. A wave of heated awareness shuddered through her.

  His eyes were hooded, his expression dark and full of promise. “Or I will prove to you just how innocent you are, my sweet, and how very little control you have over a man and a man’s desires.”

  In his eyes, she saw the very depths of his desire. The lust, the need, the hunger.

  For me. This fierce warrior, who held himself so aloof and remote, wanted her. And her body responded, softening.

  Time stood still. The masque, the sounds from the hall, her responsibilities, all fell away. There was nothing left but the two of them alone in the moonlight. He lowered his head. Slowly. Inch by heart-stopping inch. Giving her every opportunity to object.

  She could hear the fierce pounding of her heart. His mouth was so close. If she were breathing, their breath would have mingled in the cool night air. Her eyes felt heavy, begging to close. Desperately, she fought the magnetic pull of warmth and desire that beckoned from his seductive form. She’d been kissed before, and it had nearly led to disaster. But Alex’s mouth moved over hers, and God help her, she could not stop him.

  A whisper. A breath. A warm scent of spice and then the barest, sweetest touch. A touch that sent a shock wave rippling through her body. Every inch of him was hard, unyielding male, but he startled her with a gentle brush of his mouth. She felt the softness of his lips for only an instant before he raised his head, leaving her with a tightness in her chest and a sharp yearning for more.

  It was a kiss of aching tenderness that packed unexpected strength. With one swift touch, something inside her shifted, exposing a part of her best left buried. She didn’t want to feel. She wanted to do what was right and marry Jamie. Not dream of a fierce warrior with unknown loyalties. A man whose very nearness tossed her into a state of confusion.

  It was all wrong, she wanted to cry out in frustration. She wanted him to be rough and brutish, to make her not want him. To prove the validity of her decision in choosing Jamie. She didn’t want this gentle warrior who kissed her as if she were the most precious jewel in the world.

  She stared at him, breathing fast through softly parted lips. Not knowing what to think. In truth, he looked just as stunned as she did.

  I let him kiss me. I must be losing my mind. She’d played with fire, but she’d never expected to be burned by tenderness.

  “Why did you do that?” she asked dumbly.

  He released her and took a determined step back. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, don’t do it again.”

  “On that account, you have nothing to fear.”

  For some reason, the absolute certainty of his tone made her feel worse.

  The sound of the balcony doors opening was a welcome reprieve. The woman who appeared, however, was not.

  Bianca Gordon was the most empty-headed, selfish woman at court. And probably the most beautiful—which was convenient, since that happened to be her favorite subject. She epitomized the classical ideal of beauty: flaxen hair, eyes the sparkling blue of the sea, and refined features. But her disposition did not match her lovely features. Her father was the powerful Marquess of Huntly, and Bianca made sure everyone knew it and bowed accordingly.