Claiming the Highlander by Kinley MacGregor Read Free Book Online

Bede repair a leak in the nave.
    Left alone, Braden had decided to wait for his prey.
    And such a sweet bit she was too, all fiery and passionate. He actually felt the urge to lick his lips in anticipation of her surrender.
    Aye, she would be sweet to savor. Such a spirited treat, just ripe for the taking. He couldn’t wait for a taste.
    A gentle breeze blew across the yard, caressingthe unruly tendrils of her thick russet hair. His palms itched to unbraid those riotous curls and he ached to fist his hands in the midst of them, to spread them out across her bare white shoulders and see them flow down the length of her naked back to caress her pale hips.
    Even worse, he could almost smell the sunshine in that hair, feel the warmth of it cascading around him as he held her naked and writhing above him while he dipped his hand down to play in the small russet curls covering another part of her he longed to explore at greater length.
    His groin drew tight at the thought. No doubt she’d give as good as he gave her. He had an instinct for such things, and that instinct told him that she would be truly spectacular.
    Aye, she’d ride him hard and fast, and please him to no uncertain end.
    He smiled in expectation as she drew nearer.
    Her brown kirtle was plain and threadbare, and she wore a red and black plaid over it. Still, there was such pride in her walk, such self-assurance, that a man would have to be a fool not to take notice of her.
    And his days of foolishness were over.
    “Maggie,” he said as she walked past.
    “Good Lord!” she gasped, placing a hand over her breast. “Are you trying to frighten me into an early grave?”
    “Nay, I thought you saw me.”
    Suspicion clouded her amber eyes as shelooked askance at him. “Saw you skulking there in the shadows like some evil beastie hunting decent souls? Ha! No doubt you were lying in wait for me, Braden MacAllister, and don’t you be pretending otherwise.”
    Braden laughed at her perceptiveness. How did she do it? How was she able to see straight through his ploys?
    He smiled the dimpled smile that no woman had ever been able to resist. “Since you seem to know me so well, then tell me what I was thinking.”
    She narrowed her eyes ever so slightly and pegged him again with her astuteness. “I’ve no idea, but I’m sure it involved a woman lying in a supine position.”
    Her candor stunned him. But only for a second. He found it refreshing to find a woman who spoke her mind so plainly.
    “Not supine,” he said, dropping his voice an octave, and leaning close enough to her that he could finally smell the rich scent of wildflowers in her hair.
    He reached out and tenderly touched her chin between his thumb and forefinger in a gentle caress designed to send chills the length of her body. And judging by the shuttered look of her amber eyes, he would say it succeeded admirably, even though she tried her best not to let him know it. “I prefer my women to be more active with me than that.”
    Her eyes darkened as her lips opened ever so slightly in invitation.
    Aye, a good kiss was what she needed. His kisses had made women faint in his arms, and had even caused them to climax. One good kiss and all this would end. The women could return to their homes, and Maggie …
    Well, he had plans for his little vexation. Plans that included paying her back for that bite she’d given him years ago. Only now he relished the thought of those white teeth of hers sinking into his skin.
    He leaned closer, opening his mouth for a taste of her breath.
    Just when he was sure she’d accept his kiss, she stepped back, opened her eyes wide, and pinned him with a frigid stare.
    “And how many women is that?” she asked out of the blue.
    Braden blinked, not quite understanding her question as his senses buzzed from her quick reversal. “I beg your pardon?”
    “How many women do you prefer to be active with at one time?” she asked. “From what Meg tells me, you had her and her