THE GIFT: A Highland Novella by Margaret Mallory Read Free Book Online Page B

grass naked.
    “ I ’ ve herbs in my bag to make a salve for it. ” She marched off into the darkness to retrieve her bag, which was a few yards away with the saddle.
    Roderick sighed and pulled his tunic and shirt over his head. When she reappeared in the firelight a few moments later, he had the small satisfaction of watching her come to an abrupt halt and flush pink as she took a long look at his bare chest. She recovered quickly, however.
    She sat down in front of him and poured some of his good whisky onto a cloth. “ This will sting. ”
    “ You ’ re making a lot of fuss over a wee scratch. ” He winced as she began cleaning his wound with the cloth.
    “’ Tis no wee scratch . ” She paused to fix him with a hard look. “ An untended wound can turn feverish. ”
    He leaned back on his elbow and watched as she mixed some powder from a vial into his eating bowl with a few more drops of his whisky to create a paste.
    When she turned her attention back to him, he swallowed as her gaze drifted across his chest and arms, seeming to take in every inch of bared skin. Did she have any notion what that did to him?
    “ I see this is not the first time you ’ ve gotten yourself injured, ” she said, sounding irritated. “ I suppose battle scars are a badge of honor for you Highlanders. ”
    He shrugged. “ Every scar provides a tale to share around the hearth. ”
    “ You should be more careful, ” she scolded.
    “ I am careful, ” he said with a laugh. “ That ’ s why I lived to tell the tales. ”
    She blew out an exasperated breath, but a smile tugged at the corners of her pretty mouth.
    Roderick tried to keep his thoughts from straying when she edged closer, but he utterly failed when her thigh rested against his and she leaned across him to apply the salve along the narrow line of the wound. His cock was already throbbing when her hair fell over her shoulder and brushed his belly just above his breeks.
    Despite the chill in the air, he was beginning to sweat, but Lily was so focused on her task that she did not appear to notice his state. It was a small cut — would she never finish?
    Jesu . With every stroke of her finger, the ends of her hair brushed his skin like a tantalizing invitation.
    At last, she finished applying the salve. He expected her to move away from him at once. When she remained where she was, he dared to hope.
    ***
    The tension between them was so strong it prickled Lily ’ s skin. When she finally forced herself to look up, the fierce desire in Roderick ’ s eyes stole her breath away. His dark blue gaze held her fast with a question. Will you?
    This sinfully handsome Highlander did not need a woman to cook and clean or do the other things men expected. There was only one thing he wanted from a woman. And to Lily ’ s everlasting surprise, he appeared to want it from her tonight.
    She had avoided entanglements with men like the plague she knew them to be. She loved her shop and her freedom. Living a celibate life had been no great sacrifice. In truth, she had not met a single man who tempted her.
    Until now. And by the heavens, she was sorely tempted.
    Tomorrow they would be on their way, and soon after they reached Islay, she would never see Roderick again. If she was ever going to go to have a night of sinful pleasure with a man, she would never have a more suitable opportunity.
    Nor a man she would rather do it with.
    Roderick reached out and cupped her face with his hand. His touch was gentle, yet the effect on her was so powerful that she felt it to her toes. She already felt over her head and drowning. Perhaps she should wait and do this with some quiet, unassuming merchant who did not make her heart race and her limbs feel weak.
    “ Tell me more about your grandmother, the healer, ” she said to buy time to calm herself.
    “ I can ’ t do that now. ” He took the bowl of salve Lily still had gripped in her hands without realizing it and set it by the fire.
    “ Why