“Will you tell me what it is I want to know now?” he asked. To be fair—and he was a fair man—he wanted to give her the opportunity to confide her identity before he related his own knowledge.
She thrust her chin upward in the show of defiance he now expected from her and shook her head. “Nay. I will not. You cannot order me to trust you. Why, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
He sensed she was warming up for a full-length diatribe, so he did the one thing he knew would silence her.
He rapidly closed the distance between them, curled his hands around her upper arms, and hauled her upward. His lips found hers in a heated rush, her gasp of outrage swallowed up by his mouth.
She went rigid against him, her hands shoving between them in an attempt to push him away. He brushed his tongue over her lips, tasting her sweetness, demanding entrance into her mouth.
Her second gasp came out more as a sigh. Her lips parted and she melted into his chest like warm honey. She was soft all over, and she fit him like his sword fit his hand. Perfectly.
He pushed inward, sliding his tongue over hers. She went rigid again, and her fingers curled into his chest like tiny daggers. He closed his eyes and imagined them digging into his back as he thrust between her thighs.
Lord, but she was sweet. Nay, bedding her would be no hardship at all. The image of her swollen with his child flickered through his mind, and he found himself very pleased with the image. Very pleased indeed.
When he finally pulled away, her eyes were glazed, her lips deliciously swollen, and she swayed like a sapling in the wind.
She blinked several times and then frowned sharply. “Why did you do that?”
“It was the only way to silence you.”
She bristled with outrage. “Silence me? You took liberties with my … my … my lips in order to silence me? That was very impertinent of you, Laird. I won’t allow you to do it again.”
He smiled and folded his arms over his chest. “Aye, you will.”
Her mouth gaped open in astonishment and then worked up and down as she struggled to speak. “I assure you I won’t.”
“I assure you that you will.”
A Ballantine Books Mass Market Original
Copyright © 2011 by Maya Banks
Excerpt from
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
BALLANTINE and colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book
eISBN: 978-0-345-51948-1
Cover design: Lynn Andreozzi
Cover illustration: Alan Ayers
www.ballantinebooks.com
v3.1
For Kim Whalen, who believed in this book from the very beginning and who told me she would absolutely find a home for it. You did just that.
For Lillie, who is such an invaluable support in so many ways. You make my reader heart so very happy with our book dishing, and you’re unwavering support of my stories is something I’ll always be grateful for.
To Fatin, who is like a mama lion. You take such good care of me. I love you for that!
And finally to my family for trekking all over Scotland with me. For the missed trains, the ridiculous roundabouts, the horrible food, and one of the best times of my life. Love you all so much.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
