concentration by asking her the most appalling question, and she had to think about giving him an answer sure to destroy his pride for a full month.
'Do you want me to make love to you again?' He lifted his hand away from her mouth.
'When hell freezes over.' She didn't actually shout, but her voice was still loud enough for his men to hear.
'You will not shout at me ever again. Is that understood?'
'It is,' she answered.
'My hearing is never going to be the same.'
'I'm sorry. What you said took me by surprise and I… Finished, Connor? Is that how you thought to reassure me?'
'It was a compliment. I was obviously satisfied with you or I wouldn't have been finished. I'm a man of few words, Brenna.'
'I've noticed.'
He turned his attention to the rewarding pleasure of kissing her.
'I don't usually feel so unsure of myself,' she whispered. 'But it was my first time.'
'I noticed.'
He kissed his way down the side of her neck.
'Why are you doing that?'
'I like the way you taste.'
She shifted her position to give him better access to her shoulder. 'How do I taste?'
'Like honey.'
He heard her sigh in the darkness. It would have been easy for him to take her by surprise, but he would never do such a dishonorable thing. Brenna was going to have to give him permission, and if she didn't give it soon, he would have to leave her while he had enough discipline.
'Do you know what I think?' she whispered.
'No, but you're going to tell me, aren't you?'
'I don't want you to-never mind. I mean to say that I…' She couldn't go on, for Connor had just reached the valley between her breasts, distracting her entirely.
'You're soft everywhere. You make me burn to have you.'
She thought his words were wonderfully romantic. For a man of few words, he was doing exceptionally well at giving her exactly what she longed to hear.
'Is there anything you don't like about me?'
'Aye, there is,' he whispered. 'You talk too much.'
'You turn my head with your flowery words, husband. Make love to me now.'
'I'll hurt you.'
He didn't seem concerned about her discomfort though, for he'd already pushed her chemise down to her hips. He paused to kiss each of her knees before finishing his task of ridding her of her undergarment.
His hands were everywhere. He stroked her legs, her thighs, her hips, and her breasts. His gentle touch was maddening and made her restless for more. She wanted to caress him with the same care he was showing her and was about to demand he let go of her when he snatched the very thought right out of her mind by leaning down and kissing her breasts. His tongue brushed over one nipple, and she thought she would die from the exquisite torment, and then he began to suckle. She squeezed her eyes shut and made a sound very like a whimper.
Her stomach was just as sensitive to his touch, and then he moved lower. She couldn't imagine what he thought he was going to do, until he was there, at the junction of her thighs. She kept her legs locked together to keep him from going further. He forced them apart and continued to do what he wanted to do, and she was soon too caught up in the rush of ecstasy his mouth and his tongue evoked to be properly appalled.
He made love to her in ways she'd never, ever imagined possible. She couldn't make herself stop arching up against him. She raised her knees and cried out when she felt herself begin to tighten around him.
He couldn't wait any longer to be inside her. He knelt between her thighs then, lifted her hips, and entered her with one powerful thrust. He tried to remember to be gentle with her, but damn, his control had deserted him again and it was impossible to hold anything back. He wanted it to last all night. She wouldn't let him slow down though. She drove him on with her sweet cries and her passionate kisses. He didn't know if he was hurting her or pleasuring her. Her climax forced his own, and once he'd given her his seed, he didn't have enough strength left to keep from collapsing on top of her.
She was in much the same condition. Her breathing was uneven, her heart was pounding a frantic beat, and she was trembling all over. It took her long minutes to make herself stop sighing and start thinking again. Then she wished she hadn't bothered. Reason meant worrying, and dear God, how could she ever look at him again after what she'd begged him to keep doing to her?
She had acted like an animal in heat, hadn't she? She was suddenly desperate for reassurance before her embarrassment turned into shame. She wouldn't beg or demand he convince her that what they'd done had been all right, or let him know she was at all embarrassed now. He might say things just to appease her then, and not mean any of it. She'd catch him by surprise, she decided, so that he wouldn't guard his reaction.
'Connor?' God help her, even her voice was trembling. 'Are you dead then?'
He smiled against her neck. 'No.'
'Did you hurt me?'
She couldn't believe she'd asked him such an absurd question. She'd meant to tell him he hadn't hurt her, hadn't she?
It was apparent to him that she hadn't quite recovered from their lovemaking just yet. He was arrogantly satisfied, of course, because he was fully responsible for her condition.
His heat was making her drowsy. She didn't want to fall asleep before she'd gotten rid of her embarrassment and meant only to close her eyes so she could concentrate.
'Do you know what just happened?'
She smiled in anticipation, for surely he was now going to give her the reassurance she needed. She should have known better.
'Hell just froze over.'
Chapter 7
Brenna was in a fit mood the following morning. The rain had ended, the sun was bright, and no one, not even Connor, could put a wrinkle in her happiness.
It kept getting better too. Although the men smiled while they watched her eat her morning meal, they didn't comment on her appetite, and after she returned from the creek dressed in the MacAlister plaid, Quinlan complimented her on the perfect pleats she'd made in the woolen material. He seemed to think she'd only just acquired the art.
She felt it was her duty to correct him. 'My father made Rachel learn how to fashion a plaid because she was supposed to marry Laird MacNare, but Mother thought it would be a good idea for all of her daughters to master the technique. My parents did like to get as much as they could for their coins.'
'Your sister was promised to MacNare?'
She nodded. 'She was indeed. Connor might have ended up married to Rachel. She's the pretty one in our family,' she thought to add.
Quinlan couldn't imagine there was any other woman more pleasing to the eye than his mistress. He had already noticed she wasn't vain, and her comment only confirmed his belief.
'Will it be another long day's ride?'
'No, mi'lady. We're very close to home now.'
The news thrilled her. Her smile proved to be contagious, for when Quinlan glanced at the others, they were
