Highland Heat Read Free Page B

no’ retreat from the challenge ye offer.”
    Sensation rippled down her arm and into her body like lightning. The delicate skin of her inner wrist was suddenly alive with a thousand points of recognition. Passion flickered in her belly again, tighter and more intense than before. She gasped, her body unable to contain all the impulses rushing through it. Quinton didn’t rush the kiss but lingered over her flesh while watching her reaction.
    “Truly do I regret needing to depart so quickly, Deirdre Chattan.” His thumb passed over the spot he’d kissed, sending a softer bolt of pleasure through her before he released her arm. “But I must, else I’d remain and do my best to prove I know well how to deal with the fire ye breathe.”
    She jerked her arm away from him with a hiss that would no doubt gain her a reprimand from the mother superior.
    “A true blessing. I shall thank God tonight for taking ye from my sight.”
    He snorted with amusement but turned toward the yard and his men.
    She followed him to the doorway and watched as he fitted one foot into the stirrup and mounted. The man rode a full-blooded stallion that didn’t remain still but shifted from side to side with eagerness to be moving. He reached down and patted the animal with a sure hand, but his gaze shifted to her.
    “I hope yer memory is sound, Deirdre Chattan.”
    His lips twitched, and her temper flared up once again. Oh, there was nothing wrong with her memory, but without a doubt, the man was not asking her if she recalled what he wanted her to tell the queen.
    There was a flare of heat in his blue eyes she recalled very well from the night he’d kissed her.
    “Ye are no’ one who I care to remember, nor anything ye have to tell me.”
    He laughed at her, and so did his men. The arrogant beast shot her a look full of promise.
    “Perhaps I’ll return to take up yer challenge to make a more lasting impression upon ye.” His stallion danced in a wide circle. When he was facing her again, his expression was serious. “Maybe ye might add that hope to yer prayers.”
    “I shall not,” she sputtered. “Yer suggestion is most misplaced in this holy place. Are ye color-blind and cannae see I’m wearing an undyed robe?”
    His gaze lowered to her clothing but centered on the swell of her breasts. “I see ye very well, and the robe does nae belong on ye, lass.”
    He drew in a deep breath and raised his attention back to her face.
    “But duty first, eh, hellion?”
    He didn’t wait for a reply. Quinton Cameron turned his stallion toward the road and let the animal have its freedom. His men followed, forming two columns that raised a cloud of dust while the sound of the horses’ hooves diminished into the distance.
    Deirdre found herself the object of scrutiny from the nuns standing in the yard. Her face heated, but she held her chin steady.
    Curse the man.
    And damn her for responding to him. She turned her back on those watching her. Her heart was still beating too quickly, and she knew what it was that heated her insides. It was passion or lust; both promised her hours of worry as she tried to decide if she was beyond redemption.
    How could she favor a man such as Quinton Cameron? That would gain her nothing but another lover who would use her and then discard her once he was finished with her.
    She chewed on her lower lip, a sliver of guilt assaulting her.
    Quinton Cameron was not a dishonest man. He’d never lied to her as Melor had done, but that bit of knowledge didn’t settle her thoughts any.
    He was still, without a doubt, a man she needed to avoid. He was far too dangerous for her to make the mistake of ever seeing him again—much less trust him enough to allow him to do any of the things she had seen flickering in his eyes.
    ***
    “Ye did what ye had to. The man provoked ye.” Kaie’s voice was low, but it didn’t mask her distaste.
    Deirdre looked up from the floor she was scrubbing; the day was almost gone now, but there