Page 32 of The Highlander Is All That

Sometime in the middle of the night, he realized he was not going to sleep, and dressed himself and headed downstairs. He was of a mind to raid the pantry and, perhaps, find more alcohol.

A light in the library gave him pause, and he poked his head in.

His heart jumped at the sight of her.

Elizabeth, in a lawn nightdress, was curled up in a chair with her eyes closed. The fire danced over her face, highlighting her alabaster cheeks.

Good lord in heaven above, she was beautiful.

It was wrong to tiptoe into the room and watch her sleep.

It was wrong to smile when she issued forth a delicate little snore.

It was wrong to kiss her.

But of course, he couldn’t help himself. He went down on his knees before her and set his lips to hers.

It was a soft, tender kiss, one intended to not wake her up.

But it did.

Not at first, though. At first she gave a little moan, and then a sigh into his mouth, and then—heaven help him—her arms wound around his neck.

“Hamish,” she murmured against his lips.

His body hardened. He loved her voice, and that voice whispering his name was even more divine.

He threaded his fingers through her silky hair, which was deliciously wild and free, and he held her closer.

And then he deepened the kiss.

He knew the moment she came fully awake. It was a slight stirring of her body, an ethereal sense of presence. Oh, and her fingernails on his scalp.

He pulled back and smiled at her. “I’m sorry.”

She frowned and then she smacked him softly. “Are you?”

“I shouldna ha’ kissed you.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true.”

“Oh, don’t.” She pushed away, leaped to her feet, and stormed to the fireplace to savage the logs with a poker. Dare he tell her the flames backlit her body? That he saw every curve through the lawn?

“Um . . . Doona what?”

She whirled around and glared at him, but he hardly noticed. Because yes. He could see. Every. Curve. He shut his mouth and swallowed the drool. His wayward cock was more difficult to manage. “Don’t ruin a perfectly wonderful kiss.”

“I’m no’ ruining it.”

She set her hands on her hips. “Saying you shouldna ha’ done it right after you’ve done it is not promising.”

“You know what I mean. It was a lovely kiss. But I shouldna ha’ kissed you while you were sleeping.”

“I agree with that.” His heart plummeted at that, but then she took a step toward him. “I missed half of it, after all.”

“You—”