Madeline Martin

He poured a splash of liquid into a second cup. __ome in and warm yerself by the fire._ Ariana walked deeper into the room, toward the glow of the hearth. It__ heat enveloped her skin and eased away the chill with such expediency, she almost sighed. Connor appeared beside her with a metal cup extended. __ canna sleep often myself._ She closed her fingers around the cool surface and glanced at the dark liquid within. A sharp scent hit her nostrils. __hisky,_ Connor said. He was perfection in the firelight. Shadows etched his jaw while the light softened his face, his lips. The powerful lines of his chest were visible at the neck of his leine, as well as a dark peppering of small curling black hairs. __hisky,_ Ariana said with a forced stare at the cup instead of him. __f course. I drink this all the time._ __ye, I knew that about ye. When I first saw ye, I thought, __ow there__ a lass who can handle her whisky.__ Connor winked at her with disarming playfulness. __t__l do ye some good. Take off the chill and settle yer thoughts._ __hy do you assume my thoughts are unsettled?_ she asked. He took a swallow from his cup. __ecause sleep comes easily to those without weight on their minds._ Ariana took a careful sip from her own cup, the way she__ seen men at the card tables drink. The liquid burned like sin down her throat and caught in her chest. She gritted her teeth and swallowed hard several times to keep from sputtering. Though she__ hoped to keep her reaction discreet, the grin on Connor__ face told her he saw through her guise. __t__ good._ Her voice came out in a croak and Connor laughed. It was a warm, rich sound and she found it terribly pleasing. His eyes crinkled. __ow that we__e discovered yer love of whisky, why dinna ye tell me what__ got yer thoughts heavy?

Her breathing came faster, evidenced by the repeated rapid swell of her breasts against the low-cut bodice. Before he could let his thoughts circle around once more, he cupped the elegant line of her jaw in his palm. Her eyes widened. __re you going to kiss me?_ she whispered. Instead of answering, he lowered his mouth to the luscious warmth of hers.

This is an education on seduction,_ Delilah said in a reverent tone_ Ariana let her gaze skim across the silk wall hangings and shrugged. ____e not ever kissed a man._ ... Truthfully, she had not. She__ been so fixed on her attempts to placate her parents in the hopes they might pay her the slightest bit of positive attention, she had not so much as considered kissing any man. Delilah__ fingers touched Ariana__ chin, feather light, and tilted her face toward hers. __t is the most delicious thing. Close your eyes and I will tell you of it._ Obediently, Ariana closed her eyes, hoping if she did as she was told, the lesson would end sooner. It was an awkward sensation to sit in the ridiculous pillow-laden room with one__ eyes closed. __elax,_ Delilah said in a velvety tone. __isten._ Ariana let her muscles slacken. __magine a man, tall and lean with muscle._ Delilah__ voice was quietly intimate. Hypnotic. __e__ staring at you as if you were the only women he__ ever seen. Truly seen. The only woman he__ ever wanted. The desire for you burning in his eyes._ Hazel eyes rose to the forefront of Ariana__ mind, a sharp jaw shadowed with a day__ growth of beard. Connor. She swallowed. __is arms come around you,_ Delilah continued. __o strong, so warm. They offer you a protection unlike anything you__e ever felt and make you wish you could melt into his embrace for the rest of your life._ In Ariana__ mind, Connor__ arms wrapped around her. But she didn__ shy from his touch _ she welcomed. It. The chill of the room ebbed into a pleasant heat. __our eyes meet. His fingers touch your face and his breath whispers over your lips. He lowers his head and you close your eyes just as his mouth touches yours, warm and demanding._ Ariana__ heart quickened and her breathing went almost ragged. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she flicked her tongue over her lips. __is body is a wall of strength against you, holding you upright, as your knees feel as though they will buckle. Then his tongue strokes yours, velvet fire and heady seduction._ Ariana drew a shaky breath_.

He didn__ save women. He damned them.

I canna let you die like Da,_ he said softly. __nd yet ye canna let me live,_ she replied.

Her fingers clutched him now, and her body writhed with a frustration he knew all too well. He wanted her. Now. Here.

A single bead of water rolled along the length of his spine and glided down the powerful lines of his body. Mariel moistened her lips and watched its seductive descent, overwhelmed with the temptation to trace its path with the tip of her tongue.

Did I catch ye looking at me?" He knelt beside her and covered her with the plaid... "I couldn't help myself," she mumbled. He gave a low chuckle and slid in beside her. His naked arm pulled her close so her head rested on his solid chest. "Good answer." The smile was evident in his silky voice.

It doesna matter the direction necessity forces ye to take in life, it matters which way ye go when ye have a choice.

No more sounds emerged as he walked through the forest, save the whisper of the leaves above. Though nothing further appeared out of the ordinary, he knew one thing for certain. He was not alone.

He hated having to look for a new girl, a new spy to add to his band of fallen women. Yes, it was an opportunity to spare her before her ruin could be known, but a deep part of him hurt for the women in his employ and what they__ all endured.

A large man with wild blond hair gripped hr horse__ reins, drawing her steed to a stop. __elcome to hell._ Though he presented a jovial grin, his words shot straight to her gut. __nough, Murdoch,_ Sylvi said in a warning tone. The man shrugged his shoulders. __ch, I__ just toying with the new lasses. ____l no_ be here long to share my winning personality.

She needed this. For the comfort, for the love, for all the glorious things she did not deserve and yet could not stop herself from wanting.

She was smooth and beautiful under his rough, callused hands-an amorous balm to soothe the ugliness of war.