A Promise Given Read Online Free PDF Page A

deny he enjoyed a
beauteous face and form as much as the next man. But this was Sabrina, his bonny
bratling…
    "All right. I’m finished." Her voice was slightly breathless.
    Ian turned, only to behold a stare as frigid as the lochs of the Highlands.
So this is how it would be, eh?
he thought. She was still as feisty as
ever.
    He whistled to his horse, who was lazily grazing on lush green grass. He
gestured grandly as the animal trotted up. "Shall we be off?"
    Her chin tipped high. "I cannot return with you."
    The challenge in her eye grated. "And why not?"
    "It would not be proper," she informed him loftily.
    "Proper? And when were you ever proper, I ask?"
    "It’s obvious where I've been! What would everyone think? If they knew you'd
come upon me n—" All at once she stopped.
    His grin was utterly wicked. "Naked?" he supplied.
    Her chin snapped shut. "You must go first," was all she would say.
    Ian ran a callused fingertip down her nose. She looked as if she’d like to
bite it off. "I suppose you're right, lass." But he would have the last word
after all, by God. He allowed his gaze to wander, a blatantly thorough
inspection of her form, lingering with flagrant interest on her breasts.
    Ian couldn't help it. The merest hint of a smile tugged at his lips. He had
but one thought. Foolishly, he'd somehow imagined Sabrina still a child. Oh, but
he'd been wrong, for there was a difference—a vast difference. Aye, there was
grace where before there had been only a gangly clumsiness. A supple ripeness
where before had been breasts as fiat as a washboard.
    "I must say, lass," he drawled. "You've changed. And quite delightfully
so."
    Her eyes flamed. "Blast you… you… you vile Highland wretch!"
    Ian chuckled as he swung up into the saddle.
    She was still sputtering and cursing as he rode off into the forest.
    He threw back his head and laughed again. Now this was the Sabrina he knew.
He felt a lightness of spirit he'd not felt in ages. God, but it was good to be
back.

Chapter 3
    « ^ »
    Sabrina did not share the sentiment.
    Back at the keep, she fled to her chamber. There she sank down upon the bed
and pressed cool hands to cheeks that were still flushed as if with fever. In
all her days, she'd never been so embarrassed. Sweet Mother Mary, if she had to
face him again, she would surely wither away in sheer mortification!
    The memory rushed through her head again and again, like wind through the
trees; it would not be banished. Ian had seen her naked…
naked
! It was
even more shocking that he had stared at her with wholly unguarded appreciation.
Why? she wondered frantically. She was no beauty like Margaret. Or did he but
seek to mock her?
    Seeking to regain her wits, she pulled up a stool before the fire which
burned in the hearth. There she led a comb through wavy tresses that were still
damp.
    She could not help but recall his reminder that she had once seen him naked.
Aye, and it was true. While he swam in the stream one day, she had crept forward
unnoticed, snatched his clothes, and hidden them in the bushes. While he had
searched madly about for his clothing, she had watched from a tree—though she'd
never dreamed he'd been aware of her presence! In truth, it was mostly mischief
that had spawned the prank. But she had also harbored a young girl's curiosity
about what he wore beneath his kilt. And aye, about the nude male form…
    Her mind gave her no peace. Why couldn't he have left her alone, to dress in
privacy? But alas, he had not, and so he'd left her with no choice. If only she
could have waited until darkness fell… if only she were not such a coward… But
the very thought of making her way back to the keep in the dark made her stomach
roil.
    The soft lire of her lips compressed. Oh, but he had always been a
troublesome youth! And now he was a most odious man!
    A knock on the door interrupted her reflections. It opened and Margaret
stepped within. She frowned at Sabrina's