An Invitation to Pleasure Read Online Free PDF Page A

I’m very much taken with the changes in you.’
    His chest rose and fell rapidly under the soft cambric of his shirt. His fingers were playing up her spine in the most delightful way. One of his hands tangled in her hair. She could feel the warmth of his palm on her scalp. Susanna shivered. She liked the way he looked at her. Wanting her. Jason had never looked at her in that way. Lustfully. The word made her skin prickle. There were golden glints in Fergus’s hair. It was surprisingly soft to touch. ‘I have to tell you, Laird, that I am very much taken with…the Highlands. And your people, and your castle, too. I feel as if I’ve been transported to another world.’
    Susanna turned away to hide her smile, and came back down to earth with a thump as she caught sight of the huge, looming four poster bed. ‘You were jesting when you said that it was expected you stay here in this room with me, were you not?’
    Fergus too, turned his attention to the bed. ‘I was not, but one thing is for certain, board or no board, I’m not sleeping in that with you.’
    His vehemence should have been reassuring, but Susanna decided she found it insulting. ‘What board?’
    Fergus strode over to the huge bed, and pulled back the top cover. Sure enough, a huge plank lay down the middle of the mattress, neatly separating it into two. ‘Your side,’ he indicated, ‘and mine. You’ll notice that it’s a very rough bit of wood. Anyone who tries to cross it will be sure to get a skelf. A splinter,’ he explained, seeing her confused look. ‘Walking out leads to bundling, in these parts. It’s our way of courting, allowing a couple to get used to each other on the understanding that if they get too used to each other then the wedding will take place forthwith.’
    ‘But we are not courting,’ Susanna said stupidly. Except, of course they were. Or they were pretending to be.
    ‘Don’t take this the wrong way now, but before you arrived here this afternoon, I didn’t think the bed would be a problem at all. I’ll sleep on the chair.’
    Susanna eyed Fergus’s large frame sceptically, unsure how to react to this most backhanded of compliments. ‘You will be very uncomfortable.’
    This time, his grin was positively wolfish. ‘I already am. At least we’ve proved we can put on a persuasive show when we need to.’
    She did not blush delicately, but turned a fiery red. ‘Will we need to?’
    ‘It will be expected, you’re the laird’s affianced bride.’
    ‘Until Hogmanay.’
    ‘Until Hogmanay, aye. Do you think you’ll mind a few kisses, lass?’
    Susanna stuck her nose in the air. ‘If it keeps your tenants happy, I expect I shall be able to force myself to bear them. What else have you not told me?’
    Fergus chuckled. ‘Isn’t Christmas the time for surprises?’

Chapter Four
    The stirring of the pudding which would be eaten on the night before Christmas was the first of Fergus’s surprises. ‘It’s called Clootie dumpling because it’s cooked in a cloth. This is the same recipe as belonged to Mrs MacDonald’s grandmother,’ he translated for the cook, who beamed and nodded at Susanna. ‘We stir six times one way, and six times the other.’
    ‘Together,’ Mrs MacDonald, the doyenne of the huge stone-flagged kitchen, said in English, handing Susanna the wooden spoon.
    It was very hot, down in the basement, thanks to the huge open fire with its collection of spits and cauldrons, one of which contained the pudding ingredients. Fergus put his hands over Susanna’s. ‘Don’t ask me why it is six times and not five or seven. I’m sure there is a reason for it but I’m not sure that I want to spend the next hour listening to it. Are you ready?’
    She nodded, and they began to stir the thick mixture of suet and flour and dried fruit. She was fascinated by the contrast of their hands, his tanned, wholly covering hers, which seemed so pale. Perspiration beaded at her hairline, and trickled down the small