Border Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

disappointed."
    "You are. Why?"
    "Because you're not very good at keeping promises."
    He stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall, his eyebrows raised in question. "I'm not?"
    "No. You promised to keep your lusty proclivities on a short leash."
    A devilish smile enhanced his dark good looks. He bent from the waist, his shoulder-length black hair grazing his cheek. "What length leash would suit you?"
    He was saying one thing and meaning something else. She didn't know him well enough to understand either. For some reason she looked at the door where the woman had been, then at the door before her. "I'm not sure. Perhaps a furlong."
    He chuckled. "I could make a bit of mischief and more with so mighty a leash."
    Feeling out of her depth, she took the offensive. "Making mischief always was your strong suit."
    "Just as teaching me to kiss was yours."
    Outrage barreled through her. "That's hogwash, Malcolm Kerr. Every time I saw you, you tried to paste your sloppy lips on me!"
    Calmly he said, "You started it."
    "I did not!"
    "Aye, you did." Leaning against the door, he folded his arms over his chest. "'Twas Adrienne's birthday party. You were five. I was six. You'd seen her kissing Charles and talked me into trying it with you. I liked it and tried to recapture the experience numerous times."
    His recollection reminded her that they'd once been friends. But not for long. "According to rumor, you've made a vocation of kissing any woman who'll let you."
    A rakish grin gave credence to his vile reputation. "Just don't forget 'twas you who lured me onto the path of sin."
    Delivered with quiet intensity, the sermonlike words made her laugh. "Go ahead, Malcolm. Condemn me for your ill-gotten fame. Just remember. Only one of us enjoys sloppy kisses."
    All his humor vanished. "No man has ever made you feel desire?"
    No man had bothered to come close enough, she almost yelled. Her experience with kissing had begun and ended with Malcolm Kerr. The confession sounded so pitiful she wanted to cry. His concern seemed so earnest she looked away. "Is this my room?"
    "Alpin…" he entreated softly. "You're dissembling."
    Putting as much scorn into her voice as she could muster, she said, "Oh, please, Malcolm. Unlike you, I don't reveal the details of my affairs or flaunt them before strangers."
    He pushed open the door. "Of course. How indiscreet of me, a stranger, to ask."
    She glided past him. "Indiscretion. Another of your sterling qualities."
    "Why do I doubt you're as prim and proper as you let on?"
    Even with her back to him, she felt his keen gaze and had the strangest notion that she had unwittingly challenged him. The possibility gave her pause. At length she faced him and said, "Because you wouldn't know prim-and-proper if it crawled into your sporran."
    His eyes narrowed and he looked into his chieftain's pouch. "Prim-and-proper would never crawl in here."
    Aghast, she said, "I should slap you."
    "But you won't. Make yourself at home, Alpin. Should you decide about the length of that leash, I'll be in my study."
    More annoyed with herself than with him, Alpin stifled the urge to slam the door in his face. Putting on a sweet smile, she closed the door. Her suite contained a sitting room, a bedchamber and privy, and a smaller room for her maid.
    She walked to the open windows and sighed with relief.
    Moments after her arrival she'd feared Malcolm might send her away. Through careful maneuvering she'd ensconced herself in his household and found living proof of his scandalous reputation. Lucky for her and her cause, he'd be so preoccupied with his lusty proclivities and his gorgeous mistress that Alpin would be free to put into motion the next step in her plan.
    She gazed down on the castle yard and smiled. A gape-mouthed Alexander helped Alpin's maid from the carriage. Battle-hardened soldiers, laundry maids, and even the children of Kildalton stared in disbelief at Elanna.
     
    His mind a muddle of conflicting thoughts, Malcolm