Highland Scandal Read Online Free PDF Page A

hard for me to be an honorable man.”
    “Then why are you here now?”
    He groaned. The rumble shook through her. “I can’t stay away from you. I love you, and while I can still have you in my life, I plan to steal every bit of time. I shall deal with the heartbreak of losing you forever another time.”
    The blood roared through her head. Her vision blurred as she dizzied from his confession. She nuzzled her cheek against his chest. She had to touch him. She rested her hand on his bare thigh. His muscles tightened under her palm. His swirl of dark hairs brushed her palm. She twisted toward him as much she could without toppling off the horse. He clung to her waist and dragged her against him. She claimed his mouth.
    The raw, hungry kiss was not chaste. Their tongues melded. He tasted of water and of something that she loved. She buried her hands in his hair. Thankful for his hold, she melded against him. Her breast pressed flat against his firm chest. Any renitence vanished with his words, though it was easy for her to do. Lachlan was the man she loved and to be this close to him, to have her love returned only to reject it—nay, she lacked the willpower.
    Here in his arms…his hands gripping handfuls of her leine . How could she yearn for this man with every drop of her blood, yet fate denied him to her?
    He groaned. The vibrations matched her heartbeat—strong, all-compassing. One day, this would be a memory. One day, she would struggle to remember every detail, every taste and feel of him. But she knew her body would still respond with the same fervor crashing within her.
    Both needing air, the kiss broke. She dropped her head onto his heaving chest. She inhaled his manly scent of sweat and sweet, crisp Scottish air that had caught in the linen’s weave.
    “I love you too, Lachlan. If I could choose a man to spend my life with, I would choose you every time.”
    Rowen intertwined their fingers. Lachlan raised their hands to his mouth and placed a peck on the back of her hand.
    “That is all I need.”
    That was what he told himself. What he wanted to believe. Her love had to be enough. Last night, he vowed to put aside his love for her. He couldn’t. She haunted him. He smelled her on his skin. He tasted her on his lips. He couldn’t fall asleep. His arms reached out to hold her. When sleep finally overtook him, she filled his dreams.
    Again in his life, he was denied something. He lacked the proper parentage. He had dealt with all the snide treatment. He had learned to brush off all sneering comments and scandalous looks. But this…it ripped his heart out. He tightened his hold. He had to hold onto her longer. Her supple body fit perfectly against him. He brushed his cheek against her hair. Her silken strands caught on his facial hair.
    A rush of curses screamed in his head. His lip curled. Rage shook through him. Men feared him, respected him. The bastard boy had become commander to a powerful laird. Many men wished to fight at his side. He earned the respect of men but not enough to wed their daughters or sisters.
    Instead of heading back, he sent his horse to the one place where they could be away from the world and their judgments. There it could be just Rowen and himself.
    He rode out of the ancient oak woodland, leaving behind the heady scent of moss, ferns, and lichens and onto heathland along the loch’s shores. The calm water lapped at the shore. He rested his chin on her shoulder and listened to her soft respirations. Rain clouds drifted near. Nothing could mar this day.
    He drew up by the shore. The low-lying vegetation mottled, blazing of browns, yellows, and darkened greens, and provided a bed from them. He set Rowen down then dismounted. He staked their mounts near enough to sip from the water.
    Rowen scanned the vista. “Lachlan, someone stole the castle. MacLean will be very upset.”
    “Very? That I doubt. We shall look for it later.” He snagged his arm around her waist and pulled her