who’d abandoned her.
And that was that.
*
“I wondered.”
Cora jumped.
Faolan was on the landing, pressed against the wall. The women had missed him as he blended into the morning shadows. The moment she stepped through the doorway, he emerged.
“Ye wondered what?” Cora inquired. She didn’t like the way her voice rose, betraying just how unsettled she was.
Faolan strode closer until she was forced to either back into the chamber or tilt her head to maintain eye contact.
She stood in place, earning a twitching of one side of his mouth as he stopped only a single pace from her.
Why was she so very aware of him?
He’d left her to Noreen and the women of the McKay clan, and still, her heart started beating harder.
“I wondered if ye’d soil the sheet yerself,” he answered her softly.
Cora gasped. At last, outrage emerged above everything else. “I am no’ a liar.” She shoved him hard. “Or a coward to hide behind deception even if ye are acting like one by leaving me to face down the matrons.”
His eyes narrowed at the word coward. Her hand connected with his hard chest, but he didn’t even rock back on his heels. Instead, the force of her blow went right back up her arm and into her shoulder.
“There is no’ a man breathing that I’d take such an accusation from,” he informed her.
Faolan caught her nape and a handful of her skirt. She sucked in her breath, once again reminded of just how much strength he had.
“You were in the shadows, Chief McKay,” Cora growled at him. “Leaving me on my own. The sheet is bare because ye did no’ do yer part.”
“And here I thought ye were no’ a foolish lass,” Faolan muttered. He sounded distracted, and she realized his gaze had lowered to her lips.
“Do nae…”
His kiss was hard, smothering her.
A craving suddenly flickered to life inside her. A taste for the contact between them that Cora hadn’t anticipated at all. But the way he pushed his fingers through her hair fanned the tiny flame, igniting a fire that made her curl her fingers and grip his clothing.
She wanted him closer. Opening her mouth, she mimicked his kiss, seeking a way to participate. Being kissed wasn’t enough.
Not nearly enough.
But he suddenly pulled back. Cora gasped, the sound raw with how abrupt she found his action.
Faolan’s eyes were full of passion.
“Aye, ye should no’ look at me like that,” Faolan warned her. “For I am no’ playing at any lad’s game.”
Bitter disappointment was clawing at her insides. She might be a virgin, but Cora discovered herself understanding very clearly what she felt.
Desire.
She wanted Faolan to bed her, and there was no denying it.
“Game?” She suddenly felt her temper flare. “Ye most certainly are playing some sort of game Faolan McKay. At my expense.”
His eyes narrowed. She planted her hand on his chest and shoved hard.
“And ye had better get to telling me what it is ye want from me.”
He grunted. For a moment, she caught a glitter in his eyes, which stroked the fire burning inside her. There was something unspoken between them, and it seemed to be testing his resolve.
Good. At least she was not alone.
“I am no’ playing with ye, Cora,” Faolan said. “But ye can be sure me brother and his wife are very good at claiming prizes.” His expression tightened. “I’m doing me best to keep ye from becoming another of their victories.” He reached out and clasped her wrist. “We’ll go and get an annulment now. The priest is in the village. From there, I’ll get ye on yer way home.”
Annulment…
The word flashed through her like oil being tossed onto a fire. After the roar of the flames, she was left with burned skin that tingled with pain.
Cora lifted her hand and slapped him.
The sound was loud, bouncing between the stone walls of the tower. Faolan was taken off guard. He recoiled and grabbed both her wrists.
“Ye can nae mean to tell me ye crave to be me wife, Cora,” he growled. “I could have left ye here, at me brother’s mercy. And let me tell ye, lass, Malcolm has none in his black heart.”
“Ye could have no’ kissed me.”
His lips curved. It was a very male expression, one full of arrogance and pride. Cora lifted her knee, intent on jamming it into his crotch.
Faolan shifted, so all she hit was his thigh. He flipped her around, clamping his arms around her to contain her. She strained against him, but he had the