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.Plants grew on the cliff's steep sides.Water dripped from every crevice, and the sound of rushing water was ever present.Lainie wanted to talk to Slade about the beauty of the country as well as the path he meant to take.She didn't believe they headed toward Edinburgh but she couldn't be sure.She didn't ask questions.She had decided miles back that she would ask for nothing from him that wasn't part of the devil's bargain they had struck.And the thought of having to keep that bargain--of giving herself to a man who thought her a liar a cheat and a whore--was like ice congealing in her soul.Surely, Slade doesn't still believe the worst of me.The more we're together, the more he must see that I'm not what he thinks I am.Maybe he just doesn’t want to see me any other way.All through the day, Slade watched his back trail.At first Lainie had thought it was concern that she would cut and run that kept Slade so alert and wary.Gradually she had realized it was something else entirely.They were being followed.Lainie sensed that at the same primitive level as she sensed the raw hunger in Slade's eyes whenever he looked at her.She wondered if Slade remembered the times they'd touched and the heat that seemed to spark each time, simmering with untold possibilities.She had never known anyone like him.She'd never wanted anyone the way she wanted him.Something elemental and primitive stirred inside her.It's only passion and hunger.It's not love.Throughout the long hours on the trail, the memories haunted her.Each time they returned, they sent a myriad of wonder and excitement through her, undermining her fury at Slade.How could she be angry at a man whose heart and soul matched hers.She had waited all her life for someone like this--a man who could be gentle and kind yet protect her from the world.He can't believe I'm a woman who would give herself to a man for trinkets.Surely, he understands.Surely, he can see through the rumors and realize who I really am.He's just too obstinate to admit he was wrong about me.The thought was as alluring to Lainie as the possibility of seeing her home and being welcomed into it.She had dreamed of the time when she could ride across the narrow land bridge to the MacPherson castle with her head held high.She prayed the time was near."Wait for me." Slade said no more.Nor did he need to.Lainie reined in her tired mount, took the lead rope of the packhorse, and watched Slade leave without asking where he was going or why.She simply sat on her horse and waited for his return with a patience that came from exhaustion not the will to obey the stubborn man.Around her, the last colors of the day drained from the sky, leaving twilight behind.It was full dark when Slade reappeared as silently as a wraith.The packhorses were too busy cropping grass to bother calling a greeting to their trail mate.Slade waited for Lainie to ask where he had been and why.When she didn't, his mouth tightened with what she read as irritation.Are you going to sulk all night?" he asked."Why do you care what a liar, a cheat, and whore does?" Lainie asked sweetly trying not to let her own anger show through."Someone who gives herself to a man for trinkets," she added.She pretended not to hear the word Slade hissed beneath his breath as he dismounted.He began unsaddling his horse with quick, angry motions.When he finished he turned to Lainie with his fists on his lean hips."I don't understand why women get upset when a man calls them what they are," he said bluntly"Well I can understand how a bad-mannered, blind, inflexible, unfeeling lecher like you might feel that way," she said, while she inhaled a long deep breath.He had treated her so poorly she no longer cared whether she was polite or even cautious.She was tired of walking on eggshells around him.A taut, eerie silence followed while she dismounted.And then Slade laughed."Stop using all your strength to fight a battle you can’t win, little fox.I don't have any plans for you tonight.I'm too tired."Lainie slanted him a wary sideways glance."I may be lecherous," he said dryly, "but I'm not stupid.As long as Jericho is following us, I'm not going to get caught with my britches undone."Lainie told herself she wasn't disappointed that she would get none of Slade's disquieting, spellbinding touches that night--or any night soon.She was better off not to let herself care about him or the way he made her feel.Only one thing a man wants from a woman, make no mistake about it.And I don't want for any man to get that far with me again.I'll fight him with all the strength I have if he tries to rape me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]