The Eternal Highlander by Lynsay Sands, Hannah Howell Page A

must rest.”
    “That was wooing?” she muttered as the door shut behind him.
    All the warm, exciting feelings he had stirred up faded away, leaving her feeling irritated. Bridget had the sinking feeling that sense of irritation was because he had stopped kissing her. Hissing a curse, she got off the bed and went to change into her night shift by the fire. The man had revealed that there was a lustful side to her and that could prove dangerous. Even more dangerous was that the lustful side of her wanted Cathal to come back—right now.
    “A week. I only have to stay out of his reach for a week,” she said as she crawled into bed.
    That was not going to be easy, she decided. She had let him see that she was stirred by him. There was no doubt in her mind that he would try to take advantage of that weakness. And it was a very big weakness, she thought as she groaned and buried her face in the pillow. She could still taste his kiss. Just thinking about it, of how it felt to have his body pressed so close to hers, revived that delicious heat he had roused inside of her. The man would undoubtedly haunt her dreams, dreams she suspected would no longer be so sweetly innocent.
    Flopping onto her back, she glared up at the ceiling of the canopied bed. How she could think she would be safe with people who had fangs, shunned daylight, and had eyes like a wolf, she did not know. But, she did, at least with the ones who did not shun her or openly threaten her. The question was, could she trust Cathal to keep her safe from Scymynd and his ilk?
    Bridget quickly pushed that thought aside. It did not matter if Cathal could keep her safe or not. In one week’s time she would leave Cambrun. She would not allow passion to blind her to all the very good reasons why she could not marry Cathal MacNachton.
    If naught else, she had to consider what sort of children they would breed. The Callans had spent hundreds of years perfecting their bloodline. She could not add MacNachton blood to the mix. Her family would be appalled. And how could she be sure Cathal would even give her children? Apparently, there was already a problem amongst his clan. Did a creature from the grave have what was needed to make bairns? Everything she had seen indicated that the MacNachtons were like those dark creatures who refused to stay dead. Yet, she was sure the man she had just held in her arms was alive. So, if Cathal was not some beautiful demon, what was he? Bridget doubted she could unravel that mystery in a week, but she was certainly going to try.

Five
    Cathal slowly licked the life-giving vein in Bridget’s long, elegant throat, then gave in to the strong urge to nip her there, very gently. He shifted his body slightly against hers, echoing the faint shudder that went through her. He did not think there was a part of him which did not ache with need. After four days of wooing , of pulling her into his arms at every opportunity, he was starving for her. There did not seem to be a single hour of the day when he was not thinking about how much he wanted to be inside her or how badly he wanted to see her naked and willing in his bed.
    He kissed the hollow behind her ear and she purred. Cathal could think of no other way to describe the noise she made deep in her throat. It never failed to enflame his desire. He spent far too much of his time thinking about all the things he might do to make her purr like that.
    A faint noise yanked him free of the sensual daze he had fallen into. Cathal pulled away from Bridget and realized he had her pinned against the wall not far from the doorway of the great hall. Her feet were several inches off the floor. Her arms around his neck and the press of his body all that kept her in place. He had obviously suffered a complete loss of control. His only consolation was that she looked as dazed and heated as he felt.
    Keeping his hands on her tiny waist as she released him and got back down on her feet, Cathal looked around for what