The room fell away as Ian stared at the young woman who stood in the glow of the firelight. Her hair was the most beautiful shade of red he had ever seen. It fell in gleaming waves and framed a face so lovely it squeezed his heart to look at her. <\/p>\n
When she lifted her gaze and met his, the air went out of him. There was something very familiar about this lovely, green-eyed lass, but Ian could not place her.<\/p>\n
“Ian.” Alex jabbed him in the ribs.<\/p>\n
Ian knew he should stop staring at her, but he couldn’t help himself.<\/p>\n
“Hmmph,” Alex grunted as he pushed past Ian. He strode across the room and greeted the young woman with a kiss on her cheek, as if he knew her well. “Ach, you are a sight to behold,” Alex said. “If I were your husband, S\u00ecleas, ye can be sure I wouldn’t have kept ye waiting a single day.”<\/p>\n
S\u00ecleas? Ian shook his head. Nay, this could not be…<\/p>\n
The young woman was nothing like the scrawny thirteen-year-old he remembered. Instead of gawky limbs and pointed elbows, she had graceful lines and rounded curves that made his throat go dry.<\/p>\n
“Welcome home,” the young woman said to Alex in the kind of throaty voice a man wanted to hear in the dark.<\/p>\n
“Ye two must be hungry after your travels. Come, S\u00ecleas, let us get these men fed,” his mother said, taking the lass by the arm. His mother gave him a wide-eyed look over her shoulder, the kind she used to give him when he was a lad and had committed some grievous error in front of company.<\/p>\n
When Ian started to follow the two women to the table, Alex hauled him back. “Are ye an idiot?” Alex hissed in his face. “Ye didn’t even greet S\u00ecleas. What’s the matter with ye?”<\/p>\n
“Are ye sure that’s S\u00ecleas?” Ian said, leaning to the side so he could see past Alex to the red-haired lass.<\/p>\n
“Of course it is, ye fool,” Alex said. “Did ye no hear your mam just say her name?” <\/p>\n
From the corner of his eye, Ian saw the back of S\u00ecleas’s skirt disappearing up the stairs. It occurred to him he had the right to follow her up and take her to bed. Tonight. Right now. Before supper, if he wanted. And again, after. The part of him between his legs was giving him an emphatic “Aye!” <\/p>\n
His reaction startled him. For five long years, he had planned to end the marriage as soon as he returned. He’d harbored not a single doubt. <\/p>\n
But he made that plan before she turned into this enchanting lass with curves that would have him dreaming of her naked as soon as he closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Aye, he most definitely wanted to take S\u00ecleas to bed. Any man would. The question, however, was whether he wanted her to be the last woman he ever took to his bed.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
THANKS TO BRIANNE AND THE AWESOME<\/strong><\/div>\nPEOPLE FROM THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, <\/strong>I HAVE <\/strong><\/div>\nTHREE (3) COPIES OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/p>\n