He waded up the bank to where she was standing, yanked her against him, and kissed her roughly. At the touch of her lips, that ache in his groin intensified and a tingle shot right up his spine. Before he realized what he was doing, he was deepening the kiss, pulling her tight into his arms.
The next instant, her open-handed slap caught him across the cheek with enough force to snap his head to one side and set his ears ringing.
She brought her hand back for another go, but Reid caught her wrist in an iron grip mere inches from his face. Sensing the eyes of his men on him, he turned to them and grinned.
“Feisty as a wildcat! Just how I like them. Carry on. I think I would like some time alone with this one.”
He began walking away, pulling Abigail with him. She fought him, of course, but she was no match for his strength and he dragged her easily along the path and around the return wall of the keep until they were out of sight.
“How dare you!” she spat. “How the hell dare you!”
She bristled like a spitting cat, but beneath the anger Reed was sure he saw something else flash in her eyes. Lady Abigail Fenton was not quite as angry as she was trying to make out, no matter how much she protested otherwise. In the instant before she’d slapped him, her lips had responded to his and he wondered if she had felt that all-encompassing desire he had. Lord above, if she had only felt a tenth of the desire that he had it would have been strong enough to floor a man at ten paces.
“Hush, woman,” he growled.
“I most certainly will not hush! If you think you can just kiss me like that—and in front of everyone—then you’re sadly mistaken. Who do you think you are?”
“I am the master of this castle.”
“Is that supposed to impress me? I don’t care if you’re the bloody King of Scotland! You can’t—”
He grabbed her shoulders, pushed her against the wall, and put his hand over her mouth. “Stop yer caterwauling! Ye will bring the men running if ye carry on like this.”
She bit him. Hard. With a cry, he yanked his hand away. Damned hellion! How had he offended the Almighty to be landed with a hell-cat like this?
“What was that for?”
“You think I’m just going to let you hurt me?”
“Hurt ye? I’m not trying to hurt ye—I’m trying to keep ye safe!”
She crossed her arms underneath her breasts again—he really wished she’d stop doing that—and glared at him. Lord, she had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. Green with a sprinkling of hazel around the pupil. Despite his annoyance, he felt desire stir again. Damnation, what was wrong with him?
“I don’t call telling all your men I’m sleeping with you and then groping me without permission keeping me safe!”
“That’s exactly what it is!”
He stalked closer and she shrank back. He leaned in and placed his hands on the wall to either side of her head. Her lips were only inches from his, so close he could feel her breath against his skin. She looked up at him with wide eyes and he was sure she was breathing a little more heavily.
He wanted to kiss her again. Hell, he wanted to do more than that. He wanted to push her up against the wall, feel her soft body pressing against his and—
He got a grip of himself with an effort. Taking a deep breath, he said, “It might have escaped yer notice, but there are no women here. Only men. Only cut-throats and mercenaries and those who’d sell their mother given half the chance. The kind of men who wouldnae think twice about forcing themselves on a woman if the mood took them.”
She went as pale as milk. Fear flashed in her eyes.
“But they’re also the kind of men who wouldnae dare touch a woman claimed by their commander. They might be brutes but they aren’t stupid. They know what I would do to them if they did.”
Abigail swallowed. “I...um...so you said those things and kissed me just now...to keep me safe?”
“Aye,” he said, knowing it wasn’t entirely true, that he’d been aching to kiss her since yesterday and she had provided him the perfect excuse. “I promised I would keep ye safe, didnae I? The threats in this place dinna just come from outside the walls. Ye would do well to remember that.”
She said nothing for a moment, digesting his words. Then she reached up and placed her hand against his cheek.
“I’m sorry I hit you.”
He found himself smiling wryly. “That’s quite the right hook ye’ve got there.”
A tiny smile curled her lips in response. “That’s what you get for growing up with two elder brothers.”
