Without a second thought, he rushed to dress and tore out of the house with Jaco close behind, quickly saddling his horse so that he could make it to the rock on time. Faith was already there when he reached it, leaning her hip against the stone as she looked over the loch. Her expression was pensive, and Logan was curious as to why, but when she saw him, it melted away, leaving only her seductive smirk in its place.
God, how he wanted to shake the self-satisfaction from her being. Not in an attempt to smother her confidence but to challenge her core senses.
He came off his horse quickly and reached for her, bringing her body against his as he kissed her. She was caught by surprise but soon enveloped him in her arms as he leaned her back over the flat rock, kissing down her neck.
“Wait—”
“I’ve been tormented all night,” he confessed, more to himself than to her, as he made easy work of the front of her gown. It was a corseted front scheme, and he pulled at the strings to free her from her restraints.
“As have I,” she breathed, her arms wrapping around his head as he loosened the front of her dress. “But you must stop.”
Stop? Not for all the rice in Burma. He had slept so soundly because his dreams had been far too vivid—yet they paled in comparison to the real thing. He needed to taste her, to touch her skin with his own. He was just about to pull her chemise down when a voice sounded somewhere, not too far off.
“Faith!” Grace’s voice called out, causing Logan to freeze.
“Blasted hell,” he whispered harshly into her bosom.
Was there no privacy in this world? He lifted his head and saw an apologetic Faith staring up at him.
“I tried to tell you.”
“What is your sister doing here?”
“She forges for medicinal herbs and thought to come with me when she caught me leaving through the garden.”
“Faith?” Grace’s questioning tone sounded closer.
Pushing himself up, he righted his jacket and helped Faith as she tended to her dress. Once she was done, he leaned forward.
“I can’t take much more of this,” Logan whispered into her ear, causing her to shake. “I nearly bit through my fork at dinner last night.”
Faith, the chit, had the audacity to smile.
“Patience,” she said as if that solved everything.
“I’m glad you find this amusing.”
“Itisamusing. It’s also inevitable. If we must conduct this liaison, outside in the wild, we cannot be surprised when we are interrupted. And unfortunately, there are too many people between Lismore and Harris House for us to find any privacy, so yes, you must show patience.”
“Patience until when?”
“Well, without four walls and roof that someone isn’t constantly barging into, I don’t see when we could begin this…” she said, her voice trailing off. “Unless you have an idea where we can go, I’m afraid this affair is over before it has even begun.”
Logan stared at Faith. Her face was blank, but he was confident she was leading him to an answer she wanted. She had mentioned Harris House twice, and while he had tried to avoid it, it was the only place where he could be in command of his environment. But he wouldn’t take her there while his father or sister were in residence.
“I suppose we might try the hunting lodge again. What about tomorrow?” he asked, but she shook her head.
“I’ve a horse-riding lesson with Jeanne tomorrow and then I’m to accompany Hope to the vicar’s house.”
“Faith, where are you?” Grace’s voice sounded much closer now.
Faith gave him a pleading, sorrowful look before moving away from him, heading toward her sister’s voice.
“Here I am!” she called, turning to give Logan a last glance.
Logan reached for his horse’s reins and quickly walked him back to the trail. His presence could have been explained away as a coincidence if Grace had spotted him, but the less they were caught in each other’s company, the better. Everyone assumed they didn’t care for each other, which was a fine cover, but it needed to remain intact.
Figuring out how to have an uninterrupted meeting with Faith plagued him for the rest of the day. If he could only be with her for a few hours, this nagging need would dissipate—or at least be hoped it would, because it was beginning to have adverse effects on other parts of his life. Apparently, he was far shorter with his staff and his family.
