Page 38 of Highland Vows of Betrayal

Noah led the first horse through the trees, and she followed. The trees separated once again a short distance away, opening to reveal the wide expanse of a glistening glacial blue loch.

“How beautiful!” Scarlett breathed, entranced.

“Aye, ‘tis,” Noah agreed. “Ye can bathe first.”

Scarlett stiffened as she tethered the horse to a nearby tree. “Ye think I will bathe where ye can see?” Noah sighed and tied the grey mare beside her own, watching her with a certain glint in his eye.

“Ye have seen me in the altogether, have ye nae?”

“That was different,” she objected.

“And what did ye surmise?” he inquired, tilting his head to the side.

Moving away from her mount, she marched toward the loch, putting some distance between her and Noah. “I didnae try to catch ye undressed. ‘Twas a simple accident.”

“Aye, the more I think about it, the less it sounds like a simple accident.” He whistled in a way she could not misunderstand his disbelief. “Ye walked into my chamber with yer gown hanging off ye,” he looked at her askance.

“Ye really think such?”

“Well, ye did just kiss me back, Scarlett. I recall ye moaned in yer delight.” He leaned an inch toward her. “And ‘twas one hell of a kiss.”

She fought between the temptation to smile and her irritation at his arrogance, managing an impatient glare in his direction. “Aye, I see ye willnae jest with me or acquiesce in the matter. Very well, I am on my best behavior.”

“Do ye ken the nature of good behavior?” she queried. He arched his brow in response before going all the way to the tree line, until the pines were level on either side.

“I will stay here and willnae look. Ye have tall he privacy ye could wish for.”

“Ye willnae look?” she verified.

“I might take a small peek.”

“Noah!” she snapped, exasperated as she clutched the muddy wet skirt of her gown.

“Aye, calm yersel,” he waved an airy hand at her. “Ye ken I have pledged I willnae touch ye, and I honor my pledges. Ye have all the privacy ye need, and I will bathe after ye. Or if ye prefer, we can return as we are now. We can observe the smirks and sniggers when they see that we have obviously rolled in the mud together, and heaven only kens what else.”

“That wasnae quite what occurred,” she said, biting her tongue to stop herself from saying more.

“It was, and ye ken it,” he chuckled in amusement. “In ye go, Scarlett. Ye have my word I willnae follow ye tae the loch.” He turned his back to her, staring straight intensely at the trees.

Scarlett let her imagination run wild, picturing what it would be like if he did follow her into the water. Would he give her another of those delectable sultry kisses like he did earlier?

'Tis wrong.

Shaking her head as if she could banish the thought from mind, she turned to the loch and reached for her gown. Fortunately for her, she had asked Julia to provide her with a gown that she could easily put on herself. A wraparound gown with a front-facing corset and a silky chemise that hung just below the knee.

Scarlett first untied the dark green wraparound gown and laid it across a nearby rock. She glanced back at Noah, but he said nothing, nor did he turn to look, not even once. She flung her head back to face the loch, almost disappointed that he wasn't tempted to take a peek, and quickly removed the corset and chemise, followed by the muddy stockings.

Undressed, she stepped into the cold water, causing her to shiver and her body to tighten, but she continued, eager to be clean again.

This really is a beautiful place, she thought, beginning to relax.

* * *

One look, just one.

Noah could not stop himself. It didn’t seem to matter how much his mind argued, as if he had a council sitting inside his head, each chair occupied by a different part of himself, with one voice victorious over the others.

Well, I never promised Scarlett I wouldnae look at all.