Sarah shook her head, shivering with revulsion. “No, but he would have. I could see it in his eyes.”
His mouth curved into a smile against her hair. “Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Out of the frying pan, into the fire’?”
The horse chose that moment to step in a hole, jarring her against Luke’s lap in a manner that left no doubt what he was talking about. He was huge and hard against her hip, and she melted in response.
She turned her head so she could look up at him. Tentatively, she reached up and brushed a lock of silky dark hair from his brooding eyes. “Perhaps I want to be burned by your fire.”
He shook his head. “You told me I disgusted you. That day in the kitchen.”
“You tried to make the passion between us into something ugly.” She was determined to prove how much she wanted him. Him, not just any safe harbor.
Burying one hand in her hair, Luke pulled her toward him, fastening his mouth upon hers with passionate ferocity. Hot, wet, open-mouthed. It was all Sarah had dreamed it would be.
Luke tasted of mint and whiskey, of all the dark, dangerous things no good girl was ever supposed to think about.
He pulled away, his breath coming fast and hard, his broad chest heaving as though he’d run for miles. She suffered from the same affliction. She’d never been kissed like that in her entire life.
He stared at her, and then slowly ran his thumb over her kiss-swollen lips. “We should get back. It’s getting late.”
A flicker of disappointment went through her, but then she nodded and turned back around, relaxing against him once again. A chill breeze started howling down from the mountain, so he swept off his cloak and wrapped it around them both.
“There’s the barn, through the trees there,” he finally told her quite some time later.
“Thank goodness,” she whispered, covering a wide yawn. “I’m exhausted.”
They arrived at the large building, and he helped her dismount. He swung down awkwardly, and again she averted her eyes, wrapping his cloak tightly around her, sensing he didn’t want her to watch him. She wondered why he was so self-conscious. His strength amazed her. He managed so well with his missing limb.
Luke lit the lantern that hung on a post inside the barn door and then guided the horse into the shadowy interior. The barn was filled with fine-looking horses. Both the animals and the building showed signs of tender care. She wondered at the contrast, having witnessed firsthand the sorry condition of his house.
He led the gelding to a stall toward the back, unsaddling him with a swift economy of motion. “There’s something I should tell you. My brother and his wife are here. They’re staying the night.”
She stiffened. “The brother who wrote me the letters?”
He nodded. “I know how angry you must be with him, but he’s not a bad man. In fact, he’s the one who told me where you were this evening.”
Her laugh was filled with bitterness. “Well, I suppose I should be grateful he didn’t leave me there to become a whore.”
“It will be all right.” He turned away from the horse. “I’m sure they’re sleeping.”
“That’s good. I don’t think I could bear to face anyone tonight... not after everything that’s happened.”
He wanted to take her in his arms once again but didn’t trust himself to let her go. There seemed to be nothing else to say, so he took her hand and led her up to the house, entering through the back door. The house was dark and silent except for a lone candle someone had left burning at the foot of the stairs.
“Shall I sleep in the same room I stayed in before?” Sarah met his gaze in the candlelight, a wealth of meaning in her simple question.
The mere thought of holding her in his arms all night and waking to her beautiful smile did something strange to the pit of his stomach. But he knew Matt was liable to barge into his bedroom unannounced, and he still wasn’t ready for the forced intimacy of sharing a bed.
“Yeah. I guess that would be best.”
Pain flickered across her features before she managed to hide it. She brushed past him, her shoulders stiff with hurt.
Unable to let her leave this way, he caught her hand and spun her around, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. She resisted for a moment, but then relented, melting into his embrace.
“Goodnight,” he whispered, as he let her go.
She touched her lips with her fingertip then managed the ghost of a smile. “Goodnight, Luke.”
* * * * *
