Page 20 of Highland Spy

“Haven’t you?” Delilah stared at Ariana incredulously. “But you’re so lovely.”

Ariana already regretted having to waste her time on the lesson with Delilah. Images of the target board stood forefront in her mind and she tried to picture how exactly to hold the dagger between her fingers—the metal cool against her fingertips. Not too tight.

“You were at court for some time, correct?” Delilah’s brown eyes searched Ariana’s.

All imagined daggers disappeared from Ariana’s mind. “Yes, for the last six years.”

“Then how did you not kiss a boy in all that time? I remember them being most eager.”

She was right. They had been eager. But Ariana had waited patiently for her parents to find the right match. Their attempts were unsuccessful, and when they died the responsibility passed to her brother, Caldwell.

She hadn’t expected him to spend her dowry.

Later, she’d discovered her parents had spent far more than their lands generated, resulting in rumors of the family being on the brink of destitution. Only when it was too late to matter did Ariana realize the failed betrothal attempts were not due to ineptitude on her part, but to the very true rumors of their dwindling wealth.

In all her three and twenty years, Ariana had never kissed a man because she had obediently waited for the one she would marry.

“Had you?” Ariana replied at last.

Delilah accepted the change in subject with a pretty flush of her cheeks. “Yes, plenty of times. And men of all types, from an attractive stablehand to…” She leaned forward with a grin. “The king.”

Ariana studied her, unsure if Delilah was trying to impress her or if she was being truthful. But then Ariana remembered how she had come to be here, and realized they all had their reasons for being brought to Scotland.

Delilah had not backed up from when she’d leaned closer, and the proximity was almost too much. “You’ve thought of it, at least?” she asked.

The muscles along Ariana’s back tensed with the desire to draw away, but Delilah seemed so excited and Ariana did not wish to be rude.

Ariana shook her head.

Truthfully, she had not. She’d been so fixed on her attempts to placate her parents in the hopes they might pay her the slightest bit of positive attention, she had not so much as considered kissing any man.

Delilah’s fingers touched Ariana’s chin, feather light, and tilted her face toward hers. “It is the most delicious thing. Close your eyes and I will tell you of it.”

Obediently, Ariana closed her eyes, hoping if she did as she was told, the lesson would end sooner.

It was an awkward sensation to sit in the ridiculous pillow-laden room with one’s eyes closed.

“Relax,” Delilah said in a velvety tone. “Listen.”

Ariana let her muscles slacken.

“Imagine a man, tall and lean with muscle.” Delilah’s voice was quietly intimate. Hypnotic. “He’s staring at you as if you were the only woman he’d ever seen. Truly seen. The only woman he’s ever wanted. The desire for you burning in his eyes.”

Hazel eyes rose to the forefront of Ariana’s mind, a sharp jaw shadowed with a day’s growth of beard.

Connor.

She swallowed.

“His arms come around you,” Delilah continued. “So strong, so warm. They offer you a protection unlike anything you’ve ever felt and make you wish you could melt into his embrace for the rest of your life.”

In Ariana’s mind, Connor’s arms wrapped around her. But she didn’t shy from his touch—she welcomed it. The chill of the room ebbed into a pleasant heat.

“Your eyes meet. His fingers touch your face and his breath whispers over your lips. He lowers his head and you close your eyes just as his mouth touches yours, warm and demanding.”

Ariana’s heart quickened and her breathing went almost ragged. Her mouth was suddenly dry and she flicked her tongue over her lips.

“His body is a wall of strength against you, holding you upright, as your knees feel as though they will buckle. Then his tongue strokes yours, velvet fire and heady seduction.”