Page 13 of Highlander’s Forbidden Fruit

Evanna leapt up with an undignified shout of glee. “Is it really?” she asked. “Can I see?”

“I can’t see why not.” Lady Ashby laughed.

“Try it on and show us,” Clara suggested.

“Yes, that’s a brilliant idea!” Lady Ashby agreed.

“I’ll do just that.” Evanna took her leave, her feet barely touching the floor as she raced up the stairs and to her room. It was unladylike, she knew that in the back of her mind, but she had spent her entire life running from one place to another that it was hard to break the habit in two days.

So excited was she that she put too much pressure on the doorknob and the door flew open and banged against the wall. She jumped a little at the sound, but the sight of the big box on her bed dashed all other thoughts from her mind.

It was a pale box secured by a large lace bow. Evanna touched a corner, running her fingers down the length of the box, which was unusual for her. Her first instinct had always been to rip into dress and hat boxes to see what she had gotten, but this time she wanted to savor every moment.

Very gently, as if she were handling one of the kittens that ran around the castle yard back home, she lifted the cover. A thin muslin cloth covered the dress with a small sprig of lilacs resting in the middle. Evanna picked up the lilacs and inhaled their heady scent.

Impatient now, she tucked the sprig into her hair beside the rose Clara had placed earlier and removed the muslin. She gasped. It was not that she didn’t own any ball gowns back in Scotland, she did. Several, in fact. And though they were the best fabric that money could buy, none of them were as well cut, or exquisitely designed as this one.

Lady Ashby had chosen the color - a deep iris blue to bring out the color of Evanna’s eyes. She ran her fingers over the water-soft silk and pulled it out of the box. Undressing quickly, she pulled on the dress. It felt like she was wearing a cloud. She walked to the mirror to get a better look at herself. The silks whispered secrets around her ankles.

Is that really me? she wondered, looking at her reflection.

The dress was fashioned to be as revealing as was decently possible. The seamstress had taken great pains to make sure it would fit her like a glove. The ruched bodice was just low enough to flaunt her breasts to the best advantage, the neck extending a little further along the shoulders, the back deeper than usual so the mole on her back could peek through. It was just short of scandalous, but it looked elegant.

The hairstyle suited her; it brought out the shape of her jaw and highlighted her delicate bones. The deep blue of the dress suited her complexion, and Evanna was forced to admit that she looked ladylike and pretty. Of course, she was not as beautiful as Clara. That was impossible for her to manage. But she looked lovely, nonetheless. In fact, she was sure she would be approached for a dance or two tomorrow evening, and Ashton Winchester would be forced to eat his words.

With that delicious thought in her head, she twirled on her toes and rushed out of the room to show Lady Ashby and Clara. In true Evanna fashion, she was running without looking where she was going, and as soon as she stepped out of her room, she slammed into a wall.

I donnae recall there being a wall there, she had time to think before she was falling backwards. A small yelp escaped her lips as she lost her balance and tumbled back. Her body steeled itself for the jarring impact with the floor, but the wall grew arms and lunged forward to save her.

One minute she was flailing in mid-air, the next she was snug against a broad chest, being held by a circle of arms. What she had mistaken for a wall was a man. She knew this now because she felt his heartbeat, quick and strong, against her cheek. A warm hand was burning against the bare skin on her back.

“Oh, thank ye!” she sighed into the stranger. “I’m such a ninny at times. I dinnae see where I was going.”

“Aye. Ye dinnae see a lot, lass.”

Evanna’s warm joy popped like a soap bubble. She pulled back violently. Aleck Bryce was scowling down at her, his hands firmly gripped around her hips, refusing to let her go. Panic flooded her ribs. She tried to pull back, but he pulled her to him, so she was crushed against his chest.

“Yer nae getting away from me so easily, lass,” he growled.

His green eyes flashed violence if she did not comply. Evanna stopped squirming and rested her hands against his chest just in case she needed to push off against it, or scratch at his face.

Her mind raced. Why was he at Ashby Manor? Why was he in England for that matter? The answer was obvious. Laird Julius MacLeod must have read her note and had a knee-jerk reaction and immediately sent Aleck in pursuit. Did this mean there would be no letter assenting to her stay in London? Her racing heart dipped horribly into her stomach.

“Do ye have any idea the trouble yer in?” he growled. “Running away like a foolish child. Do ye have any idea what it’s done to yer poor Da? What were ye thinking? Are dresses and balls more important than yer clan’s honor? Leaving without an escort, without a chaperone. Do ye think ye’ll find a husband who’ll agree to marry a flighty little lass like you? Ye could have hurt yerself—ye could have been discovered and taken advantage of. Have ye any idea what that would have done to us?”

His fingers dug into her back, and Evanna flinched. Was that worry for her she saw in his eyes? How was that possible? Aleck Bryce did not care for her. She was mistaken. He was concerned for his Laird’s honor and reputation.

“I’m not a helpless bairn, Aleck,” she scoffed. “Dinnae pretend ye care for me when yer only here because Da asked ye to.”

His jaw tightened, and there was a flash of emotion in his eyes. Was it reproach?

She was suddenly aware of how close they were. She had never been this close to a man, let alone the man she had loved since infancy. His eyes were boring into hers, and her breath was stuck in her throat. She was lightheaded, but her head was also clear. All she could think of was how warm his skin felt against hers, and how her tiny frame fit perfectly with his tall one. Their lips were only a few centimeters apart, and the urge to kiss him was so strong she began to arch up on tip toe.

“Evanna?”

Clara’s voice from below the stairs broke the enchantment. Aleck removed his arms, and though it was summer, Evanna felt an empty chill.

“Coming!” she called back.