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"I see. And what will you do with this American wife once you find her? Do you plan on kidnapping her back to Scotland?"
"Not kidnapping anyone." I twist my mouth up, then groan. "And I don't know. Haven't thought that far ahead. Find a wife first, talk about living arrangements later."
"Uh-huh. A good, specific plan."
"Everything can be worked out when I find the right woman." I slant toward her again, our mouths almost touching. "I knew the moment I saw you, Calli, you could be the right one for me. Give me four weeks to convince you, and if I can't, I'll go away and never pester you again."
She gets a suspicious expression on her face. "Why four weeks? That's an awfully specific timeframe. Most people would say a month."
Bugger. She would have to notice that.
I scratch behind my ear, my face pinched. "Lachlan spent four weeks with Erica."
Calli throws her head back, groaning at the heavens before she returns her attention to me. "I don't want to participate in a reenactment of the epic love affair between the Amazing Lachlan and Erica the American Wonder-Wife."
"Ahmno trying to—" I contort one side of my mouth, then exhale a long breath, relaxing my face. "Forget about Lachlan and Erica. Please, Calli, give me four weeks."
"To do what, precisely? You'll never convince me we belong together."
A sly smile steals across my face. "I mean to seduce you. If I can tempt you to break your first rule, the rest will follow."
"The rest meaning love and marriage. You can't make me fall in love with you."
"I can, and I will." I don't say that with sarcasm. I mean it. Winning Calli is my mission, and I'm too stubborn to give up on her because she's afraid of love.
She snorts, and the sound seems to imply she doesn't believe I can make her love me.
I slide a fingertip along her jaw, down her throat, over her collarbone. When my finger teases the upper curve of one breast, she sucks in a breath. The sound makes my cock twitch. My God, she's beautiful. I want her to love me because I know I can love her—if she'll let me. Maybe my determination to win her is an aftereffect of the rubbish I've been through this year, but no, it can't be. Calli is the woman for me, full stop.
"You like me," I say. "Otherwise you wouldn't have invited me to visit you or brought me to a secluded beach. You want me, otherwise you wouldn't have kissed me twice—with breathtaking passion and sensuality." I coast my fingertip down the valley between her breasts until it collides with the neckline of her T-shirt. "Those facts give me hope that you will fall for me. Ye willnae be able to stop it."
"Because you're so irresistible."
"That's not the main reason." I withdraw my hand but keep my mouth near hers while our gazes connect. "It's because I'm lovable."
Laughter bubbles out of her, the light, feminine sort that's as melodic and sweet as music.
"You are bonnie all the time," I say, "but when you laugh, you're the bonniest of the bonnie."
"Thanks."
I study her for a moment, entranced by Calli in every way imaginable. Can I win her over? It might be the most difficult task I've ever undertaken, but I'm as stubborn as she is. I won't give up easily, and I absolutely will not leg it back to Scotland if she says she loves me, like Lachlan did when Erica told him how she felt.
Glancing at the waters of Lake Superior, I squint at the sunlight glancing off the surface. "What is Calli short for?"
"Nothing. It's my name. Calli Bethany Douglas."
"A good Scottish name, Douglas."
"I'm American." She stretches her legs out again, wiggling her feet. "Is Aidan short for something?"
Ah, she really ought to know better by now. Asking me a question like that… Of course I have to take advantage of the moment to show her more of my wicked side. I shoot her a grin infused with all the lust she inspires in me. "Aidan the Magnificent. It's my full, Viking name."
"Thought you were Scottish."
"Vikings came to Scotland, you know. I've probably got at least a wee bit of Norse blood in me."
"What part of Scotland are you from?"
