Page 21 of Kiss Me, Macrae
“Where?”
“My home. Not the lodge ye saw by the loch. My real home. I’d like ye see it.”
The gentle plea in his tone made her belly twist and the warmth inside her swirled dangerously close to her heart.
How could she say no?
* * *
The road to Macrae’s ancestral home twisted and turned around rocky outcroppings and swift-running trout streams. Allegra suspected they might have made the trip much faster on foot along the path overlooking the loch, but she didn’t say anything. There was something undeniably pleasurable in being snuggled up beside Macrae in an open-air sleigh.
Heavy fur rugs covered their legs. Allegra was bundled into woolen mittens and a plaid scarf while Macrae wore leather gloves to better handle the horse’s reins as he kept them at a steady, even pace through the gently falling snow.
Aside from an initial greeting in the courtyard and a murmur of thanks as Macrae assisted her into the vehicle and carefully tucked the rugs over her thighs and around her hips, Allegra hadn’t spoken.
Macrae hadn’t either.
It seemed they were both content to breathe in the wintry air, glance about at the passing scenery, while beneath the layers of fur, their thighs pressed intimately to each other due to the narrow seating space…and Macrae’s large form.
With anyone else, Allegra would have felt tense and crowded. Instead, she found herself wondering how much more comfortable they’d both be if he’d put his arm around her shoulders and pull her in to snuggle against his chest.
All she’d have to do is ask and she knew he’d do it without a moment of hesitation. Macrae was not one to be concerned with what was proper. Was that why she found him so appealing? That and his tousled locks, ready grin, large hands, and scalding kisses.
“I’m dying tae ken what put that secret little smile on yer lips, lassie, but I suspect ye’d never tell me, aye?”
Allegra tipped her head to glance aside at him and allowed her smile to widen. “I could tell you it is the freshness of the winter air or the sound of the sleigh gliding through the snow or the jingle of the horse’s harness.”
Green eyes narrowed. “But it wouldnae be the truth.”
Her gaze fell unheeded to his lips—fine arches and a sensual curve nestled within the soft swirls of a russet beard. “No. It wouldn’t be.”
He issued a rumbling growl that rolled through Allegra, spreading desire into the deepest corners of her being. “Ask me.”
To kiss her.
Oh, how she wanted to.
Allegra took a steadying breath and looked into his eyes. “I can’t.”
His brows fell over his gaze as he held her focus with his. “I willnae hurt ye. I’m nae lyin’ when I say I want ye forever.”
Though his declaration sent thrills through her, her voice was tense when she replied. “You barely know me.”
He lifted his chest and gave a firm nod. “I ken what I need tae.”
Allegra arched a brow in question, urging him to continue.
He turned his gaze forward again, but Allegra kept her attention on his rough-hewn profile—the sloped brow, deep-set eyes, strong, masculine nose, and broad jaw. She saw his throat move as he swallowed and nearly lost her breath when he rolled his bottom lip in against his tongue before replying.
He cleared his throat. “The last several years have been…difficult for me. I’ve dwelled overlong on questions that cannae be answered. I’ve allowed doubt and guilt tae fill my heart. But when I woke at that inn tae find a furious, passionate, gorgeous slip of a woman giving me commands and ordering me oot the window… It’s hard tae explain, but I felt something fall intae place inside me.” He slid her a smoldering glance that sparked with emotion. “I felt excitement and hope that life might have more tae offer me than regret.”
Allegra’s chest was tight and her heart beat heavily in her ears, but she forced herself to respond. “You cannot possibly base your desire to marry me on a single encounter.”
His brows lifted. “Why not?”
“Because…it isn’t…it doesn’t make sense. It is illogical. There is no way to know if we’d be compatible for a lifetime.”
He laughed at that—a full, throaty laughter that triggered a tingling response deep in her belly. The look he gave her was all male, sensual and knowing. His voice was rich and thick. “Ah, lassie, we’re compatible. I promise ye that.”