The Bargain by Julia Templeton Page A

thick shaft within her. To her chagrin, her cheeks warmed from the memory. "If I am so unladylike, then you will not care if I find other quarters in which to sleep, my lord. Or perhaps you would like to make things easier and return to the very place you spent last night?"
    She glanced up at him to find his lips slightly quirked. Why had she voiced her thoughts aloud? She sounded like a jealous wife and now he knew how hurt she was. Damn him!
    Renaud's grip on her tightened, and she could feel every hard inch of him pressed against her stomach. To her horror her body responded to him, her nipples hardening into sensitive buds. His masculine scent surrounded her, making her lightheaded. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Did you miss me last night, Aleysia?"
    His breath was hot against her ear, stirring her hair. She tried to jerk away from his iron grip, but failed. "I most certainly did not!"
    Still holding her wrists with one hand, he tipped her chin up with the other, his fingers gentle. "Aleysia, look at me."
    The others had left them, returning to their drills, and she was glad. She was relieved they could not see her flushed cheeks, her fury—or her body's obvious response to this man who both infuriated her and excited her at the same time.
    His eyes softened as he looked at her. "I was not with another woman, Aleysia."
    Despite the immense relief she felt at those words, she replied, "I do not care where and with whom you sleep."
    He lifted a brow. "Is that so? Then you do not mind if I sleep with another tonight?"
    How she yearned to lift her knee and injure him where it would hurt most. She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Nay, I do not care. Just as I am certain you do not care with whom I spend the night. In fact, do not expect me in your bedchamber tonight, my lord." She managed a coy smile. "I have other plans."
    All humor left his eyes and his hand tightened about her wrists. "You will not be sleeping anywhere other than my bed, Aleysia. You belong to me. Is that understood?"
    The possessiveness in his tone shocked her, and surprisingly pleased her, too. She lifted her chin high. "I belong to no man."
    "Not even Laird MacMillan?" The words were little more than a whisper, but she could hear the fury in his tone.
    Though part of her wanted to say that she did belong to the Scottish laird, she remembered her plan to release Adelstan and escape, and in order for the plan to work, she must gain Renaud's trust. Angering him would not help her cause. "Nay, not even Duncan."
    He stared at her for a long moment, his gaze searching hers before shifting to her lips. Her pulse skittered, for she knew he meant to kiss her.
    Worse than the horror of him kissing her within sight of his men and anyone else who cared to see was the simple fact that she wanted to kiss him. To feel his touch on her again. The softness of his lips, the taste of him as he possessed her completely. She craved it. How she had missed him this past week.
    Furious with her response, she quipped, "Will you be taking a bath this evening, my lord?"
    He dragged his top teeth against his bottom fuller lip, a gesture that would make most men appear vulnerable, but all she could think of was how incredibly sensual he looked and how she'd like to bite that lip herself. "Why do you ask, Aleysia?"
    Ripping her gaze from his moist lower lip, back to his, she wrinkled her nose. "You are dirty and sweaty, my lord."
    "Do you not like me dirty and sweaty?" he asked, his voice low and husky, making her believe that his words held another meaning altogether.
    An image of him standing before her naked, his body sleek with sweat, his large cock rising above his navel, came to her, leaving her breathless and her body aching. For a moment she could not even remember the question. The sides of his mouth lifted a little as he awaited an answer. It was as though he knew how much he flustered her. "Nay, I do not like you dirty and sweaty, my lord," she blurted,