The Lady's Protector (Highland Bodyguards #1) by Emma Prince Page A

was a low rumble that vibrated through her breasts where they were plastered against his chest.
    She writhed in a redoubled effort to free herself, but it seemed to have no effect.
    Nay, that wasn’t entirely true. Ansel suddenly hissed a curse. Her head snapped up to find his face tight, a muscle ticking in his jaw. His eyes were a dark storm, but there was no trace of his usual ire there. Instead, raw, pure lust lay in their shadowy depths.
    She inhaled sharply, but all it did was compress her breasts all the more fully to his chest. With each of his breaths, she could feel every corded muscle straining against his thin linen tunic.
    He stared down at her, his heated gaze tearing through every last one of her defenses. She felt her regal façade crumbling. In his hard embrace, all that was left was the truth. She was just a woman. A woman who desperately wanted him.
    The hand that bound both her wrists loosened ever so slightly. If she had wanted to, she realized distantly, she could have broken free with a swift yank. But she was mesmerized by the hunger in his gaze. What did he see reflected in her eyes? Did he see a longing that matched his own?
    His free hand slowly rose toward her face. Callused fingertips brushed her neck, sending goose bumps racing down her arms and tightening her nipples beneath all the layers of fabric she wore like armor. His hand slipped to her nape, his fingers burying themselves in the base of her braid.
    With slow determination, he tilted her head back. His hungry eyes dipped to her lips, which parted as she fought to control her breathing. Even though she knew what he intended, still she did not break free. Instead, her tongue slid across her lower lip involuntarily.
    His fingers tightened in her hair at the unconscious act. He lowered his head to hers, his breath whispering across her lips for the faintest moment of hesitation. It was her last out, but she would not take it.
    Instead, she lifted her chin ever so slightly, giving him all that he sought.
    His mouth descended on hers then, no more hesitancy left. His lips were soft yet his kiss was demanding, claiming her with savage fierceness.
    He tilted his head, fusing them together more fully. With a flick of his tongue, he tasted her lips.
    And she opened to him.
    At the first brush of his tongue against hers, a shudder tore through her all the way to her toes.
    Their tongues entwined in silken heat, dancing and caressing. Somehow he pressed his body even closer until his warmth and scent completely engulfed her. Every angle and plane of him was hard and hot except for his velvety tongue.
    She suddenly became aware of the rigid column of his manhood pressing against her belly. Passion-drunk, she arched her back, pressing into his hard shaft.
    A groan ripped from his throat, sending tingles through her lips where they were fused together.
    Suddenly he tore his mouth away, leaving them both taut and panting. Her lips and chin felt raw from his lust-filled kiss and the scrape of his stubble. Her nipples tingled from rubbing against his chest. Liquid heat pooled between her legs, unfulfilled need pulsing there.
    She’d been kissed before, but never like that—never so demanding, so scalding with pent-up desire.
    Suddenly shame mixed hotly with lust in her veins. Aye, she’d kissed before—and more. What had happened to her vow never again to let passion rule her? How could she have forgotten the consequences with a mere look from this rugged Highlander?
    She took a wobbling step back and smoothed her surcoat with trembling hands. “We shouldn’t have—”
    “Did ye hear that?” he cut in abruptly, his dark brows descending.
    “W-what?” She’d assumed he’d halted their kiss because it was wrong, not because some noise had distracted him.
    She straightened, trying to salvage what little dignity she could. Just as she opened her mouth to reassert that the kiss had been out of line, a whinny drifted up from the yard