The Snow White Bride by Claire Delacroix

same.”
    “But I remember nothing of it!” He sat up and looked around the chamber. He resisted the urge to protest the unfairness of it all. “I do not even recall returning here.”
    She watched him, her expression turning shrewd. “Perhaps that was part of your allure.”
    “What is this?” Alexander rose from the bed in one bound, casting the linens aside and pursuing her across the chamber. The floor was cold, but he did not care.
    Eleanor’s eyes widened, and perhaps her grip upon the linens tightened somewhat, but she did not retreat. They stood toe to toe and he could smell the sweet sleepy scent of her flesh, see the myriad hues of green in her eyes.
    “You chose me because I would be oblivious?” he demanded, incredulous when she nodded minutely. “What manner of woman wishes an insensible lover? What manner of woman uses a man for her own pleasure and grants nothing in return?”
    She tilted her head to regard him. “Have you not known men to do as much?”
    “No! Yes!” Alexander shoved a hand through his hair and paced the width of the chamber. “It is not of import.”
    “Have you not done as much yourself?”
    He flushed, then glared at her. “If so, it was different.”
    Eleanor folded her arms more tightly across her chest. “As was this. It matters little what I have done, much less why. What is done is done.”
    “What has been done is but begun,” Alexander retorted. Before she could retreat, he caught her chin in his hand and kissed her. His was not a forceful embrace, but it clearly surprised her. She stiffened, but Alexander slanted his mouth across hers.
    He would have a kiss to remember, if not more.
    She kissed like a virgin, breathless and tentative and frightened of what he might do. It was as if she had never embraced a man before. Alexander saw that red stain in his mind’s eye. Perhaps she was sore this morning. Perhaps he had not been as gentle as he might have been. Perhaps he had injured her.
    He wished he could have recalled. He felt a surge of compassion for her and lifted his lips from hers. She regarded him in astonishment for a moment, then stepped back.
    “I trust that will suffice to sate you,” she said, her words hoarse.
    Alexander felt a cur, but he was determined not to let this matter be. “It will not begin to suffice,” he murmured, savoring her quick glance of confusion.
    “What do you mean?” She was uncertain, so uncertain that she was not able to hide her thoughts from him Could it be that the lady was unaware of her many charms?
    Alexander knew how he would become better acquainted with this lady. He would disarm her with his caress. It might take years, but he would show her the pleasure that could be found abed, he would court her and cajole her, and he would win the conquest of that smile.
    There was but one way to do that honorably, for he had already taken more than had been his to claim.
    Alexander smiled with a confidence he did not quit e feel. “We will be wed this morn ,” he said with resolve, fully anticipating that she would spurn him. “It will never be said that the laird of Kinfairlie does not finish what he has begun.”
    Eleanor’s eyes narrowed but she gave no other hint that she was surprised, though surely she must be. She glanced toward the bed, swallowed, and then nodded with a meekness he had not known she possessed. “So it shall be,” she agreed quietly.
    Alexander hesitated for a heartbeat. From any of his sisters, such complacency would have been a sign of conspiracy, but Eleanor regarded him, her eyes wide with innocence. He smiled and closed the distance between them once more.
    “Such an agreement should be sealed with a kiss,” he murmured.
    “Surely one will do?” she said, her words breathless.
    “Surely not. Your kiss is most restorative, my lady fair. Perhaps it will even restore my recollection of our first night abed together.” Her eyes widened at that prospect. “Surely you cannot fear as