Sarah
Williams can’t face the one-year anniversary of her husband’s tragic death, so
she flees from Chicago to take the Scottish golf tour her husband had dreamed
of doing someday. She has to live for both of them now, after all. While she’s
there, she agrees to deliver a few small gifts to her friend Helen’s Scottish
family. This puts her face to face with the grumpy, withdrawn, but incredibly
handsome Duncan Mackenzie, a man haunted by a few ghosts of his own.
When
Duncan promised his sister that he would welcome the American widow to
Scotland, he’d expected to meet an elderly woman. Instead, he discovers a
beautiful, willowy blonde who’s far too young to have faced such a tragedy.
Suddenly, his own difficult past seems moderate in comparison. At least he
survived. And now he wants to live again, really live, and it’s all because of
Sarah.
First
Kiss Excerpt
“I’m a little scared, too.” His voice, a scratchy whisper,
was mere inches from her ear. The sound sent a hot shiver down her skin. “I
don’t want to do anything to hurt us. Either one of us.”
“I know you don’t. I trust you.” It was true, too. She trusted
him. She didn’t quite know why—she didn’t really know him that well, and his
moods were mercurial, but she knew he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.
Now both of his hands were at her waist. Light and gentle. Oh, but
she wanted him to wrap his arms around her and crush her to his chest. This
careful caressing would drive her mad with desire until she was too on fire for
him to be cautious anymore. Daring Sarah, that was who she would become in
truth if he kept this up. Or maybe reckless Sarah. Bold, wild, and willing
Sarah.
He moved closer, but remained behind her and slightly to her
right. She could feel the heat of his big body and wanted to lean back and melt
into him. His breath was warm on her bare throat, the softest caress. He bent
his head down and nuzzled the sweet spot below her ear. Not a kiss, not the
kiss he’d asked for but still hadn’t claimed. His cheeks and chin brushed her
skin, the stubble on his jaw a maddening combination of soft and strong. His
hands at her waist, his nuzzling at her throat, so light and teasing and full
of promise, sent shivers rippling through her body. Her skin came alive with
yearning.
One arm wrapped around her waist and turned her ever so gently
toward him. The muscles in his arm were taut with tension, and she knew then
how he held himself back despite the wild energy pulsing between them. Still
his face was tucked against her throat, one moment breathing hot and urgent
against her collarbone, then brushing against the sensitive spot just below her
ear. At last, his lips, so soft and maddeningly tender, caressed her skin with
a touch as light as a kitten’s fur.
She wanted to soften into his embrace and know the strength of his
arms around her. She lifted both hands to his shoulders and slid her palms
along fabric of his shirt, feeling only the solid muscles beneath the cloth. At
her touch, his breath became ragged.
She wanted that kiss. His mouth on hers, his arms like solid bands
crushing her against the length of his body, this was all she wanted now.
Why wouldn’t he take the kiss he’d asked for? She could have said
no. Maybe she should have said no. But she’d told him the truth instead—it was
fear holding her back, plain and simple. What was holding him back? His
powerful body was tight with leashed passion. She could feel it under her hands
and in the heat now radiating from his flesh.
Wait. Something really was holding him back. This wasn’t her
imagination.
She tilted her face to look at him. His arms remained loose around
her waist, but not so loose that she could break the embrace. When at last she
was able to see his brown eyes, she saw passion, yes, but something else.
Patience.
“Something is making you hesitate.” She moved her fingers in the
curls at the back of his collar. She wanted to encourage him, but she suddenly
felt awash in shyness.
“Aye.”
He didn’t say more than that. One of his hands came up to trace
the line of her jaw. His gaze flickered over her face and settled on her lips.
But even though he didn’t seem inclined to explain why he was hesitating, she
felt close to him, closer than ever before. He seemed so vulnerable, such an
improbable mix of hard masculine strength and tentative tenderness, that she
couldn’t help but respond to him.
Still, no kiss.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” The whispered words surprised her.
What a bold thing to say.
“Yes. You’ll let me know when you’re not so scared anymore. Then
I’ll kiss you.”
“How can you be so patient with me?” It was all too much, the way
he held back and reached for her all at the same time.
“Sarah, I’m watching you bloom right before my eyes. You’re
changing almost hour by hour. I know how hard this all must be for you, after
everything you’ve been through this past year. When you’re not so scared
anymore, when you’re feeling a little more settled and safe, you’ll find me
right here, aching to hold you, waiting to kiss you.”
But that wasn’t quite true. Soon she would be back in Chicago, and
he would be drifting on the water without so much as a cell phone signal to
link him to her. “You can’t wait too long. I’m only here until next week.”
He brushed his thumb over her lip. She melted a little under his
touch, but her hands clung to his strong shoulders and helped her stay upright.
“I don’t want you to do anything that frightens you.” His lips
were closer to hers now, and his arm tightened around her waist.
“Everything frightens me. I have to do it anyway. Kiss me,
Duncan.”
He groaned. “Ah, Sarah, what you do to me.”
His lips drew closer. She felt the light tickle of his breath
before his lips brushed hers. What a rush. This powerful, strong, tall man was
being so tender with her. It made her feel like the most cherished, feminine woman,
someone to adore and protect, even when her feet were covered in blisters and
her hair was scrambled from the highland wind. He made her feel beautiful.
Desired. And aching for more.
His lips eased away from hers, and it was all she could do not to
grab his head and pull him closer. She wanted to feel his arms crush her to his
chest and his lips savaging hers. She wanted that passion unleashed.
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