Her eyes flew to his then. “Must we?” she squeaked.
Despite himself, he smiled. Something in her reaction soothed him. As though her feelings mirrored his own. “I think so. I spend a great deal of time with your father.”
She huffed a little. “That is a fair point.” Her hands twisted together. “I shoul
d like to apologize then. I don’t know what came over me and, honestly, I won’t try to do it again.”
His smile broadened. For some reason, her response was both amusing and heartwarming. It was nothing like the last time he’d attempted intimacy. She was flustered and embarrassed with her own behavior. “Fair enough.”
Her brow crinkled further. “Ye need to stop smiling like that. It’s making this all the more difficult.”
“Like what?” he asked, even more curious.
“With all that…charm.” She waved her hand up toward his face. “It’s distracting.”
He couldn’t help it. It only made him smile wider. It pulled at his cheeks, almost hurting his face. “No one has ever, in my entire life, referred to me as charming.”
Her mouth hung open and her eyes widened. “No one? Really? I am likely going about this all wrong. I must confess that I’ve never had a suitor.” She stopped making a choking sound. “Not that you’re a suitor. But I’ve never kissed anyone and I am making a dreadful mess of this.”
That made him pause. “Never?” He stepped a little closer then. “Has anyone ever kissed you?”
“You,” she whispered so softly that he almost didn’t hear it and he was a hair’s breadth away from her. He didn’t say a word as the wind whistled about them. He searched her face for any amount of deception, but all he could find was fear and honesty.
Taking her chin between his thumb and his forefinger, he looked down at her, leaning so close their mouths practically touched. “Marry me, lass.”
If he’d thought her eyes wide before, they took up half her face now. “What?” she squeaked. “It was only one kiss.” He felt her swallow, her muscles in her throat working. “I couldn’t possibly. We don’t even know each other. I—”
He silenced her protests with a kiss. He was not a man plagued by indecision. Decisive action was one of his greatest assets and he’d made a decision just now.
His lips moved over hers and she remained motionless at first but then, she began to respond, tentatively meeting his gentle movements. The rest of his body remained still, not wanting to overwhelm or frighten her. As their lips moved together and he gently opened hers to sweep his tongue along her bottom lip. She moaned as she pressed her body into his. When her hands came to his chest and then slid up around his neck, he deepened the kiss further by sweeping his tongue against hers.
She shuddered even as she pressed closer. He’d kept his other hand at his side, trying to give her room to escape if she chose. But his will, that he’d always considered unbreakable, began to bend and he found that hand resting in the small of her back, pressing them together. When she moaned into his lips he nearly came undone. The urge to carry her off and make love to her nearly broke his control.
He ripped his lips away. He started to step back but she swayed on her feet. So he stayed, holding her as her gaze slowly came back into focus. His own breathing was ragged and he tried to calm his racing heart and his suddenly wayward will.
“Tell me you’ll consider it,” he finally said.
“What?” She gazed up at him, her eyes clouding again.
“My marriage proposal,” he growled.
She blinked several times. “You were serious?”
He did step back then. “I was.”
But rather than looking abandoned or upset, she gave him a glowing smile. “There’s the scowl. I hardly recognized you without it.”
Had she gone completely daft? “Is that yer way of saying no?”
Chapter Seven
He’d gone mad. That was the only explanation for why Stone had proposed. She tried to formulate an answer. “I’m not sure we’re even a good match.”
“I’ve already decided that we are.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his voice low and deep.
She looked out over the water. How did she say, I’m not sure how I feel about you. “Yes, but still.” Her hands smoothed down her skirts. “We’re both in mourning and we’ve only just met.”
He gave a grunt. In any other man it would have been unattractive but somehow, with him, it only made her want to be closer. “I suppose you’re right,” he said. “So what do ye suggest?”