The Lover

He returned her gaze intently, the fire in his heart reflected in his eyes. “I vow with every breath I take, with every beat of my heart, there will be no other lovers between us. I cannot change my wicked past, Sabrina. I can only promise you the future. I pledge you my oath, I am yours and yours alone.”

Fraught as she had been with doubts, his declaration was a healing balm to her heart. Willingly, she moved into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Does this mean,” Niall murmured into her hair some quiet moments later, “that you will return with me to the Highlands as my beloved bride?”

“Yes. If you truly wish it.”

He made a sound of disbelief. “Sabrina…” he said warningly.

Tightening his embrace, he found her mouth and kissed her with fierce passion and matchless tenderness. Sabrina moaned deep in her throat, a cry of helpless surrender and need.

“Niall,” she whispered when at last he raised his head, “I want you…”

He shuddered, resting his forehead on hers. “I made a vow, you’ll recall.”

She nodded, remembering his pledge not to return to her bed until she invited him. “Please…will you make love to me?”

When he drew back, his smile was tender, magical, impossible to resist. “I am your willing servant, my sweet.”

Grasping her hand, he led Sabrina across the terrace and into the ballroom, startling the nearby guests. Purposefully he pulled her after him, forging a path through the dancers and curious onlookers.

“Niall…” Sabrina murmured breathlessly as he headed for the stairs, “you will cause a scandal with such haste.”

“Does it matter, mouse?”

“Well…no…I suppose not.”

When he reached the front entrance, he called for their carriage and her cloak.

“Where are you taking me?” Sabrina asked.

“To your stepfather’s home, where we may be private.”

After a few moments of waiting, Niall handed her inside the carriage and directed the coachman to return to Cameron House. Joining her inside then, he immediately gathered Sabrina in his arms.

“This is scandalous,” she murmured in the darkness. “Everyone will know what we are about.”

She felt Niall smile against her hair. “’Tis no more than is expected of the darling of Edinburgh. The world admires a bold lover. And with so alluring a lass as my companion, I’ll be the envy of every male in the company.”

No, she was the one to be envied, Sabrina thought. She shook her head. She still found it hard to believe that such a splendid man could be in love with her. What had she done to deserve her good fortune? Against all odds she had discovered a passion as savage as the wild Highland hills.

As if he could read her heart, Niall tightened his embrace. “Sweet, priceless, Sabrina…How could you doubt what I feel for you? My pursuit of you this past week has been nothing short of remarkable.” He laughed in genuine amusement. “The entire multitude of Edinburgh is aware of my devotion. You were the only one blind to it.”

Suddenly shy, she buried her face in his shoulder. “How could I trust your methods? For all I knew, you were set on making me a byword so that I would capitulate to avoid a scandal.”

“The scandal will die down once we return to the Highlands.”

Sabrina found herself smiling wryly. “Until the next incident. You attract notoriety naturally.” She sighed. “Just as you attract women. I expect I will have to accustom myself to dealing with all your former love interests.”

“You have nothing to fear from them, sweeting.”

“There will always be countless beauties pursuing you.”

“Since I want only your lovely self, it makes no matter. I mean to save all my carnal attentions for you and only you. In truth, I intend to spend the rest of our lives persuading you that you’re the only woman I want. The only one I will ever love. ’Tis you who command my heart. We were born for each other, Sabrina.”

He put a finger beneath her chin, searching her face in the shadows. “Thank God for your grandfather’s machinations,” he whispered before his lips found hers.

“Oh, Niall…” she murmured—the last coherent words she spoke for a long while.