Chapter One

Scotland 1823

Broc Wallace leaned on the saddle horn, watching the intriguing lady fly recklessly across the open field on her horse. Her hair coming loose from the pins previously holding it and streaming out behind her, his heart caught in his throat. Afraid for her safety, he set his black stallion after the woman. Hooves pounding on the ground, he raced after her, praying he could reach her before she fell off.

Gaining ground and finally coming abreast with her horse, he reached out and holding on to the reins brought the mare to an abrupt stop. The horse reared and the lady slid from the back of her mare, a satchel of papers and pencils flying into the air then spreading along the ground in wild disarray.

“Bloody hell!” she cried out. “What do you think you are doing?” She sat on her arse, staring at him as if he was a fool. Her aqua eyes blazed, simmering with anger or perhaps passion.

He slid off his horse, reaching her in a quick stride, ready to examine her for broken bones, “Are you alright, Miss?”

“Yes, but no help from you.” She pushed hair from her face, grimacing slightly as she tried to move. “I’ve lost my glasses.” She started crawling on hands and knees, seeming to search with her hands. “And my papers, they’re everywhere.”

Feet braced apart, his hands on his hips, “I rescued you,” he said indignantly yet somehow he couldn’t stop looking at her shapely rear as she searched the ground.

“If that’s a rescue then I wouldn’t like to see what would happen when you wanted to completely incapacitate someone. I’m perfectly capable of riding a horse without incident.” She continued to search the ground, mumbling words he couldn’t make out, her rear sticking higher into the air as she bent closer to the earth.

“What did you say you were looking for?” He got down on his hands and knees, now eyelevel with her. He needed to help her find whatever it was she lost, owing her something but he wasn’t quite sure what.

She glared at him, her cheek smudged with dirt, “My glasses. I lost my glasses and without them I don’t see too well.”

He chuckled despite his best efforts. She was incorrigible and at the same time possessed a sweetness about her he couldn’t deny. He found himself drawn to her. “Is this what you’re looking for?” He held up what appeared to be a pair of glasses. “Do you have a second pair? These don’t look to useable.”

She snatched them from him and sat back. “Thank you and yes I do.” Her voice was curt. “Now tell me why you thought I needed rescuing. Do you just assume that a woman galloping on a horse is out of her element?” But she didn’t seem to pay attention to him. She began to pick up the other debris and stuff the things into the satchel she’d been carrying. When everything was picked up and in their proper place, she grabbed the reins of her horse and walked toward the river.

Broc caught up with her, his hands stuffed in his pockets, wondering what she was going to do next and if he dared play a role. “You didn’t need rescuing? It certainly appeared your horse was racing uncontrolled.”

“You saw wrong. You should check your eyesight.” She puffed a breath of air, moving a strand of hair that lay across her face.

I’m not the one wearing glasses,” he told her, grinning.

“Perhaps you should be.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I know what I saw.”

“For your information I’m a very good horsewoman. I’ve never ever needed a man or anyone else to save me.” At the river she found a grassy spot. After spreading a blanket on the ground, she pulled out the papers she had recently packed away.

“You could have been hurt racing that way.” He continued, unwilling to accept the fact he might have been wrong about what he saw.

She hummed softly, ignoring him and sketching the scene in front of her, effectively overlooking him. The drawing developed as he watched, intently captivated by everything about her.

At a loss for anything to say, he continued to watch. Relaxing and stretching out on the blanket she spread for herself, he casually leaned on one elbow. The natural sounds of the river and the meadow encompassed the little scene.

“What’s your name?” she asked, suddenly breaking the silence and setting her pencil on the paper. She gazed at him then with those aqua blue eyes that captivated him, reminding him of the Mediterranean Sea at its bluest. He wanted to see inside her soul.

“You tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.” He wasn’t sure why he challenged her, but he needed to see her reaction. She looked somehow familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen her before.

She shrugged her delicately slim shoulders. “Bliss.” She shot him a quick smile before her attention focused on the sketch again. Pencil in hand she appeared not to have a care in the world. Yet somehow he knew that wasn’t true about her.

“Bliss? Bliss what?” He pressed her for an answer, wanting to reach out and smooth the escaped strands of hair from her face. He needed to feel its texture and see if it was as silken as it looked.

“Just Bliss,” she said, her voice soft and it seemed that was all she meant to say.

“I see.” Two could play this game. “Broc. Just Broc,” he told her, reaching for a piece of grass to stick between his teeth. Despite his best efforts to appear relaxed, his body tensed. His reaction to this lady was unusual and put him at unease.

“Nice name.” Bliss continued to draw, seeming to pretend he wasn’t sitting so close to her he could reach out and touch her.

“What are you going to do with the sketches?” He wanted to thumb through them, all of them but didn’t think she’d go that far to give her approval of the invasion of her privacy.

“I turn them into paintings, oil or water color then I sell them in town.” She set the pencil down. “I earn my living that way.”

“Don’t stop on my account, and why would a young lady such as yourself have to pay their own way in this world? Surely there is a man…” He started to reach out and touch her but caught himself, quickly withdrawing his hand.

“I’m done and you’re making me nervous.” She turned to stare at him. “Don’t want anything to do with men. At least not the ones my…”

“Sorry.” He couldn’t believe he apologized for watching her. “The ones your…” he cocked an eyebrow, daring her to continue. “Care to enlighten me.”

She laughed softly, “No, you’re not sorry and no, I don’t have any intention of telling you what I almost said. You’ve probably never been sorry for anything in your adult life.”

He liked the way her voice sounded when she laughed and she was right. He couldn’t think of a single time he apologized to someone and really meant the words. “In my defense, until now, I’ve never had anything to apologize for.”

“So, you believe you’re always right.”

“I didn’t say that.” Unable to resist any longer he picked up a strand of her hair, rubbing it between his fingers. “So soft, is the rest of you this soft?”

“Didn’t you?” she queried, pulling away from him. “You didn’t say the words but you talked around it enough for any intelligent person to come to the conclusion.”

It seemed she ignored his second question. “I was raised to be confident,” he answered, grinning and thoroughly enjoying the conversation. “What about you? Do you apologize if you know you’re wrong?”

She cleared her throat, continuing to draw. “Never wrong, just like you.”

“Are you through sketching?” he asked her, picking up the pad that was sitting on her lap. “May I?”

She nodded a few times, “Nothing too unusual about the sketches. That’s just what they are, simple drawings I mean to put on a canvas. That’s where they come alive.”

His breath caught when he ran across a sketch of him, riding on his horse. “You know who I am?”

Several times she was shaking her head as if she meant to say no. But, “Of you, I’ve seen you riding across this meadow before. And yes, I know who you are and who doesn’t know who you are?”

“You did these from memory?” He was impressed with her ability but was even more curious about who she really was. And there were more. She’d watched him chopping wood, half naked. The thought sent a wave of hot and very potent desire through him. He wanted to investigate further with her this seeming infatuation with him. Too soon, though, it was way too soon for her to understand what he craved from her.

“I’m good,” she told him, grinning as she said the words almost as if she meant to challenge him.

“You should never say things that aren’t true.” He closed the pad.

She started to protest his words he was sure, but he didn’t mean to give her a chance. “Hush.” He placed a finger on her lips, a bit presumptive, he knew, but once again he couldn’t seem to help himself, his blood suddenly pumping double time.

“You, my sweet Bliss, are very good, amazing even, particularly if you can sketch these from memory.”

“I’ve watched you cutting wood, too, over by the stables. Indeed, one day I…” she moistened her lips but stopped short of telling him what she was thinking.

“You watched me and I had no idea that was what you were doing, no comprehension you were even there.” He wasn’t sure where to go with this new knowledge. He would have to think about it for a while.

“Would you like to walk along the riverbank and discuss this a bit further? I need to stretch my legs.” He stood, holding a hand out to help her up. Her hand in his was a simple and non-intrusive step to her seduction, because he did want her in his arms and craved her in his bed.

She accepted the help, letting him enclose her small hand in his larger one, “A walk would be nice. I’m a bit restless.”

Broc didn’t want to let go of her hand, at least not until she made it clear she didn’t like this tiny advance. He was inexplicably drawn to her and hoped she wasn’t some debutant who would seek a commitment. He liked his freedom and didn’t mean to lose it anytime soon.

“Bliss,” he paused, “where do you live?” he asked, trying for a bit more information from her. The thought of a debutante seeking him out sent a wave of precaution through his head. But what would some random debutante be doing riding hell bent across a meadow on MacTavish land? A debutant would not have to earn a living.

“Why?” Her answer was curt.

“Just curious. It seems you know more about me than I do you. It’s only fair, don’t you think?”

“No, fairness has nothing to do with any of this. I barely know you,” she said. “I’m not going to give you my address. A lady needs an air of intrigue about her.”

“You know me well enough to watch me half naked chopping wood,” he told her, thinking he’d like to see her naked. Her dress hid her curves fairly well, but he could still tell quite a lot about her body. “I’m sure you know exactly where I live.”

“And you weren’t a wee bit bashful either. I also saw a beautiful woman ride to the stables. I saw you kiss her. When you were half naked. So,” she paused gazing at him, her eyes simmering, “I’m sure you don’t care if I saw your chest and rippling muscles.” With that said she looked away as if she didn’t want him to see her reaction. He was sure he saw more than she intended.

“Jealous?” Good lord but that was at least two months ago. His mistress paid him an unusual visit and he sent her away with the order to never come to his home again.

“Of course not,” she protested to quickly.

“The blush rising on your cheeks tells me you’re not speaking the truth. I think you should apologize or let me kiss you. Perhaps we should make a bet. Every time you lie you have to kiss me.”

“No, I wouldn’t like to make a bet like that with you. I’ve been told you’re a very bad man where it comes to women.”

“Who told you that?” He could only think of a few people who would say that about him, and it would be in jest or to warn a debutant away.

“Just heard it. Don’t remember where. Probably one day when I was in town to sell my paintings.” She smushed her lips together, squinting, her eyebrows drawn together as if she was thinking.

“Something doesn’t ring true.”

“Don’t know why you say that?”

“Back to my question, are you jealous? Should we find out if you like my kisses?” He grinned at her hesitancy, but the way her tongue swept across her lips told him she was thinking about telling him yes, or at least about a kiss.

“Probably not a good idea.” She backed away from him, but she didn’t take her hand from his. “A kiss. No something like that could lead to other things a lady shouldn’t do.”

“Other things? What do you know about other things?”

“Nothing really.”

He decided a bit more persuasion might be appropriate here. He traced gentle circles on her wrist with his thumb and he watched her eyes cross for a second. “Probably not, but what if kissing you is a very good idea? What then? You’d miss something you would enjoy.”

“Again, I barely know you. It’s not proper to kiss a man when you’ve only known him for a few minutes. One must wait…”

“Proper!” he roared then chuckling. “You are the least proper woman I’ve ever met. And we’ve known each other over an hour now, not a few minutes. So a kiss would certainly be proper.”

She pulled her hand from his. “I…” She walked away from him hurriedly, not really paying attention to where she was going. She stumbled but righted herself quickly.

In any case, he wasn’t sure how well she could see without her glasses and perhaps that was why she quit drawing with only one sketch completed.

“Bliss…”

She stopped and turned. “Perhaps I’m not proper, maybe I don’t want to be. But it doesn’t change the fact that you hurt my feelings when you made that statement.”

“That had not been my intention. I’m glad you’re being honest with me, at least about that. I like honesty in a woman. Don’t like to be blindsided by falsehoods.”

“So you say.” She started walking again.

A few rapid strides and he was beside her once more, walking step for step with her, wondering how far she meant to go. The horses were still tethered a ways back and the sky was darkening. He didn’t like the idea of a rainstorm catching them out in the open and unprotected.

“We should go back.” He set his hand on her shoulder, turning her slightly.

She stared at him then followed the direction of his gaze. “I suppose you’re right. It could rain.”

They reached the horses before any showers started, but a brilliant crack of lightning brightened the sky. Quickly, he set her on her horse. “My drawings.” She reached out seemingly intent on dismounting.

“I’ll get them. Head for the stables at my place. We might make it that far before the storm hits. Would rather not get a drenching.” Yet if they were soaked through to the skin, he could think of some delightful possibilities, all included being naked with her.

She had turned her horse, seeming to head in the opposite direction then she nodded to him. He swept the items into his arms before mounting. Following her they raced the storm.

The tempest raged behind them. The little mare she rode seemed to be a good sound horse. She kept the animal under control despite the noise and the lightening. He realized she was right. She was a damn good horsewoman, and this afternoon she had not needed saving.

He had no regrets.

Inside the stables, she slid from the horse, rubbing her down with a cloth she found. Seconds later hail pounded the top of the barn while wind howled around the eaves. Darkness seemed to enshroud the inside of the barn.

“It seems we just beat the tempest,” she told him, rubbing her arms and looking a bit forlorn and cold. “I would have never made it home.”

“You’re chilled.” He wrapped her in the blanket she’d spread on the grass earlier then he sifted through her sketchpad. “Everything seems to be in order.”

“I’m glad we had some place dry to go, but I’m not sure about getting home if this rain keeps up. I don’t like to ride in the dark by myself.”

“Are you asking me to accompany you home,” he asked, grinning, understanding he might just learn more about her than she’d been willing to tell him earlier this afternoon.

She bristled, her back stiffening. “I’ll have to think about it. I didn’t mean to say anything to you. I’m perfectly capable of doing things I don’t like if the situation demands it.”

“Makes sense to me. It’s settled then. A woman shouldn’t be out by herself in the dark. I would be remiss if I let you go by yourself.”

“Would you?” she asked, “Be remiss? I think you just want to learn what I didn’t want to tell you.”

“I can’t visit you and watch you paint when you’re not looking if I don’t know where your home is.” He chuckled at her look of chagrin.

She found a bale of hay and sat down, keeping the blanket wrapped tightly around her and shivering uncontrollably. She didn’t say anything but he heard a heavy sigh. For a few seconds she fiddled with the edge of the blanket.

“Why?” He sat down beside her, stilling her fingers by taking them into one hand and wrapping an arm around her.

“Why what?” She kept her face turned from him.

“Why indeed. What is it that you need to keep so secretive? The more you try to evade my questions it seems the more I want to know what you hide.” She was mysterious yet it seemed to him, she liked him, seemed to feel at ease with him, perhaps even wanted to divulge more about herself.

“It’s just that I like my privacy. You’re a man and you don’t have certain things to worry about. I don’t want to seem overeager or jealous or whatever men think about women. I’m not chasing you and have no intention of doing anything of the sort.”

He touched his lips to the back of her hand, wondering what it would be like to explore her mouth and if she would let him discover untold mysteries. But she thought of him as a bad man. He didn’t believe her story about hearing it on the streets, so where did those words come from?

“What is it you have to worry about?” he asked, turning her hand over and kissing her palm, his tongue making gentle forays across the tender flesh.

She shivered from his caress. “Well, right now I have to worry about a man seducing me,” she told him but she didn’t take her hand from his.

“Is that what I’m doing?” he grinned shamelessly. “Seducing you?” He brushed his lips on her neck.

“Perhaps. Not really sure what a seduction entails.”

“I believe it’s to lead astray.”

“Then you couldn’t be seducing me,” she said, her voice a thin whisper.

“Perhaps you’re enticing me to engage in a relationship with you.”

“Me enticing you?”

She let her head fall back, giving him better access to her neck. “I’m still not sure what it means.”

“Some more of this.” He brushed her hair from the back of her neck then kissed her gently, delighted by the tiny noise she made. “And more of this.” He explored her ear with his teeth and tongue.

Her breath caught in the back of her throat. “Should my heart race?” she asked and her voice broke on the words.

“If I’m doing it right.” He pulled the blanket from her shoulders before turning her and drawing her into his arms. What he craved and what he was going to do right now didn’t match even though she seemed more than willing. If he took his time with her, she would be his.

“Does this make you a bad man or does it take more than this?” Her breaths seemed to come sporadically while she spoke.

He paused a moment, wondering at her words once more. “No, just a man who wants to learn more about a very special lady.”

“I suppose seducing and enticing someone requires more than just a kiss on the back of the neck.” She touched his lips with a finger before running the tip across his mouth. “How much more?”

He groaned, wondering at her innocence. “You presume right and as to how much, that’s a discussion for another day.” The relationship was one he needed to pursue longer than one night. The way her body responded to the slightest touch gave him reason to smile, but he wanted this connection with her to last longer than a few enjoyable hours.

“What are you going to do now?” Her eyes were wide pools of liquid passion.

“After I kiss you, I’m going to see you home.” He wanted to undo all the buttons on her dress and… Bloody hell, but he needed to make love to her but tonight he wasn’t going to be a bad man. He was going to be a very good one.

“You’re going to kiss me?” she asked, her voice whispered across him.

“Nothing to be afraid of. I promise you’ll like it and beg for more,” he told her, running the back of his hand along her cheek. “Have you ever been kissed before?”

“Arrogant man.”

“Confident,” he told her, his hands on both sides of her face. “That’s it, get ready for me, let me see your tongue run along your lips, just like that.” He wanted to know if any man had ever kissed her but realized if she told him yes… Good god, but he felt jealousy rise to the forefront of his mind.

“My…me…” Her hands rested on his chest, her fingers winding into the fabric of his shirt.

“See, I am good. You can’t even talk you want me so much.” His lips molded on hers, his tongue searching for entrance. His body ached with a thrumming desire to be inside her. Soon he told himself but not too soon.

For a second he pulled away from her. Bliss’ eyes were closed, her fingers digging into his shoulders. He kissed her again, encompassing her mouth within his, probing inside with his tongue and playing with her then pulling away.

“Did you like my kiss?”

“Am I seduced?”

~ * ~

“Not even close, little minx. When I seduce you, you won’t have to ask. You’ll know, ah soon, my mysterious woman.”

His roar of laughter startled her, the kiss making her head spin and her heart beat crazily out of control.  She punched him in the chest, “Why are you laughing at me?”

“Hopefully, with you. I’m laughing with you.”

“I’m not laughing.” She turned from him, her back stiff, feeling a wave of inadequacy and innocence sweep through her. She needed to get away from this wonderful crazy man and his potent charm then sift through all that happened this afternoon. “The rain has stopped. I need to get home.”

“You don’t want to stay and let me coax another kiss from your sweet lips?” he chuckled, refastening some buttons that had inadvertently come undone on her dress.

She couldn’t recall when he unfastened her dress, or had she? “No.”

She had to get home or her brother would be out searching for her, but she couldn’t tell Broc about her brother or that she was a MacTavish. Broc and her brother were best friends and she knew personally neither one would ever marry, at least not until they found a need for an heir and that didn’t appear to by any time soon, at least not for her brother.

“Since I’m seeing you home you could stay a bit longer. We could explore some other avenues of your seduction or you could seduce me. You seducing me, leading me astray, I find that thought fascinating.”

“I have to get home, my…” She almost said her father. Her father was dead as was her mother. Flynt, her brother, was charged with taking care of her and her sisters and of finding them a husband.

“And where is home?” he asked, still seeming to probe for answers when she didn’t want to give any.

She inhaled long and deep searching for the courage to continue this lie, this necessary lie. “The whereabouts of my home is none of your business, but if you must know, I rent a small cottage nearby.” She didn’t want to bring up the name MacTavish or lead him to the estate where she grew up. If she did, he’d never see her again.

“You do?” he questioned. “How?”

“Painting money. Both my parents have passed on.” The tears at this memory filling her eyes were not a lie. They were very real. “I have to live somewhere and I have to earn an income. So…”

“I see.” But the expression on his face told her he wasn’t believing a word she said.

“You can take me to the cottage,” she told him, placing her hand on his. When he left her there, she would ride the rest of the way home by herself. It wasn’t far and she’d done so several times at night when time slipped by and she realized too late it was dark outside.

Truly, she didn’t think Flynt would miss her tonight. He rarely checked in on her or her sisters. He was just too busy with his affairs. Before she left to sketch this afternoon, he’d told her he was heading into Glasgow for a night of carousing. He didn’t say the word carousing but that was what she told herself he was doing. He was going there to be a bad man or bad boy as he and his friends called themselves. The only difference this time was that Broc wasn’t with him. He was with her being bad. Well not really so bad, probably not what he anticipated when he kissed her.

“I would like to see where you live and to make sure you’re safely inside before I leave for home.” He brought her horse to her and helped her up then mounted his stallion.

The tempest that passed through the area left a trail of broken branches and debris on the ground. The ride was slow in the dark of the night. Despite her fear at Broc seeing where she lived, Bliss was happy to have him by her side and even more pleased to see the tiny cottage in front of them.

“Is this it?” he asked, pointing to the cottage she called her studio. “You even have a small barn.” He turned his horse in that direction.

“You’re not staying,” she told him, eyeing him critically. “Told you, you could take me here not follow me into the house.”

“No, of course not.” He grinned at her, “But a gentleman would never leave a lady to groom her horse and he would never leave without checking inside to make sure no one was inside the home.”

She caught the retort in the back of her throat. “Another something I’m quite capable of, grooming my horse.” He caught her reins, stopping her mare.

“Then come with me and I’ll watch before I accompany you inside the house and make sure everything is safe.” It seemed he wasn’t going to get caught up in the game she was trying hard to play just to keep her emotions from showing.

“I’m not going to change your mind, am I?” she sighed, resigned now to letting him do just about anything he wanted. He would have an argument for everything just to get his way.

“Nope.” He dismounted, leading the horses inside the stable. He reached up to help her down.

Shaking her head several times, she allowed him his gentlemanly gesture, “Something else I can do by myself. Could get off a horse before I was five.” She had to admit to herself she liked the feel of his hands on her waist and the unsolicited attention he lavished on her. She’d never been treated so well.

“I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I left you to your own devices. Now you spoke of taking care of your horse.” He stood back, his arms crossed. “I’m going to water and feed mine too.”

He allowed her to do as she asked and when they finished with the horses, he held out an arm to escort her.

At the door he stopped, “It’s not locked?”

She looked at him surprised, “I never lock the door.”

“Something we need to discuss,” he told her, a sudden darkness covering his face, his brows drawn tightly together.

“Whatever are you talking about now?” This time she was truly baffled with his comment.

“An unlocked door? You’re far too trusting.” He stepped aside so she could enter the room. “What if someone let themselves in while you were gone?”

“Perhaps,” she agreed with him, but she didn’t mean to tell him he was right. If she actually lived here, she would keep it locked. As it was there was nothing here to steal except her painting supplies. Besides the door didn’t have a lock, so what could he expect?

Following her, he stepped inside. He paused for a moment, searching the room, seeming to absorb the absence of everything that would make it livable and come to some conclusion. Then, running a finger along a shelf, he looked at her, a wide grin on his face as if he found something amusing.

“Not much of a housekeeper, are you?”

She stiffened, wishing she had protested his entry into what she was pretending to be her home. “Never said I was. I’ve more important things to do than clean house.” She set the satchel carrying her sketches on a table. Her discomfort grew with each second. He would see through her ruse, figure out who she was and leave.

She would never see him again.

“I see supplies but no paintings.” He investigated the living room before making his way to kitchen.

“I was in town yesterday with all of them. Sold them all so I could pay my bills,” she called after him, watching his departing back.

She stayed put, listening to the cupboard doors as one by one he opened and closed them. His footsteps on the kitchen floor thundered in her ears. Inhaling a long deep breath, she paused, hands clasped in front of her, waiting for his assessment.

Broc stepped out of the kitchen, a bottle of brandy and two crystal glasses in hand, “Not a bite to eat and nothing to cook with but you’ve got something to imbibe on a cold night, or hot one. Care to have a brandy with me.”

“What does that matter?” Why she asked that question, she had no idea. She didn’t want to hear his evaluation.

He shrugged broad masculine shoulders, “One has to eat. Would you like a drink?”

She didn’t answer, instead she fidgeted with the satchel and the sketches within. Before she could say no, he had poured her a drink and was handing it to her. He sat down in an overstuffed chair, dust flying. He coughed then sneezed, brushing imaginary or perhaps real dust particles from his jacket.

“I’m going to send over a housecleaner tomorrow.” He sipped the drink, staring at her. “Could clean and tidy up this room before the morning passes.”

“No.” She bristled, displeased with the fact he was beginning to assume rights he didn’t have. “No, you’re not.”

He smiled and sipped, looking more relaxed than anyone should. She knew her no meant nothing to him. He would do as he pleased when he pleased. He was just like her brother. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I won’t let a housecleaner inside.” She protested adamantly; her hands fisted at her side. “You can’t take over my life. We barely know each other.”

“Won’t be much trouble with an unlocked door. I just want to make your life easier, give you more time to paint.” Nonchalantly, he rose from the chair, once again walking around the room, picking up things and tracing more dust lines on the furniture.

“A lock will be on tomorrow. I promise.” Exhausted from the exchange, she sat down, the glass of brandy in her hand a tempting diversion from this complication she brought home with her and could not get rid of. Well, she didn’t want him to come into the cottage for this very reason.

“Not by the morning.”

She wanted to throw the glass at him even while she wanted him to kiss her again. The lies of omission seemed to grow too rapidly for her to explain anything away. Not that she should have to clarify what she did and didn’t do to him. If he’d just act the way she expected of and wanted, everything would be fine right now and she’d be on her way home.

“Drink your brandy. At least it will be something in your stomach and it will help you relax. Your shoulders are rigid and that can’t be comfortable.” His voice sounded harsh for a moment. Then he grinned, showing perfect white teeth. “I could give you a massage.”

She wished he would go home. She did sip the brandy though, and the potent liquid pooled in her stomach like a brick. “Don’t you think you should leave?”

“Too many questions,” he told her, stepping through another door into the smaller bedroom as if he owned the cottage.

Bliss didn’t know why her heart raced and her hands shook. At this moment Broc was nothing to her. Just a kiss in the stables, just someone she’d like to spend time with and perhaps kiss again. Having heard enough of her brother’s stories, she understood this man would never have a meaningful relationship with her. Would never ask her to become his wife. And yet…

“I’m not giving you any answers.” She turned away as he walked into the second bedroom.

“Ah a bed, so you sleep.” He set his brandy on a side table and plopped on the bed, crossing his long legs that were stretched out in front of him. He patted the space beside him, “Care to join me?”

Bloody eyes, but she’d like to know what he was thinking. “No.”

“I could easily convince you otherwise.”

“Let’s move on to the discussion about your departure.” She couldn’t help herself. She walked into the bedroom, needing to see him and his expressions to help her understand what might be in his head.

“Not leaving until I have answers and I know you’ll be safe at least until morning.” He patted the bed beside him again, his grin still broad as if he thought she would do his bidding.

She inhaled several short rapid breaths of air, her body quivering and unable to think of anything to say. “I’ll be safe.” Stupid man. As soon as he left, she meant to ride to Deepwood, the MacTavish estate. It didn’t seem he meant to depart anytime soon.

“Join me.” He made circles with his hand on the spot next to him. “While the bed is clean, which does surprise me given the condition of the rest of your home, it’s not comfortable. Too many lumps.”

“It wasn’t meant for your comfort.” Yet she walked to the other side of the bed and sat down next to him with her back against the headboard.

“You shouldn’t have a bed unless it’s comfortable to everyone who is going to sleep in it.” He placed her hand in his, bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss.

He was incorrigible. “Broc, no.” She tugged it back, afraid of what might come later if she allowed him to many liberties, understanding his reputation.

He shrugged. “You liked your hand in mine only an hour ago. You also liked the kiss. Me thinks you protest too much, mo mhilse, my sweet.”

She turned to face him, her legs curled around her. “What are you really doing here?”

“I’ve been more upfront with you than you’ve been with me. You’re not telling me something and I’d like the truth. In fact, I don’t believe anything you’ve told me today is true except perhaps your name.”

She gritted her teeth together, frustrated and confused. “Those are truths I’m not comfortable in giving you. Can’t you just forget about what I haven’t told you? We’ll probably never see each other again, and…”

“We will see each other,” gazing at her, “again and again, until we tire of each other.”

“You won’t give up and neither will I.” She liked the part of seeing him again and the promise the words held but not the part of until they tired of each other.

“All the evidence, except this bed, point to the fact you don’t live here. I’m suspecting that as soon as I leave, you’re going to hightail it home, wherever that is.”

She felt the color drain from her face and after she looked away, he touched her chin with a finger, effectively turning her so she had no choice but to look at him.

“I’m not going to another home because I don’t have one.” She persisted in her story, intending to beat him at this game he was playing of truth and lies. Perhaps omission was a better term than lies. He was waiting for her to slip up which she wasn’t going to do. The dratted man couldn’t take no for an answer or an answer to a question either for that matter.

“You’re very beautiful but there’s a haunting look in your eyes. You don’t lie easily. In fact, I think you have very little experience in subterfuge.” He stopped for a moment, gazing into her eyes. “There is something so familiar about you, but I can’t figure it out. I will though.”

“I don’t know what that could be.” She tugged her hand away then walking from the room and to the front door, “It’s time you left.” Hands clasped in front of her, she stood beside the door.

“We are at an impasse then. I’ll just make myself comfortable. It would be nice if you had some food in the cupboard. My stomach is rumbling.” He shirked out of his waistcoat before loosening his cravat.

“What are you doing?” She was inside the bedroom again, watching as he pulled off his Hessians.

“Getting comfortable as I said I intended.” He crossed his feet again as he settled back on the bed.

“You can’t do that.”

“Bliss, really, pacing will do you no good while the truth will exonerate you and I’ll leave for my home. Although as the hour grows later, I believe I would prefer to remain here. I don’t relish a cross-country ride in the darkness of the night. I believe you’ve waited too long.”

Bliss walked back to the sitting room and poured herself more brandy. Talking to him would do no good. She pulled a pillow from another couch and found a blanket back in the main bedroom.

“What are you doing?” he asked her, his voice deep and gruff. “You can’t sleep out there on a chair.” The command in his voice was evident.

“I’m not going to bed with you,” she told him, angry with him, angry with herself and the situation she got herself into. Thinking if she could turn back time, she would have made different decisions.

“But you’re bedding down out here.” He hovered above her. “I’d never keep a lady from her bed.”

Sometime in the last few seconds he’d removed his shirt and his pants were unfastened. She inhaled a swift deep breath of air. “You’re naked.”

“You’ve seen me without a shirt.”

“Not this close,” she told him, her voice a squeak. Reaching out to touch him then realizing what she was doing she pulled her hand back as if she burned it. Despite the real and powerful draw to him, which she felt, that action was not well done of her if she wanted to dissuade him. She understood from listening to Flynt what bad boys were like.

He was grinning, clearly enjoying her impulsive actions. “You can touch me any time you like.”

“No.”

“Don’t trust yourself with my body? Afraid I might find a way to get you on your very own bed and have my wicked way with you? I won’t, you know. Not unless you tell me how much you want me.”

She pulled the blanket over her then punching the pillow, she tried to get comfortable. Before she could close her eyes, she was in his arms and she found herself on the bed with him beside her, closer than she’d ever been with a man, a very nearly naked man.

“Bliss, truly I’m not trying to give you a bad time and I’m not going to ravish you unless you ask.” He brushed hair from her face, his lips so close she could almost feel them against hers.

“Kiss me,” she told him, her voice quivering but she meant to say don’t, simply because she was afraid of her feelings. The palm of her hand rested against his chest, touching him. “Please Broc, I… You need to go home.”

“Why, Bliss? You didn’t mind my kiss before and you just asked me to kiss you.” He persisted, his breath ruffling across her face.

“Meant to say don’t. But no, you’re right. I liked your kiss but now… Not when you’re on a bed with me and it doesn’t seem you’re going anywhere.” She trembled, wishing for one thing but her mind telling her something else entirely.

“Tonight at least I’m staying with you, just for your safety.”

“If you go home, nothing will happen to me. I promise.” Her fingers dug into his shoulder and she pushed against him, but this time it wasn’t to push him away. It seemed she was pulling him closer.

“I’m going to make sure nothing untoward occurs here tonight. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if anything happened to you because I was careless.” He kissed her cheek, the line of her jaw then.

“Broc, please. This is all happening to fast.” Even though I want that kiss and another one after that. “I’m not your whore.”

“Never.” But he pulled away as if she slapped him. “I realize I’ve overstepped some bounds. But I’ve never in the few short hours I’ve known you have I thought of you as a whore. And there is something about you Bliss. I want you.”

“I won’t be your mistress either.”

“No, I don’t suppose you will. I have a mistress.”

~ * ~

Flynt sat back in his chair. A barmaid brought him and his companion, Cam, a second pint.

“Where’s Broc?” Cam asked.

“Must be with his mistress,” Flynt said, having wondered that same question several times in the last two hours. It wasn’t like his best friend to miss this one night out every week. The five of them had a pact. This night was sacred to their friendship and their dedication to stay single. No simpering, music playing and ball-dancing debutantes for them.

“Nope, not there,” Donal said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. “Rode by the house on my way here, and his horse wasn’t tied up at the hitching post.”

“Where the blazes do you think he is?” Flynt asked. He was leaning back, watching the barmaids as they plied their wares. No one here bedded any of these women. Didn’t want to take the risk of the pox.

“Told me he was going for a ride. Was looking for something he’d seen another day,” Cam said.

“Sounds like a riddle to me,” Flynt added with a frown. But something niggled in the back of his head. Something his sister Bliss had said, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of it.

“When are you going to present your oldest sister? Isn’t it time for her to have a season?” Donal asked. “You’ve got to do your duty by your sisters or they’re going to be living in your home until they’re old and gray. Doubt if you want anything like that. Could get in the way of other endeavors.”

“Stuck on the shelf, so to speak,” Cam added with a hearty chuckle.

Flynt ran his fingers through his hair, knowing he left it in a disheveled mess. “She doesn’t want a season. Says they are ridiculous.”

“Then she’s going to stay a spinster?” Leslie asked. “Don’t know her well but I doubt if she’s meant to be celibate for the rest of her life.”

“Bliss doesn’t care about any of that. I’ve presented several men to her. In fact, there’s one coming to call on her in two days. She doesn’t like any of them. Finds something wrong every time.” Flynt knew exactly why she didn’t like them, but bloody hell, she needed someone who would stay true to her. Not someone like him or his friends, acknowledged bad boys. Men who, in time, would break her heart.

“And who pray tell have you sent her?” Leslie asked, laughing hard. “Not one of those bookish men who sit and read all day. Those types are really too boring for any of your sisters, and they would never succeed in making them happy. You are going to have to go beyond what you want and think about what your sister and later on sisters will want.”

Flynt rambled off a list of the eligible suitors he sent her way. “She says she could never go to bed with any of them.”

“Why is that?”

“It seems there have been a few evenings we’ve not been discreet in our carousing. She’s seen more than one of us without our shirts on and as my sister tells me, she’s not going to settle for anything less in a man.”

“You have power over her. Tell her who she has to wed and be done with at least one of your sisters,” Cam said dryly.

“Then you’ll have three left to find husbands for.”

“I can’t do that to her.” He was shaking his head, feeling the need to see Bliss happy. He had to do that for her, didn’t need to feel guilty for the rest of his life. It was just that someone like him, a known rake would not make her happy in the long run.

“Your heart is too soft.”

“Perhaps, but put yourself in her place and you will soften too. She doesn’t care about a title or money, she cares about the man, perhaps even what’s beneath the surface. I’ve got to say, I respect that sentiment too much to gainsay her or force her into a marriage where she’ll be miserable the rest of her life. Not really sure what I’m going to do.” Flynt gulped down the last of his drink.

“You could always let her find a man on her own,” Cam suggested, grinning. “That might prove interesting and amusing to watch.”

“That could be a complete disaster. She’s an innocent in the ways of men. What if she fell in love with a complete cad, someone like us who would break her heart and leave her pregnant?” Donal asked.

“Men like us are who Bliss is attracted to along with her sisters,” Flynt said, sipping the brew he just ordered and refusing to let his emotions get the better of him. “Never bargained on having to find husbands for three sisters.”

“Who’s left?”

“All of them after Bliss and I’ve accomplished nothing with her. Chelsea, Daryl and little Lacie are all in need of husbands.”

“You’ve got some time with Lacie and Daryl, though,” Leslie pointed out, his eyes alight with humor.

“A respite, just what I need but I doubt if they’ll be any easier. Mother and Father raised them to have a mind and think for themselves. They know what they want, and I’m sure they won’t settle either.”

“Focus back on Bliss. What does she enjoy?”

“Music,” Flynt began, “and painting.”

“Problem solved. Find some who appreciates the arts.”

“The men she would find suitable appreciate the art of seduction above all else,” Flynt said, tossing back the Guinness and motioning for another one before making a mental note to stop at his mistress’ home tonight for some much needed relief.