he going to tell Trevor what he'd done? The way he'd kissed her and she had kissed back? Why? For what possible purpose? To hurt her?
"That all it takes is a little brute force to change you from a frigid wildcat to a sex kitten," Rans mocked.
Scarlet stained her cheeks as waves of unbearable heat swept through her. Swiftly Lara rolled from beneath him, sitting up with her legs curled beneath her in the hay, her back turned to him, her head bent in almost unendurable shame.
"That's not true," she protested in a choked voice. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of her blouse, fastening only two when the hay rustled beside her.
"Isn't it?" Rans turned her partially around, his hand sliding under her blouse onto her ribs. "Shall I prove it?"
Her head remained downcast, the fiery curtain of her hair concealing her expression from his probing gaze. Tears of shame burned her eyes as Lara silently acknowledged the power Rans seemed to have over her flesh. Even if she struggled, she knew she would be ultimately overpowered by the potent force of his masculinity.
In her heart she knew it would only be a token struggle. The rapture she had felt at his caress was still too fresh in her mind. There was no need for him to prove her susceptibility to his lovemaking.
"Don't." A trembling whisper as weak and shaky as her limbs from the desire he had awakened. "Please," she added, asking for his mercy.
Her heart hammered wildly as he withdrew his hand from her bare skin, then crooked a forefinger under he chin to raise it. White teeth were holding her quivering lower lip still. At his continued lack of movement and silence, Lara lifted her lashes to gaze imploringly at him. One crystal teardrop hovered on the tip of a lash.
The unreadable depths of his brown eyes held her attention while a finger touched the lash holding the tear. It slipped onto his fingers.
"You wanted to make love to me, didn't you?" Rans stated, his chiseled expression revealing nothing, not even the effects of the lust-filled moments they had shared.
"Yes. Yes. Yes!" Her voice rising in a crescendo of hurt and humiliation, ending with a cymbal crashing, "I hate you!"
He seemed to find her vehemence amusing. He studied the movement of his thumb as it rubbed the wetness of her tear on his finger. With animal litheness, he rolled to his feet, towering above her while Lara glared at him, her head thrown back proudly.
"Poor Mrs. Cochran," he said with cutting laughter in his voice. "You are human, after all."
Her eyes filled with tears, as if somewhere a dam had burst. Blinded by the flood, Lara didn't see Rans leave. She only heard the closing of the stable door. Salty tears ran down her cheeks, their briny taste coating her lips.
It was nearly half an hour before she had sufficient control of herself to sneak back into the house. In the privacy of her room it started all over again. She had once sworn that she would never let a man hurt her again, but she had never expected to meet anyone like Rans MacQuade.
The next morning Lara had to force herself to go downstairs to join her father and Trevor at the breakfast table. She was certain they would notice the change in her. The shell that had protected her was gone. She was a vulnerable woman again. Neither of them—and not even Sara, who knew her so well — appeared to see any difference in her. She felt temporarily safe for a little while longer.
But the moment she dreaded most of all had not yet occurred. She still had to meet Rans face to face. The more days that went by without it happening, the more she dreaded the confrontation. Would pride keep her composed or would she dissolve like a bowl of gelatin at the sight of him, remembering the way she had humiliated herself in his arms?
When the moment came, Lara still wasn't prepared for it. She and Sara had finished the evening dishes and Lara was on her way to her room, intending to hide there behind the pages of a book. As she crossed the entry hall
"That all it takes is a little brute force to change you from a frigid wildcat to a sex kitten," Rans mocked.
Scarlet stained her cheeks as waves of unbearable heat swept through her. Swiftly Lara rolled from beneath him, sitting up with her legs curled beneath her in the hay, her back turned to him, her head bent in almost unendurable shame.
"That's not true," she protested in a choked voice. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of her blouse, fastening only two when the hay rustled beside her.
"Isn't it?" Rans turned her partially around, his hand sliding under her blouse onto her ribs. "Shall I prove it?"
Her head remained downcast, the fiery curtain of her hair concealing her expression from his probing gaze. Tears of shame burned her eyes as Lara silently acknowledged the power Rans seemed to have over her flesh. Even if she struggled, she knew she would be ultimately overpowered by the potent force of his masculinity.
In her heart she knew it would only be a token struggle. The rapture she had felt at his caress was still too fresh in her mind. There was no need for him to prove her susceptibility to his lovemaking.
"Don't." A trembling whisper as weak and shaky as her limbs from the desire he had awakened. "Please," she added, asking for his mercy.
Her heart hammered wildly as he withdrew his hand from her bare skin, then crooked a forefinger under he chin to raise it. White teeth were holding her quivering lower lip still. At his continued lack of movement and silence, Lara lifted her lashes to gaze imploringly at him. One crystal teardrop hovered on the tip of a lash.
The unreadable depths of his brown eyes held her attention while a finger touched the lash holding the tear. It slipped onto his fingers.
"You wanted to make love to me, didn't you?" Rans stated, his chiseled expression revealing nothing, not even the effects of the lust-filled moments they had shared.
"Yes. Yes. Yes!" Her voice rising in a crescendo of hurt and humiliation, ending with a cymbal crashing, "I hate you!"
He seemed to find her vehemence amusing. He studied the movement of his thumb as it rubbed the wetness of her tear on his finger. With animal litheness, he rolled to his feet, towering above her while Lara glared at him, her head thrown back proudly.
"Poor Mrs. Cochran," he said with cutting laughter in his voice. "You are human, after all."
Her eyes filled with tears, as if somewhere a dam had burst. Blinded by the flood, Lara didn't see Rans leave. She only heard the closing of the stable door. Salty tears ran down her cheeks, their briny taste coating her lips.
It was nearly half an hour before she had sufficient control of herself to sneak back into the house. In the privacy of her room it started all over again. She had once sworn that she would never let a man hurt her again, but she had never expected to meet anyone like Rans MacQuade.
The next morning Lara had to force herself to go downstairs to join her father and Trevor at the breakfast table. She was certain they would notice the change in her. The shell that had protected her was gone. She was a vulnerable woman again. Neither of them—and not even Sara, who knew her so well — appeared to see any difference in her. She felt temporarily safe for a little while longer.
But the moment she dreaded most of all had not yet occurred. She still had to meet Rans face to face. The more days that went by without it happening, the more she dreaded the confrontation. Would pride keep her composed or would she dissolve like a bowl of gelatin at the sight of him, remembering the way she had humiliated herself in his arms?
When the moment came, Lara still wasn't prepared for it. She and Sara had finished the evening dishes and Lara was on her way to her room, intending to hide there behind the pages of a book. As she crossed the entry hall
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