Desiring the Highlander by Michele Sinclair Page A

talent that never failed in gaining admiration. She may not be able to find food, but very few could match her skills once it was caught.
    Unfortunately, there was one flaw in her strategy. Her. It was not only Jaime’s and Donald’s trust she needed to gain. It was Cole’s. And to get it, she would have to become vulnerable. The problem was, when it came to Cole McTiernay—she already was.
    Nothing about him truly bothered her…and that bothered her the most.
    His shoulder-length hair had once again been pulled back into a ponytail. He had not shaved this morning, which made his facial features appear more rugged and more what one would expect when conjuring the image of a warrior. With every breath, she inhaled the scent of wood smoke and leather that clung to his skin and envisioned herself being able to touch him, feel him, and know just what it was like to be held by a man.
    “Elle.”
    Cole’s name for her was deep and soft, sending shivers down her spine. She almost thought she imagined hearing him when he spoke again.
    “Elle, stop it.”
    Immediately, her slumped back went rigid. How could she have been so stupid? Her mind had been totally consumed on him that she had not realized the slackened state of her body. She had been seconds away from sliding into his lap when he made her aware of what was happening.
    Ellenor licked her lips. “Stop what?”
    “Stop pretending that pommel is comfortable and sit back and relax. You’re making Steud nervous.”
    “Oh, really?” Ellenor quipped. “I find that highly unli—”
    Without warning, a large arm wrapped itself around her waist and pulled her back. The warmth from Cole’s chest and legs seeped into her skin. Despite her best efforts not to, she relaxed against his body.
    “Aye, really,” Cole chuckled.
    Watching her discomfort these past few hours had been difficult. At first, he was glad she was trying to keep the distance between them, but he had changed his mind as she silently endured what had to be a painful ride. He had reacted on instinct and told himself he would have done so for any woman.
    And maybe he would have, but he hadn’t been this close to a female in longer than he cared to remember, and he doubted if there was another woman in the world who could have made his pulse race the way Ellenor Howell did. It was like thunder in his veins.
    Cuddled against him, her body seemed to mold itself perfectly to his frame. Her cheek was nestled intimately in the hollow of his shirt, and the heat surging between them set his teeth on edge. His loins tightened, and any moment, she would know just how much she was affecting him.
    “Ha. I have no doubt you selected a horse that is just like you,” Ellenor scoffed, but she didn’t move. She was finally where she had wanted to be all day. In his arms.
    “And just how am I?” Cole asked, barely successful at keeping a moan from escaping. Something in her bag had to smell of lavender, for whiffs of the clean chemise she had donned this morning was driving him slightly insane.
    Ellenor drew in a breath and then answered, “Impervious to nervousness.”
    It was only a partial truth. She wanted to say unlike any man I have ever met .
    Cole possessed a hard and potentially ruthless element in him that made anyone nearby wary and on edge. Ellenor suspected he often tried to enhance the effect with a scowl. She had known him less than two days, but already his glowers seemed commonplace and easy to ignore. What was harder to overlook was the side of him that he kept hidden away. She had only gotten glimpses to his gentility, and each time, there, nestled in the act of kindness, was a sadness to him. It pulled at her heart. Whoever had hurt this Highlander had done so deeply. Worse, she knew whoever was behind the pain had been English. All men could be cruel, but she had witnessed firsthand just how unfeeling her own people could be.
    Cole shifted his mount to the left without warning to dodge a hidden