Highland Knight by Hannah Howell

blind, besotted type of loving. And I dinnae think all will be weel just because I love him .”
    “It should be. Love is a verra precious gift.”
    “Aye, and there is certainly joy in the feel of it swelling one’s heart and in the giving of it. Howbeit, giving it doesnae mean one will get it back. And, if one doesnae feel love, one cannae always see it as such a wondrous gift when given to them. I doubt that person can e’en recognize it though it be staring him right in the face.”
    “Men can be verra foolish creatures,” Gillyanne muttered as she shook her head. “I so wish ye to be happy.”
    “Oh, I will be, if only for a little while.” Avery shrugged. “And e’en if I cannae win his heart, there will still be a part of me which will be happy, for I will have held him for a wee while. Once the pain fades—and it will—the memories will be sweet.”
    Watching a frowning Cameron approach them, Gillyanne murmured, “Somehow the word sweet , e’en if ye only speak of the memory of him, just doesnae sit weel on that mon.”
    Avery shared a laugh with Gillyanne. When their amusement only made Cameron frown more darkly and watch them warily, she laughed a little more. She could not help but find some pleasure in the fact that such a large, strong man would find her and Gillyanne a threat, even if it was only to his peace of mind.
    She kissed Gillyanne on the cheek, watched her cousin walk away, and turned a bright, welcoming smile on Cameron. He could not fully hide his surprise and uncertainty. And this was only the beginning, she thought with an inner chuckle. Unless she weakened and Cameron somehow took the lead in the game they were about to play, she planned to make the poor man nearly dizzy with confusion. They would become lovers tonight, but Avery intended to take that step completely under her own power. Cameron might still try to claim a victory after tonight, but he was going to have to do some very twisted thinking to convince himself of it.

Chapter Eight
    She was plotting. Cameron was certain of it. There was a suspicious gleam in her eyes, and she was being far too sweet. Since there was no way she could escape now that they were in his tent and soon to bed down for the night, he could not guess what her game might be—and it made him very uneasy. Perhaps there was something she wanted and she was going to try to use her feminine wiles to get it. Although that did not seem like something Avery would do, he frowned even more. All females were born knowing such games, he sternly reminded himself. She would find that he was not so susceptible to such ploys.
    As she slowly began to undress, he felt his desire for her rapidly soar. This was taunting, pure and simple. He was sure of it. No woman could be so naive as to think she could shed even some of her clothing in front of a man without stirring his interest. After the long, torturous days and nights he had spent trying to seduce her, Avery certainty could not be so unaware of the effect such actions would have upon him. She was crippling him, and he was sure the little wretch knew it.
    Well, two could play at that game, he decided. He might be half mad with an unsatisfied hunger, but he knew he had seen the gleam of interest in her eyes from time to time. He had felt the heat of her desire. She might be fighting it, but the hunger was there. Cameron was sure of it. And if she could torment him, then he could torment her.
    Avery swallowed hard as Cameron started to take off his clothes. Her weakness for him was going to make it very hard to maintain the upper hand in this game. The sight of his lean, hard body heated her blood, made her ache to touch him, to taste him, to wrap her body tightly around his. With so many brothers and male cousins, she had seen many an example of the male form. It struck her as a little strange that seeing Cameron’s should make her knees tremble with weakness, should inflame her lusts until she felt nearly dazed.