Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor Page B

brief a moment.
    It had been then that she made up her mind for certain. He was her rose. And gruff though he appeared, she wanted him to be her husband, for no man had ever made her heart race the way he did.
    It races from fear, her mind argued.
    Nay, she argued back. It wasn’t fear she felt at his presence; it was something else. Something she couldn’t quite name or define.
    But it was definitely something she wished to explore at great depth and leisure. And explore it she would.
    He might be a warrior unparalleled in battle, but she intended to be a warrior unparalleled for his heart. She would scale the rose’s thorny demeanor and brave the icy glares to see if the soul beneath it all could be reached. And if it could, she would claim him or else.
    â€œEn garde, mon seigneur,” she whispered as she watched his stiff back. “For in the battle for your affections, I will surely emerge victorious.”

Chapter 7
    T o Draven’s amazement, they actually made it through the forest before nightfall. But not by much. Instead of finding a town or village where they could rest comfortably for the night, they were relegated to making camp in a small meadow.
    He’d assumed Emily would complain about her accommodations, but instead she appeared delighted by the prospect of camping out in the open.
    As his men prepared her tent, she walked around the area with a bright smile on her face while he tended their horses. She appeared interested in everyone and everything.
    Indeed, he’d never before thought anything about how complicated raising a tent could be until she pointed it out to his knight Alexander.
    â€œI’m impressed,” she told the knight. “You’re very skilled at it. Why, you make it look easy.”
    A stab of jealousy sliced through him. Draven looked askance to see her leave his knight, then stoop down to pluck a solitary dandelion from the ground. The soft material of her kirtle hugged her buttocks, giving him a nice view of her.
    Grinding his teeth, he quickly looked away, but not before he noted the keen interest his men were also giving her.
    His deadly glower sent them scrambling back to their work.
    You’ll not even know I’m along . He cringed at the reminder of her words. Ignoring her would be like ignoring an inferno.
    Especially since the inferno was in his lap.
    â€œâ€™Tis beautiful, isn’t it?” Emily asked as she drew near him, holding the dandelion in her hands.
    Draven frowned as he unsaddled Goliath. “The camp?”
    She rolled her eyes. “The woods, silly.”
    Silly?
    Him? His frown deepened.
    She gave him a peculiar look, then laughed.
    â€œWhat?” he asked.
    She stroked Goliath’s forehead and mane as he reached for a brush. When he straightened up, she said, “I bet you frighten small children with that glower.”
    Draven paused. Should he be offended?
    He wasn’t quite sure. She didn’t seem to be deliberately insulting him, and yet how else should he take such a comment?
    â€œI beg your pardon?” he asked.
    Cupping her arm around his horse’s neck, she leaned toward him as if she were about to depart a grave secret to him. “You look so stern, milord. You should relax more.”
    In spite of the truth she spoke, he said, “I would say milady doesn’t know me well enough to speculate on my nature.”
    She looked sideways at him as she toyed idly with Goliath’s mane. “You’ll find I’m quite intuitive about people.”
    â€œIs that so?”
    â€œAye, very, in fact.”
    Draven paused in his brushing and looked at her. “Then your intuition should tell you that I am not a man to trifle with.”
    â€œIt does indeed,” she said, stepping back ever so slightly and patting at Goliath as the horse nuzzled her shoulder.
    â€œThen why do you trifle with me?”
    â€œBecause it gives me pleasure.”
    He blinked at the