The Sinner by Margaret Mallory

said. “I’ll be back shortly.”
    The wind was picking up as he led Rosebud and Buttercup into the brush by the creek that ran along the base of the valley.
    A mix of hail and icy rain pelted his face as he hurried back to check on Glynis. When he crawled inside their makeshift lean-to, he found her shivering so hard that her teeth were chattering. Alex swore he could hear the fairies laughing as he put his arms around her and rubbed her back. The scent of her hair filled his nose. How could a woman smell so good after a long day of riding? He forced himself to release her as soon as she stopped shivering.
    He opened the bag with their dwindling supply of food. “I’m afraid it’s dried beef and oatcakes again.”
    “It tastes wonderful,” Glynis said, ripping a hunk of the meat off with her teeth.
    She ate with an enthusiasm that had him imagining her other appetites. Lord above, sleeping in such close quarters with her was going to make this an even longer night than the others.
    “Have some ale,” he said, handing her the flask. Ach, he needed whiskey.
    “This is bound to put me right to sleep,” she said with a smile, as she handed it back.
    There was only one thing that would put him to sleep. Laying her back on the blanket and making love to her two or three times.
    “We had a long day of riding,” she said.
    He took a long pull from the flask, his mind on another kind of riding.
    “I haven’t thanked ye properly for all you’ve done for me.” When she lowered her eyes, her eyelashes fanned against her cheekbones. It was a reflection of the state he was in that he found this unbearably arousing.
    “Thank ye for bringing me with ye even though ye didn’t want to, and for helping me escape Duart Castle without being caught. And for remembering the food and blankets, and stealing the horses, and telling me stories, and keeping me safe… and… for everything.”
    Alex heard the hesitation in her voice but didn’t know what it meant. He cursed himself for hoping she was getting up her courage to suggest they make love until neither of them could walk.
    “Well, good night then.” She lay down abruptly and curled herself into a ball.
    The storm made it seem later than it was, and Alex wasn’t tired. In the dimming light, he watched the rise and fall of her chest. He took another long drink of the ale, wishing again he had something stronger.
    A sigh escaped him as he unfolded himself and felt the heat of her body along his side. He stared at the blanket strung above them, bouncing in the wind. Until the last few nights, had he ever slept beside a woman without making love to her first? Nay, he was quite certain he had never suffered this particular form of torture before.
    He was so hard that if Glynis breathed on him he might explode.
    “I’m freezing,” she said, and huddled closer to his side.
    Alex gritted his teeth and pulled her into his arms. When she rested her head on his chest, he lay still and tense, trying to control his breathing. For the hundredth time, he reminded himself that he never bedded virtuous women—especially unmarried ones—and it would be wrong to take advantage of the situation.
    And yet, desire, dark and twisted, tested his will like the storm pounding against their fragile shelter. He wanted her deeply, and he wanted her now .
    He wanted to bury his face in her hair and taste the salt of her skin on his tongue. To roll her on her back and feel her long legs wrapped around him as he buried himself inside her. Now. Now. Now.
    Though Alex wished he could pretend otherwise, this throbbing lust was for Glynis alone, and only she could slake it. Her intensity drew him; her seriousness challenged him. He wanted to shatter her self-control, to set a torch to her steady calm, and to hear her cry his name as she turned into liquid fire beneath him.
    When she rolled to her side, he rolled with her, desire pulling him as if she were a lodestone. Tension curled in his gut as he