The Highlander's Tactical Marriage by Jenni Fletcher

Author:Jenni Fletcher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-11-30T16:50:50+00:00

* * *

Coira wasn’t sure how she got past the guard, or how she crossed the bailey, and she had no memory at all of climbing the stairwell, or of traversing the solar or minstrels’ gallery either, only somehow she must have since she found herself standing alone in the middle of her bedchamber a few minutes later, breathless, panting and yet still unable to outrun her embarrassment!

With a groan, she dropped her head into her hands, covering her eyes as she tried and failed to shut out the memory. It was all too much! After what Kendrick had told her that morning and what she and Fergus had told each other just now, there were so many thoughts and emotions swirling around inside her that she could barely think straight. All she knew was that she’d just made a terrible mistake. She’d touched Fergus, but in her defence, she’d thought that he’d wanted her to! What was it he’d said?

That he’d felt like the luckiest man alive, that he would have come after her, that he wished he could go back and do things differently, that he would have saved her...

And yet he’d still pushed her away.

‘Coira?’

‘No.’ She dropped her hands from her face, holding them out instead at the sight of Fergus standing on the threshold. ‘Please...not now. I need some time alone.’

‘You didn’t let me finish my sentence.’

‘You don’t need to. I understand. You wanted me six years ago, but you don’t any more and you really don’t want me touching you. I’m sorry for what happened just now and there’s no more need for us to discuss it.’

‘Will you not let a man speak?’ He strode forward, closing the door behind him. ‘I never said any of that.’

‘But you think it’s too late for us, don’t you?’ She shook her head helplessly. ‘We’ve missed our opportunity.’

‘Honestly, I don’t know.’ He came to a halt halfway across the room, his expression conflicted. ‘The truth is, I wasn’t just angry when you left. I was hurt, too, knowing how much I cared about you and how little you felt for me. I couldn’t tell anyone, couldn’t show it, but it hurt. It was just as you said, like a part of me had shrivelled and died, too. As if my heart were...’ He stopped and drew his brows together. ‘I don’t want to risk going through that again.’

‘But you wouldn’t have to.’ She stared at him in confusion. ‘I would never run away again.’

‘When I heard that you’d gone out with Kendrick this morning, I thought that maybe you already had.’

She sucked in a breath. ‘I’m sorry. It never occurred to me that it might look that way.’

‘I know, but it reminded me of how bad it felt.’ He took another step forward. ‘Coira, when I came here to marry you, I never intended to stay. I was planning to do my duty to my clan and then leave as soon as possible.’

‘Leave?’ She felt as if her heart had just plummeted down to her toes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.