The Master of Strathburn (Highland Rogue Book 1) by Amy Rose Bennett

Author:Amy Rose Bennett [Bennett, Amy Rose]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-10-17T00:00:00+00:00

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon, when they stopped to rest again, that Jessie noticed how sore and swollen her ankle had become. As Robert helped her to dismount from Blaeberry, she cried out sharply and gripped his wide shoulders, barely able to put any weight on her foot.

Robert swore beneath his breath. “Jessie lass, you should’ve told me that your ankle pained you so,” he admonished.

Before she could protest, he swung her into his arms and carried her over to the shallow, peaty burn that gurgled and splashed its way past a knot of twisted birks and pines. He gently lowered her onto a tussock of frost-burned grass, then dropped to his knees on the ground beside her.

“Right, let me see, lass,” he said gently, one of his strong hands heading toward the hem of her gown.

Pulse pounding, Jessie held her skirts firmly around her ankles. “I will be all right,” she said, not sure if she would be able to withstand Robert’s hands on her naked skin in broad daylight when they were all alone. Not without making a complete fool of herself.

Her heart was already racing, her stomach fluttering—and she was only just thinking about it. Heaven knew how she would react when he actually did touch her. Although they were now engaged, the knowledge that Robert would soon have the right to explore her body intimately when he became her husband in truth made her feel strangely hot and achy and needy all over.

“You’re not going all shy on me, are you?” Robert asked with a half-smile. “Remember, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. And, after all, we are handfasted now. Your injury needs examining.”

Damn his canny ability to read me like an open book. But Jessie knew Robert spoke sense. With a sigh of resignation, she reached under her skirts, eased off her boot and then carefully rolled down her stocking. Biting down hard on her bottom lip, she tried to ignore the pain as much as the tingling sensation Robert’s touch aroused as he gently probed the bruised and swollen flesh.

“This is my fault, Jessie,” he said ruefully, after he’d completed his inspection. “I should never have taken you to Lochrose this morning. You’ve been on your feet far too much.”

Jessie frowned, surprised at his self-recriminating tone. “But I made ye take me,” she countered. “Besides, ‘twas part of the deal we struck.”

Robert regarded her with such compassion, it warmed her all the way to her very toes. “As soon as I saw your reaction to the mess Simon had made in the Gate House, I knew something was wrong. It was clear you were terrified. I couldn’t refuse your plea to accompany me to the castle. But I’m also truly sorry, for the trouble that I’ve caused you. I never meant to drag you into the mess of my life.” His mouth tipped into a wry smile. “I’d wager that being engaged to a traitorous fugitive was probably never in your plans for the future, was it?”

“No, no’ really,” she admitted, face heating.

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