Highland Savage. Hannah Howell

      “Kissing a woman ye think guilty of attempting to murder ye isnae wise. Doing it whilst dressed as a monk might be considered blasphemy. I suggest ye leave. Now.”

      Katerina did not flinch from his hard, searching stare. If he had been looking for a weakness in her, he had undoubtedly found at least a hint of one in the way she had responded to his kiss. It did not matter. She was in control now and she intended to hold fast to it. There was a glint of anger in his eyes and she was pleased to se it. If she was going to suffer the unquenched fires of desire tonight, he ought to suffer in some way as well.

      Lucas could see the strength of her resolve to send him away and knew he would not get what he craved tonight. Her desire for him was still there, however. He had tasted it in the kiss they had shared. He could wait, no matter how uncomfortable waiting was going to be. Bowing slightly, he left her and began to try to recall all the ways he could ease the hunger in his body so that he could get some much-needed rest. He would need his strength for the campaign ahead. Coaxing Katerina back into his arms so that they could wallow in the passion they shared, at least for a while, would take every scrap of patience and guile he could muster. He could wait, but he had no intention of waiting for too long.

      The moment Lucas was gone, Katerina staggered to her bed and collapsed onto it, her whole body trembling as she fought to control the desire that kiss had brought to life. She was glad Lucas had not argued with her, for her control was tenuous at best. A little push from him and she might well have fallen straight into his arms. Something in the way he had looked at her, even in the way he had bowed, told her that he would push. She would have to make her decision about him soon, for every instinct she had told her that Lucas was now on the hunt and she was his prey.