Loving A Highlander Read Online Free Page B

the sleep from his eyes, took in the one room cottage with a glance.  There were cracks in the walls and a hole in the roof that needed to be patched.  Things that should have been taken care of by her husband.
    He clenched his fists as his anger flared at the thought of the other man.  He made a vow that as soon as he was able, he would track Isabella’s husband down and make him pay for the pain he had caused her.  A smile curved his lips as he imagined his fist connecting with the other man’s face, but then he sighed.  As much as he would love to obliterate Isabella’s husband from the face of the earth, it was obvious she still cared about the man.  No, he wouldn’t do anything to cause her more pain.
    He could hear singing outside the cottage window and with a groan, he got up and walked to the door.  The sun was already high in the sky and he knew he must have slept for hours.  The thought bothered him.  It wasn’t like him to let his guard down in a strange place and the fact that he had been dead to the world for some time was unsettling.
    Anything could have happened while he was asleep.  Isabella could have smothered him while he slept and stolen what little coin he had left and no one would be the wiser. But something told him she wouldn’t harm him.  She was sweet and kind and glaringly out of place in the cold hard world.  A woman who needed protection.
    Not that he thought she was a weak woman, far from it.  He could see the strength in the set of her shoulders and her ability to handle problems that would have left most noble women in a dither, unsure of how to proceed.
    His gaze scanned the small clearing until he located Isabella by the small chicken coop.  She was talking to the birds that milled about her feet as she spread handfuls of grain.  Sunlight filtered through the trees and highlighted her hair, turning the blond tresses into strands of gold.  Her soft voice floated to him on the breeze and he felt his cock begin to stir.
    Gerard leaned against the doorjamb and sighed.  What was it about this lass that made his blood run hot?  Before and after his wife’s death, plenty of women had visited his bed.  He didn’t have to look far to find a willing partner.  So what was it about this woman that had him so intrigued?  Made him feel the fierce need to protect her?
    “It’s nothing that a good tumble won’t cure,” he muttered, as he scrubbed a hand across his whiskered jaw.  He knew of several women who would be willing and able to scratch his itch once he returned to the castle, but at the moment, he found none of them appealing.
    Isabella glanced over to where he was standing.  A frown marred her forehead and she walked across the clearing to stand by his side.  “Were you speaking to me?” 
    “No, lass.  I was just talking to myself.  I do that sometimes.”
    Isabella gave him a slight smile.  “My grandmother used to do the same thing.  She said that she learned the most amazing things when she talked to herself.”
    Gerard inclined his head.  “Your grandmother was a wise woman.  I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to meet her.”
    Isabella nodded.  “She was an amazing woman.”
    Gerard reached out to twine a lock of her hair around his fingers.  He let the silky strands slip through his fingers before responding.  “Your grandmother would have to be amazing to raise you,” he said, his voice low and husky.  “You are one of a kind, Bella.  A treasure in this dreary world.  Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
    Isabella thought about how different this man was from her husband.  She studied his face.  His eyes burned with a naked hunger and she took a step forward, twining her arms about his neck and drawing him down for a kiss.
    His lips were warm and firm against her own and she moaned as he took charge of the kiss, nipping gently at her lower lip until she opened, allowing his tongue inside.  He plundered the dark recesses of