To Catch a Highlander (11 page)

"So?" Dougal's deep voice broke into her thoughts. "Are you satisfied it is your mother's necklace?"

She gently set the necklace back on the table. "Yes."

"You might want to look at the whole set—in case we make an additional wager."

Her heart skipped a beat.
Please, make an additional wager
! "I don't need to examine the rest of the set. I can see it's all there."

"Very well." He scooped up the diamond set and placed it on top of the pouch, a glittering mass of diamonds and gold on the crushed red velvet. He slid it to the center of the table.

She slid the cards toward him. "Shall we play
Vingt-et-un
?"

His brows rose. "Twenty-one? I thought you'd pick something more prone to strategy."

"Tonight I feel like wagering it all on the flip of a card."

Something glimmered in his eyes. "As you wish. Do you want to deal?"

"I don't wish you to think I've cheated, when you've lost."

"Oh, I will watch you too closely to allow that." He waved a hand. "Continue."

Smiling at his bravado, she took the cards and shuffled them, her fingers flying. She loved the feel of the cards in her hands. She would play to lose this first game; she needed to tempt MacLean into wagering more. And then more. Until he was so eager to win that he made a mistake. That's all she needed: one mistake.

She watched her opponent from beneath her lashes, considering him dispassionately. He was a man of jaded tastes. If she wished to capture his attention, she had to be something fresh. Something different.

She placed the cards on the table. "Do you wish to cut the deck?"

After a moment, he shook his head. "Not this time."

A faint smile tickled her lips. "Now you are the one being trusting."

"I don't see that I can lose this wager. On one hand, I get the diamonds. On the other, I get you."

His deep voice sent a shiver up Sophia's back.

For the veriest instant, her hands quivered on the cards. She gathered her composure and dealt out his first card, a five.

His eyes glinted. "Five is my lucky number."

"How fortunate for you." She dealt herself a queen.

"You are ahead, my love."

"For the moment." It seemed as if every object, every bit of light in the room, was focused on them and them alone.

He tapped the table with one finger. "Another."

She flipped over the top card. A six landed beside his five. "Eleven," she said.

"So it is."

Sophia flipped over another card.

"A three," he said. "You have thirteen. I hope you don't believe in luck."

"I don't," she replied coolly. "I believe in ability and effort."

He regarded her somberly. "I don't suppose you might wish to increase our wager?"

Already? This was going to be so easy. "What shall we increase it to?"

He gestured toward the diamond set. "The earrings from the set."

"Against?"

"A touch." His voice held a smoky promise.

Her gaze drifted to the glittering diamonds. One touch—just one—would inflame him all the more.

She knew it would. She knew it because it would also inflame her. "Very well. One touch. For no more than one second."

He frowned. "For the earrings? They are diamonds."

"I know what they are. I also know my worth."

He grinned, his teeth white. "You drive a difficult bargain."

"Are we agreed, then?"

He nodded and leaned back, his gaze hooded as he pointed. "Another."

She flipped over a card. "A two. Now you have thirteen, as well."

Irritation flashed across his face. "It's your turn."

She placed her fingertips on the deck, her heart quivering. So much depended on the next card. She slowly drew it and placed it beside her others. "A four. That gives me seventeen." She forced a pleased smile to her lips; she'd wanted to lose this hand, blast it.

"You can't take another card without going over."

"Perhaps I won't need to." Sophia lifted the top card from the deck and placed it beside Dougal's cards. An eight shined up at him.

There was a moment of silence.

When she looked at him, he was watching her, a smile curving his mouth. "I win."

"Not yet," she said tartly. "I have one more card."

"Yes, but it's highly unlikely you'll draw a four."

"Unlikely but not impossible." She lifted the card from the deck and held it, afraid to look but too excited not to. With a sharp intake of breath, she flipped the card over.

It was a five. She'd lost.

Dougal pushed his chair from the table, the legs sliding across the rug with a whoosh. "You, my love, have a choice to make. Shall I help you put the necklace on? Or take your hair down?"

Her heart beat faster. "I can do that myself, thank you."

"A pity." He looked around the room, considering every aspect. "Please stand by the window. The light will be better there."

Sophia crossed her arms. "I am not going to stand in front of a window where anyone might see me."

Dougal grinned. "Who would see you? We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Angus might have to go to the barn, or your groom might wander across the front, or—"

"Very well! Stand where you wish." His tone was tight with urgency.

Excellent. She wanted him desperate.

She walked to the darkest corner, turned, and waited. "Here."

"It's pitch dark over there."

"You may bring a candle."

He sighed and carried his chair to her corner. "Fine."

She swept past him, took the necklace from the table, and returned to where he stood. "I assume you want me to wear this now?" She handed him the necklace.

His lips twitched. "This isn't quite the way I'd envisioned this."

"I'm certain you imagined a grand seduction."

"Perhaps."

"For one hand of cards?" She gave him the smallest of smiles. "Be realistic, MacLean." She turned. "Would you fasten the necklace, please?"

The cold necklace draped over his fingers as he looked at the back of Sophia's neck. Its delicate line drew him, the soft hair springing forward, golden and fragile. It was his favorite place to kiss a woman.

Suddenly, he was aware of her scent, a seductive mixture of jasmine and rose that made him think of sunny fields and warm summer days. He closed his eyes and drew in the scent, his fingers tightening over the necklace. It was too much. He instinctively lowered his head to taste her, pausing just shy of touching her.

His mouth hovered over the sweet spot, his breath warm on her skin, the faint scent of her perfume tantalizing him further… pulling him… drawing him forward…

"MacLean?" Sophia's husky voice broke into his thoughts. "You… you may touch me for one second."

One second wouldn't be enough. An hour wouldn't come close. Two weeks? Not even that. He needed a month, two, perhaps ten, to enjoy her fully.

But all he would get was his time here. Once she realized he wasn't about to be cheated out of his house, she'd never want to see him again.

He sighed, straightened, placed the necklace about her elegant neck, and clipped it closed, his body aching with desire.

She turned to face him, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

An answering wave of excitement flooded Dougal. Bringing a candelabra to a small table in the corner, he lit each candle, holding Sophia's gaze from the other side of the flames. The light bathed her in a golden glow, making her look more ethereal than ever before.

He sank into the chair and leaned back, letting the sight warm him more.

She took a deep breath, then reached to pull a pin from the golden hair piled on her head.

"Wait."

She paused.

"Slowly."

She grasped a pin and slowly pulled it free, a thick strand of blond hair falling to her shoulder with a whisper.

She was painfully beautiful in the lamplight as she released golden curl after golden curl, and Dougal's body tightened more with each passing second. Her hair was even longer than he'd imagined; thick and silken, it flowed over her breasts, down to her waist.

Every movement was pure agony and pure delight, her perfectly formed arms casting shadows over her face, then allowing the light to caress her parted lips, her creamy skin.

Dougal couldn't look away.

Finally, the last strand of hair was released. The necklace gleamed against her creamy skin, partially hidden by her hair.

Sophia met his gaze, her voice almost a whisper. "There. I have paid my debt."

"Not yet." He stood. "There is the matter of the touch."

Delicate pink stained her lovely silken skin. "Oh. That."

He stood before her and looked down at her.

She peeped up at him, her thick lashes shadowing her eyes. "Should I… should I move?"

"No."

She nervously wet her lips.

Dougal almost groaned, holding his control as tightly as he could. He began at her hip, holding his hand a bare inch from her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her voice breathless.

"Not touching you… yet." Slowly, as if he actually were touching her, he curved his hand over her hip, to her waist, then up. He paused over her breast, cupping his hand to the exact right size, yet he did not touch her.

She swallowed, her breath coming faster. Her breast came perilously close to his hand, and he moved back the tiniest bit.

He could feel the pull of her, an invisible connection so strong it made him want to step away as much as it made him yearn to move forward. He could tell she felt it, too. She was panting as if she'd run a race, her skin flushed and dewy, her eyes locked on his as if she'd never look away.

He slowly lifted his hand beneath the silken mass of her hair to the delicate line of her collarbone, still not touching, his fingers a bare half an inch from her skin. The diamond necklace gleamed, and he knew it would feel cool against her warm skin.

Her head tilted back as she unconsciously moved to give him access to her neck. He bent then and pressed his lips to the spot where her pulse beat wildly in her throat, right beside the necklace.

Sophia closed her eyes and grasped his broad shoulders as his feather-soft kiss jolted through her, sending wave after wave of sensual heat.

Her skin tingled, her senses reeled, her heart pounded so loudly she thought she might collapse. Just as her knees wavered, he pulled away, his lips branding her neck as surely as the touch of hot metal.

They looked at each other. Dougal's eyes were so dark they appeared black. His face was set, with deep white lines down either side of his mouth… the same mouth that had tasted the tender skin on her neck.

Sophia shivered. She should do something, say something. But what? All she could think were the words that had entered her mind the second he'd touched her:
Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop
.

She took a shaking breath. "We are even now." With trembling hands, she tried to lift her hair back into place and pin it, but her hands shook so much that she couldn't.

Dougal stood watching her, his expression unfathomable.

She gave up, letting her hair fall back around her. She could only hope neither Angus nor Mary would see her on her way to her room. "I… I should retire now."

All he did was nod, roughly.

Sophia backed toward the door. "I'll—I'll bid you good night and—"

"Wait."

She didn't move, couldn't have if her life depended on it.

He walked toward her, his gaze caressing her hair, her lips, and lower.

Sophia stood statue-still as Dougal stopped before her, reached up, and slid his warm hands about her neck.

Her heart thundered her lips parted. He stepped back, the backs of his fingers grazing her breast as the necklace slid loose from her neck to drop into his hand.

He tucked the necklace into his pocket. "I believe this is mine."

Sophia's euphoria evaporated in an instant. "I forgot I was wearing your necklace."

He lifted his brows. "It's not an issue now." He walked to the door and swung it open. "Shall I escort you to your room?"

Ha! As if she'd allow him. She lifted her chin and sailed past. "No, thank you," she said over her shoulder. "I know the way quite well."

He followed, his boots loud on the stairs behind her. "I merely thought to enjoy your company a few moments more."

She halted on the top step, forcing her lips into a smile. "I don't think I could handle any more enjoyment this evening."

He grinned, his eyes twinkling wickedly. "Very well. I suppose it's too much to ask for that tour of the house in the morning?"

"I thought we'd take a look at the lands first and then the house later in the afternoon. It will be easier on the horses if we ride when it is cooler."