“Caelen?” “Aye, lass?” “You were right.” “What was I right about?”“Kissing. ’Tis a most wondrous thing.” She could sense his smile.”

“He kissed her temple, nuzzling her skin, and murmured again that she was the most beautiful lass in the world. They weren't just words he offered. Platitudes he didn't mean. He cared not about the scar that marred her face. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful lass he'd ever known and nothing would change that. Not a scar. Not circumstances. She was his, and he didn't give one damn what others thought.”

“Methinks marriage has made my brother soft,” Alaric replied. “ ’Tis a shame when a puny lass has to save his arse.”

“I love you,” he said fiercely. “ ’Tis not true that I kept a part of my heart locked away from you. You own all of it, lass. You’ve always owned it. I didn’t give it to you. You took it from the very start.”

“It was the only way to silence you.”She bristled with outrage. “Silenceme? You took liberties withmy … my … my lips in order to silenceme? That was very impertinent of you,Laird. I won’t allow you to do it again.”6/756He smiled and folded his arms overhis chest. “Aye, you will.”Her mouth gaped open in astonishmentand then worked up and down asshe struggled to speak. “I assure you Iwon’t.”“I assure you that you will.”

“Impulsively, she leaned across the truck and kissed him on the cheek. He glanced over in surprise when she pulled away, but pleasure glowed in his eyes."What was that for?""Just seemed like the thing to do," she said."Well, feel free to do it more often," he encouraged. "I assure you I won't mind.”

“By saying it aloud, he thought perhaps it might seem silly to him. That perhaps he'd been swept up in the moment with Genevieve and that maybe he wasn't quite to the point of love yet. But he was dead wrong. The words felt right on his lips. Saying them aloud only confirmed what his heart already knew. He was well and truly in love with the lass, and there was naught but contentment within him at the whole idea.”