His arm came out to block her escape. He leaned forward. His lips brushed her ear. "I want you, Tess, but I'll not take you against your will."

I want you, Tess. Those words stirred already unsettled emotions within her.

l.u.s.tful...needy...apprehensive emotions.

He kissed her, right on the lobe of her ear, and then placed another kiss an inch down on the ticklish spot where her neck and jawline met.

Tess tilted her head. He stood so close, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s brushed his chest as she arched her back.

"Don't harden your heart to me." His low voice hummed through her. "Let me have a chance. Let us have a chance."

His lips moved to meet hers.

Brenn was going to kiss her. He was going to kiss her like he'd never kissed a woman before and then he was going to take her to bed and make love to her all night.

Closing his eyes, he brought his lips down and placed a big wet smack on Ace's side.

He opened his eyes. Tess was gone. She'd ducked and slipped out from under his arm. That was thesecond time she'd done that to him. She now stood several feet away from him, her hands behind herback.

What was b.l.o.o.d.y wrong with her!

"What?" he demanded irritably. "All I was going to do was kiss you."

She sent a meaningful glance toward the stable lads, a silent instruction to keep his voice down. Well, he

didn't feel like keeping his voice down!

He wanted a kiss. A plain, simple kiss. He'd set up for it, he was hungry for it, and he wanted it! "Come

here, Tess."

She shook her head no.

It was a game then. All right, he would play. He took a step toward her.

She stepped back.

His sense of humor slowly started to return. He took three quick little steps.

She blinked, staring at him as if he'd gone mad. Her aristocratic nose lifted up in the air. "I'm going to

bed.""Excellent idea. I'll go with you."She didn't like that at all. She stopped, her skirts swirling around her ankles. "On second thought, I'l

wait. The luggage coach hasn't arrived and I need Willa to undress me."Brenn fell into step alongside her. "There's no need to wait for Willa. I can play lady's maid.""It wouldn't be proper.""I don't care about what is proper.""Will you keep your voice down?" she said between clenched teeth. "There are people watching."Brenn made a big show of exaggeratedly noticing the stable lads had stopped talking and were listening to their argument with avid curiosity. He shrugged them off. "I don't care if the king is watching, Tess. I

want a kiss."

A loud guffaw escaped from the cl.u.s.ter of stable hands. Even in the dark Brenn could see Tess coloring a pretty shade of berry-red. "Why are you doing this?" she whispered.

Because I can, he wanted to flash back. Because I'm your husband and will not be treated like a lackey.

He would not be one of those men whose wives controlled them.Theirs was a battle of wills, one Brenn was determined to win, although he was genuinely puzzled. He'dnever had difficulty with women before. They loved to kiss him. They hoped to jump in his bed-everywoman, that is, but his wife.

"You found some pleasure in last night. You can't deny it."

Still he was put off balance when she suddenly agreed, "All right. One kiss."

Brenn closed his mouth which had dropped open. Now that he'd won, he didn't want to kiss her in front of stable lads and in the middle of the bustle of a busy inn yard any more than she did...but he couldn't say that now. The lads were cheering for him!

He bent to receive his bounty. She came up on her toes. Her hands rested lightly on his shoulders. Sweet Tess.

Their lips met even as he felt her weight shift and her knee lift. Warning signals flashed in his brain. He leaned back. But her knee wasn't the weapon. He leaned back. But her knee wasn't the weapon. He should have known that Tess was still too naive about men to know how to vitally hurt them. No, his bride put her weight and energy into stomping the heel of her shoe on his foot.

He thought she had crushed his big toe! With a grunt of pain, he lifted the foot and almost toppled to the ground. She used those moments to daintily lift her skirts and sail away toward the inn.

The stable lads hooted. Even the horses seemed to laugh. His wife had bested him and they all knew it.

With an elan he was far from feeling, Brenn made a rackety bow in their direction before hobbling off after his wife.

Tess's heart pounded in her ears so loudly she barely heard the door open. She was in bed, the covers pulled up over her ears, pretending to be asleep. Of course, she would be more convincing if she could stop shaking.

His heavy footsteps crossed the wooden floor. His limp was more p.r.o.nounced.

She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing there was no way she was going to fall asleep.

A sound. Holding her breath, she listened. It was the soft whisk of material against material. She could

hear him remove his jacket and toss it over a chair.

Why didn't he say something? Why didn't he rant or rave? Even she was startled by her boldness-but

his insistence that she kiss him in front of stable lads had angered her. She wasn't a common trollop orthe sort of woman who jumped at any man's bidding!He sat on the edge of the bed. Without cere mony, he removed first one boot and then the other.Tess tensed, not knowing what to expect next. Silence.What was he going to do?The ropes of the bed sprang back into shape as he stood. She strained her ears.Nothing! No sound at all.Where was he? She couldn't handle the suspense any longer. A peek wouldn't hurt. She pretended to sleepily turn toward his side of the bed. Ever so carefully, she pulled down an edge of the covers, justenough for her to see out of one eye. It took a moment for her eye to adjust to the light-when it did,when she saw what he'd done, she screeched, "You're naked!"

He stood by the bed, as bare-bottomed as the day he was born. Throwing his folded breeches onto the same chair holding his shirt and jacket, he answered, "Yes."

Tess yanked the covers up before she had a full frontal view of her husband. "Why are you naked?"

"I always sleep this way." He snuffed out the candle and, to her horror, lifted the covers and climbed into the bed beside her.

"Why, Tess," he said pleasantly, "You are still fully dressed."She rolled out of the other side of the bed. "You can't sleep like that. It's indecent."In answer, he feigned a snore.She placed her hands on her hips. "I won't sleep in the same bed with you!"He snuggled deeper under the covers. "Enjoy the chair then." Before her eyes, he fell well and truly asleep.

Tess felt strangely deflated. "What is the matter with you?" she said in frustration. "Less than fifteen

minutes ago, you'd been willing to make love to me in front of strangers, and now you completely ignoreme."She expected him to answer. To laugh and tease her. But he slept on.And it hurt her vanity. Men had done many things around her, but they'd never ignored her.She threw herself down into a chair, crossing her arms, watching him...but it didn't take her long to tire of such a boring vigil. Or for her eyelids to grow heavy.

The hard wooden chair with its straight back was far from comfortable, especially after riding in the coach all afternoon. The bed beckoned.

She could lie down on top of the covers. That would be proper.

She tried it, at first fully dressed, but the light boning of her stays cut into her skin. "You are being

ridiculous," she told herself. Brenn was sleeping so soundly, he didn't even know she was in the room.

Undressing, she put on her nightgown and then climbed back onto the bed, on top of the covers.

A chill ran through her from the early summer air and she wished she'd asked for a fire to be laid in the hearth. Of course, the temperature would be fine if she had the covers over her.

She glanced at her husband. Brenn was apparently dead to the world. She doubted if he would notice if she slipped between the sheets. Another shiver convinced her this was not only wise but prudent. It wouldn't do if she were to catch a cold.

In a few seconds' time, she had the covers up around her neck and, hugging the far edge of the bed, instantly fell asleep.

Chapter Eleven.

Tess woke in stages, all cuddly warm under the covers. The cotton sheets felt good against her skin. The damp morning air tickled her nose. Snuggling with her pillow, she stretched-and found herself pressed against something hard and unrelenting. Her husband!

Her aroused husband!

His arms cradled her close. His manhood pressed against her bottom. A large, callused hand cuppedeach breast. "Morning, love," his husky voice whispered in her ear.She started to jerk away, but Brenn's arms around her held her close."Ah, Tess, I don't want to fight." His breath p.r.i.c.kled her skin. "Not this morning. Never in the mornings.

Especially when you smell so good." He drew out the syllables of the last words. His hands cupping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s caressed them.

She liked the feel of his hands on her this way.

His lips lowered and nibbled the sensitive skin of her neck.

It did feel good. Yes, very good. Slowly, ever so slowly, she relaxed against him.

She could almost imagine that the two of them were in a world of their own. His legs intermingled with hers. He tickled the bottom of her foot with his toe.