Read Online Once Upon A Highland Legend by Tanya Anne Crosby - Free Book Online

his way back to the crannog, he found himself grinning stupidly, wishing Biera would hurry back to declare the lass innocent, because if it was the last thing Callum did, he intended to convince Annie Ross to remain here with him in the vale, to bear his bairns and warm his bed. With the right person in his arms, not even the cold could diminish his spirit.
    Brude was right: Callum was far more motivated to finish the crannog now, and it was because of Annie Ross. If he had to work until the torches gutted tonight, he vowed not to stop until he had a private place to woo the woman he intended to make his bride.
    And yet…no one else seemed to have noted the changing colors of her stone, so while he believed her, he realized the others might not, so until Biera returned, he must keep the lass at bay…a task that might not prove so simple if she continued to look at him that way—with that incredible look of longing that made him want to taste the nectar of her body.
    Aye, he wanted her, but for now, it was enough to know that wherever she had come from—faerie or nay—the gods had surely sent her to settle his restless heart.
     

     
    “D’ ye wish to kiss me, lass?”
    Those sensual lips were branded in Annie’s memory. To emphasize her lie, the Winter Stone remained dark—no longer red, green or milky white.
    “D’ ye wish to kiss me?”
    No.
    Yes.
    The crystal’s color brightened suddenly, revealing shards of pink.
    Damn it.
    She did want to kiss him. It was true. The way he had looked at her set her heart to racing, even now that he was nowhere near. He wasn’t immune to her either, despite his claims to the contrary. She only wished she had known how to use the crystal better, so she could have made a liar out of him as he had done to her.
    Bloody hell, he’d used her own stone against her.
    But why was it that only the two of them could see its colors, aside from the shopkeeper? Annie wondered.
    Curled beneath her cheap poncho, she tried to make herself as small as she was able so she might better fit beneath the fringed garment. It was pointless. It was cold and she was restless. Once the sun went down, the temperature plummeted and her teeth might have begun to chatter except that the object of her newest obsession appeared long enough to dump a heavy woolen cloak over her. He gave her a wink—as though they were long-time allies—and then walked away.
    “Wait!” Annie grabbed her stone, eager for an opportunity to redeem herself. “Wait!” she called after him, but he ignored her, marching deliberately away, without looking back, his shoulders shaking with what she suspected was mirth.
    He was toying with her.
    Did he realize what he had done to her?
    Damn him.
    Frustrated, Annie turned, giving grumpy Morag her back.
    Embraced by Callum’s cloak, she realized how thin and poorly made her modern poncho was and she was heartily grateful for Callum’s thoughtful gesture…except that now…she could smell him on her covers—the scent of man, sun and sweat. It was entirely disturbing and it sent her thoughts skittering to places they shouldn’t wander. Nor could she stop imagining him working out there…somewhere…bare-assed. She stared into the Winter Stone, admitting the truth—she wanted him—and the rosy color of the stone heightened.
    “Okay, yes,” she confessed to the stubborn rock. “Yes, damn it! I do!”
    Over by the fire Morag muttered something crossly beneath her breath and continued to stoke the flames. Thankfully, after awhile, one of the men came to take her place. The two exchanged words Annie couldn’t quite make out and then she was alone again with a new guard—thankfully, whose temperament wasn’t half so grim. But if she had thought Callum a tall man, this guy loomed over her like a lumbering pine. He sat—or more like, folded like an accordion to his knees. “ ’S thoigh le Callum Annie às Ross,” he said with a lopsided grin.
    Annie couldn’t be certain, but