Read Online Rebel Kiss: A Historical Romance Novel (Scottish Rebels Book 1) by Jenna Stone - Free Book Online

asked, breaking the silence as she trudged up the beach to walk in
step beside Rowan.
    Rowan arched his
eyebrow suspiciously.  Anna was a most perceptive lass.
    Rowan kicked at a
bunch of sea grass that had blown into his path and chose his words carefully. 
A breeze blew off the ocean, cooling Rowan’s face.  He could taste the salt
from the sea on his lips.  He licked his lips, noting the unfamiliar taste of
salt in the air as he considered his words.
    “Something verra
dear was taken from him,” Rowan said as he raked a hand through his hair and
looked straight ahead.  The horrors of Quinn’s past were closely intertwined
with Rowan’s and it pained him viscerally to speak of them.
    “He must have
loved her very much,” Anna said softly, knowing somehow that Quinn’s pain
stemmed from the loss of a woman.  She glanced over at Rowan and noticed the
pain that resided in his green eyes.  It was there, just below the surface, despite
Rowan’s best effort to hide his emotions beneath his stone-faced façade.
    “I canna betray him
by speaking of the matter further.  ‘Tis no my story tae tell.  If ye ask him,
he just might tell ye.  Yer a good listener,” Rowan said. 
    Anna smiled shyly
at Rowan’s compliment.  She enjoyed conversing with Rowan.  His easy demeanor
and quick wit put her at ease.  Anna had found a kindred spirit in Rowan
Murray.
    “I think that
Malcolm’s in love with ye,” Rowan said with a chuckle in an effort to lighten
the mood.
    “Whatever gave you
such a notion?” Anna exclaimed as color flushed her face.
    “He told me,” Rowan
admitted, smiling as he watched Anna’s reaction.  Her face was flushed pink
with embarrassment.  Rowan could not help but notice how lovely she looked in
the early morning light.  Anna’s blonde curls had been blown free from her
attempt to confine them in a loose braid, lending her an ethereal, natural
beauty.
    “How could he
possibly love me?” Anna asked incredulously.  “He’s known me less than a full
day!”
    “He’s a boy yet,”
Rowan explained as he tried to suppress his smile.  “And boys have a tendency tae
fall in love easily.”
    Anna giggled
shyly.  She was complimented by Malcolm’s affection yet knew that she was in no
place to return his feelings.
    “He is a sweet
boy,” she said as she watched Malcolm and Quinn walking ahead of them on the
beach.
    “Aye,” Rowan
agreed.  “And ye’ve nae need for a boy,” he said as the smile fell from his
face.  There was a masked insinuation in his remark and as soon as the words
fell from his lips he regretted them.
    Anna smiled
briskly but did not respond immediately.  Rowan was correct; she had no need
for a boy like Malcolm and yet she found that she cared for Malcolm still. 
    “Will you help me
to let him down softly?” Anna asked Rowan as she crossed her arms to gather her
borrowed shirt more firmly about her body.  The morning sunlight was beginning
to warm her skin, but the confines of her damp clothing kept the night’s chill
from completely leaving her body.
    “Aye,” Rowan
agreed, smiling softly at Anna’s care for Malcolm’s tender heart.  “The lad has
a thing or two tae learn about love.”
    “The best lesson
for him to learn is to guard his heart and not give it away so easily,” Anna
said as she gazed out upon the crashing waves.  “It will save him much pain.”
    “I doona agree
with ye, lass,” Rowan said as he stopped in his tracks.  The ocean breeze blew
his unruly hair about his face and he reached up to retie it at the base of his
neck.
    Anna stopped and
stared up at Rowan, unsure of what the intention of his words had been.  “What
exactly do you not agree with?” she prodded as she stood facing Rowan in the
sand.
    “I think that it
isna always possible tae guard yer heart, that’s all.  I’ve always thought that
when true love comes tae find ye, it comes crashing in like lightning and
perhaps it is impossible tae stop it