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

once it hits ye.”
    “And you think
this is what Malcolm feels for me?”
    “Nay.  I certainly
doona.  He may think that what he feels is love, but I’ve seen it in his eyes
and it is simply a boyish infatuation.  If it were love, he could think of
nothing else because it would consume him completely and control his every
action, his every emotion.  He would be powerless to fight it.”
    “How do you know
so much about love, Rowan Murray?” Anna asked as she tucked a stray strand of
blonde hair behind her ear.
    Rowan chuckled and
shook his head in protest.  “The truth is that I ken nothing about love,” he
lied coolly.  “Take my advice as ye may, but promise that ye’ll be kind tae my
brother,” he said, nodding to bring the topic to a closure before he began
walking off down the beach.
    Anna strode after
him, eyebrows knit together in puzzlement.  For a man that knew nothing of
love, Rowan Murray sure seemed to be insightful.  Anna caught up with Rowan and
walked silently beside him in the wet sand.
    Rowan gritted his
teeth together in agitation and avoided speaking to Anna.  He had said too
much, revealed too much already.  There was one thing that he knew for certain;
Malcolm was not in love with Anna as he had claimed to be.  A sudden,
frightening possibility took hold in Rowan’s mind.  Malcolm was definitely not
in love with Anna, but Rowan feared that he himself might be! 
    The feelings that
had overtaken him since he had met Miss Anna Stanton had struck without warning
or invitation and they were powerful and completely all-consuming.  At first he
had taken these feelings as lust or simple bodily attraction to the beautiful
young woman that he had pulled from the waves of the Atlantic.  But somehow the
realization had dawned on Rowan that his feelings were more than lust, much
deeper and much more pure. 
    Rowan feared that
love had come to find him at the most inopportune time.  He feared that he was
going to fall in love with Anna Stanton and become a broken shell of a man when
she left him, just as his brother Quinn had done.
     

Chapter Six
     
    Anna’s stomach
rumbled in a most unladylike fashion.  She wrapped her arms tightly about her
waist and tried to think of anything besides food.  The mid-day sun was warm
and delicious against her skin and Anna turned her face up towards the sun,
closing her eyes and basking in its warmth.
    “Hungry are ye,
lass?” Rowan asked with a soft laugh.  He stood from the driftwood log and
began to walk towards the crashing waves.  “The tide has gone out.  Perhaps we
can find something in the tide pools just beyond those rocks,” he said
hopefully as he pointed towards the water.
    “Will Malcolm and
Quinn be able to find us?” Anna asked, squinting in the bright sunlight as she
watched Rowan walk towards the ocean.
    “We willna go tae
far down shore.  They should be back soon anyhow,” Rowan surmised as he glanced
towards the dense undergrowth of the forest.  Quinn and Malcolm had gone inland
to search for a source of freshwater.
    Rowan circled back
and extended his hand to Anna, pulling her to her feet.  His own stomach growled
at the prospect of food, but he was able to quell the dull ache of hunger
easily.  This was not the first time that the Murray brothers had gone
without.  He watched appreciatively as Anna stood and brushed the sand from her
borrowed shirt.  Rowan was certain that hunger was a feeling that was
completely new to Anna and yet she did not complain as many high-born women
would.  Anna was a brave lass.
    Rowan followed
Anna towards the tide pools all the while contemplating the rare, strong-willed
woman that led the way.  He watched as she scrunched her nose and shaded her
eyes as she peered into the shallow tide pool.
    “Just what do you
think might be edible in there?” Anna asked with a hint of skepticism.
    “Wary of the
ocean’s bounty, are ye lass?” Rowan teased as he knelt beside the tide pool