La Vie Boheme

"You were a lovely girl then. Had not my father insisted on Anne and her dowry…"

She could bear no more. Catriona stood up. "You compared me to a bony cow!"

"Madam?" Alan looked confused, retreating behind the safety of formality.

"I heard you," Catriona said. "You were speaking of me to a group of young men and you said I was as bony as a winter-starved cow."

He had, at least, the good grace to flush, rising to stand at her side. "I beg your forgiveness, my love. I was young and foolish, and those words were never meant to reach your ears." She felt more than saw his eyes move down her body, making her cheeks go hot. "I would certainly never make such a comparison now."

"Meant to reach them or no, reach them they did, and I have never forgotten. I may have been young and foolish as well, but that is certainly no reason to be old and foolish now."

"Catriona, please. I beg you, do not hold the sins of my youth against me. At least give me a chance to redeem myself in your eyes." Before she could speak, Alan reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her tight against the long line of his body and lowering his mouth to hers. Aside from stolen, innocent kisses as a child, it was the first time a man had dared such a thing. Catriona felt as if she had been struck by lightning. His lips were gentle against hers, soft and teasing, as if he were daring her to be bolder. It was a practiced kiss, one that made the pit of her stomach tighten and the back of her neck tingle. The flush that heated her cheeks began to creep down her neck, threatening to engulf her entire body. Her thoughts beat against one another like frightened, caged birds and her arms remained loose and at her sides, boneless. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he moved away, a small, satisfied smile curving his mouth. Only then did her arms find their strength, and she did the first thing that came to mind. The sound of her hand smacking across his cheek was like a pistol shot in the enclosed room.