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face.
    She rubbed her forehead, but then stared in
horror at the pasty flour falling onto her lap.
    “ And what do you have to
lose by marrying me, anyway? It is not as if you have another
suitor.”
    She was too transparent. Iain shook his head
as he could see on her face the thoughts that were already forming
in her head. He was out of his mind to give her ideas.
    “ In fact, there…there is
someone else. A man closer to my age. Not old like you.”
    He smiled and shook his head. “Will you wash
your face, or would you have me wash it for you?” He reached over
and wiped the flour from the tip of her nose. “How about the dress?
I’d be happy to help you change.” He touched the coarse fabric at
her neckline and let his finger brush against the silky soft skin
of her neck.
    As if she’d been burned, Marion slapped his
hand away and jumped to her feet. Stepping off the bed, she moved
to where a pitcher and bowl sat on the table. “You must leave my
chamber. I shall wash and change.”
    With her words, Iain smiled at her back.
“You shall soon be my wife. There is nothing about you that I shall
not soon see or touch.”
    She poured water on a small towel and
started wiping her face with it. “‘Soon’ is your word. I want you
to know that ‘soon’ may never come.”
    “ I beg to differ.” Iain
moved behind her.
    “ What are you doing?” she
asked nervously, looking over her shoulder.
    “ Helping you clean up this
mess.” He took the towel out of her hand and dipped it in the
water.
    “ I can manage perfectly
well without your help.”
    “ I know you can.” Iain
turned her around so that she faced him.
    Marion took a fistful of the veil and held
it tight at her throat.
    He shook his head. “This thing is covered
with flour, lass. You are just making it worse.” He tugged it
gently from her hand and dropped it to the floor. He brought the
towel to her face.
    She stepped back but came up against the
wall. He closed the distance until their clothes were touching.
Iain used the towel to swab lightly at her brow and nose, and then
her cheeks. Her eyes stayed open, watching him. He dipped the towel
in the water again and ran it across her full lips, causing her to
take a sharp breath.
    “ This is very unexpected,”
Iain said.
    Her eyes fixed on his. “What is
unexpected?”
    “ How beautiful you have
turned out to be.”
    Color bloomed in her newly washed cheeks. “I
wish I could say the same thing about you.”
    He laughed out loud and wiped at a spot on
her chin. “You were not obligated to return the compliment.”
    “ If you are looking for a
compliment, then I would say you are ugly and venomous as a
toad.”
    “ A toad, you say?” he
asked, lifting her chin, and studying every aspect of her face. It
really was perfect, except for a tiny white scar near the point of
her chin.
    It was a blessing that she’d been locked
away in this convent for her years of growing up. Iain could only
imagine all the men he would have had to fight to keep them away
from her. Her eyes were so dark that they were almost black. Her
skin, the texture of silk. Her high cheekbones and straight nose
were perfectly proportioned, and her lips, rose-colored and moist
and…well, her lips simply looked delicious.
    He leaned toward her.
    “ What are you doing?” she
whispered.
    “ I’m going to kiss you,” he
whispered back.
    “ I shall not kiss a
toad.”
    His lips were inches away from hers. Iain
realized that her breathing was unsteady. The blush had spread down
her neck. And she had not turned her face nor tried to push him
away. She was definitely affected by his nearness and he liked
that.
    “ I take nothing that is not
offered.”
    “ Is that the
truth?”
    He nodded.
    “ Do you promise me that’s
the truth?”
    “ Of course,” he asserted,
focusing on her lips.
    Her voice was a vague whisper. “Then there
will be no marriage.”
    “ Our union was determined
when you were but three, Marion. You shall