The Rose and The Warrior (39 page)

“I like this gown,” he murmured, “far better than your breeches.”

It was much later that they lay twined together beneath the soft warmth of Roarke's plaid, listening to the gentle caress of the loch against the rocks.

“Do you think the amulet really possesses the power to protect its wearer?” Melantha asked, studying the silver sphere dangling against her wrist.

Roarke lifted the chain so that the emerald sparkled in the moonlight. “If you had asked me before, I would have said no. However, it cannot be denied that you have had uncommonly good fortune while it has been in your possession.”

“You nearly cut off my head, I suffered an arrow in my shoulder, and was almost executed by six archers,” she pointed out aridly. “That scarcely seems like good fortune to me.”

“Yet here you are, safe and well in the arms of the warrior who tried to slay you, and instead has come to love you above all else.” He dropped the pendant and began to nuzzle the valley between her breasts. “You should know that it is not my custom to marry the outlaws I have been sent to capture. In the case of the Falcon, however, I am willing to make an exception.”

He took the peak of her breast into his mouth and began to suckle.

“That is most chivalrous of you,” observed Melantha. She closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure. “I shall give your proposal my utmost consideration, and will offer you my response in the morning.”

Roarke paused in his ministrations to regard her with amusement. “In that case, my little outlaw, I shall do everything within my power to influence your decision.” He began to press a lingering path of heated kisses down the soft flat of her belly.

It was not much later that Melantha whispered her answer into the velvet night.

K
aryn
M
onk
has been writing since she was a girl. In university she discovered a love for history. After several years working in the highly charged world of advertising, she turned to writing historical romance. She is married to a wonderfully romantic husband, Philip, whom she allows to believe is the model for her heroes.

A
LSO BY
K
ARYN
M
ONK

Surrender to a Stranger

The Rebel and the Redcoat

Once a Warrior

The Witch and the Warrior

The Prisoner

The Wedding Escape

My Favorite Thief

Every Whispered Word

Y
ou are an enemy here,” Melantha protested, desperate to keep the lines between them clean and deeply cut. “A MacTier.”

“That is true,” Roarke agreed, moving toward her.

“You came to crush my band, and if you'd been able, you would have killed me that day we fought in the woods,” she continued, backing away from him. The cool stones of the wall pressed into her, arresting her retreat.

“You were every bit as determined to kill me.” He reached out and gently brushed a dark strand of hair away from her face. “Remember?”

His fingers were warm against her skin, warm and filled with gentle strength. It was wrong to stand there and endure his touch, and yet she found she couldn't move, could scarcely even draw a breath as he held her steady with nothing more than the raw desire emanating from him….

the rose and the warrior

A Bantam Fanfare Book / April 2000

FANFARE and the portrayal of a boxed “ff” are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Copyright © 1999 by Karyn Monk.

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eISBN: 978-0-553-90323-2

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