His body was as magnificent as the Highland mountains themselves. Broad shoulders settled across a muscular chest before his torso tapered toward his hips. His legs were long and well formed, his arms brawny. She saw the strength of his desire and held out her arms to him, for it was her desire as well.

He knelt across her and entwined her fingers in his, his eyes never leaving hers. He entered her gently, easing into her with the same slow deliberation, driving her passion out of control. Again she arched into him, and she felt the first flicker of that sweet satiation her body demanded. She wanted more, but he moved away, only to return with a deeper thrust, and she rose to meet his lover's assault. He smiled down at her, and she felt their bodies begin to move in a rhythm that carried her higher and higher with each stroke. She tried to keep her eyes open, locked on his, but the sensation was too exquisite, and she closed them as she cried out when he brought her to a crescendo of delight. He crested the wave with her, and she felt the delicious pulse of his body within her, filling her, making her whole.

He lay down lightly upon her, wrapped one leg around her, then turned to one side, holding her against him in their intimate embrace. "Oh, my God, Meredith," he whispered, "what a woman ye are."

She was unable to speak or move or think or scarcely even breathe. He was everywhere she wanted him to be. Around her, within her, in her mind and heart, body and soul. She may have made a terrible mistake in this, but this was an experience she would cherish for the rest of her life, no matter what the consequences.

"I… don't generally fall into bed with virtual strangers," she said, finding her voice at last, teasing the hair on his chest with one finger.

"Nor I." He drew her even closer with his leg. "You've made me lose my mind, lass."

She looked into his eyes. "Lass. I've never been called a lass before. It's so… Scottish."

"Do ye like it?"

"I do."

"Hmmm. Did ye hear what ye just said? Ye said, 'I do.' I like the sound of that."

Meredith blinked. He couldn't mean… "What are you talking about?"

He kissed her forehead. "Do ye suppose a Sinclair could marry a Macrae without everyone in the territory i a king up arms?"

Meredith held very still. Marry? Was he serious? "Is that a proposal?"

"Aye,'tis."

"But… but we barely know one another." "I thought 'twas rather well-acquainted we just became."

Meredith's heart began to race all over again. This couldn't be happening. She'd known this man less than a week and, although she was overwhelmingly attracted to him, there were still many things about him she distrusted. Falling into bed with him might be bad judgment, but marrying him so hastily could be disaster. She placed her hand on his chest and drew away slightly.

"When you picked me up on the road, you said we needed to talk about something. Is this what you meant?"

Ian shifted and they separated. Meredith felt the loss and shivered. He threw the bedspread over them and drew her back into his arms. "No, actually, it wasn't what I had in mind."

No one was more surprised than Ian Sinclair when the proposal of marriage came out of his mouth. Marriage was something he'd thought he might consider one day, but not for years yet. He'd been married to his work and to the ongoing project with the castle. There simply hadn't been time to think about it, or a woman worth thinking about.

Then along came Meredith Wentworth, Meredith Macrae Wentworth, and suddenly marriage seemed the most logical step in the world. If, that is, they could settle the rather major issue that still loomed between them. He held her close and jumped into it with both feet.

"Ever heard of a company called New Horizons Cruise Lines?"

"I've seen their ads on television. Why?"

"They want to buy this castle."

Meredith turned wide eyes on him. "What on earth for?"

"The same reason they're after the land in the village. They want to run us all off and create a vacation resort here as one of their fantasy ports of call."

He jumped when she bolted out of his arms and sat up, clutching the bedspread to her. "Why, that little weasel. He's playing both ends against the middle."

"It wouldn't be Angus Stewart of which ye speak?"

She jerked her head toward him, and he saw the fire m her eyes. "What did he offer you? Or should I say threaten you with?"

Ian knew in that instant that Meredith had nothing to do with Stewart's deceit, and joy surged in his heart. He told her the details and watched as her eyes widened in astonishment and then narrowed again in disgust.

"Why, he's the sleaziest, slimiest bastard I've ever run across."

"And I thought ye were a lady," Ian teased, but agreed wholeheartedly with her opinion. He was curious, though, as to how she knew about Stewart. She must have heard something in the village. "Your turn. What do ye know about him?"

"He came to the village and informed my kin that they don't own their land, and that you, the mighty Earl of Sinclair, were about to enforce another clearing. He said you were going to turn the village into a tourist attraction. He failed to mention New Horizons Cruise Lines."

It was Ian's turn to explode. "I would never dream of such a thing… even if I owned the land! Which as far as I know, I don't."

Meredith snuggled down next to him in the bed. She was quiet for long moment, then whispered, "I owe you an apology, Ian. Like the rest of the Macraes, I've doubted you. I didn't know if Stewart's claim was true or not. That's what I was trying to find out last night when I started talking about tourism."

Ian drew her closer. "I owe ye an apology of my own," he said softly, kissing her hair. "Stewart showed up in my office just a day or two after ye arrived in Corridan. When he made his threat, I concluded that it was just too coincidental that ye both came to this remote little village at the same time. I thought ye must somehow be involved with him, maybe had even hired him."

"What! You couldn't-"

"Wait a minute. It gets worse," he added unhappily. "Last night, ye convinced me that ye couldn't possibly be involved in a scheme to promote tourism. By the way," he added with a small laugh, "ye also stole my heart." He felt her move closer, but it didn't make his confession any easier. "Today, when I found out that the cruise-line company was American, I was suspicious all over again. It was one thing to think ye, a stranger, might be about to betray me, but after last night, ye weren't just a stranger anymore. Ye see, I'd fallen in love with ye, and I couldn't bear it if ye were really only just a beautiful enemy." He paused, then added, "That's what I wanted to talk about."

She looked up at him with a bemused smile. "So what am I? Friend or foe?"

"Would I propose to a foe?"

"I'm a Macrae," she reminded him, "and you didn't know the truth about Angus Stewart's scheme when you proposed."

"I knew ye, and that's all I needed to know."