Kresley Cole - [MacCarrick Brothers 03]

“I’ll see you safely clear of this place…for a kiss.”

The Highlander showed no alarm about what was happening outside. “A kiss now, or more later,” he continued.

“Oh, very well.” Maddy reached up to twine her fingers behind his neck. She tugged him down, briefly pressing her lips to the corners of his.

He stood fully once more. “Ah,
aingeal
, that was sweet, no doubt of it. But no’ quite what I had in mind.” He cupped his rough palm over her nape. “I’m demanding a deep, wet kiss. Until you’re panting.”

“Panting?” she murmured.
“Truly?”
How…titillating.

With his other hand, he cradled her face and brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “It’ll be easier just tae show you….”

Acclaim for Kresley Cole!

“One of romance’s fastest rising stars!”

—Romantic Times

“With a captivating brand of passion all her own, Kresley Cole is destined to be a star of this genre!”

—The Romance Readers Connection

“Kresley Cole writes like a master!”

—Romance Junkies

And praise for her novels…
IF YOU DARE
A
Romantic Times
Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner

“Classic romantic adventure…
If You Dare
will leave you breathless!”

—New York Times
bestselling author Julia Quinn

“Cole’s voice is powerful and gripping, and
If You Dare
is her steamiest yet!”

—New York Times
bestselling author Linda Lael Miller

“A tale that sizzles, generating heat that will scorch the reader.”

—Reader to Reader

“A passionate, action-packed romance sure to satisfy every heart.”

—Fresh Fiction

NO REST FOR THE WICKED
A
Romantic Times
Magazine Top Pick

“Sizzling sex and high-stakes adventure are what’s on tap in mega-talented Cole’s sensational new paranormal!”

—Romantic Times

“Kresley Cole writes another spine-tingling, adventurous, and passionate romance with her newest addition to
The Immortals After Dark
series.”

—Romance Reviews Today

A HUNGER LIKE NO OTHER
A
USA Today
bestseller

“Unquestionably an awe-inspiring romance!”

—Reader to Reader Reviews

“With intense action, devilishly passionate sex, and fascinating characters,
A Hunger Like No Other
leads readers into an amazing and inventive alternate reality.”

—Romantic Times
(Top Pick)

“A unique romance—it truly stands on its own!”

—Sherrilyn Kenyon,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Not just another romantic read…it’s a powerful experience!”

—The Best Reviews

THE PRICE OF PLEASURE
A
Romantic Times
Magazine Top Pick

“A splendid read! The sexual tension grips you from beginning to end.”

—New York Times
bestselling author Virginia Henley

“Sexy and original! Sensual island heat that is not to be missed.”

—New York Times
bestselling author Heather Graham

“Savor this marvelous, unforgettable, highly romantic novel.”

—Romantic Times

THE CAPTAIN OF ALL PLEASURES
A
Romantic Times
Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner

“An exciting, sensuous story that will thrill you at every turn of the page.”

—Reader to Reader Reviews

“Electrifying…. Kresley Cole captures the danger and passion of the high seas.”

—New York Times
bestselling author Joan Johnston

“Fast-paced action, heady sexual tension, steamy passion…. Exhilarating energy emanates from the pages…very smart and sassy.”

—Romantic Times

Books by Kresley Cole

The Captain of All Pleasures

The Price of Pleasure

A Hunger Like No Other

No Rest for the Wicked

If You Dare

If You Desire

Available from Pocket Books

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2007 by Kresley Cole

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5648-0
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5648-6

ISBN: 978-1-4165-5648-0

Visit us on the World Wide Web:

http://www.SimonSays.com

Dedicated to the readers…

For letting me share the MacCarricks with you.
Thank you and warmest wishes to you all.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the wonderful staffs of the University of Florida research libraries. These guys know
everything
and helped me navigate all their many resources: obscure texts—filled with fascinating details to enrich fiction, Victorian diaries—with first person accounts of my era of interest, and mapping and imaging—for authentic historical settings. I greatly appreciate all your help.

The love of a good woman?

To save a wicked man like me?

Never…because there’s no woman born

who’s as good as I am bad.

—E
THAN
R
OSS
M
AC
C
ARRICK,
L
AIRD OF
C
LAN
M
AC
C
ARRICK,
E
IGHTH
E
ARL OF
K
AVANAGH

I didn’t steal it—I swear!

Oh, as if things never fall into your pocket!

—M
ADELEINE
I
SOBEL
V
AN
R
OWEN,
SNEAK THIEF, OPPORTUNIST

Prologue

Iveley Hall, Buxton, England
Spring 1846

E
than MacCarrick thought the bored wife he was about to tup
might
be a bonny wench.

However, this was a best guess. At present, his vision was compromised by whisky, the great equalizer of women’s charms. Even after the wind-whipped half-hour ride to her home, he was drunk; in fact, he seemed to be getting worse.

But the woman
behaved
as if she was pretty, he assured himself as he removed his jacket, tossing it toward a divan in her opulent bedroom and missing it. Even in his muddled state, he detected a superficial silliness about her that men would tolerate only if she was fair. Plus, she’d been confident when she’d propositioned him in the shadowy hall of the Buxton tavern, having had no doubt whatsoever that he would meet her tonight.

She had a French accent and was tall, he thought, though she was now reclined, and he’d only briefly stood next to her when they’d met. They’d been together just long enough for her to pass him an expensively perfumed note with directions to her home, to ask if he could be circumspect, and to murmur what she planned to do to him.

Ethan was a red-blooded male of twenty-three—her wicked plans for him had seemed just the thing.

As he crossed the spacious room to the whisky service, she rose to her knees on the bed. “Did you wait to leave fifteen minutes after my maid and I left?” She feared her husband might hear of this indiscretion when he returned from his trip.

Ethan served himself a drink. “Aye, I waited.” He wouldn’t have traveled with her, anyway. A rake’s first rule of thumb? Always ride your own horse to a meeting with a woman you’re about to bed, so you can leave when you like. Else they’ll want to cling for the night.

Ethan
loathed
clinging women.

“Did anyone see you riding here?” she asked.

“No, no’ a soul.”

“Because I can’t have my husband hearing about—”

“Enough!” She was already grating on his nerves, and he hadn’t even used her yet. “You’re no’ the first married woman I’ve had,” he answered honestly. “I’ve done this many a time before.”

“Of course, I’m sure you have,” she said hastily. When he finally made his way toward her, she murmured, “You’re such a handsome young devil, Ethan. So tall. So strapping.”

He drank, frowning into his glass at her use of his given name. He hadn’t quite caught hers back at the tavern, when she’d been whispering in his ear, describing herself on her knees, sucking him deep. “
Young
devil? I dinna get the impression you were that much older than I am,” he said as he reached the bed.

She laughed. “Just a bit.” Her features were clearer now. She was pleasing enough. Maybe early thirties. “I’m old enough to know what I want, and when I saw you, I knew I had to have you.” She took his drink from him and set it on the bedside table. “But I bet women throw themselves at you, don’t they?”

“Everywhere I go,” he said, not bothering to hide his arrogance. It was true. He was a young, rich laird, and women liked his looks. And it seemed the more drunken and cruel he became, the more they wanted him.

“So if it hadn’t been me tonight, it could easily have been another woman from the tavern?”

“Easily,” he replied. When he’d left, the raven-haired barmaid he’d been contemplating had cast him a hurt expression. So had her sister. He’d shrugged at them as if he hadn’t cared. Because he hadn’t. “One woman or two.”