“Will ye stop,”he huffed as she continued thrashing against his efforts. He couldn’t bear the thought of her taking him as an enemy. Yet, if that was what he had to be to get her out of such a place, then that was what he was going to do. “I’m here to help.”
“Oh,tell me again dear laird, how ye’re here to sweep me off me feet,” she said, her voice laced with sarcasm and mire.
“Aye,and from where I’m standin’ it seems that’s exactly what I’ve done, have I nae? So ye goin' to keep on insultin’ me?” he asked as he moved through the thicket.
“Put me down.”
“Ye cannae walk.”
“That will nae stop me.If ye mean me nay harm, ye’ll put me down and give me some respect.”
“I putye down and ye’ll just hurt yerself. Then what sort of hero could I be called?”
“Hero? And how is kidnappin’an injured woman heroic?”
Theodore glaredat her as they came out of the thicket and into a clearing.
“Maybe when yesee the healer, ye’ll stop accusin’ me of being such a horrid person.”
“Ha,that will never happen. I daenae care how kindhearted ye pretend to be, I’ll see right through it. Ye may have won this body, as frail and pitiful as it is, but mark me words sir, that will be all ye take of me.”
Theodore arched his eyebrow.He pulled in a long deep breath as he studied the woman before him. She has a spirit he’d never seen in someone so frail before. It didn’t matter how broken her body got, it was clear her spirit wouldn’t let her give up. It was a trait he couldn’t help but admire. His eyes shifted away from her dark brown eyes to her parched lips. She was like the last coal burning on a winter’s day that refused to give in to the frost.
“Believe me when I say,I understand ye’re fearful of me. That’s fine. One day I hope to prove to ye that I’m nae the monster ye think I am.” The words spilled from his lips like an unbreakable oath he would be forever bound by. Even if she didn’t believe him, he would ensure that no hand would ever touch her in violence again.
She stilled a moment.As if his words were like a weight dropped in her lap. The moment was fleeting as a tremor ripped through her. Her eyes bore into him. She blinked. Her lashes were heavy with exhaustion. He watched her lips part for a moment as if she were to protest, yet the strength left her.
For a brief moment,Theodore thought he had found a reprieve of her accusations. But the moment her forehead touched his chest, the second her gaze fell from his, she stiffened with resentment and mistrust.
The weightof trauma rested on his shoulders as his ears perked at the rustling of the underbrush. It was his years of training in the wilderness of the moors and untamed valleys that told him the movement was of no woodland creature. He stiffened as his ears perked.
“What are ye— ”she started. Theodore pressed his finger to her lips to silence her as he hunted the gray shadows for their intruder. Every hair on the back of his neck rose as he continued walking through the grove.
“That’s nae very nice.”
“Shhh,”he warned as he stopped and placed her on her feet next to a hollowed tree. Every nerve in his body tingled as he felt the danger but could not yet see it. He wanted to draw his sword, but the last thing he wanted was to cause her to fear him. Especially when he’d finally got her to be silent.
“What is goin'on? What are ye doin'?”
“We’re nae alone,”he answered as he pressed her up against the tree. She felt so nice against him. It was her body heat soothing his chilly skin like a furnace that made him want to stay put. But the danger was closing in on them. He could feel it.
“Wait, how do ye ken that?”she asked as he cupped his hand to her mouth and drew his dirk. Every muscle in his body was tight and ready to strike whatever might come against them. But no matter what it was, Theodore was certain he’d be the one to walk away alive.
“Ye areto stay right here, do ye hear me?” he growled over his shoulder. His voice was low and deadly, leaving no room for her to think he was making a suggestion. She bobbed her head without protest. He gave a slight nudge of his chin to the hollowed stump in the tree. “Get yerself hidden and daenae come out nay matter what ye might hear.”
3
“Ye cannae be serious,” Madison mumbled under her breath as she peered at the rotten stump. Inside the hole she could see something shiny and slithering. Her breath caught in her throat as she stepped back and tripped over her limp, unmovable leg.
“Do ye have a death wish?Get in the hole,” he growled. Madison pursed her lips into a tight line as she shook her head.
“There’s somethin’in it,” she complained in a hushed voice despite the uncertainty of why they were being quiet. It wasn’t like there was anyone out there. For all she knew he was lying to her. After all, that’s what everyone seemed to do. They each said one thing but turned around and did the complete opposite.
“There is nae,now get in. Or did ye want to be target practice for the next man to come out of the woods?”
“There’s nay one there,”she said pointing the empty place in the grove. Twilight painted the sky in hues of purples and blues while changing the clouds to pink. It would have been a marvelous site had Madison’s not been involved in the hunt to begin with.
“Are ye deaf?He’s right on us thanks to yer loud mouth,” he grumbled through gritted teeth. Madison crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
