She absorbed that information, her mind racing. So it wasn’t about the other bidder at all. Tòrr’s goal hadn’t been to outbid a man, he’d been after something else entirely.
This was about her father, about politics and whatever feud existed between MacDonald and her family.
Tòrr finally set her down beside a massive black stallion as they reached the horses, though he kept one hand on her arm to prevent escape. In the moonlight, his face was all sharp angles and shadows.
She yanked against his grip, but it was like trying to move a mountain. If she could escape, perhaps she could still get to Nessa.
"I willnae go. Ye cannae make me."
"I can and I will." He lifted her onto his horse before swinging up behind her, his arms caging her against his chest. "But first, tell me, what were ye plannin’, stayin’ at the auction? What made it worth endurin’?"
The question caught her so off guard that she answered before thinking. "I wasnae stayin’ willingly. I was—" She caught herself just in time, biting down hard on her tongue.
"Ye were what?" His voice was quietly insistent.
She couldn't tell him about Nessa, couldn't reveal her sister's existence to this stranger who already held too much power over her fate.
"Naethin’," she muttered. "And what is yer problem?"
"Me problem?" His breath stirred the hair at her temple.
She twisted in his arms, trying to face him, trying to read his expression in the moonlight. “Ye've ruined everythin’ now. Ye didnae even let me get me things."
He studied her face with those unsettling green eyes. "Anythin’ ye need will be provided in me keep lass, nay need tae worry about that.”
Before she could answer, Cameron mounted his own horse and moved alongside them. "We should go, Tòrr. Dawn isnae far off, and I'd rather nae explain our presence here tae any patrols."
Tòrr nodded and spurred his horse forward into the darkness. Behind them, the castle grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared entirely, taking with it her last hope of protecting the only person in the world she truly loved.
"Where are ye takin’ me?" she asked quietly.
"Home," Tòrr replied, his voice a low rumble against her ear. "Tae Keppoch Castle."
"And then?"
His arms tightened around her slightly. "Then we'll see what manner of woman I've bought meself."
The words should have frightened her. Instead, they kindled a small flame of defiance in her chest. Tòrr MacDonald might have purchased her body, but her spirit remained her own.
And she would make sure he remembered that, until she could manage to escape.
CHAPTER FOUR
"We’re nae alone." Cameron’s voice broke the silence.
"Aye." Tòrr turned to scan the forest around them. "Hard tae tell how many in this darkness. But they've been shadowin’ us fer the last mile, stayin’ just beyond sight."
Liliane's pulse quickened. Had her father sent men after them?
"Could be bandits," Cameron continued, his voice low and controlled.
"Nay, the way they're movin’, keepin’ formation... this feels deliberate. Professional." Tòrr said grimly. "They'll make their move soon. The forest grows thicker ahead, perfect cover fer an ambush."
"What dae ye want tae dae?" Cameron asked, his hand moving to rest on his sword hilt.
"We could try tae outrun them," Tòrr mused, "but best nae with the lass. And, if they are who I think they are, they ken these lands better than we dae."
"Then we make our stand. Choose our ground before they choose it fer us."
