“Could you?”
“Almost. I swear I am sorely tempted. And Malcolm might even be forgiving if he’s told the whole of it.”
“We could let her go.”
Tearloch finally looked at his friend. “And tell the king….”
“That she violently didnae wish to be found.”
“No,” Tearloch said, and took a deep breath. “She’s mine.”
Duncan grabbed the other’s shoulder and tipped his head, speaking softly. “Ye should bed her, Tearloch. She will nae run from a man she falls in love with. And ‘tis yer right, after all.”
“Aye? Ye think she’d fall in love with me that easily?”
“If ye do a fair job of it, aye. Otherwise, she’ll run us into the ground along with our beasties.”
“Dinna worry, auld mon. I’ll keep her under my thumb once we’re home.”
“If we ever get home.”
A moment later, Tearloch stopped frowning. “I have an idea…”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kenna stood shivering next to her warm horse. Somewhere along the road, she’d lost her sack with the precious blue gown, and she paid for it now.
The darkness was deepening fast, and time was doing the opposite. Surely, if they were coming for her they would have passed by now. If they didn’t, they might have realized she was not worth their time. The thought shouldn’t insult her, but it did.
She should have kept her clothes on and stayed on the road. Her shift would do little to keep her warm now and would do much to put her in jeopardy on the morrow. She would need to ride swiftly past any travelers before they realized she wore no clothes. She had nothing with which to buy another gown—her earbobs were in her boots, but those were lost to her now.
Would she ever learn to think through her plans before it was too late?
No matter. She could trade her fine horse for a cheaper beast and simple clothes. The more she looked the peasant, the less likely Leith MacPherson would notice as she came up behind him and?—
Her horse shivered and its ears began flipping forward and back. It snuffed quietly against her hand, but the message was clear, even before it stamped nervously.
“Here they come,” she whispered, then strained to hear the rumble of hooves.
A large, sturdy twig snapped in the darkness behind her and she froze, as did every wee animal and insect around her. Dead silence saturated the shadows, black on black, but she didn’t turn. Instead, she pulled down on the horse’s bridle and steered its hindquarters toward the threat
A menacing growl began, far too near, slowly growing louder, closer. With its head lowered to Kenna’s knees, her horse had no other defense but to launch its back hooves up and away. They connected. A powerful smack. And the snarling ceased.
Kenna dropped the reins, and a squeal escaped her as she ran toward the road, ignoring the uneven ground beneath her feet. Her legs carried her faster than she thought possible, and the trees whipped by in a shadowed blur. She lunged over a thick bush of heather and onto the moonlit road without missing a step, only to have a huge form clasp her arm and swing her around. Her chest thumped against the solid trunk of a tree, and she was immediately embraced by its warm smooth branches.
Warmbranches!
Kenna looked up to find the monstrous tree was simply her laird and master, and relief flooded her from head to toe. Clouds parted and a flash of moonlight made him look younger. His youthful smile rippled in whiskers and dimples.
He bent forward, then paused. His smile faltered and his eyes searched hers. But for what?
Whether he found what he sought, she couldn’t tell, but his mouth descended on hers, and she breathed in the sweet and musky taste of him. This, she remembered. The combination of fear and moonlight had not conjured him. He was here and shewas safe from whatever creatures dwelled in the shadows behind her.
Whether from relief or because she had suffered one surprise too many, Kenna surrendered to the second blissful faint of her life.
“Duncan! She’s fainted again!” Tearloch called toward the trees. His chuckling washed over his oblivious captive as he laid her on the grasses beside the road, then hurried to capture her panicked horse.
A weak growl came from the darkness.
