Wouldshe beg him to stop, or beg him for more?
"Aye."The word was barely a whisper, breathless and shaking.
The sound of her voice,small and frightened and unbearably feminine, did nothing to help his situation. If anything, it made things worse, stirring something possessive and primal in his chest that he had no right to feel.
Satisfied,or at least pretending to be, Ewan spurred the destrier forward. The massive horse leaped into motion, its hooves thundering against the packed earth as it shot through the openpostern gate. Behind them, shouts rose in a cacophony of fury and alarm, but they were already clear of the walls, already swallowed by the darkness beyond.
Ewan urged the horse faster,leaning low over Maia's shoulder to reduce wind resistance. She made a small sound of distress as they accelerated, her body pressing back against his instinctively, seeking stability. Her bottom nestled more firmly into the cradle of his hips, and one of her hands flew back to clutch at his thigh for balance.
"Easy, lass,"he murmured against her ear, his voice rough with emotion. "Hold on to me tight if ye need to."
"I cannae—thespeed?—"
"Ye can."His arm tightened around her waist. "I've got ye. Ye willnae fall."
Her fingers dug harderinto his thigh, and he felt the tremor that ran through her.
And by the gods,he liked it.
He likedthe way she fit against him, tucked into his body as if she'd been made to rest there. He liked the warmth of her body through the layers of leather and linen between them. He liked the small, helpless sounds she made as the horse's pace jarred her against him with every stride, and especially the way her hair whipped back in the wind, catching against his jaw and throat.
His arm tightenedaround her waist, ostensibly to keep her secure, but really because he couldn't resist the urge to feel more of her pressed against him.
Through the thinfabric of her shift, he could feel the softness of her waist, the curve where it met her hip. His hand spanned nearly the entire width, his fingers splaying across her ribs just below the swell of her breast.
He could movehis hand higher. Just a few inches. Could cup that soft weight in his palm, feel if her nipple would harden against his touch even through the fabric. She'd probably gasp, might even squirm in his lap—which would only make things worse for him, but God, what a way to suffer.
She's a means to an end. Nothin'more.
He repeated it like a prayer,a desperate attempt to ignore the heat pooling low in his belly, the tightness in his breeches that had nothing to do with the saddle and everything to do with the woman in his arms. He'd taken her to send a message to her uncle, to make the bastard understand that actions had consequences. When MacMahon came crawling with apologies and reparations, Ewan would return her unharmed.
Eventually.
Until then,she was his captive. His leverage.
Me responsibility.
And that meant keepinghis hands to himself, no matter how much his body protested. He wasn't his father. Wouldn't take what wasn't freely offered, wouldn't force himself on a woman who had no choice but to submit.
I stole her away,aye, but I'll be damned before I become the kind of monster who takes more than that from an unwillin' lass.
Even if everyfiber of his being was screaming at him to find out what her skin tasted like.
Even if hisfingers were already imagining the texture of her hair, the curve of her jaw, the hollow of her throat where her pulse would flutter like a trapped bird.
Even if…
"I'm cold,"Maia whispered, pulling him back to their current situation and what was at stake. The admission seemed to cost her something, and Ewan shifted, pulling his plaid cloak around both of them.
"Better?"
"Aye,"she whispered after a moment. Then, even more quietly: "Thank ye." The gratitude in her voice did something strange to his chest.
He toldhimself it was nothing. "Cannae have ye freezin' to death before we reach McGill lands. Yer uncle needs to know ye're alive, or this whole thing is pointless."
"Of course."Her voice had gone flat again. "Wouldnae want to damage yer precious leverage."
He let that lie.Let her think the worst of him.
