“Close yer mouth, lass, ye’re gaping like a fish. The laird will think ye’re daft! Ye must try to make a good impression, at least.”
She obligingly pressed her lips together, but her eyes were still wide. “I can’t believe it!” she said in a breathless whisper close to Dirc’s ear. He had taken her by the arm, drawing her closer and steering her unerringly towards the huge stone keep.
“It’s just like I imagined, even the smell!”Like horses and leather and stone dust and wood smoke, with a little bit of rotting vegetables and male sweat mixed in. She grinned at him, forgetting herself for a moment. “If my friend Brian knew where I was right now, he’d just die! You know, just before I got here he asked me…”
She stopped midsentence, the smile sliding abruptly from her face. Because she had caught sight of the man who could only be the laird of the castle. Her hand grasped Dirc’s arm without her even realizing it, and she drew in a nervous little breath.
He held her arm tighter, steadying her as they walked the rest of the distance across the bailey. Dirc watched her face closely, hoping her sudden silence didn’t mean she was about to faint or go into feminine hysterics of some kind. He didn’t think so, but then he didn’t know all that much about women. To his way of thinking, women were probably the greatest remaining mystery on earth, and the least likely to ever be solved. He was very glad that he didn’t need to worry about that, either.
Faith had, as a rule, never been one to look twice at a man, but she did now. In fact, she couldn’tstoplooking. Hewas magnificent, even from this distance, and even more so as they came closer. He stood there in the castle yard like a king, arms crossed over his chest, head held high, waiting for them to come to him. He was not dressed in any particular finery, only a loose fitting white shirt and tight leather pants, but still she could never have thought him less than the leader of his people; it was in the very aura of energy and vitality surrounding him. In the confident steadiness of his gaze as he watched her. Power. Command. Strength. Danger.
She looked up from his tall leather boots, all the way to his dark brown, wavy hair, which hung just past his shoulders, with a few loose curls falling across his brow. His face… dear God. He was beautiful. Extraordinary brown eyes framed with dark lashes were narrowed on her in a piercing gaze as she approached, making her feel nervous and giddy all at the same time. His cheekbones were high, and his mouth wide with lips just the right fullness and curve to be incredibly sensuous, yet still all male. His chin was broad and square, with a very masculine cleft in the middle. Looking at him, she thought her knees might just buckle, and that was not like her at all. But to be fair he was by far the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. He even looked like he evensmelledgood. He probably did.
Her eyes were still on him when Dirc pulled her to a halt, almost causing her to stumble.
“My laird, may I introduce my ward, Faith.”
“My laird”, she repeated, figuring that must be the proper greeting. But Dirc was squeezing her arm.
“Curtsy”, he said under his breath.
“I don’t know how! I’ve never curtsied to anyone before,” she whispered back, trying to loosen his grip where his fingers were digging into her flesh. “Let go!”
“It’s all right, Dirc.” Bren’s attention turned to her, and she thought she saw a gleam of masculine appreciation in his eyes as he slowly looked her over. “Faith. An unusual name.” His gaze lingered on her hips, her breasts, before slowly returning to her face, leaving a trail of heat on her body. She felt warm all over, and now she couldn’t even seem to speak. He was so very tall, nearly six and a half feet, by her guess. At any rate he towered over her own five feet and six inches.
And strong. The contours of the muscles of his arms and chest showed plainly through the thin linen of his shirt. He emanated power, so much so that she wanted to step closer and move away at the same time.
And his eyes, she was drawn to them even as she wanted to look away. He looked at her like a predator watching its prey. She suddenly wasn’t so sure she was up for this. This man was way out of her realm of experience with the opposite sex. He looked like he could be downright lethal.
He spoke again, his eyes still on her face, though his words were addressed to Dirc. “I have made my decision. She may stay in the castle, under my protection. After three days time, she must pledge her oath.”
Dirc smiled, and she could have sworn she heard him let out a breath he had been holding. He bowed his head in deference, though she sensed the relationship between these two men was deeper than it seemed on the surface. There was some sort of subtle undercurrent between them that she was not privy to, but she could definitely feel.
“Thank you, my laird. I place her in your care and trust ye to keep her safe.” He pushed her forward towards the laird, ready to make his escape.
Faith rounded on Dirc as he turned to leave, suddenly unnerved at being placed in the care of a man who looked like he was capable of… well, anything at all. Not the least of which wasmaking her think she might like to run her hands over his … “No! Don’t go yet Dirc. I’m not so sure about this anymore. I want to think about it some more.”
Dirc patted her arm in a half-hearted affectation of comforting her. He clearly couldn’t wait to be rid of her. Well then why had he brought her here to this time? Her mind made a rapid series of deductions, ending with the obvious conclusion that Dirc wanted her to stay here at the castle with the laird. Why? To be his… what did they even call it here… concubine? Mistress?Oh no, I don’t think so!Butwhat other reason could there be? She was, after all, a nobody here. Or there was her theory that she knew something important… but that was a long shot at best.
“Now lass, ye will be safe in the castle. Remember what we talked about earlier.”
“I don’t want to be safe in the castle!” She turned desperate eyes to Dirc, who avoided her gaze and guiltily looked down at his feet, which he shuffled a little in the dirt. She suddenly couldn’t see herself under the same roof with the laird for even one night. Not with the way he was looking at her. Not with what she could see burning in his eyes. And not with the urges that he was suddenly awakening in her own body.
“You can’t just let him take me and lock me up in his castle! Who is going to protect me fromhim?” she blurted before she could stop herself. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
Faith thought she saw a faint look of amusement pass over Dirc’s face before he spoke. He looked up at the laird. “My laird? Will the lass be safe at Creagmor?”
A slow and wicked smile curved Bren’s lips.Predator, definitely, Faith thought. He didn’t even move like a normal man. He had a sensual, animal grace that made her want to touch him, and when he spoke, his voice seemed to flow throughher and vibrate over her skin.Dangerous, dangerous man. This was never going to turn out in her favor.
“On my honor”, he said solemnly, “while the lass is under my protection, I willna touch her… against her own will.” His gaze fell to Faith’s upturned face. “Such a vow will certainly ease her mind. Ye ken, Dirc, that I dinna give a vow lightly. It is my word.”
Faith frowned at both of them. The smug look on the laird’s face said it all. He obviously thought that if he decided to seduce her, she would certainly fall willingly into his arms. No doubtallwomen did. She narrowed her eyes in defiant challenge of his assumptions. He would not find her so easy to win over! Even if she wanted to, she would never give in, she had far too much pride to be just another one of the laird’s female conquests. And he probably already had too many to count anyway. Plenty besides her to keep him busy, at any rate. She didn’t need to be counted among them, that was for certain.
Bren finally turned his gaze from her, and gestured to Mathilde, one of the chamber maids he had brought with him to see to the lass,Faith… because he had already known he would keep her. He had been enthralled since the moment he first saw her sitting there with the book on the grass. He was more than eager to discover much more about her. Like how her lips tasted, for one. And what her beautiful face looked like when she was under him and he was…
He forced his mind back to the present. The rest would have to wait. He nodded to Mathilde. “Ye may take her to her chamber now.”
Mathilde smiled warmly at the young girl who looked equal parts angry and terrified, leading her towards the keep with a gentle hand on her back. As the two women walked away, Dirc held Bren back for a moment.
