“Which way?” He looked back at her.
“That way.” She pointed a little to his right.
“And where will that take me? To a warrior’s home? Do you think I’m a fool?”
“Where do ye want to go, and I’ll tell ye how to get there.”
He pressed his lips together, and she was certain he had no idea where he wanted to go. She’d ruined his plans by running from her home, and now he was floundering.
“I don’t trust you.” He headed to the left, opposite of where she’d pointed. She suppressed a triumphant grin. He’d played right into her hands, leading them away from her cottage but in a direction she was familiar with.
He dragged her for what seemed like eternity, and she continued to stumble behind him, waiting for her opportunity.
It came when he stopped again and looked around. He unwound his hand from her hair, and the pain in her scalp instantly lessened. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she resisted the urge to rub her head.
Free of her hair, Donaldson pointed at her. “Run and I will shoot you.”
She nodded.
He looked around again and she realized they were in a clearing where no foliage grew. She knew what was going to happen next. As if to prove her right, he began unbuttoning his fly. Already there was a bulge there. But it was the large branch just behind him that she was eyeing.
“Scream,” he said.
Her gaze flew to his dark eyes, alight with excitement. His face was flushed and he was breathing rapidly. “Scream,” he demanded again.
Her breath was stuck in her throat. Hewantedher to scream. He wanted her to fight him off because it excited him.
He punched her in the stomach. She gasped and a strangled sound emerged, it was so unexpected and brutal. Her arm automatically came forward to cover her stomach.
“Scream,” he said again as he fumbled with his breeches.
“I…can’t.” The breath was slowly coming back to her.
He grabbed her shoulders and she cried out, more from surprise than anything. His fingers dug in to her, harder and harder. She opened her mouth to scream. At this point she would do anything he asked if only he would stop the pain. Only a gurgled moan came out of her.
He shook her and her head wobbled. “I will make you scream,” he said with deadly calm. “Youwillscream for me.”
She fell forward, her eyes on the thick branch just a few feet away. Holding her by the shoulders with one hand, he reached for his fly again. “I wish I’d thought to bring a shovel,” he said mostly to himself.
A tremor raced through her. He was going to beat her, rape her, and kill her. She wasn’t ready to die. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Iain. She’d been so foolish, pushing him away.
With a cry, she rushed forward and grabbed the branch. Not expecting her sudden lunge, Donaldson cursed and tried to grab for the makeshift club, but she was already swinging.
It landed with a hollow thud against his head. The vibration of the blow traveled up her arm and numbed her fingers.
His knees gave out, and she was surprised by how slowly he sank to the ground. She’d thought he would just collapse, but it was a slow sinking that seemed to take forever.
He looked at her in shock as blood trailed down his temple. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped to the side.
Using her anger as the impetus, Cait lifted the branch high above her head and swung down, smashing it into the front of his skull. His body twitched and then stilled.
She stood there, breathing hard, whimpering, her fingers almost numb because she was holding the branch so tightly. She watched, waiting for him to move, ready to club him again. But he didn’t stir.
The club fell from her fingers with a soft thud. A fly landed on the corner of his partially opened lips and crawled along his cheek. Something in the underbrush to her right moved. A small rabbit emerged, its nose twitching, then hopped away.
The fly was now crawling on his forehead.
Cait picked up her skirts and ran.
