"The trail's gettin' narrower," he muttered.
"Aye, we'll be near the clearing soon." Caiden nodded, eyes flicking to the dark shapes around them.
The forest's stillness wrapped tight like a shroud, every snap of a twig or rustle of leaf setting nerves alight. Caiden's grip on the reins tightened, his senses honed sharp by years of war and hardship.
The lass's stubbornness was both a challenge and a prize, a puzzle Caiden intended to solve on his own terms. He would see what secrets she guarded and what truths she hid beneath hersharp tongue. And when the time came, she would learn that crossing Laird McGibb carried a price no one could escape.
But his mouth watered at the thought of how he would punish her.
Perhaps I will tease her with touch until she begs for a kiss? Oh, to have those long legs wrapped around me.
He felt his body growing heated and knew he had to stop these thoughts. He needed to separate his body from the lass to cool down.
"There's a brook there, let us stop and water the horses," Caiden said.
"Aye. I could use a waterin' meself," Eric said.
Caiden pulled his horse to the brook and dismounted, while pulling the scarf from his neck across the bridge of his nose.
He tied the horse to a low-hanging branch, then looked up at the young lass.
"I suppose ye can stretch ye legs," he said. "But if ye try to escape, I will punish ye."
"I understand," she said.
He untied her wrists from the saddle. A brief flicker of ache came over him as he saw the red markings the rope had left on her.
He placed his hands around her waist and lifted her down from the saddle.
The flask in his satchel filled with whisky called to him. He took a swig, then handed it to her.
"It'll keep ye warm," he said.
She took it and drank it down. Caiden turned to Eric who tossed him a loaf of bread. He broke off a chunk to eat and handed the rest to the lass.
"Why can ye nae let me go? I have done nothin' wrong," she said as she took the bread.
"Ye have said so and yet, I daenae believe it. Of course a thief would lie," he said.
She sighed and sat down on a log as she ate the bread. He looked over her, taking in her quiet beauty. Caiden walked to Eric, who led his horse to water.
"What do ye make of it?" Eric asked.
"I daenae ken what to make of it just yet," Caiden said. He looked at Maisie, who fed his horse a piece of bread and then rubbed its nose.
"We have another two hours' ride ahead, do we stop and set camp here for the night?" Eric asked.
"Nay, 'tis best to get her in front of a warm hearth. She is well-dressed. I daenae think she is used to the conditions of a Scottish night out in the open," Caiden said.
But another thought was tickling his mind, a dark one.
And I want to get her into me own chambers as soon as I can.
CHAPTER FIVE
If there was ever a moment to escape, it was now.
She kept her breathing even, forcing herself not to look too eager, her fingers twisting at the rope tying the horse to the branch.
