“My god, are you not a wildcat, Eliza?” he asked, laughing.
Then she turned to him, and Duncan saw the look of pure terror in her eyes and realised that she was genuinely afraid. He remembered his own first ride on a horse at the tender age of six, and how scared he had been, and he felt ashamed.
“Don’t be scared, Eliza,” he said, his voice gentle. “I said I would keep you safe, and I will, I promise. We will not go too fast, and if you feel uncomfortable, please tell me. Will you?”
Eliza wiped her eyes and nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said huskily. “I will. I have never been on a horse before, and it seems such a long way down to the ground.”
Duncan took one hand from the reins and wrapped his arm securely around Eliza’s waist, pulling her against his hard, muscled body.
Eliza sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. For a moment, there was silence, then she asked, “Why did you buy me, Duncan? What are you going to do with me?”
Duncan noticed that it was the first time Eliza had called him by name, but he did not mention it. He sighed, knowing he’d have to tell her sooner or later, and now was as good a time as any.
“My mother was English,” he replied. “She was a wonderful woman, and I loved her very much, but many of my family despised her because she was not Scottish. I’m an only child, but there are plenty of cousins who are full-blooded Scotsmen, and one of them wants to get me out of the way so he can inherit my title and property. I have an idea who it is, but I’m not quite sure, and I would hate to implicate an innocent person.”
He frowned, sounding troubled, then he looked into Eliza’s dark eyes again. “I need your help,” he said. “You can pretend to be my betrothed and help me discover the traitor.”
Eliza’s face suddenly flushed with rage. “And why would I help you?” she demanded. “You bought me as if I were a prize heifer!”
Duncan shook his head. “No,” he replied, grinning. “You remind me more of a wild horse.”
Eliza saw red. Consumed by anger, she yanked on the reins, trying to stop the horse, but Duncan responded by laughing and pulling her even more tightly against him, and Eliza felt his lips graze her ear in a breathy kiss. His hand moved slowly from her waist to her thigh, and Eliza gasped as she felt his hands gathering up her skirt. Then she flinched as his fingertips touched her bare legs just above her knee.
“You are my betrothed,” he said, laughing softly. “I give you permission to take advantage of me in any way you choose. I will make it worth your while if you help me save my clan.”
Duncan gazed at her, loving the feel of her, her sheer femininity, and the way his maleness was even now responding to her with such ferocity as he felt his shaft harden.
Eliza was furious, but it seemed that the more he annoyed her, the more attractive she found him. He was everything a woman dreamed of in a man; big, strong, dominant yet strangely gentle—damn him!
She opened her mouth to deliver a furious response, but at that moment she heard a soft whistle and felt a breath of air on her cheek. A moment later, she heard a hard thudding noise and saw an arrow embed itself in the trunk of a tree a few feet in front of them. She squealed in fright and huddled closer to Duncan, as though she was using him as a shield, and felt his whole body tense.
Then he growled and looked over his shoulder before he said grimly, “Hold on tight, lass!”
He spurred his horse on, urging it to go as fast as it could, and the stallion leapt forward and began to gallop at breakneck speed.
3
Eliza was holding on to Duncan as though her life depended on it, which, at that moment, it did. She expected at any moment to fall off the stallion and be trampled, or be skewered by another arrow. Clearly someone wanted to kill Duncan or both of them, and if Duncan died, she would have no protection, and his murderer would likely kill her too, since she would be a witness to the crime. But why would someone want to kill them?
She clung to him as tightly as she could, taking comfort from the sheer solidity of his body, until gradually they slowed down and came to a stop. Eliza was trembling with fear, and found herself unable to move. Duncan sat tense and motionless for a moment, looking around to make sure they were out of danger, then he slid from the horse and reached for Eliza, setting her gently down on the ground.
Still trembling, she clung to Duncan for a few moments, taking comfort from his strength and the hardness of his body. When she finally found the power to draw away from him, she looked up and saw that his face was a hard mask of rage. However, it softened into an expression of concern as he gazed down at her, his amber eyes soft and anxious.
He gently began to run his hands over Eliza’s body, frowning as he did so. “Are you hurt, Eliza?” he asked. His hands were gentle as they searched for any wounds she might have sustained. “Please tell me.”
At any other time, Eliza might have been indignant that a man was taking such liberties with her. However, now all she wanted was comfort, and she shook her head and once more took a step towards him. At once, his arms closed around her, and she sighed with relief. She was not yet safe, but she felt a little better and more able to cope with her fear as long as she could draw on Duncan’s strength.
Granted, he still angered her, and still made her want to scream at him, but Eliza knew with certainty that he would protect her—he had already proved it.
“Good,” he said firmly. “Because nobody harms what is mine!”
Then Eliza felt a rush of rage sweep over her. “I am not—” she began, but Duncan cut her off before she could finish what she was saying.
“I will keep you safe,” he told her, his voice as hard as stone. The look in his amber eyes would have terrified the strongest of men, but somehow Eliza was not afraid of him.
“Stay close to me.” Then he swept her off her feet and onto the horse. “We are too vulnerable out here, Eliza. We must get to my castle before darkness—we will be safe there, I think. Now, we must speed up. Hold on to me as tightly as you can, and I promise I will not let you fall.”
They rode all day, and fortunately the weather continued to stay dry and relatively warm. As the rugged Scottish countryside sped past, Eliza began to relax a little, becoming accustomed to the motion of the horse and feeling safe in Duncan’s arms.
