Actually she had been left alone only moments ago, but she did not want these men chasing down Malcolm and Duncan, as much as they might deserve it for deserting her with no explanation. Wait…She drew a quick breath as it suddenly dawned on her that Malcolm must have known these five men were ahead of them. He had stayed with her until the last possible moment.The raven, the omen.
And then he had left her in their hands. It had all been planned! It must have been. Carefully planned, how could she not have guessed?The scoundrels! They could have told her, she would have gone willingly enough to do her duty. Men and their scheming! Now she had no idea who had found her, or what she should do next. Was she meant to go with them? Ask them the way?
The leader’s gaze snapped back to her at the small sound of her indrawn breath; he had been scanning the trees behind her. She looked up at him, and he met her eyes for a moment before he spoke again. There was something about his eyes… as if she should remember… if she could only look long enough, deep enough.
“Are you so much trouble then, that your escort would leave you here unprotected?”
Distracted again from her thoughts, she gave him a wry half-smile, she just couldn’t help it.“Apparently, I am.”She thought she saw a brief flash of amusement in his remarkable eyes, but she couldn’t be sure.
“Perhaps she’s a spy,” offered another of the men helpfully, the first any of them had spoken.
She realized with a start that she had forgotten the other men were even there.The leader shot him a look, but turned back to frown at her contemplatively.She looked back at him. She was finding his air of darkly brooding strength strangely intriguing. And something more… her mind struggled to bring it into focus. There was something she should know, just beneath the surface. It eluded her. She stole glances at each of the other men, but there was nothing so remarkable about any of them. Her eyes were drawn again back tohim.
“Search the forest”, the leader commanded, “She may not be as alone as she claims. And be on the lookout for an ambush.”
His men obeyed immediately, slipping off into the trees. She knew they wouldn’t find anyone, her friends and her horse were long-gone. She really was alone now. Except for the man who was scowling at her as if she were a problem he hadn’t anticipated this day, and now only wished would go away. He looked fierce, so strong, more than a little dangerous. Several tattooed bands circled his upper arms; reminders of battles fought, and no doubt won. She took a brazen step closer to him, unaccountably curious now, irresistibly drawn, and he flinched slightly as if surprised by her boldness.Turning slightly from his gaze, she put her upturned hand out to the stallion and the huge horse blew from his nostrils and nuzzled her palm. She already missed Sindal, her lovely white stallion. She hoped Malcolm would take good care of him while she was away. He had better, or she would make him pay! Smiling, she reached up and rubbed the soft black muzzle. She looked up to see the warrior watching her, his eyes thoughtful, his mouth a grim line.
“A beautiful horse.” She said, taking a step back so that she could see him better.“You know my name now, but what may I callyou?”
His scowl deepened, if such was possible.“Perhaps you already know exactly who I am.”
“If you are implying that I am some sort of spy”, she replied lightly, turning her attention back to the horse, “then I am certainly not a very good one, because I have no idea who you are. I told you, I was abandoned here. For reasons I’d rather not discuss.”
“Aye, we’ll see about that,” he said.
She sighed impatiently.She really would be a horrible spy, being sneaky and devious was not her strong suit.Anyone who knew her would see right through it. She was usually very good at reading the thoughts and feeling of others though, often understanding their motives better than even they themselves did. But she wasn’t sure about this man, he hid his thoughts well, and no emotion showed on his face, besides the obvious irritation, of course. She could guess, however, that he wasn’t about to let her just walk away, especially since he was clearly suspicious of finding her here alone.She wouldn’t be running off into the woods. Although she knew she had all of the skills to survive on her own indefinitely, she couldn’t outrun five men on horseback. No, running wasn’t an option, especially, she reminded herself, when she was fairly certain Malcolm had intended her to meet up with these men, though why, she couldn’t imagine. If she went willingly, they would probably at least feed her. And she would have shelter from the coming rain, most likely.
The first of the other warriors reappeared, shouting to the leader from across the small clearing. “Ceann! The tracks of three horses! Stopped just over there, then turned back.Naught else.Do we go after them?”
Ceann shook his head. “No, they could be long gone by now, we’ll not waste our time. We’ll take the girl. If they want her back, they will know where to look. In the meantime, we’ll learn what her game is.”
Ella glared up at him, offended. Did he really think her just a lass playing a game? But at least now she knew his name.Ceann.A strong name. It suited him. Before she knew what he was doing, he had urged his horse forward a little and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her easily, if a bit roughly, onto the saddle before him.She tensed instinctively at the sudden contact and tried to pull away, but he held her firm and settled her between his thighs, his arms encircling her as he leaned forward and picked up the reins.
When she got over the shock of being hauled so effortlessly onto the back of the horse, her senses were swiftly and unexpectedly assaulted with the heat from his body, and his warm, spicy, masculine scent. It seemed to be making her heart beat faster and her head feel just a littledizzy. With the first jolting movement of the horse, she fell back against him, and the feel of rock hard muscle flexing against her body made her shudder. She didn’t dislike the feeling of being in this man’s arms, it felt…exciting, and just a little bit overwhelming, different than anything she’d ever felt before. She found herself wanting to turn in the saddle and press her palms against his powerful chest, press herbodyagainst him. Had she been so sheltered in her life that she had never seen such a man as this? True she grew up in a small hamlet, and hadn’t travelled too often, but Ceann made every other man she had ever met pale in comparison.
Ceann pressed his lips together in a grim line. He didn’t really need this problem right now, but he had no choice but to bring the lass along.Finding her by herself so deep in the woods on this little-used trail was not natural, and he couldn’t take the risk that she was more than what she seemed. Had she been just a village girl, he might have let it pass, but he was almost sure she was high-born. Her clothes were fine, as was her speech and the grace of her movements, the very way she held herself. He in fact had a distinct feeling that she was more than an ordinary lass; a feeling he couldn’t quite place. He looked down at her, held snug between the front of the saddle and his thighs. She had not fought him, had not even seemed frightened. Truly she was a mystery; the last thing he had expected to find when he and his men had left on a patrol two days ago. The MacDonalds had been growing bolder lately, raiding not just at the MacKenzie borders, but farther in as well. At least he would not have to worry about keeping his skills sharp. And he lived now for the thrill of battle; the overpowering rush that drown out all other thought. The weight of a massive claymore in his grip, the clash of metal on metal.The roar of a battle cry and the sweetness of victory…
But the lass he now held before him, she was inspiring a different lust all together, and no less intense than his lust for battle. She was uncommonly lovely.When he had seen her there in the wood, his heart had jumped, and he thought for an instant he was seeing a fae creature come to life. The porcelain skin of her face was accentuated by highcheekbones and soft feminine contours. Her hair, a dozen shades of blond woven together to look like spun gold, was long and think and wavy, and in wild disarray from being blown about in the wind. His eyes fell lower. Her breasts were high and full, her waist slim, her hips curvy… aye, she was extraordinary. Such beauty was rare; he was sure he had never seen her equal. His body had responded to her the moment he saw her, flooding with heat, and then the primal urge to claim her as a man claims a woman, stunning him with its intensity.He tried to pull his mind forcefully back from the unwelcome direction of his thoughts, but failed miserably. He was only a man, after all, and right now he was a man holding an incredibly beautiful woman. It was only natural that he should respond to her nearness, wasn’t it?He leaned forward just a little to inhale the sweet scent of her hair. His groin began to throb mercilessly, and the gathering power of the impending storm only seemed to heighten his restless hunger. Every part of him was tensed, humming. God, he had not felt such desire in a very long time, perhaps never.No, surely never. He wondered again who she was. One just didn’t find comely lasses wandering in the woods for the taking, claiming to have no kin, and even stranger still, professing to have been abandoned by their escort. He doubted any man would willingly leave such a beautiful woman behind, no matter how troublesome she was.Even if she were the meanest of shrews, she would nevertheless be a valuable prize. He wondered ruefully if perhaps he was about to find out first-hand what trouble she could cause. After all, capricious fate did not just gift a man like him with a woman like this; he did not have that kind of luck.
Ceann looked up at the sky. The clouds were still darkening, the wind still rising. A clap of thunder sounded in the distance, then another. They would have to stop soon and make camp, before the heavens opened up. If it were just a matter of being soaked, he would have continued on, but the heavy rain would make the steep highland terrain into dangerous footing for the horses, and he wouldn’t risk them unnecessarily, especially not Fallon, his prized stallion.He muttered a soft curse under his breath. He had hoped to be home tonight. He hadn’t counted on the bad weather, or finding a stray lass. A lass whocould very well be the bait for a trap; no, was almost surely bait of some kind or another. He could think of no other explanation.
The fierce wind was still rising and whistling through the glen. The noise made it nearly impossible to talk as they rode, so when he drew his mount to a stop, the lass looked up at him expectantly, holding her hair back out of her eyes as it whipped around her face. He swung down to the ground and turned, lifting her from the horse as if she weighed nothing at all. She leaned into him slightly, and he thought she must be cold. Her gown was thin and she wore no cloak. What was she doing out without so much as a cloak? In fact she seemed to have nothing with her at all.
He signaled to the other men behind him that they would camp for the night, then went about choosing a sheltered spot to set up a make-shift tent.A bolt of lightning lit the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. The horses shifted and whickered uneasily, but they had been hobbled and secured to stout trees so they could not run off. He instinctively looked to the lass, expecting she would be afraid of the storm, as many women were.But she was gazing up at the sky, a slight smile curving her lips. The look on her face was not fear, but awe. She turned when he looked at her, and rushed over to help with the tent, which was flapping wildly in the wind as he tried to secure it. Any moment now the rain would start. The other men had since secured their shelters and crawled inside, and Ceann bent to his own tent, pushing Ella in ahead of him just before the first heavy drops fell.
Chapter 2
The space inside the tent was small, barely enough room for the two of them, but at least they would stay dry under the oiled cloth.Ceann stretched out his long limbs on the soft wool blanket that covered the earth… and waited for her reaction. A lady would surely protest such impropriety as sleeping in close quarters with a man, especially one who was a stranger to her, but he could hardly put her in a tent by herself. She could run off in the night, or worse than that, if she really did mean them harm. Although she would be hard-pressed to outwit his well trained men. No, she would have to stay here where he could keep an eye on her. He remembered too well all of the tales passed down through generations of great lairds or warriors brought low by the treachery of a beautiful woman. They were just tales, aye, but most tales held a grain of truth somewhere.He looked again at the lass beside him,Ella, if that was her real name. But she did not seem ready to throw a fit at the circumstances she found herself in. She was propped on her elbows, using her fingers to try to untangle her wind-blown hair. When she saw him looking at her, she gave him a little smile. Her full lips curved up at the corners, and in the dim light, he thought he could see the shadow of a dimple on her right cheek. His heart pounded a little faster, and he stared at her, still uneasy with the intense way his body reacted. He muttered an oath under his breath and looked away. After a moment, he reached into his bag and took out two oatcakes, handing one to her. She accepted it with a little smile and he watched her eat.
“You aren’t afraid of storms”, he said brusquely, more to break the strange tension than for the sake of conversation.
“No, I’m not afraid of storms,” she said.
“And you’re not afraid of me, either, are you?” Most women were, at least a little. Hell, mostmenwere.He was a very large man, and had the well-earned reputation of being a fierce and ruthless warrior.He knew he was physically imposing. Had used it to his advantage more than once.
She smiled. “No, I don’t think you bite, at least you haven’t yet.”
He almost smiled back, but caught himself in time, resuming his forbidding demeanor.“You should be afraid, lass. I protect my own, always.” He narrowed his eyes. “Who are you really?” he asked in a harsh tone, even knowing she would not tell him.And why do I want to kiss you so damn badly right now I think I may soon forget to breathe?
