“Ye’re exhausted,”Elijah said, carrying her toward where his horse waited. “And we have a long way to go. This is faster.”
“I can walk!”
“Aye,and ye’ll slow us down doin’ it.” He looked down at her, and something flickered in his green eyes. Something that made her breath catch. “Besides, I rather like holdin’ ye.”
Piper’s face flamed.“Ye… ye cannae just say things like that!”
“Why nae?”He settled her more comfortably against his chest, and Piper was horrified to realize how good it felt. How safe. She hadn’t been held like this since Alexandra died. “It’s the truth.”
“Because… because I’m…”She gestured at herself helplessly. “Ye heard what that other man called me. Plump. I’m nae the kind of woman men like ye hold.”
Elijah stopped walking.He looked down at her with such intensity that Piper forgot how to breathe.
“That bastard was blind,”he said softly. “Hush now,” Elijah murmured, reaching his horse. He mounted with her still in his arms, settling her across his lap with practiced ease. “Time for us to take you to your new home.”
“New home?”Piper’s voice rose with panic. “I daenae… I never agreed?—”
His arm tightenedaround her waist, holding her securely against him. She could feel the solid warmth of his chest against her back, the steady beat of his heart.
“Relax, love,”Elijah said, his lips close to her ear. The warmth of his breath sent shivers down her spine. “I promise ye, ye willnae regret bein’ caught by me.”
And as thehorse began to move, carrying them away from the hunt and into an uncertain future, Piper realized something terrifying:
Partof her wanted to believe him.
4
“If ye’re thinkin’ about jumpin’, I wouldnae recommend it.”
Piper jerkedat the sound of the Laird’s voice so close to her ear. They’d been riding for hours—she thought, at least. Time felt strange, stretched and warped like honey in winter. The forest had given way to rolling hills, and the sun was climbing higher in a sky so blue it hurt to look at.
She hadn’t slept.How could she?
Every timeher eyes had started to drift closed during the night, she’d jolted awake with her heart racing, convinced she was back in that cell. Or that the man holding her would finally reveal his true intentions.
Her entire body went rigid.She’d been so careful—hadn’t moved, hadn’t shifted her weight, hadn’t done anything that would give away what she was planning. Yet somehow, thisinfuriating man had known exactly what was going through her mind.
“I daenae kenwhat ye’re talkin’ about,” she said, her voice tight.
“Aye, ye do.”The Laird’s arm was loose around her waist, not restraining her, just… there. “Ye’ve been eyein’ that patch of soft grass we passed ten minutes ago. And that stream. And those trees that look easy to climb.”
Damn him.
“Maybe I was just admirin’the scenery.”
“Were ye now?”She could hear the smirk in his voice. “And here I thought ye were calculatin’ how far ye could run before I caught ye.”
Piper said nothing.Because he was right, and they both knew it.
She’d been awakeall night, her mind racing through possibilities. The forest was behind them now, replaced by rolling hills and open countryside. Harder to hide, but also harder for a horse to navigate at speed. If she timed it right, if she caught him off guard…
But even asshe thought it, she knew it was pointless. He’d catch her. Probably within minutes. And then what? Would he still claim to be her savior? Or would the mask drop, revealing what he really wanted?
“I’m nae goin’to hurt ye, lass,” he said, as if reading her thoughts again.
“So ye keep sayin’.”
“Because it’s true.”
