“No,” she said, holding her hand up, stopping him. “I do not need an escort.”
“It’s raining.”
“Yes, I’m aware.” She stood on her tippy toes to look around one of his large shoulders. “And considering you’ve a very long boat ride home, I would think you’d like to start on your own way back to your side of the loch.”
Logan glanced over his shoulder before looking back at her.
“Graham would not like it if I saw you out here in this weather and didn’t see you safely home.”
“My brother-in-law need not know we even met.”
“Iwould know.”
“Then do your best to forget it,” she quipped, turning around.
Faith took a step, unaware of how slick the rocks on this portion of the shore could be particularly in the rain. Her foot slipped off the moss-covered rock. Bracing herself by bringing her hands up, she was holding her breath, waiting to see if her balance would hold, when a sudden strong arm wrapped around her chest, hoisting her backward.
Spooked by the sudden grab, Faith spun herself around in his arms and pushed at Logan’s chest, throwing him off balance as they both fell into the shallow waters of the loch.
SPLASH!
The dog, Jaco, began barking and leaping from side to side on the shore.
“Augh!” Logan bellowed as he tried to push Faith up. “What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Me?” she said as the icy waters soaked into her gown. “You’re the one who grabbed me!”
“To stop you from falling!” he snapped, turning to the dog. “Jaco, stop.”
The dog instantly stopped barking.
“Well, how was I supposed to know that?” Faith asked, her hands clawing at his chest as she tried to stabilize herself.
“Because I’d sooner marry an eel then try anything with you.”
“Believe me, an eel would be a welcomed companion if I could trade him for you,” Faith said as she struggled to stand.
Logan got to his feet, hauling her out of the water within seconds. Faith began to shake. Spring weather in the Highlands was unpredictable, and the waters this far north were still frigid. Logan held her close to his chest, and Faith could feel a heatemanating from him even though he was soaked. She looked up and stared into his face.
His nose was large and straight, and to her surprise, she saw several flecks of peculiarly white skin on the underside of his chin, almost as if he had been burned. She frowned. What had caused that?
As her breathing steadied, her eyes lifted to his mouth, where his bottom lip hung slightly open. Further up, her eyes met his and she saw an intensity in his glare that she had never witnessed before. She shivered then, which seemed to knock him out of a trance. He pulled her roughly toward the shore.
“You’ll catch your death,” Logan said gruffly. “Come on, get your feet out of the water.”
He tried to help her by holding her hand, but she snatched it out of his grip.
“I can fare just fine without you.”
He glowered at her, his gaze dark.
“Fine then, go.”
Holding her chin up, Faith tried her best to walk out of the water without tripping. Unfortunately, the rocks in the water were just as dangerous as those on the shore. She would have toppled over again, except that Logan’s hands landed on her waist, steadying her from behind.
Though it irritated her greatly, she allowed him to steer her out of the water, stomping away from him once she was beyond the rocks. Jaco approached her, sniffing at her water-logged skirts as she backed away from him.
“Stop that. Shoo. Go away.”
