“Aye. Ariana is the most like me sire. A temper ye doona want to challenge. Yet she is a sweet girl, blessed with a whimsical singing voice. I fear birds often mistake her for one of their own.”
Adam chuckled. “And Keara?”
“A bit shy, I fear. She carries the burden of being the youngest and the prettiest. Father favors her of the three of us, for she can bake anything under the sun. Cook taught her well, too well.”
“And why would a laird’s daughter spend so much time in the kitchens?”
“In our home”—Kali lowered her head, feeling ashamed—“’twas the safest place to be.”
Adam stopped turning the spit and looked at her from across the fire, his expression solemn. “Any man that raises a hand to a woman, especially his daughter, deserves the worst of fates. A painful death.”
“My sire died a long time ago when he sold his soul to the English. Crawling after them like a starving dog begging for scraps. And for what?”
“Winning the king’s favor back so he can reclaim his lands?”
She twirled a piece of her hair around her fingers, weighing what he had said. “Aye. Perhaps ye are right. Maybe ’tis why Lord Nelson has been chosen as me future husband—for he has the king’s ear in everything.”
“And yet the bastard lives in Scotland.”
“He is well compensated for it. He acts as the sovereign’s eyes and ears. At the slightest hint of rebellion, Lord Nelson will squash any man like a fly.”
“The lowlands,” Adam muttered.
“So verra different than the Highlands,” she said.
“Aye. Here, a Scotsman can live freely. Lowland men and English scum fear what my kind will do to them. As the tales warn, we are fierce warriors that eat the flesh of our enemies.”
“Cannibals?”
“Aye, and many other unmentionable things.”
She eyed him. “I think ye are the kindest man I have ever met.”
“Kind, ye say?” He lowered himself to his haunches, staring at her.
“And handsome.”
“I like the sound of that better, lass.” He inched around the fire, staying close to the ground.
“Not at all what I expected when I first met ye at the market.”
“What was yer first impression of me, lass?”
She shook her head, a tiny smile playing on her lips.
“Too afraid to say?”
“Nay. Just verra wrong.”
He reached within a foot of her, still crouched low, perhaps ready to pounce. “Tell me.”
“I wanted to kick ye in the teeth for threatening to put me over yer shoulder like a bag of turnips.”
He chuckled. “Ye were a hellion from the first moment. And this…” He reached for a strand of her hair, moving next to her, sniffing her curls. “Ye smell like the ocean—fresh and pure.”
“Adam?” Her eyes were wide and questioning, and she knew, above all things, if this man pulled her into his arms, she would never leave him. Ever.
“Come here, Kali.” He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to his chest, his warm breath tickling her shoulder as she molded herself against his body. “As long as ye are here on me lands, under the protection of Clan MacKay, I swear no one will ever hurt ye again.”
