He strode to Niamh and hugged her tight as she sobbed, consoling her till she calmed down.
Lily watched silently as he dismissed his sister and his guards, then he faced her.
“What are you going to do with me?” she asked once they were standing in the hallway alone. “If I am your prisoner, then treat me like one. I will not have you lock me up in a bedchamber instead of a dungeon and yet allow me no freedom.”
“Ye want to be treated like a prisoner?”
This time as Killian stormed towards her, she did not back away. She was ready to defend herself against him, but when he got to her and grabbed her arm, he was not as rough as she had expected.
“I am treatin’ ye with honor. I promised nae to hurt ye, and I dinnae want to, but if ye ever touch my sister again, I will go back on my word. I swear I will—”
“I am not scared of you, Laird MacColl. I do not fear what you will do to me.”
“Ye should be,” Killian warned. “I could hurt ye…”
His gaze dropped to her lips. Tension snapped in the air around them, making Lily’s muscles stiffen as the heat took a speedy dive and rattled against her ribcage.
She should be afraid. Killian’s words should scare her till she backed down, but somehow, his eyes did not reflect the same threat on his lips, and her body did not feel threatened by him.
Lily did not know a person could breathe this hard, but each time he was near, her entire body responded in unusual ways.
“I cannot stay locked up,” she told him, sounding calmer than she intended. “I am not one to stay idle. Besides, someone tried to kill us… Shouldn’t we work together to find out who it was?”
“My gut tells me it was Laird McLennan,” Killian answered with a sneer as his eyes roamed over her one more time and then settled on her lips.
“Killian…”
“My sister kens nothin’ about this, and I would like to keep it that way. She has lost too much, already. I dinnae want to hurt her. I dinnae want ye to hurt her either. Ye stay away from her.”
He released her abruptly, and she nearly staggered back. “Ye will stay locked in yer chamber. I dinnae trust that ye willnae hurt someone or try to escape if I let ye out. My servants willserve ye breakfast and supper, and ye will do nothin’ unless I say otherwise. That is an order.”
“Have I not told you? I donotfollow orders. Especially not from you!”
“Well, today ye will follow my orders, or I shall lock ye up and make certain ye never go home. I dinnae joke with my sister or my family. Do ye understand me? I protect my own!”
Lily had never seen him this livid, and his words pierced right through her, creating a tiny tremble that doused her fight a little. She had a feeling that he meant every word he said.
10
Killian was still fuming in his study when Niamh came to find him. She had stopped crying, and her cheeks were no longer red, but seeing her that close to tears made his heart ache.
“Niamh,” he called as he went to give her a hug. “I am sorry Lily tried to hurt ye. I shouldnae have left ye with her.”
“She said she wouldnae hurt me, and I trusted her, Killian. I wasnae scared of her but upset with the situation. I didnae think she would hurt me—”
“She would have,” Killian interrupted while shaking his head. “Ye dinnae ken the woman like I do. She is a warrior, and she has killed men—my men. I willnae let her hurt ye, though.”
Niamh’s forehead creased into a deep frown as Killian patted her shoulder and tried to console her. “Who is she, brother?” sheenquired as her large green eyes locked on his. “I thought she was the lady ye intended to wed, but she doesnae like ye. What have ye done? Where did ye bring her from?”
Killian sighed as he took her hands and led her towards the settee in his study. When he had returned from his travels two years ago to find that his brother had been murdered by Laird McLennan, Niamh had been alone and still shattered with grief.
I should have been here for her when he died.
But he had spent two years enjoying his time in the Americas and then Asia while his family had grieved.
Killian had vowed then to avenge his brother’s death, even if it was the only thing he did as Laird MacColl. All of this was for Peter, and he had to explain that to Niamh because she was the only one unaware of what had really happened the night their brother had died.
“Killian—”
