Page 12 of Trapped By the Exiled Bastard

Elin quickly finished washing and climbed out of the burn. She allowed herself to dry for a few moments, then reached for the robe Briana had given her, dressing quickly. Though Briana was slimmer than her, the difference in their heights meant that it still fit reasonably well, and tomorrow she could get the stain out of her dress. She focused on these practical thoughts, doing anything she could other than to look at Keir.

“Finished?” he asked after a while.

She nodded, then realized that he couldn’t see her and said, “Aye. Let’s go back.”

They walked silently side by side, both lost in their own thoughts. Though it was a mild night, the dampness still on her skin made Elin shiver as they left the protective cover of the forest.

“Here,” Keir said distractedly. The next thing she knew, he had shrugged off his sleeved overcoat and handed it to her. “Dinnae freeze tae death.”

Elin immediately shook her head. “I dinnae need yer help, nor yer pity.”

“Ye do,” Keir responded evenly. “What would yer mother say if she kent ye were shiverin’ and refusin’ warmth?”

Elin paused, then sighed, all of the fight leaving her in a moment. “I wouldnae ken. I never met her, nor me father either. I was raised in an orphanage, then I found ways tae support meself—until now. There’s naebody who’d miss me.”

Keir was silent for a moment. She prepared herself for a sarcastic response, but instead he draped the coat over her shoulders, and she found herself complying, pulling the sleeves on. “Ye’d be missed,” he said, his voice a warm whisper next to her ear.

Elin held her breath.

He pulled back, looking away from her. “After all, isnae Eamon coming for ye?”

The moment shattered, and once again they walked on in silence.

Elin pulled the coat tight. It was warm from the heat of his body, and she sighed with contentment. She hadn’t realized how cold she was until this moment. Once again, she felt his eyes on her, but she didn’t look up until they reached the hut.

Keir showed her inside and, after a brief few words, he left again, locking her in behind him. Elin moved to the bed and sat down, but it was hard to feel as scared or alone as she had when she’d been here before. She kept hearing Keir’s whisper in her ear, feeling his breath on her skin, and the weight of the coat rested reassuringly on her shoulders. With another sigh, she lay down and pulled the coat tight around her, allowing the warm, forest scent to accompany her into a sleep.

5

“W

hat were ye thinkin’?” Graeme asked immediately as Keir joined the others around the table in Theon and Briana’s cabin.

Keir had been expecting the question, but his muscles still grew tense and his throat tightened. Theon and Noah were writing something together, though Noah put down the pen the moment Graeme asked the question. Briana was kneeling on a cushion on the floor, working hard with a tub of boiled water and lye to get the bloodstains out of Elin’s dress. Graeme, meanwhile, was leaning on the table with one elbow, a frown on his usually jocular face.

There was no point in trying to fully explain, especially since Keir wasn’t sure what exactly the full answer was. “I already said. She saw me. She recognized me. I had nae choice.”

The frown changed into a smirk and Graeme pressed. “Aye? And it had nothin’ tae do with her bonny face or those lovely curves? I always kent yer eye would get ye intae trouble.”

“Graeme,” Theon scolded. Graeme grinned and immediately fell silent, and Keir was thankful. Agitation flared within him at the implication, and he knew that, had he responded, the conversation most likely would have dissolved into a fight. A twinge in his side reminded him he was still not at full strength, and infighting wasn’t a good idea.

But he didn’t want to think about Elin’s bright eyes or her sweet freckles or the way her skin shone in the moonlight. He didn’t want to think about the glisten of gold in her hair or the way Briana’s robe pulled tight around the softness of her body. And he certainly didn’t want to think about the sights he should not have seen, the stolen glances of her in the water, her hands running over her chest, the curve of her hips, her thighs as he wondered what it would be like to follow their trail. Swallowing, he gathered himself and sat down without a word.

“Is she really Eamon Grant’s lover?” Noah asked thoughtfully. “Do we think there’s a chance he might seriously come lookin’ for her?”

Briana scoffed. “He’s more likely tae come lookin’ for the horse,” she said, looking up from her work with a derisive expression on her face. “There’s nae way Eamon Grant will risk himself for any woman, nae even one as lovely as Elin. He has plenty of others lined up tae warm his bed in her place.”

Keir clenched his fists, heated anger rising even further. He’d met many men like Grant, men who treated women as disposable toys until the next one came along. It wasn’t even that Grant had many lovers, it was that he clearly didn’t care for any of them. The thought of Elin being used like that while believing that the situation was entirely different made him sick to his stomach.

“How do ye ken so much about it?” Theon asked Briana.

She smiled tiredly. “Dinnae fear, he never showed up at me door, love,” she said. “But ye must remember I spent most of me life listenin’. Learnin’. They all spoke freely of what he was like—me father, me brother Iain, and aye, the Grants themselves when they came by our castle. There’s nae shame in the heart of a nobleman who takes advantage of his position. Ye ken that as well as I do.”

Theon frowned, but he nodded. Keir’s stomach churned and he stared at the table, trying to force himself to calm down.

“Well, never mind. If he does come, we’ll just kill him,” Keir said. He’d been aiming for casual, but the words came out much more darkly than intended.

Theon paused, then said, “We only kill if necessary. But if Briana’s right, there’s nae chance of it happenin’. Our best bet is tae bring her tae our side and make it easier tae let her go without fearin’ for ourselves. Keir, I’ll leave that tae ye.”