Page 19 of Trapped By the Exiled Bastard

His hands pushed at her shoulders, trying to force her to her knees. Panic rose within her, but unlike the kind of hopeless fear that had paralyzed her in these situations before, something in her crumbled. The memory of Keir’s voice was suddenly loud in her mind. I’ll never be such a monster as tae force an unwillin’ woman. But it seemed that there were monsters everywhere she looked. No doubt he would have treated her this way soon enough. Fury and pain erupted in her heart, mingling with her desperation, and she fought back, using the wall to keep herself upright.

“Nay. Nay!” she said. “Leave me be, please, I—”

“Make it easier for yerself, lass,” Gordon said, folding his arms, amused. “Serve us well, then we’ll let ye free.”

She knew a lie when she heard it. The fear made it difficult to breathe. “Please, I belong tae Eamon Grant. If ye just let me go—”

To her horror, both men only responded with a dark laugh. “We ken exactly who ye are, slattern,” Craig told her with an ugly smile. One of his hands released her shoulder and moved to her neck, his fingers pressing lightly on her throat. She felt lightheaded, her stomach tight, the world swimming in and out of focus. “Eamon’s whore. We suspected that was his horse, and now we’ve found his other mount as well. Imagine how pleased he’ll be when we bring ye back tae him.”

“Aye, and I doubt he’ll mind if we take our reward first, since we ken how well that smart mouth can work. Ye’re nothin’ tae him, nor tae anyone. Dinnae resist.” Gordon leered. “Ye—”

A splatter of warm blood peppered Elin’s cheek, accompanied by a man’s scream. A second later, the pressure on her neck and shoulder disappeared, and Craig fell to the ground. Elin blinked, the world snapping back into focus. Gordon was curled on the ground, clutching a broken nose and rocking back and forth, while Craig was crumpled at her feet. Standing over Craig, his knuckles covered in blood and his eyes blazing with fire, was Keir.

Elin stared at him, leaning heavily against the wall, unable to move or breathe. Keir’s expression was darker and more furious than any she’d ever seen, like the expression an avenging angel might wear before it ended the world. Anger pulsed from his skin, and the air seemed to still around him, the world holding its breath as it waited for him to act.

“Hurt?” he gruffly demanded of her.

She shook her head, unable to speak.

Keir kicked Craig, who let out a low groan. “Ye’re lucky,” he announced, crouching down to make sure that the injured man could hear him. “If she’d been hurt, ye’d be dead. But ken this—ye, and yer friend, and any who might act. If I hear ye breathe even her name again, I’ll finish what I started. I’ll kill ye slowly, piece by piece, and send yer remains back tae Grant meself. Understood?”

Craig whimpered.

Keir stood and, with a short nod, stepped over the two prone men to grab Elin’s hand. He tugged and she felt herself dragged along, a loud buzzing in her head making it hard to focus. Then, suddenly, she heard the tell-tale sound of someone getting to their feet behind her. With a gasp, she glanced up at Keir, and he nodded down to her.

Hand in hand, they began to run.

9

Keir’s chest heaved as they finally came to a stop deep in the woods, as far from the village as they could reasonably run without entirely losing themselves. He dropped Elin’s hand and leaned against a tree, trying to regulate his breathing and stop the burning in his throat and the racing of his heart. It had been hard to run when all he truly had wanted to do was slit the throats of both of those so-called men, but he knew it would have just led to an even worse situation if two Grant bodies turned up with rumors of Elin having been seen.

When he finally gathered himself, he turned to Elin, who was sitting with her back against a tree and her knees drawn up to her chest.

“Are ye all right?” he asked.

He expected a nod, perhaps even a thank you. What he got instead was Elin suddenly jumping back to her feet and storming toward him, her eyes ablaze.

“Why did ye do that?” Elin demanded furiously. “I had it under control! Why would ye risk everythin’ like that? Are ye as stupid as ye are brutal?”

Keir’s jaw set. What was this?

Why could she never just react like a normal woman?

He closed the gap between them, standing toe to toe with her and staring down at her. “If I was brutal, would those bastards still be alive?” he snapped. “What’s wrong with ye, woman? I saved yer life. Again, may I add!”

“Ye protected what ye think is yer property,” she shouted, driving a finger into his chest. “But I’m nae, do ye understand? I’m nae yers! Ye should have let those men alone. They would have gotten me back tae Eamon and ye’d have never had tae see me again.”

What was she saying? Keir stared at her in disbelief, his thoughts a tumult of annoyance and confusion. “I couldnae just let ye go, ye ken that.” His voice dipped. “And I told ye before. Ye are mine, at least until the day that this is all over. And I dinnae let people damage what is mine unscathed.”

Elin’s eyes dilated and her cheeks darkened as she stared up into his eyes. For a moment, Keir stared at her and felt such intensity that it threatened to overwhelm him. He’d never been so drawn to someone, not just her physical beauty, but the way that it felt right now when she looked at him. She was infuriating. Illogical. Dangerous. So why, when she looked at him like that, did he want to pull her close and show her what it really meant to be kissed? Without even thinking, his hand moved toward her.

She tore her eyes away and the moment broke. “Ye were a fool tae hurt them,” she snapped. “I’m nae yers. I’m Eamon’s. And they never harmed me, did they? Ye could have let them be.”

“They deserved it. They deserved worse for what they said tae ye,” Keir spat. His blood boiled at even the thought.

“For what?” Elin demanded. Her voice broke, shaking. “They were right. Ye said it yerself, back when we met about me worth. I’m nothin’. I’m—”

Keir grabbed her chin, turning her head up to face him. There were tears in her eyes and his heart clenched at the sight.