Page 35 of Highland Storm

He suddenly cleared his throat and his hand lowered from her, settling instead on his own leg. She thought at first he wasn’t feeling the same things she was experiencing right now from their little lover’s game. But when he shifted in the saddle and felt something hard poking at her back, she realized he truly did want her after all. That made her smile.

“We’ll continue this conversation at a later date. Come on, ye slow wenches,” Hawke called back to his friends. “The last one to Elvanfoot has to hunt, make the fire, and also cook.”

“What? I’m no’ cookin’,” complained Caleb. “I dinna cook.”

“Well dinna think I’m goin’ to do it,” spat Logan. “That’s no’ my job.”

“I’m the fastest rider here and ye both ken it. So I guess the two of ye are out of luck.” Ethan charged off on his horse down the road in a puff of dust, leaving everyone in his wake. Logan and Caleb looked at each other and then took off at a run. Each of them urged their horse to go faster than the other’s. Hawke didn’t ride off, but stayed with Callum and Orrick as they drove along in the wagon.

“Are no’ ye goin’ to race them to camp?” asked Phoebe.

“Nay. I need to hang back and protect my great-grandda and the old sorcerer,” he told her in a calm voice.

“If ye had no intention of racin’ yer friends, then why did ye challenge them?” she asked in confusion.

“Just to get more time alone with ye,” he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. Her eyes closed and she tried to ignore the tingle that ran up her spine. She had to concentrate on the fact he was her enemy and she hated him. “Besides, just like me, my friends canna resist a challenge. I kent they’d fall for it. Now, they’ll get there ahead of us. And they’ll be so hungry and tired of waitin’, that by the time we arrive, they’ll have caught some game, made a fire, and cooked the food as well.”

“Ye are a sneaky one, Hawke,” said Callum, chuckling from the wagon, having overheard him. “I kent ye’d have somethin’ up yer sleeve. Ye always have a way of gettin’ others to do what ye want them to do.”

“Thanks, Great-grandda. I think,” said Hawke with a throaty chuckle.

Phoebe suddenly wondered what Hawke MacKeefe was trying to get her to do. She also wondered if she’d fall for it the way his friends had. If he started kissing her or running his hands up her legs again, she had a feeling her resolve wouldn’t last.

Chapter 12

Sure enough, as Hawke planned, by the time he met up with his friends, they had a fire going and Logan was already cleaning a rabbit and a quail. Ethan busied himself constructing a spit over the fire.

“What took ye so long?” grumbled Ethan.

“We were hungry and tired of waitin’ so we couldna wait any longer for ye to do it, even though ye lost the contest,” added Logan.

“It smells delicious,” said Hawke, coming to a stop and dismounting. “Sorry about that boys, but with the old men and the lassie along it slowed me down.”

“Oh really?” asked Phoebe ignoring his proffered hand and dismounting by herself. “I thought it was all part of yer plan to get yer friends to do yer biddin’.”

“It was?” Caleb looked up, polishing his sword as he sat on a rock.

“We didna slow ye down,” spat Callum, climbing off the wagon. “If I wouldna had to wait for Hawke to stop three times along the way we would have been here already.”

“Why did ye stop?” asked Caleb.

“He had to take a piss,” grumbled Callum. “I dinna even need to stop as much and I’m a few years older than my great-grandson.”

“A few?” Hawke looked over and chuckled. “And it wasna me that had to go, it was the lass.”

“I’m afraid it’s partially my fault,” said Orrick from the bench of the wagon. “I spotted a few herbs on the way here and wanted to collect some and show them to Phoebe.”

“Like I said . . . the old men and the wench slowed me down.” Hawke looked up to the tree to see Apollo landing in a branch above him.

“Well, ye’d better hurry and hunt somethin’ for ye and the lass to eat,” said Logan, handing the rabbit and quail to Ethan to put on the spit.

“That’s right,” said Ethan. “It’ll be dark soon.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” said Hawke. “I suppose ye want me to hunt for Callum and Orrick, too.”

“Dinna bother,” grumbled Callum. “Orrick and I have some sweetmeats and bread and plenty of Mountain Magic. We dinna need anythin’ more.”

“I could go for a sweetmeat. My stomach is growlin’.” Hawke walked over to the wagon and reached for the bag but Callum slapped his hand away. “Nay. Ye made us put most of the provisions back, so ye’ll have to find somethin’ to eat on yer own.”