Page 21 of A Dangerous Highland Affair

“Alright,” said the woman with the bun. She brought her face briefly over to his and squinted. “If yer quite sure….”

“I am, ladies,” said Teasag, setting a protective arm around Neacal’s shoulder. The sensation of her touch burned into him like an August sun.

“Well, there’s some bawbags doon in that toon, an’ ye should be on yer guard!” the woman shouted to Teasag, as she gathered up her arisaid and walked briskly back along the dirt track toward the village, swiftly followed by the rest of her cohort.

Before he knew it, they had gone, and Neacal was left, staring at Teasag in amazed disbelief.

“Och,” he said, the beginnings of a grin stretching across his neat features. “That was braw, lassie! I cannae thank ye enough! Ye truly are an angel sent from above!”

Teasag only laughed. “Och, hardly, but I dinnae like seeing people being picked on,” she said. “Although…”

The words drifted off, revealing the fragments of doubt in her face. Her mouth was laughing, but just for one moment, her eyes looked serious.

And Neacal knew he had a lot of questions to answer—not only to her.

But then, just as he feared the worst and that she would quiz him about precisely what had happened, it seemed that Teasag abandoned the topic almost as soon as she brought it up.

“Well, aye, it’s nae nice to be accused of something ye havenae done,” she added, once again, but this time moving stiffly towards him.

By now, they were both all too aware of the presence of the other. But it was much too late for either to pretend it wasn’t happening. Here they were, boy and girl, alone, together, in an isolated spot.

Energy fizzled and cracked between them. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced, and Neacal was a man who thought he’d done it all.

So why was it that his heart started throbbing the moment she came near him?

Panicking, Neacal tried to think up an excuse to quickly get away. The rigid metal shape inside his shoe should have been reason enough for him to shoo her away.

With his practical head, Neacal realized that the quicker he got rid of her, the better. She would only be a liability and slow him down.

A quick glance up into the noontime sky confirmed that he had no time to lose. If he pressed on, he might just make it to Blackness before nightfall. But he would have to be quick.

“Miss,” he said, formally, taking Teasag’s hand and giving it a quick kiss. Instantly, a giddy sensation ran through Neacal, buzzing up his spine and into the pit of his stomach. “I am so grateful for yer help, an’ if there is anything I can ever do for ye, just ask it,” said Neacal, trying to expunge the aftershock of her touch on his skin.

Every sensation in his body increased threefold as he experienced a sweet hit of adrenaline like nothing on earth.

He was trying his hardest to pull himself away from her enchanting blue eyes, but it was proving impossible. Just as Neacal succeeded in getting himself to turn to go, Teasag stood in front of him.

“Aye, as it happens, there is…,” she said mysteriously, as Neacal’s anxious gaze met her eyes. Teasag smiled, her sky-blue eyes twinkling with mischief.

“There is something I would like ye to do for me!”

“Nae.”

Neacal’s response took Teasag by surprise. Uncertain, she stepped back a little to look at him better. It was mid-afternoon by now, and a summer storm arrived from nowhere, giving the open road a good drubbing in the cold rain.

“Och, I didnae mean…,” Teasag began. She had only made the suggestion because she thought he would go for it. Now she was left feeling knocked back and more than a little stupid.

“Nae, I didnae mean,” said Neacal, his eyes wavering in their gaze. He looked beyond her out to the glen side, drowning in the rain. She could see he was looking for something—or someone—on the horizon, but it wasn’t clear what. Teasag’s eyes followed Neacal’s gaze but saw nothing, just windswept trees swaying in the grip of a surprise gale—nothing new for a Highland summer.

The five women who had accosted him were long gone, having disappeared back along the road to the village some time ago. All that was left was Teasag standing against the windswept vista.

“Nae, it’s alright, I understand, it was silly of me to suggest ye travel wi’ me,” said Teasag primly. She fastened up her shawl as a defense against the wind, which raged furiously against everything in its path.

She was trying to keep her voice neutral, but it was hard. She had been taken aback by his flat rejection and was now more than a little embarrassed.

But Neacal was now on the back foot. “Nae, nae, I didnae mean it like that,” he said, looking flustered. Teasag noticed that his eyes still went to the remote hillside in the distance and darted around the landscape, combing it with vigilance. Evidently, whatever he was looking for was not there, as he turned to her again and smiled. “Listen, em, maybe I was a bit hasty. I just, I didnae want ye to have any trouble, that’s all…”

His voice trailed off, and his eyes turned misty. Teasag would have given anything to know what he was thinking about.