Page 13 of The Highlander’s Tempting Touch

Niamh wrenched her arm free of his grasp. “Is this how ye plan tae treat me for the entirety o’ our relationship, Laird MacDuff? As if naething I want matters.”

Alistair snorted. “We both ken that’s not the issue. Ye’re delaying deliberately, and well I can tell it. Ye ken as well as I that ye’re actin’ like a spoiled wee bairn, pullin’ out all her toys afore deciding she wants none o’ them.”

He stepped closer to her. “Understand this, Niamh Cameron: I ken ye’re upset, and I ken why. I even agree ye’ve reason. But I wouldnae tolerate such behavior from a youngling, and I’ll certainly nae accept it from a woman grown who should ken better.”

“Put me in a corner then, if ye think ye can.”

“And let ye have yer way further? Nae a chance.” Alistair smirked coldly at her, before leaning down to whisper in her ear. “Just be careful ye dinnae press me too far, me lady, fer yer small enough fer me tae turn over me knee if I’ve a mind. Keep actin’ the part o’ a bairn, and I’m nae afeared o’ treatin’ ye like one.”

Niamh scowled as Alistair all but dragged her toward the stables. Her cheeks were so hot she feared she might set the hay alight as they entered.

How dare he threaten her? And claiming she would be treated like a misbehaving child at that! She wasn’t sure whether the flush in her face was one of anger or embarrassment or both. She was sure, however, that she would find some way to make Alistair MacDuff pay for embarrassing her so.

Not to mention the high-handed way he’d ordered her servants about, telling them what to pack for her and how to pack it, as if she’d no mind or opinions of her own. Or worse, as if those opinions didn’t matter. It was true, she had been delaying them on purpose, but that was no reason to treat her with such disrespect.

She’d thought he might be exaggerating about not caring if she was angry, but it was clear that he hadn’t been jesting in the slightest. The knowledge made her stomach churn with resentment.

The first honest thing he’s said tae me, and it’s that he’s an unfeeling brute who couldnae care one whit about me feelings, toward him or anything else.

He might have gotten the better of her by going to the kitchens and having their travel supplies prepared before she could argue the matter, but she was determined not to make anything else easy for him.

They entered the stables together, and she immediately began planning how to make the process of saddling the horses harder. They’d need two or three, perhaps four.

Alistair approached one of the horses, and Niamh spoke up. “We cannae tak’ that one.”

Her betrothed gave her an unamused stare. “And why nae?”

There was no reason, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “Me faither is likely tae need it fer riding patrol.”

“I doubt that, seein’ as this is the horse I rode tae Cameron Castle on. I had a groom send it up from the inn it was stabled at earlier taeday.”

Niamh blushed. “I didnae ken.”

“I gathered that.” With that, he turned to her father’s head groomsman. “I need three horses, good strong beasts who can carry a rider or a load equally well. Fer the lady’s peace o’ mind, best tae speak tae the War Leader and Laird Cameron about sparin’ them. If ye think ye cannae spare three, I’ll make do with two, or one if we must.”

“As ye will, me laird.” The groom bowed, and Niamh fumed at the realization that word had spread about her father’s visitor.

Well, she could take things into her own hands, if that was the case. She waited until Alistair had turned to get the saddle, then tugged the saddle blanket to the ground, letting it fall as though it might have been brushed askew by the horse.

Alistair turned and spotted the saddle blanket, and a scowl crossed his features. He set the saddle down, picked up the blanket to reposition it, then placed the saddle on the horse’s back. Niamh took the opportunity to reach out and tangle the strap for the saddle girth with the nearest stirrup. The horse snorted, and she pulled back before Alistair could see it.

He untangled the stirrup and strap with an irritated huff, and Niamh went for the bridle, tangling the reins and the straps before she jumped back.

The look on Alistair’s face when he saw the tangle of the bridle was well worth the risk of being caught. Niamh waited until his attention was focused on untangling the leather, then approached the horse once more, with the intention of loosening the straps so that the next attempt to mount would dump the rider in the dirt.

She was reaching for the buckle when a hand grabbed her wrist, and she looked up to see Alistair scowling down at her. “I thought ‘twas strange, the difficulties I was havin’. Ye ken I’ve been saddling horses since I was a lad, and I ken when there’s mischief bein’ done.”

“I just wanted…”

“Ye were just intending tae fox the saddle, so it would slide when I tried tae mount, is what ye were after.” Alistair’s jaw tightened. “I warned ye there’d be consequences for behavin’ like a child and a spoiled wee bairn.”

With that, he grabbed a spare lead rope. Before Niamh could properly guess what he was about, the rope was wrapped around both wrists, binding them securely together. The bonds weren’t tight enough to cut and chafe, but repeated tugging revealed there was no easy way to escape them either.

Alistair looked at his handiwork with an expression of grim satisfaction. “There, that should keep ye out o’ trouble.”

“Ye... ye cannae be serious!”

“I can and I am. I’m weary o’ yer mischief, lass, and I want tae get on the road while there’s daylight.” He turned and secured the other end of the rope to a beam, just out of her reach, and went back to saddling his horse.