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Lyndsay’s heart raced more fiercely than it had ever done before. The air whipped around her head, and her breaths were gasps as they fired out from her throat. There had been a moment when she thought Douglas was actually going to give her up to his men, but she realized now that she hadn’t given him enough credit. It was clear to her that he had made a choice between his own safety and protecting her, and he had chosen the latter. There were so many things about him that suggested he was a brutal monster, and yet so many things that proved he was a tender man. Lyndsay was filled with conflicting emotions about him, but at the moment, all she knew was that she felt safe.

She clung to him tightly, wrapping her arms around his body. She felt the strength of him, as mighty as a tree trunk that had grown over centuries, and she tried to absorb as much of this as she could. She winced and gasped every time she felt an arrow slash through the air and hit a nearby tree, knowing that it was only the favor of luck that prevented it from slicing through her flesh. The darkness consumed them, and she had no idea how Douglas or the horse knew where they were going. They twisted and turned, and there were more than a few moments where Lyndsay was almost thrown from the horse. If she hadn’t been holding on so tightly to Douglas, then she would have been lost in the forest, so she used all her strength to keep a hold of him, forgetting in the wildness of the moment that they were still bound together by the ribbon around their wrists.

Eventually, they settled, and the horse came to a stop. Lyndsay was about to speak, but Douglas raised a finger, indicating for her to be quiet. He lifted his ears to the wind and listened. Lyndsay listened too, wondering what an experienced hunter could hear that she couldn’t.

“I think they’ve lost track of us,” Douglas said.

“I’m not surprised. I have no idea how you managed to keep track of our direction.”

“That’s the beauty of it, lass. I dinnae,” he said with a wry smirk. “Fergus and the rest cannae chase me if even I dinnae know where I’m gaeing.”

Lyndsay looked at him with disbelief in her eyes, amazed at the courage of the man. He lifted his huge form off the horse and settled on the ground before helping her down too. His huge hands wrapped around her hips, and for a moment, something stirred within her. She planted her feet on the ground, and her stomach settled after their efforts of hurtling through the forest.

“So you don’t know where we are?” she asked.

Douglas shook his head. “The only thing that matters is that we’re out of their reach. We’ll hae tae make camp here for the night and travel on again in the morning.”

“But aren’t there other people searching the forest, like the English?” Lyndsay asked.

“I would nae worry about them yet. As angry as they are, it will still take them some time tae get here, and I imagine that most of their time will be spent examining the ruins we left behind,” he said, although he checked himself as he said this.

Lyndsay swallowed a lump in her throat, trying not to think about the home that had surely fallen victim to the flames by now.

“We’ll use the cloaks as blankets and try tae find some mossy area,” Douglas continued. “I dinnae want tae light a fire as it would only draw attention, but at least the moonlight haes found us.” He gestured to a small pool of silver light that bathed the area like a halo. “I think it’s time we took this away as well, for the sake of being able tae move,” he said, and then undid the knot that had bound them together.

Lyndsay watched it fall away, and she felt a kind of emptiness as the ribbon left her wrist. Douglas fetched the cloaks and laid them down as blankets, preparing the small and humble camp.

“Why did you do it, Douglas? Why did you save me?”

“I was nae gaeing tae let ye burn in the fire,” he said.

“Not then. I mean when your men found us. You could have given me to them and gone back to the Highlands without any trouble at all. But instead, you defended me. I want to know why.”

Douglas stopped moving, but still, he did not answer. Now that they were away from the burning house, and now that they weren’t being chased, Lyndsay’s head was a little clearer. The dynamic between them had shifted somewhat. She knew she wasn’t just his prisoner any longer, but that led to the question about what exactly she was to him.

“All this time, you could have done so many things, but you’ve treated me differently. You’ve spared me when you’ve spared nobody else. Your life would have been easier had you just killed me like you were supposed to, but instead, you kept me alive. Why would you make so much trouble for yourself? Why would you keep me safe when, by your own admission, you hate the English and hold all of us responsible for what happened to your parents?” Her words cut through the stillness of the night, the silence around them making the words sound sharper than she had intended.

He spoke without turning to face her. “Aye, I hate the English, but for whatever reason, I cannae find myself hating ye. When I first picked ye up in my arms, I haed every intention of treating ye like any other prisoner, but ye surprised me with yer spirit. The more time I spent with ye, the more I realized that there was something different about ye. Tae be honest with ye, I’m still nae sure what exactly that is, but I find it impossible tae tear myself away from ye. I feel as though a spell haes been cast on me.”

“I’ve already told you that I’m not a witch,” she said.

He stood up and came to her, standing before her, so tall and handsome and bristling with energy. Breath caught in her throat, which happened with alarming frequency whenever she was near him.

“Aye, but that leads me tae wonder exactly what ye are. I dinnae see the English when I look at ye. I see a beautiful, spirited woman who is unlike anyone I hae ever met before. I see all the things I hae been missing in my life. I see…I see the future.”

His words came out in a warm breath, and Lyndsay felt herself tingling all over. An arm had wrapped around her waist without her knowing it and pulled her closer, making her roll onto her tiptoes. Then their lips were pressing against each other again. The first time it had happened had taken her completely by surprise. This time was still a surprise, but she found herself able to sink into it and enjoy the sensations that rippled all through her body. Her eyes fell shut, and she was transported to this wonderful, sweet world where nothing seemed to matter except the passion that bloomed between them. It was powerful enough to burn everything away and leave her rendered speechless. Only soft, gentle moans tumbled out of her lips as their breath swirled together.

She fought against it at first, for this man had brought so much sorrow to her life, yet the force of his kiss was such that it blew away everything else. The kiss reached down deep into her soul and touched parts of her that had never been touched before. This man was remarkable, and it was strange to think that technically, he was her husband.

As the thought drifted through her mind, she found herself falling to the kiss to an even greater degree. She wrapped her arms around him, bringing him down. He placed both his hands against the small of her back and then grunted as he lifted her up. She laughed with glee as she wrapped her legs around him and kissed him ardently while he carried her over to the blankets. He lay her down in the moss, his features illuminated in the soft moonlight. She reached up to trace a line down the side of his face, running her fingers along his scar. She felt him wince for a moment, but then she kissed him as if to reassure him that it didn’t matter to her.

When she looked at him, she didn’t see the scar or think about all the pain and violence his hands had caused. She looked into his eyes and saw the pain he had suffered. She felt the protective strength in his arms. She drank in the tenderness of his lips and knew that he was worthy of her heart. She didn’t know when exactly she had fallen in love with him, but it had happened, and it was foolish to try and deny it. Her entire body yearned for him as she pulled him closer, their kisses deepening as suddenly, it felt as though she was caught in a fire again, although this time, it was one of their own making.

Douglas’s hands were surprisingly deft as they peeled away her clothes, exposing her skin to the night air. Her flesh was pale and soft, and it looked silver under the moonlight. When he touched her, there was a gasp, and a wave of tingles spread over her skin, whirling and wild. She let him see her as nobody else had seen her before. He looked as though he was in a dream. He gazed at her naked form, and his mouth dropped open, as though he didn’t know what to do next.

But he did know what to do. He bundled her into his arms and let his huge hands roam around her body. Her neck arched back as she let her mouth open. Long, guttural moans drifted out as he fondled her breasts. Sharp bursts of pleasure lanced through her, and then his hands moved with intent down her body. There was an element of fear mixing with the anticipation, the two contrasting sensations twisting together to create something new and beautiful and wonderful. All the while, her trembling hands wanted to even the advantage he had and make him naked as well, exposing his body to the outside air. Somehow, he seemed to fit into this natural world. The masculine force of his body took her breath away, and desire made her eyes liquid.

His hand drifted down and suddenly touched her most intimate area. It was hot and warm and damp, and when he touched her there, it felt as though her entire body was folding in on itself. She shuddered as waves of pleasure rippled through her in ever-increasing waves, and she felt him inside her, caressing her gently, bringing his finger back and forth in such a simple motion, yet one that caused the world around her to spin and tumble as though it was breaking apart. Her heart thundered and sweat beaded on her skin as she felt something uncontrollable rolling through her, something that had a mind of its own, something that had been building inside her ever since she had been swept up in his arms. All at once, it seemed so instant and immediate, and yet also as though it had lain dormant, waiting for this one perfect moment and this one perfect man to coax the sensations out of her. Her mind spun, and her body trembled as she yielded to the power of these sensations, as she surrendered to him.

His name was on her breath as she gasped, as the pleasure rushed through her in a hot blaze of fire. The moonlight was a place for peacefulness and stillness, but her heart was wild, and for the first time in her life, she felt truly free.