Page 45 of Taken By the Vicious Highlander
“A fitting choice,” Damon said, his tone sincere. “Ye remind me of heather—strong and beautiful, nay matter what ye face.”
Their eyes lingered on each other. It wasn’t the question he asked that made her see him in a different way. It was the way their chairs were so close and yet too far away. The shadows that caressed his face. The chill in the room. His response to her answer had been careful yet natural, as if he didn’t even need to think about it.
Lilith leaned forward and placed a hand on his. Memories of only a few hours ago flashed through her mind, the heat of their kiss, his strength…
What if we kissed again?Does he wish to kiss me again? What if I ask him that…
She grabbed the dice and rolled them.
Before the dice settled, a loud uproar tore through the inn, and within moments, a sharp knock sounded at the door, shattering the tranquility.
“Me Laird. Me Lady,” Finley’s voice called from the other side, urgent and tense. “We’ve received word from Kiel. Brigands.”
Damon was on his feet in an instant, his expression hardening into the mask of a leader as he marched to the door and wrenched it open. “How bad?”
“Nae as bad as Branloch, Me Laird. A few fires, but they were prepared,” Finley replied. “They chased them out of town, and some have followed them. If we leave now, we might be able to intercept them, Me Laird.”
“Send a rider to the castle and have them meet us in Kiel. I’ll be downstairs shortly. Ready the horses.”
Finely grabbed the door handle and closed the door without another word.
Lilith rose, her heart pounding. “What can I do?”
“Please stay here, lass,” Damon said firmly, but the look she gave him made him pause. He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he rejoined her in front of the hearth. “It isnae safe onthe road, and we ride carelessly, lass. Now, ye get the bed all to yerself.” He smirked.
Lilith shook her head. “Ye cannae joke like that, nae now!”
He cupped her face in his hand gently, and she let herself lean into it. “I’ll return before morning, wife. Try to sleep—we’ve got to put Branloch back together in the morning.”
His hand and eyes dropped, clearly categorizing the dice on the table beside them. When his eyes rose back to hers, they were black as night.
“And, to make it even sweeter for ye, I’ll answer whatever question ye have when I get back.”
He let his forehead rest against hers for a moment before he turned, grabbed his sword, and followed Finley out the door.
The inn erupted into motion as the news spread, the once-sleepy hallways now alive with the clatter of boots and the hum of anxious voices.
Lilith watched them leave Branloch from the safety and warmth of their room. When they were all out of sight, she walked back to the table and grabbed the dice bag, before picking up the dice she had landed right in the center of the table.
Sun. Six.
The cold night air nipped Damon’s face as he tightened his grip on the reins, his mind already racing ahead of the present moment. The rider from Kiel had arrived breathless and pale, his horse foaming at the mouth, carrying grim tidings of yet another attack.
Damon had only just begun to settle matters in Branloch, but there was no time to linger. The safety of Kiel demanded immediate intervention. Before mounting his horse, he turned to Finley, who stood nearby, ever loyal and awaiting orders.
“Finley, go fetch Ryder,” he commanded, his tone brooking no argument. “Tell him he’s to guard Lady McCallum. If Mrs. Bryant’s stubbornness gets in the way, then ye will stay behind yerself. She is nae to be left unprotected.”
Finley nodded sharply. “Aye, Me Laird. Consider it done.”
With that assurance, Damon swung onto his horse, his eyes scanning the shadowed streets of Branloch before landing on the exhausted messenger.
“Ride with me,” he ordered, urging his steed into a gallop.
The rider fell in beside him, his horse struggling to keep pace with Damon’s powerful black stallion.
The rest of Damon’s men followed closely, their horses’ hooves pounding on the dirt in unison.
As they tore through the night, Damon called over the sound of hoofbeats, “Tell me everything.”
