Page 73 of Taken By the Ruthless Highlander
As much as he wanted to, there were far too many things he had to sort out. After all, he was in no mood to be nice or gentle. If he had his way, he’d take Morgana against the headboard of his bed over and over until the oak cracked.
“I dinnae,” she answered. “But I’m certain ye ken what ye’re doin’. Ye are the Laird, after all.”
“Aye.” Ryder folded his arms over his chest, refusing to be baited into an argument. “And as the Laird, I’m askin’ ye to trust me.”
“I do,” Morgana declared with such conviction that it made his chest swell with pride.
How could he refuse her anything now, when she had honored him in such a way?
“Good,” Ryder said as he moved to her. Heat rolled off her body as he guided her back to the door. “Now, I think ye’ve had a very long day. We both have. I need rest.”
“I understand.”
Her lips curled into a pout. Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, he did not know. She shifted her gaze to the door and trudged toward it with the speed of a snail.
Ryder tried not to chuckle at her antics. The way she was dragging her feet reminded him of a child who didn’t want to go to bed.
“My Lady,” he said, his voice dropping to a seductive baritone. Morgana drew to a halt, her body quivering. “I want ye to have good dreams. Can ye do that for me? Just this night?”
Morgana glanced over her shoulder at him and batted her eyelashes. Her pout stretched into a smirk, and a playful gleam entered her eyes. “I dinnae ken. I suppose I’ll have to dream of ye bringing my sister back to me.”
“And one day, that dream will come true,” Ryder promised as he lured her from the room and had the door all but closed on her as he admired her beauty once more for the evenging.. “But right now, ye need to sleep.”
25
Morgana stared at Ryder’s closed chamber door, befuddled. His placating words and splendid promises only stirred her anger. Balling her hands into tight fists, she turned on her heel and charged down the hallway.
For the life of her, she couldn’t comprehend why Ryder wasn’t doing anything. Why wouldn’t he explain why he wouldn’t go charging into every house and business?
If all that separated her from Feya was a door, she was absolutely determined to find that one door and break it down.
The only problem was that she didn’t know which door she would have to break down, or even what town that door was located in. The only way for her to get any of that information was if she snuck out of the castle again.
Her heart thundered in her ears as a burst of wary courage rippled through her.
“If he’s nae goin’ to do somethin’ to help Feya, then it falls to me,” Morgana whispered to the empty hallway as a plan formed in her head.
It wouldn’t be easy to sneak out of the castle. After her first jaunt to Lochcairn, Ryder had posted a few more guards at the gates. And while Morgana was the lady of the clan, and could just as easily make an excuse to slip past the guards, she understood just how dire the consequences would be if Ryder caught her breaking another one of his rules.
As tempting and alluring as it was to contemplate just what he’d to do her if he caught her, she didn’t want to risk losing the small bit of faith he had put in her.
Still, images of Feya being hog-tied in some dark room, starved, and beaten to the brink of death flashed through her mind. Morgana couldn’t allow herself to believe that her sister could endure harsher abuse. The very idea turned her stomach sour.
“Hold on, Sister,” she whispered as she charged down the hall with purpose.
As she ran through the items she’d need to sneak out of the castle, the patter of little feet caught her ear. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
Slowly, Morgana turned around, half expecting to find Ryder standing behind her with a disappointed expression on his face.
However, only silence and void greeted her. She swallowed hard, wondering if maybe it was her guilty conscience playing tricks on her. After all, every step she took went against her husband’s wishes. And as much as it tormented her, she wasn’t going to let her loyalty to him overshadow her loyalty to her family.
Arching an eyebrow, Morgana stared into the darkness. She held her breath and listened. A smirk curled her lips as she folded her arms over her chest.
“Come on out, I ken ye’re in there. I just dinnae ken which one of ye is there,” Morgana said in a sing-song voice.
Poppy poked her head around the corner, her big eyes red-rimmed from crying.
“Och, sweetie, what’s happened? Why are ye nae in bed?” Morgana knelt to scoop up her younger sister.
