Page 14 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
“It’s me shoulder; I shall need to use it, lass. Stop fussin’.”
“It is me job to fuss,” she protested as he grabbed his léine and pulled it over his good arm.
He jolted as a cool hand came to rest on his, and without a word, she took the hem of the fabric in her fingers and gently guided it over his head. What was more surprising was that he allowed it without any protest.
As the white fabric was pulled over his eyes, their gazes caught and he had to physically fight the urge to pull her body against his so that he could feel her curves against his skin again.
He glanced at her brother and sister. Scott was watching them with interest, and Noah swiftly stepped away from her.
He pushed the léine into his kilt and turned to face her, ready to leave and be rid of her for good.
They stared at one another for what felt like an age.
This is a good thing. This woman is not me problem. Why is it so hard to walk away from her?
He tried to think of something to say, perhaps to thank her or wish her well. For a long time, he stood frozen in place and then sighed in frustration.
“Stay out of trouble,” he snapped, turning on his heel and walking swiftly from the forest.
CHAPTER7
“Hush now, dinnae make a sound.”Keira said, holding Daisy’s hand as they tiptoed forward as a group.
After much discussion, they had decided to return to the village for the night and leave at dawn before anyone was awake. She knew it was a risk but they had no choice.
Keira had not seen a soul since they had come through the village boundary, and everything was quiet.
Daisy and Scott walked silently beside her, the quiet clopping of the donkey’s hooves the only sound.
When they reached the pathway to their house unmolested, Keira breathed a sigh of relief and continued to the door.
“Did ye hear that?” Daisy asked in a loud whisper.
Keira turned abruptly, straining her ears for any sound but there was nothing.
“Come on flower, we need to get inside.”
“But I thought I saw something move,” Daisy said.
A skitter of unease ran through Keira’s whole body and they stood frozen on the path for almost a full minute before she relaxed. Daisy’s tense posture calmed as well, and she scurried to Keira as she turned to open the front door.
But no sooner had she set foot inside than five or six villagers sprang from the shadows and took hold of her roughly.
Daisy screamed as Keira was dragged through her herb garden and out into the village square, kicking out at them for all she was worth.
She only saw a glimpse of her brother and sister. Scott was trying to fight them off and received a violent punch to the jaw for his troubles.
He fell to the ground, his head ricocheting against a stone, and all she heard as she was dragged away was her sister’s wail of anguish as she tried to rouse him.
Keira knew where they were taking her before she arrived, recognizing the shadow of the church in the distance, the ominous black windows waiting for her like two huge gaping mouths.
They opened the door to total darkness.
Lucas had been waiting inside for her without a single candle lit. Somehow, that knowledge was more frightening than everything else she knew of him.
She was thrown down, her knees jarring painfully against the cold slabs of the floor. She turned toward one of the villagers, lips parted to beg for him to set her free, but he turned away, his face set. Lucas had had ample time to turn every one of them against her.She froze as she heard echoing footsteps approaching, and she held her breath.
Dark boots appeared in her vision. She could well imagine the power Lucas felt, having her on her knees bent double before him like a subservient woman come to beg for her life.
