Page 35 of Taken By the Heartless Highlander
“And how did that happen?” she asked, her voice a little husky.
Before he could answer, however, Scott stepped up to MacAllen. Her brother was still a head shorter than the laird, and Scott looked embarrassed, even blushing, as he came to stand before him.
“I am sorry for what I did to ye,” he stated firmly, his eyes on the blood that stained MacAllen’s léine. “Ye’ve been so kind to me and me sisters, I shouldnae have thought ill of ye.”
He might nae be so bashful if he kenned what ‘kindness’ the laird bestowed on me in his study just now,Keira thought dryly.
Scott leveled MacAllen with a determined stare.
“I shouldnae have hurt ye. I hope ye can forgive me.”
MacAllen’s eyes had changed considerably from the dark heat he had leveled at Keira and he was now looking at Scott with an expression of quiet amusement.
“Ye did what ye had to in order to protect yer family. Dinnae apologize to me, lad,” MacAllen said firmly, clapping a hand on Scott’s shoulder and squeezing it just a little to reassure him.
The action made Keira’s heart ache painfully in her chest. Scott had never had a father figure to look up to as he grew older. She could see the starry-eyed awe on his face as he looked at MacAllen, and she wished that the choices she would have to make for his future could be different.
If only we could all have grown to know him under better circumstances.
“Well?” MacAllen demanded, turning his eyes to her.
She sniffed, smoothing down her skirts and glaring at him with as much defiance as she could muster.
“Lead the way, me laird.”
CHAPTER15
As they madetheir way out of the room, Keira’s mind was flooded with images of their kiss. Every step he took drew her eyes to his muscular calves and the memory of his hands smoothing over the skin of her thighs.
MacAllen preceded her, and instead of leading her to the healer’s chambers as she had expected, he led her to his bedchamber.
Keira paused in the doorway, staring at his wide back as he walked before her.
“I have everythin’ ye may need in here. It isnae the first time I’ve been nicked by a blade,” he grunted.
She followed him, keeping her eyes firmly away from the large bed in the room. It was a beautiful space with red fabric covering everything—the same color on the curtains. An exquisite tapestry hung on the wall, which she wished she had more time to admire.
MacAllen walked to the center of the room, dragging a chair over with his good arm and taking a seat. He stripped off his léine and dropped it carelessly to the floor. He seemed even larger than she remembered, imposing and stern as he sat watching her.
Her eyes dropped to the bloom of red on the bandage on his shoulder, and she ground her teeth together.Why do men never listen?
Keira looked about the room, and MacAllen gestured to some bandages and a basin of water on the washstand.
“It would be easier if we were in me healer’s chambers,” she admonished but went to fetch the things she needed, nevertheless. Perhaps he felt more comfortable in his own rooms—I wish I did.
Grabbing the bandages and some clean water, she pulled her own chair up beside him and sat down. MacAllen glanced at her, his back straight and tight, and Keira raised an eyebrow at him.
“How exactly did ye manage to rip the wound open?” she asked accusingly.
“Perhaps yer fingers pinched it when ye had yer arms about me neck,” he muttered softly, shocking her into silence. She felt a deep blush rise up her cheeks as she busied herself with untying the existing bandage, trying to distract her wayward thoughts.
It didn’t help that the man had the hottest skin imaginable; it was like sitting beside a furnace.
She clucked irritably as she removed the final strip. The injury was bleeding freely once more. A drop of blood ran down his chest, staining his skin with a line of bright red, rippling over the ridges of his muscles.
I can do this, I’ll just keep me eyes on the wound, and I willnae touch him more than necessary.
He looked over at her, his eyes so close she could see the flecks of gold and copper in them again. She palpated the wound to check it, and he winced.
