Page 28 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
He swam purposefully, each stroke allowing his lust to fade, and slowly, thoughts of Lydia ebbed from his mind, and he could think again.
As soon as he did so, however, another sensation began to overtake him.
It began as he reached the opposite bank.
The lake was uneven, wide and deep in the center, and narrower along the bank. He had kept to the edge, not wishing to go too far out in the middle of the night.
As he turned at one end, a prickling over the back of his neck alerted him to danger. It was a sixth sense he had had since childhood.
He was being watched.
Callum kept swimming, his body on high alert, flipping onto his back for the rest of the distance so that he could discreetly run his eye along the bank.
The driving rain and the darkness made it almost impossible to see anything, and Callum cursed his absence of the pastfour years. He could not recall the shapes of the bushes along the bank or whether there was movement behind them in the darkness.
Still, the prickling prevailed, and he knew his body well enough to understand that there was a presence near him that should not be there.
As he neared the bank, he slowed his pace and, without warning, dove beneath the water, swimming several feet along the bank, reeds brushing against his torso, until he surfaced.
He kept his body concealed, only lifting his head enough so that his nose was out of the water.
He moved silently as the rain began to ease. He could hear the rustle of movement in the bushes on the near bank now. Whoever was watching him didn’t understand how to be stealthy.
Crouching low, he tiptoed through the water, his toes hooking into the silt at the base of the lake, bending his knees to keep himself concealed until he came to the bank where his clothes and sword lay.
The idiot hasnae even thought to take me weapon.
Shaking his head at the stupidity of some people, his fingers closed over the familiar shape of the sword handle as he crawledout of the water, belly low to the ground, gravel spiking into his knees.
The whisper of voices traveled to him on the breeze, and Callum crept slowly toward them.
A line of bushes beside the bank was dominated by reeds and thick shrubs, but he could clearly hear hushed voices from within.
Leaping to his feet, there were two shouts of surprise in front of him as two men jumped to their feet from their position by the lakeside, blades in hand.
The larger of the two rose with his sword aloft. They were both fully clothed, whereas Callum was all but naked, yet he felt no fear.
It had been a long time since any fight had intimidated him. There were few warriors he could not beat, and he was rather relishing the chance to fight a real opponent again.
Their swords clashed, a flash of lightning above their heads illuminating the pale face and wide eyes of the man before him. He was small, but stocky, with a scar on his left cheek and a scowling countenance that twisted as he hollered at his partner.
The man’s left hand went behind his back, pulling out a knife, and Callum laughed.
“If ye cannae beat me with one blade, ye willnae manage with two.”
He heard the other attacker move behind him and effortlessly spun around, planting a fist into his nose as he screamed in protest, his body crumpling to the floor.
When Callum turned to the other man, he was lunging forward again, and he deflected the blow with ease. These men might be stocky, but they were weak and untrained, learning to fight in tavern brawls and street fights rather than in the training arenas of Callum’s youth.
They circled one another as Callum bided his time, waiting for the best chance to strike.
“If ye think ye can replace Lady Moira in her children’s lives, both ye and yer little sassenach are dead.”
The other man was recovering now, pulling himself to his feet, and Callum paused, ensuring he had them both in his sights.
“It isnae wise to threaten me, lad, have ye forgotten what I am capable of?”
“I am nae scared of ye,” his opponent spat, and Callum’s fingers tightened on his sword as he shrugged a shoulder.
