Page 24 of Transporting a Ruthless Highlander
If he had not been so worried about Gavina, Struan would have laughed heartily at his situation. It had been a very long time since he had slept in a proper bed, and it did not seem that tonight would be any different. He was becoming used to being cold and wet and wearing the same ragged clothes all the time. This was how many people lived their whole lives, after all, he realized. He suddenly felt deeply ashamed that he had never given much thought to the lot of those who were poorer than he was.
He looked tenderly into Gavina’s face and a wave of love swept over him. This woman had become everything to him. “You are my true love, Gavina,” he whispered. “You are the one I have been looking for my whole life. I should not have gone to show my bravery on the battlefield. I should have stayed here and found my love instead, but you came to me anyway…or perhaps it was meant to be. Here you are, despite everything. We were meant to be together, my darling. Please do not leave me now because I would die of loneliness without you. Please stay with me.”
He took the other blanket he had found and spread it over them both, together with their cloaks, then he shut his eyes and pulled her close to him, reveling in the soft warmth of her body beside his. He might be lying on a pile of straw with an empty stomach, but no bed had ever felt better than this one.
Nevertheless, it was not long before he started to think about Kevin, and he began to boil with rage. While he had been concentrating on Gavina, he had not allowed himself to think about his brother, but now he realized that they were in a very precarious position. There would likely be groups of his guards patrolling the estate, and the first thing they would notice would be the massive horse cropping the grass outside. That would arouse their curiosity, and it would not be much longer before he and Gavina were found.
He could only imagine what Kevin would have in store for him, but it would not involve sharing the profits of the estate with him or making him the steward. No, the best he could hope for was life in the dungeon or death, but he could not let that happen to the woman lying beside him.
Once more, he stared into the face that had become so dear to him. He brushed his thumb along her jaw and felt her soft, smooth skin, which was the color of cream. The eyelashes that shadowed her high cheekbones were a fiery auburn, like her hair. And her lips…oh God, how they tempted him at that moment! They were begging to be kissed.
“Wake up, Gavina,” he whispered. She must have heard him, for her eyes fluttered open, unfocused for a moment, then they settled on him, and she frowned in apparent confusion.
“Gavina,” he whispered. “It is me, Struan. Are you awake now?”
“Struan.” Her voice was hoarse, but he saw recognition come into her eyes as she stared at him. “Where are we?”
“On my family’s land,” he answered grimly. “But I think we should move. This is the only bit of shelter I could find in a hurry, but we are in danger here.”
At that moment, Gavina became aware of the wound in her side again, and she gave a sharp gasp of pain. She looked down at the clumsy bandage Struan had put on it and smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. She shuddered as she tried to sit up, but Struan pulled her onto his lap and held her close.
“The outlaws,” she said anxiously. “Where are they?”
“You don’t remember? I killed one and three got away, although they will each take a very long while to recover, if ever. We are safe from them for the moment, I think, but my brother’s guards will be patrolling this area and they will see our horse. He is not the kind of animal you see around here often, and I fear they will come to investigate. You don’t look as though you can move yet, though.”
She laughed weakly. “There are many things I couldnae dae that I managed tae dae anyway,” she remarked.
“That is very true,” he observed, laughing. “Nothing stops you. Take a few more minutes, Gavina. I will put the horse away somewhere he cannot be seen.” He looked around, but there was simply no space in the small room for the enormous animal. He sighed and moved to the doorway, then stopped dead in his tracks.
“It is so good to see you again, Brother,” Kevin said, with a gloating grin.
Struan looked behind his brother for a way of escape but saw nothing except for dozens of heavily armed guards, some on foot and some on horseback. His position was hopeless; he was well and truly trapped.
“Good day, Kevin,” Struan drawled. “I would say that it is good to see you, but I would be lying.”
Kevin threw back his head and laughed heartily. “You always did make me laugh, Struan!” He stepped forward to give his brother an ironic embrace but Struan pushed him away violently. For all he knew, Kevin was hiding a dagger to plunge it into Struan. Kevin stumbled backward and would have fallen except for the intervention of the two guards behind him who caught him before he hit the ground.
Kevin’s pretense of filial affection disappeared as a thunderous frown appeared on his face and he drew back his arm then bunched his fist to strike Struan.
Struan did not retaliate. Instead, he brought up his hand and caught Kevin’s fist halfway through its arc, then gripped it so tightly that his brother yelled in pain. Struan had to resist the impulse to smile in wicked triumph. He let go of Kevin’s hand and watched his brother screw up his face and squirm in agony as he rubbed his hand.
“You will pay for that!” Kevin growled. He beckoned to one of his guards. “Take him away!” he growled. “And put him in the accommodation we reserve for our ‘special’ guests.” Again, he glowered at Struan.
Struan was praying that Gavina would not cry out if she had seen the guards, but he knew that she was not so stupid, and she was used to thinking on her feet.
However, there was nothing he could do to stop the guards from searching the cottage, and it was a matter of seconds before one of them found Gavina. “M’Laird!” he called out. “There is a lassie over here. Looks as if she is asleep.”
“Do not touch her!” Struan cried, unable to hide the panic in his voice. “She is not well.”
Gavina was once more lying immobile with her eyes closed, and Struan felt a jolt of almost paralyzing fear go through him. What had happened to her? Had she passed out because of pain? Was she bleeding again? Then he dared to think the unthinkable. Was she dead?
The soldier touched the pulse on her neck and turned to Kevin. “She is still alive, M’Laird.” Then he glanced down at her bloodstained shirt and searched underneath it until he found her wound. “Badly hurt, though.”
Kevin walked over to Gavina and gazed down at her appreciatively. “What a beauty,” he murmured, his eyes glinting. Then he looked at Struan’s anguished face with a smirk of unholy satisfaction. “How did this come about?” he asked, pointing to the injury. “Did you beat her?”
“No, I did not!” Struan roared. He would have lunged at his brother if two hefty guards had not come forward to restrain him. “Let me go!” He growled, trying to squirm out of their hold. It was useless. They were not tall men, but their muscles were equal to his, and at last, he ceased to struggle and glared at his brother with a look of pure hatred.
“We were set upon by a group of bandits when we were riding here,” he answered reluctantly. “I killed one but the rest escaped.”
