Page 18 of Laird of Smoke
But this woman—with her impressive disguises and her changeable beauty and those eyes that looked deep into his soul—drained all the subtlety out of him.
“Adam?”she choked out.
The word jarred him.For one terrible instant, he thought she recognized him as a Rivenloch.Then he remembered he’d slipped and told her his real first name.But—damn his memory—he couldn’t recall what last name he’d given her.
“M’lady,” he said with a tip of his cap.He immediately regretted calling her that.In light of her penchant for disguises, it seemed more likely she was not a true lady, but an outlaw.
“Ye followed me,” she accused.
He wondered if her Irish accent was as fake as his Highland one.
“I did,” he said.
“Ye meant to rob me then,” she decided, releasing a disappointed sigh.“So ye’re just a common thief after all.”
“Now hold on.I’m not a—”
“I should have known.”
“Known what?I’m tellin’ ye I’m not a—”
“No better than the men ye chased off.”
“What the…?”
Why was she putting the screws to him?He’d just saved her from those thieves.
“Ye saw me leave the silversmith shop,” she said, “and ye figured ye’d rob me o’ my fortune.”She blew out a disgusted breath.“At least the other two outlaws didn’t feign to be sent by the king for my protection.”
This was getting out of hand.He seized her forearm, hoping to silence her long enough to make her listen.
Her sharp intake of breath made him instantly regret grabbing her.But he needed to make his point.
“I don’t want your silver,” he said.“Oryour pearls.”
He thought that would placate her.
Instead, her eyes went round.“Then whatdoye want?”
Unbidden, a dangerous idea flashed across his brain.An idea involving his hungry mouth and those cherry-plump lips of hers.
But he was no rake.After a prolonged moment, he released her.
“I want only to keep ye safe,” he said.
“I don’t need ye to keep me safe.”Her voice came out on a rough whisper, and she absently rubbed her arm where he’d gripped it.“I can take care o’ myself.”
He rolled his eyes.She sounded like his sister.But Feiyan actuallycouldtake care of herself.She was a master of martial arts.“Ye mean the way ye took care o’ those thieves?”
She bristled.“I’ll have ye know they were almost convinced to come with me to the priory.To mend their ways.To seek redemption.If ye hadn’t interfered—”
“If I hadn’t interfered, m’lady,” he said, losing patience with her thankless stubbornness, “ye might well be lyin’ by the side o’ the road with a dagger through your heart.”
She blushed at that.She couldn’t deny the truth.Perhaps she finally realized the weight of the situation.
After an awkward silence, she mumbled, “I don’t mean to seem ungrateful.O’ course I appreciate your efforts.”
He straightened.Now she was showing the proper gratitude.
