Page 102 of The Highlander Steals a Virgin
He shrugged a shoulder. “Nay, I wed for duty, and then I was… busy.”
Something passed between them then, unspoken and charged.
“Ye’re nae what I expected,” she said softly.
Rhys arched a brow. “Is that so?”
“I thought I’d be terrified of ye forever. The brooding, ruthless laird who kidnapped me.” She smiled a little, teasing. “But ye’ve surprised me.”
His mouth curved. “Well, good. I hope I continue to surprise ye, lass.”
They rounded a bend in the path, and the trees began to thin. The road started to widen.
Amara looked at him and thought,I daenae want to leave him...
Rhys must’ve sensed something. He cleared his throat. “We’ll stop soon for a rest. Let the horses breathe.”
She nodded, but didn’t answer. The silence between them now was comfortable, not heavy. Her fear of returning to her father hadn’t vanished, but somehow, it felt less suffocating with Rhys beside her.
She thought of Mabel’s dagger strapped to her thigh, the warmth of Daisy’s scarf around her neck, and the look on Rhys’s face when she’d stepped into the hall that morning.
Amara took a deep breath and tried to hold it all inside her.
Because no matter what waited at Murdoch Castle, she wasn’t that frightened, abandoned girl anymore.
And she wasn’t alone.
26
The road curved downward before them, leading to the borders of Murdoch Castle. The grim towers soared well above the tree line in the distance, and looked carved out of bone, standing sharp against the grey sky.
Rhys couldn’t help but notice how much colder the world seemed here, even though morning birds still called in the canopy above.
This is it… But how to say goodbye?
He glanced sideways.
Amara rode quietly beside him, jaw set, reins gripped tight. She hadn’t spoken since the castle came into view.
The easy rhythm of their earlier conversation had long since faded into a heavy quiet. The kind that didn’t ask to be filled.
Rhys finally cleared his throat. “Let’s stop here, lass.”
She silently slowed her mare down to a halt. Her eyes still fixed on the path ahead.
“Ye’ve nae said a word since the castle came into view,” he said, giving her a long look before dismounting slowly, his boots sunk into the soft earth. Without another word, he stepped toward her and reached up with a hand.
Amara hesitated only a breath before placing her gloved fingers in his. He helped her down gently, her skirts whispering against the saddle, until her boots hit the ground.
Rhys reached into his saddlebag and passed her a sweet bannock that Cookie had packed for them.
Amara took it, a hint of numbness tinging her reply, “What’s there to say?”
“Plenty. Ye’re about to walk into the lion’s den.”
She turned toward him, her face unreadable. “It’smelion.Meden.”
Rhys shifted in the saddle. “Aye, but ye daenae have to face him alone. What if somethin’ happens?”
