Page 5 of The Highlander's Inconvenient Wife
“Who said that I wish to nae see ye again?” He could see that he had taken her off guard with his words.
“I assumed you didn’t want me on your lands,” she explained, “given the fact that you’ve locked me in your dungeon, or is this how you treat all of your guests that you wish to see again in the future?”
He noticed the gentle curve of her mouth as she stood up to him, matching his snide remarks with witty banter and unbridled sarcasm.
“So ye called me down here to say that ye wished to be set free?” He bit back a small, mocking smile. She seemed so fragile and small behind bars, yet she presented herself as if she was the biggest man on Earth. The fire in her eyes seemed to rival the passion of half of the men in Scotland. He’d win all of the clan wars if he had a woman like her leading his troops.
“Yes,” she said. “I would like to continue my journey. My friends will be waiting for me. So, if you would kindly just let me out…”
“Oh, ye willnae be going anywhere, me lady,” he shot her a wolfish grin. “Ye will be staying right here.”
* * *
“I beg your pardon,” Joan said, shocked by the audacity of the handsome man who held her captive. She was finding his mocking mannerism hard to stand as he teased her with every sentence.
The laird was far more handsome than any Scottish man she had ever seen before in her life — or any other man, for that matter. His wavy black hair hung on his muscular shoulders as if the wind had blown the waves into the strands. He was far taller than she was with a toned body and broad shoulders. His cheeks were stubbled, and his visible eye was green.
She liked the length of his nose and the way his lips seemed to express his thoughts before his eye even did.
Shaking her head, she tried to focus on his words instead of the muscular shape of his body which made her skin tingle in an alarming manner. The effect his presence was having on her was unnerving, to say the least.
“Ye heard me,” he said, displaying a charming smile with perfect teeth though the underlying threat wasn’t lost on her as she met his gaze. “Ye are nae going anywhere until ye tell me who sent ye.”
“Nobody sent me,” she said defiantly. “I was traveling by coach through the highlands when my carriage was attacked by a group of highwaymen,” she did her best to explain. “I was on my way to visit a friend at her castle. My coachman took a wrong turn and then…”
“I dinnae see how an English lass can have friends in the highlands of Scotland,” he challenged her words. “I find that to be very unbelievable.”
“Well, I do,” she retorted. “Stranger things have happened on heaven and earth other than an English woman marrying a laird. Or do you really have no idea of things that happen in the world beyond the walls of your castle?”
“Is that the story then?” he challenged her even further as he held her gaze. His eyes fell to her chest and travelled down her body as she spoke.
“Yes, that is the story, my laird. I was going to visit my friend, Ave…” Her words were once again cut short in an utterly annoying fashion as he spoke over her again. She was beginning to lose her cool with the way he kept on interrupting her.
“My friend married a laird; she even has children with him. She’s a respected member of the Scottish community. Her sister even married his friend who is also a laird,” he mocked.
She took a moment to look him over once again, forming an opinion of him that wasn’t as pleasant as the attraction she felt to his outward appearance.
“Exactly right — not that I see the allure in marrying Scottish men, judging from what I have seen so far. We’d all be better off sticking to men of the crown.” She felt a strange fluttering in the pit of her stomach when he looked at her with a strange darkness in his eye that was mirrored by the teasing smile on his lips.
The man oozed passion from every pore of his body. She briefly wondered how it would feel if he pushed her against the bars and kissed her lips.
“Aye, then ye better tell yerself that ye dinnae like what ye see,” he smirked. “The way ye are staring at me will have me sending for the guards soon enough. There’s nae telling what ye would try if ye were nae locked in a cage.”
“I was not staring,” she snapped and averted her gaze, knowing full well that she had been looking him up and down. The man was one of the most handsome and roguish beings she had ever seen. His physique reminded her of the sculptures her father had made of the Greek Gods from Athens. What was worse than that was the fact he seemed to be able to read her thoughts.
“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Why is it then that an English lass was traveling by herself in the highlands? Where was yer guardian if yer story is true? I ken that the English never let their women out of sight even for a second.”
“I’ll have you know that I do not need a chaperone or even a guardian as you put it. I am more than capable of looking after myself, thank you very much.” She cocked her head to the side defiantly as she glared at him, feeling a strange heat accumulating in her core. Her body seemed to respond in strange ways the more time she spent with the man.
He was utterly infuriating with the way he baited her, yet she was drawn to the strange and dangerous laird with his forward ways and handsome features. Joan knew that she should be afraid of her captor, yet she couldn’t help but feel a strong pull toward the danger he exuded.
“Aye, that’s why ye are currently being held captive in me prison. Ye are very capable of looking after yerself.” The mocking in his voice made her anger flare up.
“I am currently being held captive in your prison because your guards are some of the most incompetent men that I have ever had the misfortune of encountering. Not a single one of them gave me the chance to explain what I was doing on your doorstep.”
“Ye should be careful, me lady; speaking to men like that in the highlands is a sure way of getting hurt.” He looked her up and down, taking in the curves of her body through her sodden dress. “Or worse, killed,” he said in a husky voice as his eye grew darker.
Joan shuffled on her feet, feeling hot under the collar from the way he was looking at her. The hungry look on his face reminded her of a wolf on the hunt.
