Page 59 of Tempting the Highland Devil
Laird Macmicking wanted revenge for Arran’s clan’s past sins, and Arran feared he would hurt Yvaine just to get what he wanted. The thought of the man laying hands on her made him mad with anger and disgust. His insides coiled with it, and his hands trembled while he tried to control his anger.
I will never forgive myself if she gets hurt because of me.Tears blurred his vision at the thought of the possibility of that happening. The pain slicing through him was too intense to bear. Arran knew right then that he could not sit back and do nothing.
“She’s the only person in my life who’s cared for me regardless of me past, James,” Arran finally spoke after a long moment of silence. “Even when I hurt her, she cared for me…When I push her away, she cared for me. When I pretend not to care, she still cared for me. She is me life. Do you understand that? I am naythin’ without her. All of this is worth naythin’ and….” He clenched his jaw hard to keep the tears from rolling down his cheeks. Arran sucked in a deep breath to steady his insides then blew air out of his lips after.
“Then we shall find her,” James said to him before reaching out to pat Arran’s shoulder hard. “Laird Macmicking will see our wrath, me laird. I shall send word back to the castle, and have the head of guards send more men to Macmicking to back us up.
* * *
James turned his horse around, so he could face the hundreds of men gathered up behind them. “We dinnae return unless we find Lady Yvaine!” he announced in Gaelic.
“Aye,” the men thundered in a violent voice that echoed around them and blended into the explosion of thunder that clamored in a chaotic rhythm. The skies darkened, further hinting at an oncoming rain, but it didn’t matter to men all riding behind their laird in honor of their clan.
Arran’s heart was set on finding Yvaine. He would give his life to make sure his wife was safe.
30
Yvaine opened her eyes and tried to take in her surroundings in the dark chamber where she lay on the bed. Her wrists were tied together, and the binding where the ropes squeezed together hurt.
A woman stood near the window and hummed a familiar tone. Yvaine knew the woman sounded familiar, but she could not place the voice as she struggled to listen to her through the roaring in her ears.
“Excuse me,” she finally whispered when she could find her voice.
Tears stung her eyes as she recalled how the strong hands grabbed her from her chamber. It was still dark outside, and so she couldn’t tell if dawn hadn’t come, or this was night of another day.
Either way, as Yvaine struggled to sit up on the bed, she noticed her ankles were tied together too, and she couldn’t walk even if she tried to.
When the woman at the window turned to face her and walked closer, Yvaine felt the pounding in her heart increase to a point where her chest ached.
She swallowed hard to push down the lump in her throat.
“Who are ye?” she managed to ask again as fear snagged at her heart and nearly seized the air filtering into her lungs. “Me husband will find us,” Yvaine whimpered as the woman drew closer.
She shook her head frantically and let the tears flow down her cheeks when she saw the dirk in the woman’s hand. Yvaine squeezed her eyes close as the woman drew closer then sat on the edge of the bed.
When she heard a snap and opened her eyes again, she realized the woman had cut the ropes holding her hands in place, freeing her from the binds.
“I will not hurt you, my lady,” she said, speaking in clear English that shocked Yvaine. Yvaine’s eyes snapped open, so she could take in the woman’s full looks in the dimly lit chamber. Her hair shone a vivid blonde even in the dark, and her eyes were clear, blue depths brighter than the water in the ocean.
“Who are ye?” Yvaine asked when the woman cut the ropes holding her ankles next. “Did ye take me from the castle?”
A woman could not be strong enough to kidnap her, right?
Her mind raced with different thoughts as she stared into those blue eyes. The woman’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she nodded slowly before taking out a tiny vial from her purse to show Yvaine’s its contents.
“The white powder,” Yvaine muttered as she stared at it.
“I used it to make you sleep. It was much easier to take you out of the castle while you were unconscious and much easier to bring you all the way out here.”
Another wave of panic sliced through Yvaine then, and she shuddered.
“Who sent ye?” she questioned in a faint, trembling voice that shocked even her. As she stared at the English woman, she tried to picture her as one of Laird Macmicking’s bandits or messengers. The only enemy she knew Arran had for sure was Laird Macmicking. His last warning still rang clear in Yvaine’s mind.
The woman reached out at the same time a rolling thunder struck in the skies, and Yvaine jerked out of her reach. A tiny gasp tore to her lips as her eyes widened.
“I will not hurt you, my lady. If anything, I have saved you from the hands of those who seek to hurt you.”
“How do I know that? How can I trust ye?” Yvaine looked around the chamber again and took in every object scattered across the cramped space in seconds. She did not even know where they were spending the night, and moments ago, she was tied up like a prisoner on the bed.
