Highland Mist by Donna Grant Read Free Book Online

shrugged and ran his hand through his hair. “I haven’t thought about it really, but I don’t plan to confine you to this chamber.”
    “What if I told you I wanted to explore outside the castle walls?” she asked, and leaned up.
    For a moment he forgot to breathe, forgot her question, forgot everything except the water that beaded on her heated skin and rolled down her bare neck and shoulders. He wanted to follow those droplets with his tongue and nibble her skin while she squirmed beneath him.
    He blinked and focused back on her face. “If you want to explore, then I’ll take you.”
    A bright smile illuminated her face. “Really?”
    “Aye.”
    “Would it be sacrilege if I said I didn’t want to be returned to MacNeil?”
    “No one wants to be returned to a monster, even if that monster is one’s father.”
    She pulled her knees up and wrapped her slender arms around her legs. “You have much hatred for MacNeil. Tell me what he’s done.”
    “You’ll learn a lot about your clan while here.” His body burned hotter with every inch of skin exposed. He didn’t know how much longer he could stand there without yanking her from the tub and tasting her.
    “Clans are always at each other’s throats and stories get distorted.”
    “We don’t lie,” he ground out between clenched teeth. He couldn’t blame her. He had been thinking the same thing. Still it stung.
    “All I know is this feud has gone on for generations. Who even knows how it began?”
    “I know,” he said, and watched her eyes grow round. “As you’ll soon find out. Your father took the feud to a new level when he became laird.”
    “How?”
    He heard the fear in her voice, but he couldn’t stop the truth from leaving his lips.
    “He isn’t called a butcher for nothing.”
    Glenna sat back in the water after Conall departed and thought over his words. Her mind buzzed with questions about her father and clan, but she really didn’t want to know. If what Conall said was true, then it was no wonder his clan had such hatred for her.
    The peace of the water eluded her as her wine-addled brain sobered. She stepped out of the now-tepid water and quickly dried off. The heat of the fire kept the chill from sinking into her bones but not from her soul.
    What had prompted her to act like the wanton? She could blame it on the wine, but if she were honest, she would admit to liking the fire that kindled in Conall’s eyes.
    Now that the wine was wearing off, she was mortified at what she had done. When she turned back to the bed it was to find a simple white nightgown lying at the foot. She hobbled to the bed and wiggled into the gown.
    She had just sat down when she noticed a small blue jar sitting beside the bathtub. It hadn’t been there a moment ago. With a sigh she stood and slowly made her way back to the tub. With great effort she bent down and retrieved the jar. Once she was again seated, she opened it.
    Inside she found a brownish-colored cream. She sniffed and the smell of mint filled her senses. It was a healing cream she held, and there was only one thing wrong with her. With a shrug, she pushed up the hem of her gown and rubbed the cream into her legs.
    After her legs had been thoroughly doused with the cream, Glenna began to feel restless. It was a strange feeling since she was used to long periods in her chamber at home, but here it was different. Ever since she had left MacNeil Castle, she had had an unmistakable sense that there was magic surrounding this land.
    Whatever it was must be absent from her home. She chuckled, the sound bouncing off the walls in the chamber. She stood and found her legs didn’t ache as they had just a short while ago.
    The window beckoned and she peered outside. The night cascaded with stars as clouds fluttered across the moon’s path. A flash caught her attention. It was outside the castle walls in the forest. She strained to find it, and was about to give up when she saw it.
    It was a light so