Highland Vow by Hannah Howell Read Free Book Online

hair and said quietly, “I pray, for your sake, that your cousin Payton is blessed, that he somehow survives.”
    “Thank ye,” she replied in an equally soft voice. “If any mon can win out o’er such misfortune, ’tis Payton.”
    “Now that ye have calmed some, I shall return to my own bed.”
    Elspeth clung just a little tighter, halting his move. She needed to keep him close to her. It occurred to her that Cormac could use the night, the separation of their beds, to fight the desire he felt for her. Each night she could lose any ground gained during the day. There were not many reasons she could give to hold him close at night, not until they became lovers. A lingering fear after a nightmare could serve very well. Althoughshe felt a little guilty for using his sympathy in such a way, she decided the battle she was about to engage in warranted a little subterfuge. Even if she did not win his heart for her own, she might ease Isabel’s choking grip on it, and that could only be for the best.
    “Could ye nay stay close?” she asked, pleased with the slight waver in her voice.
    He could, but he should not, and he could not really tell her why. “It wouldnae be proper,” he muttered, disgusted by that weak excuse.
    “I believe propriety was lost the moment Lord Colin grabbed me off my horse. ’Tis just that I fear the dream will return if I am too much alone.”
    “What happens when ye suffer a nightmare at home?”
    “Someone stays with me. I have a verra big bed.”
    Cormac did not wish to know that. Already images were forming in his mind of a particularly sultry Elspeth sprawled naked on a large bed, reaching for him as he lowered himself on top of her, pressing himself close to the ebony curls between her soft white thighs…. He shook his head, grasping desperately for some thought, any thought, that did not include a naked, willing Elspeth.
    The problem was, there was no way he could refuse her request. She had watched her cousin and two men-at-arms be murdered, had been kidnapped, threatened with rape, and locked up in a tower room. It was no surprise that she was afraid to be alone. Cormac suspected she was accustomed to being surrounded by loved ones, people she could readily turn to if troubled. Now she had only him and he could not seem to keep his thoughts out of his breeches.
    This girl had saved his life, he sternly reminded himself. He also belonged to another, was even now traveling to join her and, God willing, finally marry her. Both things should be enough to control his errant lusts. All Elspeth wanted was to feel safe. He was a grown man. He ought to be able to lie at her side and not sweat with need.
    “Aye, I will stay close. Just let me fetch my bedding,” he said, hoping his reluctance could not be heard in his voice.
    Elspeth let him go, watching him steadily as he moved his bedding next to hers and made one large bed. He was so tense when he settled down next to her she was surprised he did not creak. It might not be easy to seduce a man so intent on behaving himself. She turned onto her side, her back to him, then reached behind herself, grasped his hand, and tugged his arm around her waist. The man was so stiff it was like trying to cuddle with a rock, she mused and smiled faintly. The strength of his resistance, however, simply proved how strong his desire was, and that gave her hope.
    “Thank ye, Cormac,” she said, wriggling backward until she was pressed up against him. “I feel safe now.”
    “’Tis the least I can do.”
    Elspeth bit back a giggle. Cormac sounded as if he was choking on something. The part of him twitching impudently against her backside told her it was desire strangling his voice. Surely something that strong would be impossible to fight for long. She could not do so. She already had to wrestle with the urge to turn in his arms, kiss him, and rub her body up against his. Elspeth closed her eyes and hoped his imaginings were as wild and as vivid as her