Highlander Unchained by Monica McCarty Read Free Book Online Page B

but it had only made things worse. Much worse. He would never make that mistake again.
    “You’ve kidnapped me for nothing. My brother has been after Coll for some time, he will not exchange it for me. A sister he barely knows.”
    “You underestimate your worth, Flora.”
    He knew right away that it was the wrong thing to say.
    Her face went taut, and her voice grew thick with emotion. “I know exactly my worth.”
    There was something significant about her words, but he didn’t have the energy to figure it out. He wouldn’t feel pity. She was a means to an end. He was finished with this conversation. Before she guessed what he intended, he lifted her in his arms and started to carry her up the stairs.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Taking you to your room.”
    “W-h-h-y?”
    To shut her up so he could get some sleep. And it had seemed like the most effective method at first—until he was forcefully reminded of his injury.
    “You shouldn’t be carrying me. You’ll reopen the wound.”
    “Since you’re the one who put it there, I’m surprised you care.”
    “I didn’t mean—” She stopped. “Well, I did, but…well…Forget it. You can bleed to death for all I care.”
    “Your concern is touching.”
    He swung open the door; it squeaked and rattled off its hinges a little. The years of famine had taken its toll. Drimnin Castle was old and in desperate need of repair. He looked around the sparse room, knowing that it was far different from what she was used to, but until he got his castle back, it would be her home.
    He dropped her on the bed.
    “You can’t mean for me to sleep here?”
    Her horrified tone only fueled his anger. “Is there someplace you would rather sleep?” He leaned over her, and she tried scooting back away from him, but there was not much room to maneuver on the small bed.
    He moved closer, looming over her. Only a few inches separated them. “My bed, perhaps?”
    Her eyes widened. “Never.”
    He didn’t move. Tension crackled between them thick and heavy. God, he could smell her. Could hear the furious beat of her heart. He could almost taste the warmth of her lips beneath his. Opening. So soft and sweet. His body ached with pent-up desire.
    He should take her right now. It would be over, and she would be his. And God knows he wanted her. Many men in his position would.
    But not him.
    He jerked away, furious, his body drumming with anger and lust. He’d never used force to get what he wanted, and he wouldn’t start now. Now matter how tempted. He’d have her. And soon. Even if she didn’t know it yet.
    Flora MacLeod would be his bride. The ransom demand to Hector would give him the time to convince the lass to marry him. Like it or not, he needed her. And it couldn’t be done with force. But pandering to the contrariness of a termagant left a bitter taste in his mouth. He cursed the need for her approval, but there was no doubt about it, she would be his.
    And if she tried to stand in his way…
    There would be no mercy.

 
    Chapter 3
    Three days later, Flora was ready to leap from her tower prison.
    The first time she’d tried to leave, about five minutes after he’d left her, her path had been blocked by two imposing guardsmen. Two men were entirely unnecessary, as it took only one to completely fill the doorway. If there was a man in this keep under six feet tall, she’d yet to see him.
    A pleasant-looking man of about forty years escorted her—gently but firmly—back into the room. “The laird wishes for you to enjoy his hospitality in your room for now, my lady.”
    “So I’m to be a prisoner?” she asked, employing her most haughty voice.
    “Aw, now, lass, don’t think of it that way.”
    “How else do you suggest I think of it?”
    “As a brief respite. When the laird is ready, he will send for you.”
    She pursed her mouth. It galled her no end to be at his beck and call. “And when, pray tell, will that be?”
    The guardsman’s face shadowed.