His Stolen Bride BN by Shayla Black Read Free Book Online

then?”
    “Nay. ’Tis not money I seek, unlike you.”
    She ignored his contempt. “Then why have you taken me?”
    “So I can be certain you do not wed yourself with Murdoch before you turn ten and
     eight.”
    Though he seemed serious, Averyl could not believe such a tale. As if he would simply
     hold her at his side for the coming ten-month and expect nothing.
    “You cannot mean to keep me for three seasons.”
    “I can and I will.”
    “And if I agree to wed someone other than MacDougall, will you release me?” If he
     said yes, she could simply return to Dunollie and wed MacDougall.
    Her captor’s dark eyes narrowed. “I must first be certain that you will not be…persuaded
     to accept Murdoch’s suit.”
    She forced a laugh. “I have no wish to incur your wrath.”
    His gaze showed suspicion. “But you have no wish to give up such a match, either.”
    Gritting her teeth, Averyl struggled to find another tactic. She must escape the rogue.
     He seemed every bit as evil and heartless as Murdoch claimed.
    “But I will. I vow it,” she fibbed, desperate.
    “You are a wretched liar. Mayhap I would accept your tale if you did not fidget.”
    “You make me nervous.”
    “As you make me, so I shall watch you closely.” With a grunt, he turned away. “Sleep
     now. We leave in three hours.”
    He returned to the other side of the room. When he found the sofa, he lay on the too-short
     piece and shut his eyes.
    “By the way, if you try to leave, I will hear. And if you escape, look over your shoulder.
     I will not be far behind.”
     
    * * * * *
     
    Drake lay still for the next half hour, fighting the sleep for which his body ached.
     The fire had died to mere embers whose shadowy flames danced on the roof’s bowed wooden
     ceiling. Across the small space, Lady Averyl lay, eyes gently closed. Her breathing
     told him she slept not.
    Holding in a curse, he closed his own eyes, waiting for the Campbell wench to find
     slumber. Drake knew he had hoped in vain when he heard Averyl slip from her blankets
     and grab his cloak from the floor between them. With a quiet swish, she draped the
     garment about her, over her thin shift.
    Opening his eyes a fraction, he watched her tiptoe toward the door. Silhouetted by
     the gray mist of the dawn filtering through the room’s small window, she paused and
     stared at her satchel lying on the ground at her feet.
    As Averyl stole a nervous glance over her shoulder, Drake feigned sleep once more.
     A heartbeat later, she walked on, leaving her bag untouched.
    Instead, she crept out the door and down the inn’s stairs, treading as silently as
     the moon through the sky.
    Drake rose and peered out after her, now convinced she had not arisen to answer nature’s
     call. He followed, scowling.
    Averyl darted down the stairs and faded into the dark of the inn’s empty common room.
     With a curse, Drake hurtled down the stairs after her.
    At the bottom, he found no one, heard nothing. Cautiously, he let his gaze circle
     the room. Damnation, she was small and quick and could probably find a thousand places
     to hide.
    Behind him, a door squeaked open. By the sun’s wan morning light, he watched Averyl
     dash outside. He gave chase, catching sight of her in time to see her sprint down
     a grassy hill.
    Drake pursued her, though, truth told, her determination to escape surprised him.
     Hysterics he had expected, his mother’s favorite tactics. Not Lady Averyl. Despite
     the fact she was lost in unfamiliar surroundings and had no funds or horse to see
     her back to Dunollie, she continued to vie for freedom. Murdoch’s money and her keep,
     this Abbotsford, clearly meant something to her.
    She stopped at the bottom of the hill and peered into the dawning landscape. “Nay,
     ’tis east?” she questioned, suddenly turning about.
    As Averyl faced him, her gaze settled upon him. Her hazel eyes widened like endless
     twin fields. She gasped.
    “I said there would be no