How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins Read Free Book Online

still swayed and bumped over the roads because of the speed Jack insisted upon.
     
     Fiona, heart weary, fell into a deep sleep after the first few hours. The next two days passed in a blur. Every time the carriage stopped to change the horses, Jack would rouse her and escort her inside. There, she’d blearily partake of the inn’s fare, then they’d be off, the carriage careening madly toward London.
     
     Finally, late on the third day, Fiona awoke with a start. She’d been deeply and dreamlessly asleep. She lifted her head, blinking into the dark as she surfaced to awareness.
     
     Slowly, she realized she was in her carriage, snuggled in a corner, her cheek resting against…a waistcoat.
     
     Fiona bolted upright.
     
     Jack. The marriage. London.
     
     Oh, God. She swallowed, painfully aware that her thigh was intimately pressed against his.
     
     She had been sleeping against him. She scooted to one side, pressing her hands to her face.
     
     “What’s wrong, love?” Jack’s voice rumbled through her. “Am I not soft enough?”
     
     Fiona closed her eyes a moment.Oh, please, don’t let me have drooled.
     
     There was a spark and a flash, followed by a faint hiss, as Jack lit one of the lanterns that hung in the far corner.
     
     A warm golden glow suffused the coach and lit Jack’s auburn hair to a deep, rich brown as he settled back in his seat, his leg once more against hers.
     
     Fiona’s gaze flickered over his clothing. Thank goodness no splotch of drool marred his waistcoat. Relieved, she smoothed her hair, pins scattering here and there, wisps of curls tickling her hands. “Look at my hair!” She caught Jack’s amused gaze and flushed. “I must look a mess.”
     
     His eyes, almost black in the lantern light, raked over her, and a faint smile touched his lips. “You look like a woman just roused from a very well-used bed.”
     
     Fiona had an instant image of herself and Jack, unclothed, their bodies entwined, memories she’d thought long dead.
     
     She bit her lip, hoping the pain might drive out the thoughts.
     
     “Don’t attempt to seduce me with that look.”
     
     Her look was seductive? She lifted the edge of the curtain and regarded her face reflected in the window. “I don’t look seductive at all. I just look—Oh, blast! My hair!” Two large curls poked up in the back, giving her a faintly devilish look. “Why didn’t you tell me I had horns?”
     
     “Perhaps I like women with horns.” He crossed his arms over his chest, looking handsome and wolfish.
     
     She tried to smooth her curls. “So you like horns? It’sso tempting to make a comment about you and livestock.”
     
     He burst into reluctant laughter. “B’god, you are a fresh one.”
     
     “I always was.” She gave her hair a final pat. “How is my hair?”
     
     His dark gaze flickered over her hair, then lower.Much lower.
     
     “I meant the hair on my head!”
     
     Jack’s lips quirked in a smile, and he shrugged. “I won’t apologize for being a man.”
     
     “You should apologize for being arude man.” She folded her hands in her lap. “What did you mean when you said I was giving you ‘that look’?”
     
     “I find it very erotic when a woman bites her bottom lip.”
     
     “You must be teasing,” she exclaimed.
     
     The blue of his eyes deepened. “Youare an innocent, aren’t you?”
     
     Her cheeks heated. “You, of all men, know that is not true.”
     
     “There are many kinds of innocents, Fiona.”
     
     She shrugged. “I have no regrets about our previous relationship, except that it did not end as it should have.”
     
     “That was not my fault.”
     
     “Yes, it was. You were not ready to settle down.”
     
     “I offered to marry you! I waited for you, but you didn’t come. Instead, you sent your brothers with a damn note and—”
     
     “You still had a mistress.”
     
     Silence met this. Jack’s expression darkened.