In Bed with the Highlander by Ann Lethbridge Read Free Book Online Page A

Or...”
    “Or what?”
    A strange look crossed her face. “No,” she said. “It couldn’t
be as bad as that.”
    “As bad as?”
    “As bad as wandering through space like some female Doctor Who,
never knowing where the bed will take me next. There’s no way....”
    The fear in her face had him cringing inside. “I don’t know
this doctor, but we can soon settle the problem.” He stood up, gently lowering
her to her feet, then striding for the hearth. “We can solve this in a
twinkling.” He hefted a huge ax beside the pile of logs. The blade head picked
up the candlelight and glinted evilly.
    She backed away. “What are you doing?”
    Saints preserve him, terror had paled her cheeks. Did she think
he would harm her? “I’m going to chop the bed up and burn it. Then you can’t be
going anywhere.”
    “No.” She put up both hands. “Stop. You can’t expect me to stay
here.”
    The breath left his chest in a rush. A pain replaced it. A
gouging, tearing ache. “You don’t want to stay?”
    Her eyes clouded. Doubt crossed her face. “This is not about
you. It’s just...” She waved an arm. “I’m not used to this. We have things where
I come from. Conveniences. Toilets. Hot and cold running water. Washing
machines. Planes.” At his blank look, she waved an arm. “Flying machines that
carry people. Cars instead of horses.”
    “I’ve a carriage.”
    “A horseless carriage. It moves by itself. I own one. I drove
it here. I have a job. Not to mention a family. What are they going to think if
I just disappear?”
    The ax felt as heavy as lead in his hands, but his heart felt
heavier. “A husband?”
    “Oh, no. No husband.”
    That made him feel a little better. But not much. Whatever this
place was that she came from, this time, obviously he did not measure up. “I
see. So the sooner you hop into bed and fall asleep, the sooner you will be
home.” A surge of anger filled his gullet. He grabbed her hand, pulled her
toward the stairs. “Then we best be getting you to sleep.”
    “Gavin, stop.”
    He halted. What the hell was he doing? None of this was her
fault. If anything, it was his. Perhaps he’d talked to the fae once too often,
telling them his dreams. Because Moirag was his dream. And now he must do
everything in his power to make sure she returned where she belonged.
    He couldn’t.
    Goddamn it. Honor required it. Something inside him
shattered.
    When he turned, Moirag saw the anguish in his expression and
her heart clenched. “I’m in no rush to leave, man. Finish your supper.”
    “I seem to have lost my appetite.” He sounded weary, yet
resigned.
    She stroked his arm. He shivered and heat blazed in his eyes.
The heat of desire. Her own blood fired instantly. Her heart revved up. “Eat
first. Then we’ll make the best of what time we have.”
    He hesitated.
    “Come,” she coaxed, pulling him back toward the table. “Eat and
we’ll talk. Then we’ll head upstairs and say our goodbyes.”
    “I hate the idea of you going. I’ve never met a woman like you.
I’ve known you for all of an hour and I find you are in my blood.”
    And on some deep level, she didn’t want to leave. He called to
some primal instinct. And she felt as if she’d rediscovered the Scotland of her
youth. The enchanted place of hills and heather she’d loved as a child. If she
dared search deep in her heart, she feared that if she woke up here, in his
time, in the morning, she might not regret it at all. That she would make a go
of it. If push came to shove.
    But she wouldn’t tell him that, couldn’t let him find a way to
keep her here, to take away her choices. Could she?
    “Well, then,” she said. “You chant a spell to these fae of
yours and ask them to let me stay.”
    He smiled a little sadly. “While you’re whispering another so
you can go.”
    “Aye.”
    A devilish gleam lit his eyes. “I’d sooner spend the time doing
something to change your mind. Something other than filling my