Return of the Highlander by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online Page B

they scouted together every day, and Darach did appear to be protective of Logan.
    Although, from her vantage point, Logan was hardly in need of anyone’s protection. He was a highly skilled and formidable warrior all on his own. She knew this because when they stopped for lunch at the river, Logan ate quickly, then politely excused himself to practice swordplay on a flat patch of grass a short distance away.
    While Larena removed her stockings and dipped her feet into the fast-flowing water to cool them, she couldn’t help but watch Logan move through the exercises with tremendous strength, speed, and agility.
    Of course, there was no opponent taking part in the exercise, but Logan was clearly well trained in the arts of hand-to-hand combat, and if there had been an opponent, she suspected he would have been quite thoroughly bested.
    Logan’s footwork was sublime. He was fit, trim, and lean. Incredibly virile and in top form.
    As she watched him, the noonday sun beat down upon her head and the heat caused her to perspire beneath her snug bodice. Growing uncomfortable, she was reminded of her injuries. Soon her head began to ache.
    Taking in a deep breath to fight off a sudden unexpected queasiness, she lay down on the grass, closed her eyes, and covered them with an arm to block out the sun. Her heart raced but she strove to focus on the sensation of the cool water rushing past her feet and the sound of birds calling out to one another overhead.
    Before long, a voice cut through all the sounds and sensations of the natural world. “Are you feeling all right, lass?”
    Sucking in a breath, Larena removed her arm from her face and squinted up at Darach, who stood over her, silhouetted against the sun. He cast a cool shadow across her face.
    “I have a headache, that’s all,” she replied.
    “Can I do anything for you?”
    Surprised by the first evidence of kindness on his part, she managed to form a polite reply. “No, thank you. I don’t believe there’s anything that can be done. I must simply endure it.”
    He gazed down at her for a long moment. “We’ll make camp early tonight so you can get some rest.” Then he turned and walked away.
    Once again, the hot sun beamed down on Larena’s face. It was accompanied by a sudden feeling of unease over this uncomfortable situation, so she sat up to make sure Rupert—and her saddle bags—were still in sight. Thankfully they were. Everything appeared to be in order.
    Larena lay down again, shaded her eyes, and focused her attention on the fresh, clean water at her feet.
    * * *
    “Are you absolutely certain, lass?” Logan asked with raucous laughter, nearly tipping over sideways onto his elbow. The moon was high in the night sky. They had just finished eating supper by the fire in a small glade in the forest—but clearly Logan had consumed too much wine, and perhaps so had she. “Maybe he was just confused.”
    “I am positive!” Larena replied, laughing. “The groomsman walked straight into that big pile of steaming manure and stomped on it like it was a barrel full of grapes.”
    “But why?” Logan asked, still laughing.
    “I don’t know,” she told him. “Maybe he enjoyed the warm, squishy feel of it between his toes. It was a cold night, if I recall.” She laughed again. “Oh, Logan, stop. My stomach hurts!”
    “I’m not the one telling the story!” he shouted. “You only have yourself to blame for that belly ache, lass.”
    Fighting to recover from her indelicate convulsions of laughter, she sat up. “Oh, that rabbit was delicious, by the way. Where did it come from?”
    With grinning eyes that twinkled in the firelight, Logan glanced across the fire at Darach. “My brother got lucky this afternoon. Isn’t that right, Darach?”
    “That’s right,” the dark Highlander coolly replied as he reclined against his saddle packs with one knee raised. He’d been keeping himself occupied for the past hour by using the blade of his knife to shave