Seduced by the Highlander by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online Page B

she would never know the truth about her life.
    What if he was right? What if these people were using her to gain access to Catherine’s inheritance? What if they had done something to her, to make her forget her life and cause her to unwittingly play the part of their missing heiress?
    “Take me to Angus,” she demanded in a rush of desperation, needing to see the man who had allegedly been such an important part of her life. The man who was once her lover. “I promise that by seeing him again, I will be able to lift the curse. I just need to remember.…” She fought to consider the more detailed logistics of such an arrangement and quickly added, “I won’t do anything for you until you deliver me to him. Safely. ”
    The corner of the Highlander’s mouth twitched.
    “I need to know who I am,” she continued to explain. “I cannot go on living like this. Only then will I be able to help you.”
    They glared at each other like two cats, each waiting for the other to pounce; then he pulled her swiftly to her feet.
    “How do I know I can trust you?” he asked.
    “How do I know I can trust you ? Especially when you are always looking at me as if…” She paused and gestured toward his big, rampant body. “As if you want to eat me.”
    He gave her a threatening glare. “I do want to eat you, lass. And I can’t guarantee I won’t try to steal a taste of you along the way. It’s been a miserable three-year famine, you see, and I’m verra hungry.”
    She could see that quite clearly for herself.
    Nevertheless, she stood her ground. “No, that will not do. I’m going to need your word of honor that you will not touch me. If you give me that, I will leave this house with you quietly, without a fight. I promise.”
    But would she be able to lift the curse when she met her former lover again? She wasn’t sure, and she knew this was a dangerous game to play.
    The air sparked and crackled between them while the Highlander considered her proposition.
    At last he gave her the answer she wanted. “All right, lass. I’ll take you with me.”
    Catherine exhaled sharply with relief—a feeling that was quickly extinguished when he moved forward and spoke low in her ear.
    “But know this,” he whispered with sinister intent. “If you break your word to me and do not lift that curse when we reach Kinloch, I swear on my life that I will take great pleasure in killing you with it.”
    He took hold of her hand and led her out, while she prayed to God that she would get her memories back before then.

Chapter Five
     
    Catherine settled into the saddle on the giant black warhorse, realizing with some frustration that she was still dressed for dinner. Her hair was curled and powdered, she wore formal silks and velvets, and the priceless Drumloch jewels were strung prettily around her neck.
    “I don’t suppose you’d permit me to go back inside and put on something more … appropriate.”
    The horse tossed his big black head, and his shiny mane flung about as he whinnied and grumbled.
    “Nay, lassie,” the Highlander replied as he checked his saddlebags to make sure nothing was missing. “No time for that. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to change your mind about not turning me in.”
    He swung up behind her and gathered the reins in his hands, then urged the monstrous snorting creature out of the stable to the meadow beyond. They galloped hard until they reached the forest; then the Highlander drew lightly on the reins.
    “Whoa.” His horse slowed to a walk.
    “It’s very dark in here,” Catherine said as they entered the pitch-black depths of the wood.
    Unable to see much of anything through the silent, murky gloom, she became more intensely aware of what she could feel —the firm wall of the Highlander’s chest at her back, rubbing up against her.
    “How will we see where we are going?” she asked, struggling to ignore the vital sensation of his big, hard body, so close to her own.
    “Leave that to