In The Warrior's Bed. Mary WineЧитать онлайн книгу.
He came closer but kept a firm hand on the reins of his mount. Authority shone from his face now, clear, determined, and undeniable. This man was accustomed to leading. It was part of the fibers that made up his being. He would have the nerve to steal her if that was what he decided upon. There was plenty enough arrogance in him, for certain. She felt it in the pit of her belly. What made her eyelashes flutter to conceal her emotions was the excitement such knowledge unleashed in her.
“Enough teasing,” she said. “Neither of us are children.”
“Aye, I noticed that already.”
Her face brightened once more. His eyes swept her and his expression tightened. Maybe she had never seen a man looking at her like that afore but her body seemed to understand exactly what the flicker of hunger meant. She stared at it, mesmerized.
“Tell me yer name, lass.”
His voice was deep and quiet now. But there was no missing the determination edging it. She shook her head, not trusting her voice. It might betray the way her body shivered. She couldn’t allow him to hear how much he affected her. This man was a hunter.
“I will not. Jesting about stealing a woman may be all well and good when ye’re sipping yer whiskey, but it doesna make for good unions. We know nothing about each other.”
“Ah…but if I tossed ye across my saddle, that would change. Once I took ye back to my home, we’d have plenty of time to learn about one another.”
Shock raced through her but what alarmed her was the ripple of excitement that went hand in hand with that shock. He reached out, the back of his hand stroking down the surface of one cheek.
“Ye are blushing for me.”
She jerked away from his touch, ashamed by how much she enjoyed it. Shamed by how much she wanted more than a mere stroke from his fingers. Shamed by how much of a woman he made her feel.
“’Tis nothing.”
He moved toward her again, closing the distance that she’d placed between them. “I disagree, lass. ’Tis something that I’ve a mind to understand better.”
His persistence irritated her. “Are ye telling me that ye would ruin me for the sake of a moment’s impulse? Stolen women are considered soiled when they return home. Is yer need to boast that important to ye?”
“What makes ye think I would return ye?” There was a hint of injured pride in his tone. “Maybe it’s marriage I have on my mind.”
She laughed at him. His lips twitched up and she knew that she’d caught him like a naughty boy pulling her braids.
“As if any man should marry for attraction alone. Ye’d be a fool and yer family would be sure to tell ye that the moment ye took a bride that came with nothing but lust.”
“Ah, maybe, but still the idea is teasing me with possibilities…”
The stallion he held the reins to suddenly reared up, pawing at the air. Her mare jumped, dancing in a wide circle once more. As her horse turned, she stared at the line of her father’s retainers cresting the ridge. Shouts drifted on the wind as they sighted her and her company. She lifted a foot to the stirrup and pushed hard but her body flew upward with the help of a solid hand on her bottom. He gripped one cheek, squeezing it boldly.
“Ye’ve got the nerve!”
He flashed her a grin that wasn’t repentant one bit.
“Something for ye to remember me by since I dinna get the chance to steal a kiss from ye.”
“I wouldna have let ye.”
One golden eyebrow rose mockingly. “That’s why I was planning on stealing it, lass.”
Her mare was still agitated and dancing in a circle. Gripping the reins, she guided her horse back around to find all hints of playfulness gone from the McJames retainer’s face. He frowned, his face taking on a fierce expression while he watched the McQuade clansmen begin racing down toward her. He gained his saddle in a motion that was fluid and strong. His thighs gripped the huge beast with confidence and the hilt of his sword rose above his right shoulder. The man was a warrior, no doubt about it.
A McJames one and that was a pity.
“It seems I’ll have to wait to learn who ye are.” But his expression changed when he looked at her once again. “Now that’s something I’m going to regret.”
Her own thoughts bothered her too much. “Go on with ye, else I’ll think ye a fool.”
“Ah, but ye will think of me and that is something I’ll be treasuring, lass.”
He reached for the corner of his bonnet once more. “Until we met again, sweet McQuade.”
His gaze lingered on her mouth for a long moment before he turned his mount toward McJames land. He dug his knees into the large animal and it bore him up the hill. Stallion and rider looked as strong as a legend, the edges of his kilt bouncing with the motion of riding.
Mesmerizing…
He turned and shot her one last glance at the top of the ridge. She thought she saw him smile but really wasn’t sure at such a distance. Her father’s men swarmed around her, their rough language shattering the moment and allowing reality to rush over her.
“Are ye daft? Keeping company with a McJames?”
Her brother Liam spat before pointing a finger at her. “And Cullen McJames, no less.”
Cullen McJames?
“It canna be…” Her words trailed off as she looked at the ridge. Another shiver shook her. This time it left goose bumps along her arms and legs. The McJames’s laird’s brother was a bold one and that was for sure. Keeping her name from him had been her saving grace.
“I never thought ye’d betray yer own clan.”
Bronwyn snapped out of her own thoughts to stare at her brother. “I dinna betray anyone. I don’t know the man. Dinna even know his name until ye spoke it. How could I know what the man looks like?”
“It dinna look that way to me.”
Liam spat again as did several of the men riding with him. They glared at her, condemning her. Her pride bristled but there was never any reasoning with Liam and his men. They would follow him, whatever he said or did because he was the firstborn son and destined to become laird someday.
She was just an unwanted girl. But that fact wasn’t enough to seal her lips today. Maybe it was the pure magnificence of the man she’d just met or the simple courtesy he’d shown her by tugging on the edge of his bonnet. She didn’t know or care. Liam could choke on his suspicions.
“I was no meeting him.”
Liam reached across the space between them, his hand connecting with her jaw in a hard blow.
“Save yer lies. I know what I saw with my own eyes.”
He reached down and yanked the reins out of her grip. Liam turned and pulled her mare along with his horse toward the waiting line of her father’s men. Their looks were every bit as harsh as the sting of Liam’s hand. But the only thing she felt was her temper rising. Upon reflection, she noticed just how much stronger Cullen McJames had looked, and it had nothing to do with the width of the man’s shoulders. It was in his smile and the way he didn’t cast ugly accusations with his eyes.
Aye, it was the truth that she found him handsome. By far the most fetching man she’d ever laid eyes upon.
“Slut.”
Her father didn’t strike her. He tossed a goblet full of ale across her body. The hall of Red Stone was silent; no one even took a step as the laird condemned his daughter. No one would, either. Bronwyn gathered her strength because the laird ruled absolutely on McQuade land.
“This