My Daring Highlander (6 page)

“The guards will see to her and the
maids’ safety. Dirk told me to slip you away from the battle and
hide you.”

Why? Seona wanted to ask, but found it
almost impossible to hold a conversation with the horse galloping
at such great speed, and her frantic heartbeat keeping the same
rhythm. They flew along a trail, opposite the way they’d come
earlier that day. Keegan’s arm around her near squeezed the breath
from her. But she felt safe.

Moonlight reflected off a wide,
sparkling burn that flowed alongside the trail. After a few
minutes, Keegan slowed the horse to a trot but kept going.
Unexpectedly, he guided the horse into a copse of trees. The fresh
scent of pine was strong. The horse walked deeper, his breath
wooshing in and out.

After a few hundred yards, Keegan
stopped the horse and turned it about. They listened to the
silence. No hoof beats approached.

“Were you injured in the fighting?”
she asked.

“Nay.”

“Did you kill Haldane?”

“Hmph. He fled like a frightened rat.”
Keegan’s arm tightened around her again, tugging her back against
the hard wall of his chest. “He’s trying to steal you away,” Keegan
whispered, his warm breath stirring her hair.

“What on earth? Why?”

“He said you were meant to be
his.”

A shiver of revulsion passed over
Seona. The last person on earth she would want to marry was
Haldane. “’Tis because of the marriage contract the MacKays had
with my father.”

“That cannot be the only reason. I’m
thinking he’s greatly smitten with you.”

She was not flattered. Haldane was
like a half-grown feral mongrel. She had always hated the way he’d
leered at her at the high table or across the great hall. That was
before he’d left the clan. Now that he’d turned outlaw, she was
certain he’d be a hundred times worse.

“I thought he was trying to kill his
brother,” she said.

“Aye, that as well. Two birds with one
arrow.” Keegan leapt down, then helped her dismount. He tied the
horse’s reins to a small tree. “I want to move you away from the
horse in case he makes a noise and alerts the outlaws.”

“Very well,” she whispered.

Keegan lifted Seona, one arm beneath
her knees and one at her back. She gasped in surprise, but he
ignored her and carried her a few yards away. His warmth felt
wonderful against her in the chill night air. When he stopped, he
continued to hold her close, as if shielding her with his
body.

His fierce protectiveness made her
chest ache with tenderness. “I thank you for keeping me safe,” she
whispered.

“You’re welcome.”

She wanted to say more, but could
think of naught that didn’t sound daft. She would have to keep her
thoughts to herself and focus on the danger of the situation. The
leaves of the trees provided darkness and cover.

“Is Chief Dirk safe?” she asked,
distracting herself from how Keegan’s powerful body affected her in
a strangely exciting way.

“I know not, but I’m certain he can
take care of himself and Isobel.” He turned his head this way and
that, on high alert, listening for any enemy who might
approach.

The silence stretched out and, with
each moment that passed, she became more and more aware of Keegan’s
fiery body supporting her.

“I can stand on my own two feet, you
know,” she whispered.

“I thought you were
barefoot.”

“I am, but what of it? You certainly
cannot hold me the entire time.”

“I don’t mind.” His deep whisper in
her ear was sensual and seductive.

Her rebellious body responded to his
in shocking ways. Tingles moved from her breasts downward. The only
time she’d ever felt like this was when she thought of Keegan in
scandalous ways, such as when she imagined him kissing
her.

“I insist,” she said, fighting down
her disturbing reaction to him. “You cannot wield a sword while
holding me.”

“Och. Very well, then.”

When he lowered her to the ground and
released her, she missed his warmth. His body had obviously been
overheated from the exertion of battle. She tried to ignore the
pine needles prickling her feet and the spongy wet ground beneath
them.

They stood in silence for a few
minutes. An owl hooted in the distance. How far were they from
camp?

Seona shivered, her teeth
chattering, and she realized she wore naught but an ivory linen
smock. Though the material was somewhat thick, the night air was
cool. She’d not had time to belt her
arisaid
about her before Keegan
dragged her from the tent. Besides, some of the maids had been
sitting on it, and she’d had to leave it behind.

“Och, Lady Seona, you’re
cold.”

In the near darkness, the rattle of
Keegan’s belt startled her. What was he about? A moment later, a
warm wool plaid surrounded her like a blanket. He pulled it around
her and attached it beneath her chin with the brooch that had been
fastened at his shoulder.

He had disrobed for her? Her face
heated. “I cannot take your plaid.”

“Aye, you can and you will. I’ll not
have you freezing to death on my watch.” He belted his weapons
about his waist again.

“I wouldn’t freeze this time of year.”
Though it was May, late spring in the far north of Scotland was
much cooler than it was further south, where she’d grown
up.

Keegan still wore a long linen shirt
that reached almost to his knees, but to have taken his plaid… she
couldn’t be so stingy.

“We could share this plaid,” she
suggested.

She could only see an outline of him
and the dim glow of his shirt in the night, but somehow she knew he
was observing her, or trying to.

“I’m plenty warm,” he murmured, his
voice husky. He withdrew his sword from the scabbard and turned his
head. “Tell me if you hear anything.”

“Very well.” She knew he needed to
concentrate on listening for enemies, but the time they had alone
was rare and precious. After several minutes of peaceful silence,
she felt it safe to whisper, “Earlier, you were going to tell me
what you wished for.” She but wanted to know more about him, to
learn who he was on the deepest level.

He turned to face her, his breathing
close. She perceived his outline in the dim moonlight, but not his
features or expression.

“I shouldn’t tell you,” he finally
said.

“Why not?” Now, her curiosity was
piqued. She wished to know all Keegan’s secrets.

“I’m not sure you would like it,” he
murmured in a warning tone.

“Why? Do you wish to be an outlaw?”
Could he have such shocking aspirations?

He gave a brief, low chuckle.
“Nay.”

“What, then?”

After a long, tense moment of silence,
he stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, then ran it
into her unbound hair. He drew nearer still, his breath teasing the
skin of her face.

“Seona,” he whispered against her
forehead, then kissed her there. “This.” Slowly, he kissed her
temple, her cheek. “This is what I wish for.”

All the breath left her and she could
not draw more in. The kisses on her face created tingles that
spread quickly throughout her entire body.

Lightly, he brushed his warm, tempting
lips over hers. Her eyes slid closed for surely she had drifted
into a dream world.

With his thumb, he gently stroked her
face and jaw line. His lips were firm, but at the same time, soft
and smooth. The short, rough whiskers on his chin scratched against
her tender skin, but it wasn’t painful; it excited her and made her
realize how very masculine he was.

His insistent lips compelled her to
return his kiss, though she knew not how. She had never been kissed
before, but she followed her instincts, pressing her lips against
his and mimicking his movements.

“Mmm,” he breathed and
kissed her more firmly. His lips nipped at hers, snatching her
thoughts and scattering them to the breeze. When he touched the tip
of his tongue to her lips, as if he wanted to taste her, a sound
escaped her before she could stop it.
Heavens!
His tongue felt wicked. She
wished he would do it again.

Trying to figure out how kissing
worked, she parted her lips. He growled and darted his tongue into
her mouth. That sultry move stole the strength from her legs, but
she held on around his neck. Her breasts and other, lower, parts of
her body tingled with a strange magic. What was happening to
her?

Keegan tore his mouth away from hers.
“Listen.” He turned his head toward the north.

She held her breath, trying to listen.
With her heartbeat thumping in her ears, she could perceive
naught.

Finally, she heard it. In the
distance, horses’ hooves pounded, louder and louder with each
moment that passed.

“Someone’s coming,” Keegan whispered,
putting her behind him. The sword in his hand glinted in the faint
moonlight, straining through the leaves overhead.

She was glad he’d been paying
attention to their surroundings during the kiss, for ’twas almost
as if she’d been transported to another world, one where sensation
ruled. Her hands trembled as she clutched onto the back of his
shirt. Not from fright, but because his kiss had disturbed her so
much.

The quick hoof beats drew closer and
closer, making her heart thump at the same frenzied pace. Were the
outlaws searching for them? She peered around his
shoulder.

Two horses galloped past the wood
along the narrow trail, a hundred feet away, their silhouettes a
dark blur against the moon’s reflection in the flowing
stream.

A woman screamed.

“Who is that?” Seona asked, icy fear
slicing through her.

A war cry sounded not too far away.
Horses neighed.

“What the devil? Get on my back,”
Keegan commanded, then leaned down in front of her.

“Nay. Why?”

“Do it, Seona!” he growled low. “’Tis
Lady Isobel. I have to help her, but I’m not leaving you
here.”

Isobel? Saints!

Seona climbed onto his broad back,
holding onto his shoulders. He wrapped one arm around her thigh
and, with his other hand, he carried his unsheathed sword. Moving
nimbly, he ran through the wood past his horse, weaving among the
trees. With the rough pace, she jolted against his back. She could
not believe his fearsome strength.

On the trail just beyond the trees,
blades clashed and clanged. The silhouettes of two warriors in a
sword dual moved this way and that.

“Nay!” a woman yelled.
“Cease!”

“Indeed, that is Isobel,” Seona
whispered, the sensation of chilled water flowing in her
veins.

“Leave him alone, you bastard!” Isobel
yelled.

“Go, Isobel! Run!” a man commanded.
Though enraged, his voice sounded familiar. Dirk?

Aye, he was one of the men fighting,
yelling scathing Gaelic insults and curses at his
opponent.

Chapter Six

Quietly, Keegan carried Seona on his
back through the trees and closer to the edge of the dark forest.
Loud shouts from the two warriors and the clangs of their blades
filled the night air.

“’
Tis Chief Dirk, fighting
with someone,” Seona whispered into Keegan’s ear.

“Aye.” But he couldn’t tell which of
the outlaws challenged him. Dirk could take care of himself, but
protecting Isobel while fighting would be much harder. “Wait right
here, behind this tree,” Keegan whispered, lowering Seona to the
ground next to a larger tree. Hopefully, wearing his dark plaid,
she would be well-hidden behind the trunk. He wanted her close-by
so he could protect her should the outlaw flee Dirk’s wrath. “I’ll
get Isobel.”

“Have a care.”

“Aye.”

Keegan rushed to the perimeter of the
wood. He didn’t wish to distract Dirk, but he had to be sure Isobel
remained safe, especially since she hadn’t run like Dirk had
ordered her to. Stubborn woman. She stood thirty feet behind Dirk,
well out of range of the two fighters, but still too close for his
comfort.

“Isobel. ’Tis me, Keegan,” he said,
still hidden in the shadow of the trees, though likely his pale
linen shirt could be seen in the moonlight. “Come.”

She gasped and sent a quick glance his
way. “Nay. We must help Dirk!”

Keegan crept closer, unable to
recognize Dirk’s opponent in the low light. “Who is he
fighting?”

“Nolan MacLeod.”

The bastard who had tried to rape
Isobel last year? Keegan had never met him, but he’d seen him from
a distance.

“Dirk can handle him. Come into the
wood where you can hide with Seona.”

In the next instant, Nolan’s sword
flew into the air and he fell backward, yelling and grabbing his
throat. He sprawled down the embankment, his head almost in the
water of the stream. After a few moments, he grew silent and
still.