Read Online The Thief by Allison Butler - Free Book Online Page B

too long. She needed someone to take her in hand. He would be that someone. He’d bind her to him through marriage the moment he had her safely within his stronghold. He’d not risk her fleeing again. With his mind made up, Lachlan allowed the muscles bunching across his shoulders to relax, knowing once he was wed, all would be as it should be.
    De Brus carried them down the final tree-lined slope where Lachlan’s cattle were held before being moved closer to the keep for winter. Lachlan’s eyes briefly lifted to the swollen moon and then dropped to where Duff rode a short distance ahead. The men guarding the herd would soon be replaced by the night watchmen. Lundy, Dair, Cal, Father Tremayne and Ailsa would already be safely within Castle Redheugh walls. His bride-to-be-
    ‘Reivers!’
    Duff’s warning shout split the cold-night air, swiftly followed by other calls of an attack from beyond the line of trees. The clang of steel meeting steel pierced the night.
    ‘Down, Kenzie!’ He hissed the command through clenched teeth even as his left hand pushed her forward so she lay flush against his mount. She obeyed without resistance.
    The fingers of Lachlan’s right hand curled about the hilt of his sword, his weapon drawn a heartbeat before the drum of thundering hooves drowned out all other sound.
    Two mounted men rushed Lachlan from the trees to his right, their larger mounts screaming their English origins. Their long blades flashing deadly intent in the moonlight. Raising his sword, Lachlan blocked the slicing curve of one man’s weapon, twisted his grip and drove his opponent back with a menacing thrust. The second man quickly filled the space, his sword high in a two-handed hold as the blade began its downward arc.
    Lachlan gripped De Brus’s sides with his knees and thighs, bracing for the powerful blow. He pressed his splayed hand firmly down on Kenzie’s slender back. His need to protect her lent a fierceness to his strength and an extra thud to his heartbeat. He closed his senses to everything but the falling blade. Willed all his power into his hand and the arm supporting his deadly weapon, his only means of defence.
    His attacker’s sword crashed down onto his. Metal screamed in protest. Lachlan’s blade barely wavered but his fury erupted. With a blood-curdling roar, he drove the other man’s blade to the side and down, then with a turn of his wrist, brought his blade back in the opposite direction.
    His opponent shrank away, but not swiftly enough to avoid the tip of Lachlan’s sword. The sharp point shredded the man’s leather vest and scored the flesh of his stomach. A howl escaped the man’s lips before he turned his mount and bolted.
    ‘Laird, behind you.’
    De Brus reacted the instant Lachlan nudged him with his knee. Swinging around to the right, Lachlan’s sword was already slicing the air before they’d completed the turn. His blade sank deep in his first attacker’s shoulder. A scream tore through the night. With a sharp wrench, Lachlan dislodged his weapon from bone, earning another agonised cry. The injured man slumped across his horse’s neck and fled.
    Lachlan searched his surroundings, listening to the hoof beats fading as the last of the reivers galloped toward the English border. Blood pounded at his temples.
    The woman molded to De Brus’s neck shifted. ‘Is it over?’ Her voice was steady.
    She is unharmed. Lachlan’s thumping pulse calmed. ‘Aye. It’s safe to sit up, now.’
    No movement, then … ‘It would help if you removed your hand.’
    Lachlan peered down at his hand still planted in the centre of her back. His fingers curled about the heat branding his palm. He pulled his hand away. His blood slowed. She straightened, but stopped short of her body leaning back into his.
    Duff rode up, his gleaming sword still in hand. ‘Are you all right, laird?’
    ‘Aye, thanks to you.’
    Duff turned away and scanned the area. Lachlan glanced at his closed, rigid