Read Online Across a Dark Highland Shore (Hot Highlands Romance Book 2) by Kelly Jameson - Free Book Online

maidens, ignoring those who were plainer despite any charms, intelligence, or wit they may have displayed.
    Though he had saved her life, Isobel already disliked Leith intensely. He was a man who would scorn sentiment and romance, who was used to ruthlessly taking what he thought was rightfully his, a man who believed everyone else looked at life with the same calculating, practical interest.
    There was great virility there, to be sure—he was a warrior whose prowess was known all along the misty coasts of Scotland. For a while, it seemed that the Macleans were embroiled in every disturbance in the western isles. She found his presence overpowering.
    “Dugald, dunna be daft,” Leith said. “She dinna use a magic spell to turn herself into a grown woman.” His eyes dipped to the creamy swell of her breasts once more, and he lifted his hand to briefly caress the pendant at her neck. The touch of his long, lean fingers was alarming. “Ye are no child. Ye ne’er were. Ye deceived us.”
    Isobel arched a golden eyebrow and he withdrew his hand. “I didna lie, Maclean. I ne’er claimed to be a child. Ye all assumed I was and I dinna correct ye. Ye saw what ye wanted to see. What did it matter if ye thought I was child or woman? Would it have changed anything? Would ye have left me to burn if ye knew I was a woman and no’ a child?” A note of effrontery crept into her voice. She could not help it. “And do ye ne’er knock before ye enter a lady’s chamber?”
    He noticed the change in her voice, in her tone, and it seemed to amuse him rather than anger him. She was sure her own eyes flashed with anger and indignation. She had never found it easy to disguise her feelings.
    “E’erything in this castle belongs to me,” he said. “E’erything. E’ery room, e’ery stick of furniture, e’ery tapestry, e’ery candlestick. I am responsible for e’ery life here, for e’eryone’s comfort and safety.”
    “Then it must surely rankle yer arrogant hide that ye own e’erything in this keep except for that stag’s head on the wall.”
    Isobel saw the corners of Maida’s lips lift in surprise, and she covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. Isobel watched a fuller smile blossom on Leith’s lips, and just as she’d imagined it would be, his smile was both brutal and mesmerizing.
    “I do have an arrogant hide,” he said. “Surely ye’ve heard it said that a rare thing is a Maclean without boasting, a Macdonald without activity, or a Campbell without pride. I’m also headstrong, brazen, calculating, and possessive. If yer going to insult me, at least do it properly.” He frowned. “I ha’e to be all those things. It’s my duty to keep my clan safe and to consider what is best for them. Therefore I canna worry what people think of me when I make decisions to protect them. Including bringing ye here, Isobel.”
    He stepped closer to her. She had to crane her neck to look up at him, and his long-lashed amber eyes drew her in. She was aware of the water droplets sliding down her skin and she shivered, though she knew it was not from the cold.
    “Ye’d best get used to my boorish ways, for ye’ll be spending a lot of time by my side.” He raised his hand and this time caught one of her errant, ragged curls in his fingers. “Curious. Is this how Seers wear their hair?”
    Isobel was forced to move yet closer to him. She could see his hard face clearly—the shadows beneath his luminous eyes, the grooves around his mouth—and her eyes were inadvertently drawn to his scar.
    He released the curl abruptly and she pulled away from him.
    “Nay. ‘Twas no’ always so ugly. Before they set out to burn me, a man cut it off with his dirk. My hair had hung to my hips and I kept it clean. ‘Twas the only pretty thing about me, as ye can now see, being as ye didna knock before ye came in and saw more of me than ye would ha’e liked.”
    She frowned, thinking about that awful night when they had tied her to