Read Online All The Time You Need by Melissa Mayhue - Free Book Online

and up to the third floor. The old crone had a wicked reputation for stubbornness, but he had no doubt Finn would return with her, even if it meant carrying her kicking and cursing the entire way.
    With one powerful shove, Alex sent the massive wooden door to his sister’s chamber swinging open to bang back against the wall. He crossed the room and gently laid Annie in the middle of the bed before stepping back to study his unexpected guest.
    Though he wasn’t one to accept the outlandish stories his grandfather Aiden had invented for the entertainment of his grandchildren—and any others who would listen—he couldn’t blame his twin for thinking this woman had appeared straight out of one of those stories. She was an odd one, truth be told.
    From the soft curls of her light-brown hair, which would reach no longer than middle of her back at best guess, to the strange cut and cloth of her garments, he’d not seen her like before. Not even during his time in Edinburgh, and he’d seen all manner of women there, from those who thought themselves royalty to those who made their living lying upon their backs.
    Annie was like none of them.
    The clothing she wore must be undergarments of some kind, though he’d certainly never seen a match for either their softness or for the colors in that flowered skirt she wore. As it barely reached the middle of her lower leg, he could only surmise that whoever had ill-treated her must also have taken part of her clothing. Or perhaps they’d removed her from the shelter of her chambers without allowing her time to dress.
    Again that odd need to protect her blossomed in his chest, and he slowly moved closer to the bed, a man drawn irresistibly forward, like a summer midge drawn to the scent of warm blood.
    Her face was delicately beautiful, with finely chiseled features, marred only by the discolored swelling on her cheek. He resisted the temptation to run a finger over her furrowed brow, forcing his hands instead to busy themselves with drawing a light blanket over her long, bared legs. No sense in exposing her to any more indignities than she’d already suffered.
    A bowl of tepid water sat next to his sister’s bed, and he searched the room for any manner of cloth he might use as a compress. He found what he wanted folded into a corner of the chest at the foot of Lissa’s bed, and hurried to dip it into the water. With the cool cloth wrung out, he leaned in close and set it on the angry swelling.
    As if the movement had summoned her back from wherever she’d been hiding, Annie’s eyelids fluttered open to reveal the deepest blue eyes he’d ever seen. Like pools in a bottomless loch, they called to him.
    Or perhaps not to him…
    “Peter?” she whispered, and then, like tapestries sliding down a wall, her eyelids dropped, spreading thick, dark lashes against soft, creamy skin.
    The interaction lasted only a fraction of a moment, but it left him rattled. He wanted her to awaken again so that he might satisfy his need to know more about her. Who was she? Where had she come from? And, most of all, who the hell was Peter?
     
    * * *
     
    There was something Annie needed to do. Something terribly important she’d left undone, nagging relentlessly at the back of her mind. But remembering what it was or how to find her way back to it simply seemed beyond her abilities. It felt as if she were at the bottom of a very deep well. Or maybe a tunnel. That was it. A tunnel. A very long tunnel, very far away from that tiny pinprick of light beckoning in the distance. A light? Yes! If she could just make it to that light, she stood a chance of escaping from this place.
    That important something she’d forgotten continued to worry her as she fought her way forward, nipping at her heels, driving her, urging her on.
    Did it have something to do with her family? That must be it. Surely only a family responsibility could hang so heavily around her neck.
    With a mighty effort, she managed one last