Read Online Highlander Unchained by Monica McCarty - Free Book Online

“Have you written to my brother?”
    He lifted a dark brow. “So anxious to go? But you’ve only just arrived.”
    She ignored his attempt to defray the question. “Have you?”
    “A messenger left for Coll not long after we arrived.”
    “And has Hector acceded to your demands?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Nor will he.”
    “We’ll see.”
    He sounded so confident. But she wasn’t so sure. A terrible thought suddenly occurred to her. “What will you do with me if he does not agree?”
    He held her gaze with piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. “He’ll agree.”
    “But what if he does not? You can’t keep me here forever. Eventually someone will realize I’m missing.”
    “Eventually. But I would wager that you’ve bought me quite a bit of time with your attempted elopement.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I rather doubt that you left Holyrood in the middle of the night without explanation.”
    Her face fell. She thought of the notes she’d written to both Rory and her cousin Argyll that she’d gone to see Hector. Notes that would prevent anyone from looking for her for some time.
    But how had he guessed?
    Hector would know soon enough, but he was on ill terms with both Argyll and Rory. Her only hope was that William would alert her cousin to what had happened. But then there would be some explaining to do. Would he risk it?
    The laird was watching with an inscrutable expression on his face. “Why have you never married?” he asked suddenly. “You are certainly of age.”
    Her body went rigid. “I hardly think that is any of your concern.”
    His gaze swept over her face and down her breasts. “You are pleasing enough.”
    She gasped. Did that suffice for a compliment? Blandishments were obviously not his forte. But it wasn’t the lack of gallantry that stung. He could have been inspecting her like a horse at market. The simple gesture summed up everything she despised about her position. She was flesh and blood, but no one would ever see her as such. All they saw was the wealth and connections she would bring them. And this man saw her only as a bargaining chip.
    “You are too kind.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. “But what has marriage to offer me that I don’t already have?”
     
    There were many ways to answer that question, but having care for her innocence, Lachlan refrained from the blunt one. One glance at that beautiful face and lush body, and he need look no further for a reason why the lass should be wed: swiving. And lots of it.
    It had been the foremost thing on his mind since she’d walked into the room. When he’d had to force himself not to blink to see if she was real—there was such an ethereal, almost fey quality to her beauty. The face that had haunted his dreams while he recovered from his wound was even more breathtaking in the flesh. There was no mud to obscure her features or horrible cap to hide her hair.
    The old gown he’d borrowed from his sister was a shade small and clung to her breasts and hips, emphasizing the seductive curves of her body. Her long blond hair tumbled in loose waves around her shoulders, catching the sun in a golden halo of light. Freshly scrubbed cheeks revealed the translucence of her pale skin, a luminous contrast to sea blue eyes framed in thick dark lashes and to her bold red lips.
    It was her mouth that was driving him mad. Filling his mind with dark, erotic images. Her lips were soft and wide with a deep, sensual curve, highlighted by a tiny naughty dimple on one cheek. He thought of how close he’d been to kissing her and regretted the forbearance that had only increased his hunger. He wasn’t a patient man by nature, especially when he wanted something. And he wanted Flora MacLeod. With a force that sent a surge of heat rushing through his veins.
    Tearing his gaze from her mouth, he realized she was waiting for his response. Though she’d spoken derisively, Lachlan heard the underlying challenge in her question.