Read Online Onyx by Elizabeth Rose - Free Book Online

as they made their way up the mountains.
    “Aye, and why didna ye bring along a lassie fer me?” asked the blond one who they’d told her was named Aidan.
    The men both had wide chests and thick necks and she was certain muscles – big ones – under their clothes. She felt suddenly very foolish for telling her guards to leave her with them, but she hadn’t had a choice. She couldn’t allow a skirmish to break out, especially since she’d seen children and women in the pub. Even if they were Scots, they were still innocent people. And she wasn’t the heartless bitch she knew Onyx probably thought she was right now.
    “We’re goin’ te the MacKeefe camp,” he told them.
    “Why there?” asked Aidan. “I did na hear yer mathair say anythin’ about our clan’s home.”
    “She didna ,” he explained. “But by her words I think I ken exactly where te find this book.”
    They rode in silence throughout the night, and as they climbed the mountains an d the air became thinner, Lovelle found herself getting light-headed and tired. The snow fell softly around them, and before too long she felt herself dozing off. She jerked once as she almost lost her balance, and Onyx pulled her closer to him, his arm protectively around her. Then she must have slept, because the next thing she knew, they’d stopped, the motion jarring her awake.
    When she realized her head was leaning back against his chest, she sat upright, her spine rigid. “Why are we stopping?” she asked, looking around, but not seeing any kind of a c amp. They were in the mountains now, and she could hear the trickling of a brook nearby.
    “The horses nee d te rest, and Aidan needs te piss,” said Onyx, slipping off the horse to the ground.
    “Dagger, did ye have te tell her that?” complained Aidan, getting off his horse and heading quickly to a tree. He didn’t bother to conceal himself, but rather just lifted his tar tan and did his business. Lovelle turned her head and looked the other way.
    “We’ll camp here fe r the night,” said Onyx, reaching up and putting his hands around her waist. He didn’t wait for her permission, but instead lifted her up and out of the saddle. Instinctively, she put her arms on his shoulders as he placed her on the ground. He’d moved so quickly that she lost her balance and ended up falling against his chest.
    She could feel his warmth right through his clothing though it was a frigid night and he was half-dressed. When she grabbed for him, his leine opened slightly, and she felt his chest hair tickle her cheek. She pushed back quickly, and her loose hair fell across one of her eyes. That’s when she realized he must have removed her headpiece while she slept, as he’d complained about it earlier. She was appalled by his bold move and was about to reprimand him, but his next action left her speechless.
    He reached out gently and pushed the stray strands behind her ear, and when the ends stuck to her mouth, he took his thumb and brushed it quickly over her lips to push that strand away as well. To her surprise, she felt a tingle rush through her. Something she’d never felt the entire eight years sh e’d been married to the baron. She gasped slightly, and looked up. Their eyes interlocked, and in the moonlight she could see the intensity of his gaze.
    “How is it ye can look me in the eyes and no’ be repelled like everyone else?” he asked softly.
    “Repelled by what?” she asked, curiously.
    “Me demon eyes, lassie. Dinna ye see the devil in them like e’eryone else does?”
    She looked into his eyes again and realized that one was quite a bit lighter than the other , and wondered how she had missed this fact earlier. She knew now that they must be two different colors, but since she only saw in black, white, and tones of grey at night, she had no idea how odd they probably really were.
    “Your eyes don’t scare me,” she said, pushing away from him and playing with her gloves.
    “Then what