Read Online Onyx by Elizabeth Rose - Free Book Online Page A

does?” he asked. “Dinna think I couldna feel yer body shakin’ like a leaf against me as we rode.”
    “I . . . I was just cold, since you took it upon yourself to remove my headpiece.” She rubbed her hands together to prove her point, though she had really been warm while pressed up close against his body and in his embrace.
    “Ye are wearin’ gloves,” he said, and shook his head. “And ye are no’ a very good liar.”
    “Not as good a t lying as your mother, I suppose,” she spat.
    She knew she’d made a mistake in saying that as soon as she saw the scowl on his face. His eyes bore into her, and even without color, they were threatening. Now that she thought about it, he did look a little demonic. Or like a madman anyway. She would do good to remember not to anger him while they were on this little adventure. She was alone in the dark with three madmen, and she’d seen how lustful they were by the girls they were bedding in the stables earlier. She had no idea what she’d do if they decided they were still feeling randy.
    “ What did you do with my headpiece?” she asked, pulling back her long hair and twisting it into a knot.
    When he didn’t answer, she walked over to the travel bags attached to his horse. “Is it in here?”
    “Dinna bother, lassie, as it’s no’ there. I tossed it te the earth rather than te keep dodgin’ it as we rode. If ye want te find it, ye’ll have te search at the bottom o’ the mountains.”
    “Damn you,” she spat, opening the bag anyway to see what was inside. “I’m hungry,” she complained, wis hing for a meat pie or game hen in almond milk right now. Or at least a bit of sweet seed cake to fill the emptiness of her stomach. “Is there anything in here to eat?” It was too dark to see, and she slipped her hand inside to feel around, then screamed as she heard a hiss, and something scratched against her gloved hand.
    “Tawpie?” Onyx hurried over to the travel bag and stuck his h and inside, and lifted out a kitten by the scruff of the neck. He held up the cat like a bitch holds her pups, and he looked at her and actually smiled. “Ye were scared by me little, helpless kitten?” he asked.
    He looked devilishly handsome in the moonlight and she could see the white of his teeth. A deep chuckle resonated in his throat. She was sure her cheeks were full of color, and it wasn’t from the cold.
    She realized it was a soft, cuddly kitten, and suddenly felt foolish. So she reached forward to pet it, but it pulled back the corners of its mouth and hissed at her again. She could see its long whiskers and elongated sharp, pointy teeth. Its eyes suddenly looked sinister and it flicked its ringed tail in the air. Its claws were revealed, and it swiped toward her. She pulled back her hand quickly.
    “I would hardly call that thing a kitten, as it seems a little . . . wild,” she said. “And it scratched me.” She rubbed her hand as she spoke. “It probably would have bitten my hand off if I hadn’t pulled away.”
    “Ye h ave gloves on,” he reminded her again. “And this little thing would ne’er hurt anyone, even though she is a wildcat I found in the hills. Probably she was born too late in the year and was abandoned by her mathair.”
    To her surprise , he held it up and ran his cheek against it, then plopped it on his shoulder. He looked sideways as he spoke to it, running his hand over its tail that flicked lazily between his fingers.
    “Dagger, what is Tawpie doin’ here?” asked Aidan, coming to join them.
    “I dinna ken,” he said. “I had no idea she was even in the travel bag. But she likes te hide and also sleep all day, so I canna say I am surprised.”
    “She must o’ climbed inside when I saddled up the horses,” said Ian. “I saw her in t he stables sleeping in a pile o’ hay when I went in there. The travel bag was next te her. I wondered where she went to.”
    “Ye did na happen te bring food?” asked Onyx.
    “I dinna ken we