Read Online The Warrior Laird by Margo Maguire - Free Book Online

of her, for he intended to leave at first light.
    He kept his eyes on her as the soldier opened her door and stood aside. Instead of entering the room, Maura turned to look down the stairs, catching Dugan’s gaze. Her eyes were wildly alluring in spite of her connection to the royalist soldiers.
    Dugan decided he would not hold her allegiance against her if she happened to favor him with a smile.
    Her cheeks flushed bright with color, and then she did flash him a brilliant smile before ducking into the room. Her escort closed the door behind her and took his own leave.
    What Dugan would not give to follow her, to join her in that room, where he would loosen her hair from its coils and let the bonny, silken mass stream down her back. A few kisses and he would begin to undress her, uncovering pale, smooth skin inch by inch . . .
    â€œAch,” he muttered. Until he settled his outrageous debt to Argyll, there would be no room in his life for distractions. He put Lady Maura from his mind, finished his ale, and looked at his men. He knew they were tired. Even Dugan felt the burn of fatigue behind his eyes. They’d been riding for days, away from the familiarity and comforts of home, and the result of their travels so far was dubious at best.
    â€œI still think we ought to go raiding,” Lachann remarked, breaking into Dugan’s thoughts. “Clan Chattan is not far away and ’tis said they have hundreds of cattle. Mayhap even thousands. We could drive them south and then sell them in the lowlands.”
    â€œLachann, not even a thousand head of cattle would cover Argyll’s demands,” Dugan said bluntly.
    â€œBut the map isn’t—”
    â€œWe don’t yet know what it is or is not,” Dugan said. “We’ll look at it again later, when all is quiet. And then mayhap one of us will see the clue we need.”
    Archie stepped back from the bar. “My eyes are burnin’, Laird. Can it wait until the morn?”
    â€œAye, mine as well,” Kieran said with a yawn. “I’m not sure I’m up to any map readin’ tonight.”
    They spent another hour or so at the bar, waiting for the sitting room to clear out. When they were finally alone, Dugan’s companions wrapped themselves in their plaids and stretched out wherever they found adequate space. Lachann made a trip outside while Dugan took out the maps and spread them out on a low table. He pulled a lamp close, but before sitting down with Lachann, he saw a fetching feminine figure slip down the stairs and out the door.
    The inn was shrouded in darkness, so Dugan wasn’t certain who had gone out, but he had a suspicion. ’Twas the bonny Lady Maura, the thoughts of whom he had not been able to eliminate completely from his mind.
    He followed her scent and was rewarded when he stepped into the shadowy veranda of the inn.
    â€œYou’ve abandoned your escort, Lady Maura?”
    She whirled to face him, and in the soft light of the moon, Dugan saw that her expression was troubled. Her distress touched him deeply and he put aside his own difficulties for the moment.
    â€œAre you in trouble, lass?” he asked, recalling the obvious animosity between the lady and her escort. He felt a perverse satisfaction in it.
    Lady Maura shook her head. “No,” she said quietly. “I’m . . .”
    Dugan came close enough to touch her. The top of her head barely met his shoulder, and he could not resist reaching out to feel the texture of one of her soft curls. “You are what, Lady Maura?”
    â€œI-I am . . .” She turned her gaze upon him, seemingly at a loss for words.
    â€œA woman as lovely as you should have naught to worry about.”
    She frowned as she looked up at him, and he could not resist sliding his hand down to cup her jaw. Her cheek was so smooth, he ran his thumb across it as he thought about tasting her. Just one kiss, though