Page 44

She looked up at him, the anger in her eyes flaring for a moment before turning into resignation. She breathed heavily through her nose.

“Reid Kilmartin. He came to speak with ye. We havenae heard a word from him ever since. Where is he?”

Archer blinked in surprise, pressing his knees further into the ground to stop her useless squirming. “Reid’s yer braither?”

“Aye,” she said softly, her eyes welling with tears.

He knew of Reid Kilmartin, the youngest son of the late Laird McFair.

Tilly, Erica, Olivia, and Eileen Kilmartin—Tavish’s daughters.

Archer recalled his mother’s incessant nagging, her tone no less echoing through the far-off corners of his memory.

The McFair women were renowned across the Highlands, tales of their beauty traveling farther than they ever would know.

Tilly, the eldest, was already married. As was Erica.

He vaguely remembered his mother saying that either Olivia or Eileen was spoken for as well—perhaps also wed already, but he couldn’t recall.

But which Kilmartin daughter is currently pinned beneath me? Her skin is like freshly poured cream in the sunlight, dotted with the most delicate freckles like specks of gold, visible even beneath the hood. With her youthfulness, I’d wager good coin on her bein’ the youngest of them.

Archer inhaled deeply. “I told ye the truth last night. I havenae seen or heard from Reid, or any McFair, since last winter,” he said plainly. “Ye’re welcome to search me castle and the dungeons below.”

“Aye, ye’ll let me look in yer dungeons?” the woman asked.

“I’ve nothin’ to hide,” Archer said, furrowing his brow.

Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. “That cannae be. He left days ago. Headed straight here.”

Archer studied her closely. “And what, pray, was he comin’ here for? Unannounced, as it were?”

She lifted her chin but stayed silent.

His eyes traced the lines of her face. Her pulse fluttered in her neck, just over the collar of her tunic, and he let out a soft chuckle. “Ye followed him dressed like that?”

“I had to.”

“Ye dressed like that to sneak out of yer castle,” Archer noted.

“Aye,” she said, looking to the side.

She couldn’t hold his gaze, and it was not because she was afraid of him.

Something in his chest shifted. He didn’t want to admire her bravery. He didn’t want to notice the way the shadows caught in the strawberry blonde curls slipping free of her hood or how her cheeks were dusted with freckles he’d like to trace with his thumb.

As if sensing his struggle, she writhed again fruitlessly. “Get off me this instant!”

But he didn’t move.

“Tell me why Reid left for MacLennan,” Archer said again, his voice menacingly low and commanding.

The woman swallowed hard before she sucked in her upper lip and blew an errant strand of hair from her eye.

He pulled her hands up over her head and clasped her wrists together tightly, his thighs pinning her in place.

“Because O’Gunn announced—quite publicly—that he intended to marry me,” she huffed, every word dripping with bitterness. “Me family willnae be able to outright refuse without riskin’ war, which I believe is by design.”

“O’Gunn wishes to marry ye?” Archer asked, confused.

“Aye, and Reid rode for MacLennan to learn if there was somethin’… anythin’ that we could use to deny him without fallin’ into his trap.” Her eyes flickered, softening slightly. “Reid went to find a way to keep me safe.”

Archer stared at her for a long moment, the air between them thick with implication. He could feel her breath against his neck, see the way her chest rose and fell with each shallow gasp.

The heat between them sparked, unfamiliar and sharp.

His eyes found her lips without meaning to.

Her voice came again, quieter this time. “P-Please.”

And it nearly undid him.

Archer exhaled hard, loosening his grip a little. “Do ye really have yer maid with ye? Ye snuck out of yer castle, but please tell me ye werenae lyin’ about that.”

She blinked twice, her eyes widening as if he’d caught her out. “Me maid is back at the inn in the village.”

Thank Christ .

“Well then, she’ll be brought here. Ye will both stay the night.”

“Stay the night?” she gasped. “I cannae do that!”

“Aye, ye can, and ye will. I’m nae leavin’ ye out here, with the O’Gunn’s plannin’ somethin’ and yer braither missin’. Would they have gotten to him first and taken him? Nay, I cannae think why they would do such a thing.”

She looked up at him, her eyes softer with gratitude and the hint of something else. He knew it was time to get off of her, but he enjoyed the way she looked at him, and he was curious about what she would do.

She didn’t squirm again, merely staring up at him, her body soft beneath his. Her cheeks were still flushed, her chest rising and falling as she licked her lips involuntarily.

Archer tried not to smile as he thought again about what was hiding beneath her disguise. Part of him wanted to tear the clothes off her, now that she was pinned to the ground, and she almost looked like she wanted it to happen.

She took a deep breath, then gasped softly as she realized the position they were still in.

“I should…” she trailed off.

Archer gave a half smile as he finally released her.

She stood up, looking down at the ground as she dusted dirt off her cloak. “Aye, we can stay here in the castle. If I have me maid with me, there willnae be any issues.”

Archer chuckled. “Issues? Between me and ye, or ye and yer maid?”

“Och, are ye always irritatin’?” she huffed.

“Ye willnae be irritated for long. Tomorrow, ye will be escorted back to McFair Castle, and yer family can deal with ye. They wouldnae want ye to go missin’ too.

This isnae a place or an errand for foolish, unsupervised lassies, nae even when they do a fine impression of ale-swillin’ lads.

And after ye’ve searched me dungeons, ye’re welcome to stay down there if ye’re so irritated. ”

Her eyes narrowed. “Ye really are an arrogant arse, are ye nae?”

He smirked. “Ye have nay idea.”

He turned, expecting her to follow. She did after he had walked a little, keeping some distance between them. Her silence crackled with resistance.