Page 12 of Kidnapped by her Highland Enemy

I n turn, Lucas slid his hands down her spine to the feminine curves at her waist. Hungry desire radiated throughout his body—over every inch of flesh and deep inside. Longing inflamed his heart and shot straight to his groin.

Maisie possessed the traits he wanted in a woman, and he knew if they kept on, he would find more.

Forget the tears, all he had to do was meet her gaze and he’d give her the world.

He wanted to show her pleasure, take her to places of passion and watch her blossom as she experienced all that womanhood had to offer.

His hand slid to her buttocks and gripped her as she moaned and pressed against his turgid erection. Lucas wanted her on his bed… but she was right, they had to stop, or they would end up being reckless.

Pulling away, he pressed his forehead in the crook of her neck and sucked in deep breaths. His arousal was still thrumming through his blood and while his hands gripped her thighs, he forced himself to calm.

Releasing his hold, Lucas let out a shuddery breath. “Aye, lass, we should.”

Maisie was no common wench to be bedded and then shoved aside, and even more, he had no doubt that she was yet a virgin; her shock at his first kiss had attested to that.

Her dignity and proud bearing alone bespoke a high birth and refined upbringing, yet she had a high-spirited soul that broke any illusion of her being timid.

Nay, he would go slowly with her, not only because he longed to see passionate desire for him burning in her golden eyes, but also because he wanted her to find pleasure in his arms. He bent his head, his lips tracing a feather-light path down the long column of her throat, and she shivered suddenly.

“I ken after this, we’ll have to meet on a different footing,” he said with his hands making soothing circles on her thigh.

As the fire in him began to ebb, Lucas held her closely.

“The feud will have to go, lass, I promise ye that. As soon as I discover who is behind this treachery, we will straighten this feud out once and for all. We’ll have peace. ”

“For that to happen, one family will have to fold,” Maisie said, a miserable look on her face, he knew she felt it would be her clan. “We both ken yer clan is the superior one, and if mine has to be humbled to stop this bloodshed, that is how it is, I suppose.”

Shifting her to sit on his side, Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they gazed out at the rolling seas. “Aye.”

As time slipped by, Maisie began to doze away on his shoulder and Lucas got to thinking.

Could it be that the lass he had been looking for had been under his nose all this time?

Her hair fluttered in the wind, the shining mahogany strands a halo around her face.

Her lashes were resting on her cheek and the rose hue that colored the arches drew him, just as much as her lips.

When the wind got gusty, he gently lifted Maisie into his arms and carried her sleeping form back to the house. Taking the stairs, he rested her on her cot and then lifted a blanket over her.

“I might be wrong about ye,” he murmured, then headed out, closing the doors behind him.

On the floor below, Oliver met him. “My laird, I ken it’s time for us to take another scouting mission in the towns beyond.”

“Are ye sure?” Lucas furrowed his brow. He refrained from looking up to where Maisie rested because he did not want to leave her, but while he didn’t do so, he knew Oliver realized it. “Do you think anythin’ will change?”

“It’s been a sennight and a half,” Oliver said. “Word has to be going around, but if it’s good or bad, we must ken about it so we can prepare what to do when we get back to the clan.”

“Aye,” Lucas nodded. His friend was right. They had to know what they were going to go against when they did go back to the clan lands. “Yer right.”

“Ye do like the lass,” Oliver said plainly.

Lucas simply nodded. “Against all odds.”

“How do ye ken this will go over with the elders an’ yer faither when he kens that ye are dallying with the enemy?” Oliver asked, tilting his head a bit. “It’s nay going to be received well.”

“Aye,” Lucas said while raking his fingers through his hair, leaving the strands standing pell-mell. “We’ll have to deal with that when we come to it. If both of us go, is Ian going to be enough to guard the two?”

“I daenae reckon yer miss will do anything to endanger herself. Tis the other one who he should watch out for.” Oliver looked down the hall to where Maisie’s maid stayed. “She is nae fond of us, is she?”

“Nay,” Lucas shrugged. “I’d imagine it’s because she was hurt by one of us, her family was hurt, or she’s been told to hate us. It’s one of the three.”

“Could be all,” Oliver’s gaze was still latched onto the door down the passageway. “But Ian has proven himself capable of many a thing, so I daenae ken he will have trouble with these lasses.”

“We’ll leave by daybreak,” Lucas agreed. “Where is Ian?”

“Out, hunting,” Oliver said.

“And Eilidh?”

This time, Oliver nodded to another room. “Resting. I ken it’s time for her to go back home because the bairn might be coming anytime now.”

“Make sense,” Lucas then finally allowed himself to look upward where Maisie rested.

Clapping Lucas on his shoulder, Oliver said, “Go see to her if that’s what’s on yer mind.”

Heading to the stairs, Lucas took them two by two before arriving at the doorway. Gently, he cracked the door open, expecting to see Maisie sleeping. Instead, she was seated near the window, looking out.

Closing the door, he neared. “What’s troubling ye, lass?”

“That someone is out there manipulating our families into hating each other more than they already do,” she said quietly. “And that either ye or me may end up dead because of it.”

Perching his back on the windowsill, Lucas held unto the frame. “I should apologize, Maisie. At first, I took ye because I figured that any assassin from yer family would have to ken twice if they still wanted to come against me.”

She did not look surprised and after seeing her reaction, Lucas snorted to himself, “But ye kent that already, did ye nae?”

“I have,” she said simply. “At first I was enraged that ye would do such a selfish thing, but now that the second part of this debacle has become known, a part of me is happy that ye did take me away from possible danger.”

“Do ye ken how to defend yerself, lass?” Lucas asked, his brows narrowing. “How to handle a sword, a dirk, a dagger, anything?”

She shrugged, “Nay. I was raised with the notion that I wouldnae have to. The closest I can come to defending myself is how to use hemlock.”

Reaching out for her hand, Lucas used his thumb to open her palm.

Her skin was soft, with barely thickened skin on the heel of her hand and the tips of her fingers.

Maisie shuddered under his touch, and he felt pleased at her reaction.

“I’d like to teach ye some simple ways to defend yerself, lass. ”

“Here?”

“Aye,” he made a circle with his thumb over her palm before dropping it. “We have time here, an’ I basically brought a wagonful of weapons with me.”

Maisie rubbed her hand on her dress idly. “Is that necessary?”

“As much as I would love to fight for ye, it willnae harm to learn to protect yerself,” Lucas replied. “Better to have and nae use it than nae have it and desperate to use it. I like it when women can defend themselves.”

“Ye do?”

“Most of the women in me clan do,” he shrugged. “When most of the men and lads are at war, the women must defend themselves, be it a rogue band or raiders or a wild beast, they have to do what must be done an’ kill it.”

“Ah,” she nodded. “I daenae see how that can hurt. When do ye plan on starting?”

“On the morn,” he said while getting to his feet. “I’ll carry up yer supper, because I want ye to tell me more about yerself.”

A flash of apprehension crossed her face, but she held his gaze and nodded, “Only if ye’ll do the same.”

Grinning, Lucas nodded, “T’will be me pleasure.”

It did not take him long to return with trenchers of thick, crusty bread piled high with succulent slices of beef and fowl for them. He found Maisie just as he had left her, only she looked more placid than uneasy.

“Eat yer fill,” he handed the trencher over.

“Thank ye,” she replied, taking the food.

When he sat, she broke off a corner of the bread.

Keeping her eyes down, Maisie said, “Me life is nothing remarkable. Me maither died when I was young and Faither decided I wasnae worth his attention, so he gave me tutors. I learned everything I could and made the best of it. Me friends were the children of servants and adopted pets from the fields.”

“What sort of pets?” Lucas asked, his left brow lifted high. “If ye dare say a hare or a fowl…”

She looked up with a smile, “I had a baby goat and pup. Faither went so red in the face when he saw both animals in me rooms.”

“I’d imagine,” Lucas snorted. “The pup I can understand, but a goat?”

Glancing at him again, she shrugged, “He was a babe. I couldnae resist.”

“Ye adopted a Sunday meal into yer rooms,” Lucas teased. “I hope he tasted good.”

Maisie plucked a hunk of bread from her plate and flickered it at him. “We dinnae eat him, me God, how much of a barbarian are ye?”

“The worst,” he grinned. “I am the scourge of the earth.”

“I believe ye,” Maisie laughed.

Finishing off his food, Lucas said, “Me faither told me I came into this world with one hand on a sword’s pummel and a frightful yell that scared the blackbirds into the sky.”

“Liar,” she laughed.

He pressed a hand to his breast, “Ye impugn me honor, lass. I swear it’s all the truth.”

“Aye,” Maisie snorted.

“There’s a tradition in me clan where the heirs born to the laird are tested when they get to their twelfth summer. I went to bed in me chambers but woke up in the middle of the forest.”

“What?” Maisie exclaimed. “Why?”