Page 9 of Kidnapped by her Highland Enemy

The gaze was possessive and by inches, his lips descended upon hers. Finally, he closed the distance between them and pressed his mouth to hers, surprising Maisie with such soft tenderness. Resting one large hand over hers, his tongue traced a hot line between her lips, coaxing them apart.

She opened to him, no longer foolish enough to think she could fight her pull towards him.

She gave in and kissed him, knowing it was foolish to wish it would never end.

The moment she yielded, his tongue slipped inside to tease hers into play.

She had never been kissed before, but Lucas’s lips were warm upon hers, even tender, and she found herself leaning into him, closing her eyes, while an odd stirring awaked deep within her.

His tongue was teasing, stroking, and caressing and Maisie clutched at his shoulders as a wave of shuddery heat surged through her. She could barely think as the blood singing through her veins were as loud and powerful as the waves behind her.

Lucas pulled away for a moment to let them gasp in air moments before his mouth covered hers again in a warm, tender, breathless kiss that caused her to tremble uncontrollably.

She could feel her body yielding to him, relaxing in his arms while her delicate fingers slid into the soft waves of his hair.

This time when he pulled away, his gaze was liquid and warm.

He thumbed a finger under her cheek and said, “Ye have questions, and I will answer them now. I brought ye here because nearly over a sennight ago, word came to me attention that someone from yer clan was planning to kill me. I took ye because I kent that they will reconsider their plan while I have ye with me.”

Her eyes went wide and as Maisie made to speak, his thumb rested over her lips, not pressing but telling her to be quiet.

“There’s more,” he added. “I then learnt that a similar letter was sent to yer clan claiming that someone from mine was going to kill yer faither and this stinks of a conspiracy to high heaven.”

Lucas pulled his hand from her and while she missed his touch, Maisie was utterly perplexed. “Who could have done this?”

“I asked the same,” he said while facing the surging sea. “And I can only ken that it’s a ploy from the capital to undermine two strong clans so he can make way to give more of our land to the damned English.”

“But…why?” Maisie asked, “Is another war on the horizon? We scarcely survived the last one.”

His gaze took on the character of steel.

“His master , King Edward spared nay one when he invaded, and for two days streams of blood flowed from the bodies of the seven thousand slain souls. I have nae compassion for the King and neither does any of me clan. He is a puppet and I am sure his master is pulling the strings.”

Unable to understand why the King would weaken two of the strongest clan he had in his arsenal, Maisie held unto Lucas’s forearm tightly.

Her eyes shifted left and right as ideas raging from barely plausible to the more mindboggling senselessness, swam through her mind.

She then sagged on Lucas’s chest, “That is…simply treacherous.”

“Aye, it is,” Lucas said while running his hand up and down her arm. Pressing his nose into her hair again, he added, “That is if this is all coming from the capital.”

“Meaning that it could be coming from rival clans as well,” Maisie said smartly.

Smiling, Lucas nodded. “Aye, me clan and yers, I’d imagine, have a lot of enemies that would do anything to get us under their feet. But my suspicion rest on the capital based on what I experienced going to France with the other nobles.”

“Ye witnessed the betrayal from our King,” Maisie said plainly.

“From then, me and me clan have stayed away from the so-called court. Any order we get from the capital is ignored an’ now, I hardly ken what is going on in the lowlands but there is one thing I hold sure, we’re nay pawns for his game,” Lucas said hotly.

“And if this manipulation is another one, I will nae be taking it kindly.”

Darkness began to creep up from the horizon and she saw how Lucas kept an eye on it. “He cannae be alienating his most powerful clans when we’re still smarting from the English King’s massacre.

“He would be mad to undermine us,” Maisie replied as the clouds neared.

“Aye,” Lucas stood and helped her to her feet. “Truthfully, we heard reports of another battle in autumn of last year, but we stayed out of it. As far as me and me clan was concerned, we had no king.”

Miss Eilidh’s words resonated in her head and Maisie began to fear that she might take the same path the older lady had felt and fallen in love with a man that no one would expect.

Even worse, she might be the reason for another war between the two clans.

It would end in disaster, probably her father wanting to kill Lucas for seducing her.

Yet she could not deny that the heat of his touch, the warmth of his lips upon hers and the heat in his eyes made her feel comforted, and desired.

Lucas gently guided her back up the path and into the house, just as a clap of thunder blasted through the strangely silent woods, eerily echoing, and startling a flock of resting blackbirds into flight.

Their raucous cries shattered the growing stillness as lightning carved the sky in twain.

As she went upstairs to her bed, Maisie pressed a hand to her lips—her first kiss had come from her enemy. But…was he truly?