Page 4 of Taken By the Vicious Highlander

Lilith’s words, laced with venom, shot out between them. “Why would ye wish for me to marry ye? Ye have ruined me family! Do ye have feelings for me or something? Because I can assure ye?—”

Damon’s predatory movements—an even more intimidating force than she had experienced before—caused her to cower from him. Her gaze dropped to the floor in submission.

He towered over her, his furious heat permeating the tight space between his wide chest and her delicate shoulders. He was built unlike any man she had ever seen.

“Look at me,” was all he said. His voice was like gravel.

Lilith noted that his hands had remained in his pockets. The folds of his jacket strained against his hard muscles. His sharp jaw clenched, and a muscle fluttered under the edge of his stubbled cheekbone. Finally, she met his icy blue glare—somehow even more blue in his anger.

He could kill me…

“Dinnae be naive. This wouldnae be about romance.” The harsh emphasis on the last word might as well have been a slap across her face. “Neither would a marriage between us ever involve something as baseless and useless as love.”

“Then tell me why!”

That was the last thing Lilith thought she would say before he would deliver an ear-splitting blow. Her body relaxed instinctively because she always recovered quicker and with fewer marks when she wasn’t tense.

As if sensing the shift in the air, Damon’s voice came out like a forbidden flavor of honey. “Because it is what’s best for yer people. They dinnae trust me. I have nay intention of harmin’them. But if they revolt… drastic measures will be taken. With ye as me wife, they’ll see that I mean to protect them.”

Lilith’s mind raced as his proximity overwhelmed her senses.

“Plus, ye have all gone out of yer way to decorate the study. I doubt anyone was made aware of who ye were actually betrothed to—I havenae seen an announcement yet.”

Another scandal to blight our clan’s honor. They’re all expectin’ a wedding, he’s right. Another ruined engagement if I refuse him…

“What happens if someone crosses ye?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Damon’s silence was answer enough.

Her thoughts turned to her people, the trials they had already gone through under Magnus’s rule, and the uncertainty of a stranger now ruling them.

They’ll suffer.

“I willnae repeat meself again, Lilith Flanagan. What say ye?”

She hesitated, heart pounding in her chest as blood rushed to her head. “For me people,” she said slowly and nodded. “For them, I’ll marry ye, Damon Aragain.”

2

Today’s the day.

Lilith groaned at the sound of a loud knock at her door and stretched out her coiled limbs. Her blankets twisted around her, pulling her deeper into the warmth of the mattress.

Another louder knock at her door pulled a more terse groan from her dry throat. “What is it?”

“Are ye awake, darling?” her friend’s voice rang out songlike through the cracks of the door.

Ariah’s excitement only made Lilith’s chest tighten as the weight of her decision lingered heavily.

“Aye, I’m awake, just nae out of bed?—”

The door flew open furiously as her red-haired companion burst into her chamber, flowing fabric hanging listlessly in the breeze she created. The flowers in her arms bobbed slightly with her movements, and her smile widened before it faltered.

“Ach! Goodness me, Lil! Ye look horrendous!”

“Wow. Thank ye, Ariah.” Lilith’s deadpan tone only increased her friend’s excitement.

“Weddings are the best, are they nae? I’m so excited for ye! Here are the satin robes ye and I were talkin’ about the other day, and I picked these flowers this morning—all to calm yer nerves while ye get ready,” Ariah said cheerfully as she hung the robe close to the hearth to warm it and then put the flowers in a vase by the mirror.