Page 75 of Taken By the Vicious Highlander

Lilith eyed the incline ahead and let out a breathy laugh. “Should I be worried?”

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “Only if ye cannae keep up.”

They climbed up the rugged terrain, stepping over fallen logs and weaving between towering pines. Damon moved with a sure-footed grace, his pace strong and steady. Lilith trailed slightly behind, watching him as he walked, the way his broad shoulders shifted beneath his cloak, the way his stride never faltered.

It was frustratingly attractive.

He broke the silence first. “Tristan wasnae pleased about the festival.”

Lilith raised an eyebrow and smiled knowingly. “He wouldnae be, in general.”

Damon stopped and turned to face her. “He made his displeasure known.Passionately. Why?”

“That’s his job,” she pointed out, sidestepping a large rock and stopping, resting her hands on her hips. “It’s his job to ensure that plans arenae made hastily. That they dinnae put the clan in a bad position.”

He hummed in thought, his expression unreadable, before turning back around. Then, without warning, he picked up the pace, his long legs covering more ground up the steep rock face.

Lilith huffed, quickening her steps. “Is this punishment for expressin’ doubts?”

For the first time, he laughed—an unrestrained, genuine sound that sent warmth through her. It was rare to see him so unguarded, and it made her stomach flutter in a way that had nothing to do with exertion.

“Nay, it’s just steep. Ye should pick up the pace as well if ye ken what’s good for ye.”

“Well, I’m nae used to climbin’ steep terrain in adress.Ye could have warned me.”

“Would ye have come down in breeches, ach! I never…” Damon laughed again, a thunderous belly laugh.

Lilith remained silent because she, in fact, would have come down in riding pants. She could even picture them hanging in the wardrobe, next to her riding jacket.

“Ye cannae tell me ye never saw a woman in breeches. The absolute gall,” she mumbled to herself, only to pause when she came upon a vast, remarkably untouched clearing.

She paused to catch her breath. Her gaze fell to the ground around her, covered in shades of green she had never seen before. Inhaling the scent of sweet honey and something fresh but foreign, she let her eyelids close and tilted her head back to bask in the aroma and sunlight.

Deep, rumbling, masculine chuckles coaxed one of her eyes to open and rest on the seemingly out-of-place Highlander.

“Ye come here often?” she ventured.

“Nay, only once before,” he said.

The excited lilt in his voice tugged on something deep inside her core.

“But ye found it again, tonight?”

“Aye, I found it again—to show ye. Look…” Damon said, gracefully taking a seat on a large, flat rock.

Lilith closed the distance between them, but before she could wrestle her skirts around to sit next to him, he lifted a hand to stop her from stepping on something.

She took his large hand, letting his strength guide her down between his legs. The scene could have been mistaken for something private, were it not for the delicate pale pink flower that jutted from the rugged earth at their feet. She gasped.

Damon smiled boyishly at her. “Ye like it?”

She knelt, her fingers brushing the delicate petals. “Gosh, it’s beautiful. I’ve never seen one before. Do ye ken what it is?”

“Aye, the illustrious and allusive Twinflower.”

“Twinflower?”

I dinnae have one of those in the book…