Page 31 of The Cruel Highlander (From Enemies to Marriage #3)

“Where am I?” Keira whispered as she slowly sat up in bed, her body still hurting. The battle. A large man who had picked her up as if she was weightless. Eric’s cold eyes as he stared at her before she fainted. Had she fainted? Keira couldn’t make sense of what was happening, or where she was.

Her memory returned as she realized that she was not home, and she could not be at Eric’s castle. Her bedchamber there never had a burning fire, and Eric had refused to provide her with anything warm to cover herself, leaving her entirely miserable in the cold.

The blanket on top of her had indeed kept her extremely warm, and she felt protected. The feeling reminded her of home, but as she stared at the bedchamber, she knew this was a place she had never been before. The bedchamber was large and lavishly furnished, and from what she could tell, she was inside a castle. But whose castle? Fear gripped her chest as she remembered the man that had taken her. Who could he be?

Keira slowly moved her body to turn around, wanting to look at the other side of the bedchamber as well. Even turning around from one side to the other while sitting up required a considerable amount of strength. Just as she turned around, her gaze landed on the lit fireplace giving the entire bedchamber an orange glow even though it was dark outside. Had an entire day gone by? She could not tell.

As she looked to the side of the fireplace, a small shriek escaped her lips as her eyes once again met the piercing blue eyes she had encountered in the forest. The handsome warrior who had brought her here. Keira’s mouth went dry at the very sight of him. The fact that he was still staring at her in the same way as he had done earlier was not helping at all.

He was dressed in a plain white shirt which was thin enough to reveal the hardened muscles on his chest and stomach, making him appear almost god-like perfection. It felt as if he was not real but molded right out of marble. His strong thighs lay open leisurely as he leaned forward on the sofa he was seated on. His breeches strained against the muscles on his thighs, and his arms were flexed enough for her to see how strong he truly was.

Although, his most striking feature was still his eyes. They were as blue as the sky on a stormy night, and, set against his olive skin, they looked extraordinary. As if God had given them to him to make him appear more heavenly than human. His long, black hair that framed his square jaw was messy as if he had been running his hands through it for a while. Keira had never imagined someone this brutal could be this handsome. He was a warrior through and through. The strength his body emanated made him appear almost terrifying, yet Keira could only find herself drawn to him.

“Who are ye?” she asked, trying her best to not appear meek. She knew it was not easy to look strong in front of a man who was twice her size, but she would not succumb to yet another man. Eric had broken her already, and she was tired. She was not going to sit quietly as whoever this man was did whatever he wished to do with her. She needed to go.

“Why did ye bring me here? I told ye to let me go,” she asked again but knew her question would go unanswered yet again. He was silent still.

“Will ye please say something?” she finally said, softening her voice, but he remained impassive, simply staring at her with an intensity she had never experienced before. She could not see anger or hatred in his gaze, just something she could not put a name to.

“Please let me go from here. I never wanted to be here. I need to go back to Eric,” she said. She knew she had no intention of returning to Eric, but it was a possibility that this man could be far worse than her betrothed. He looked deadly dangerous and could crush her with one hand. Keira knew she needed to look out for herself.

“Did Eric do this to ye?” he finally spoke, and his question stunned Keira. She did not know what it was about her bruises that had him so interested. She did not understand why he even cared. It was all he seemed willing to talk about ever since their first encounter.

“Does it matter?” she asked, not wishing to reply.

“Did Eric do this to ye? Aye or nae?” The apparent dominance in his voice told her that he demanded an answer and would not go without. Fear inched through her body and emerged into her eyes at his tone as she nodded.

The immediate anger on his face appeared like a flash, but he quickly concealed it behind an excellent mask that showed no emotion. Keira did not understand why he would be angry. He certainly did not know her enough to care about what had happened to her or if Eric had hurt her or not, but his expression and obvious concern told her otherwise. Who was this man, and what did he want from her?

Keira immediately backed away towards the head of the bed as she watched him stand up, fear taking hold of her entirely. She knew this man was stronger than Eric and far bigger, and if he would hit her, she would not be able to survive. She could not go through this again. He must have noticed her reaction since he immediately stopped in his tracks, concern rising to his face. He held up his hands as if to tell her that he was not going to come towards her.

Her heart continued to beat wildly in her chest, but she calmed slightly as she watched him move towards a table at the back of the bedchamber from where he picked up a tray filled with different kinds of food. He took slow, measured steps towards her with the tray in his hands and placed it on the bed through his extended hand while he himself remained five paces away.

Keira knew he was doing it all to make sure she felt safe and comfortable, and her breathing calmed down entirely. As she looked at the tray in front of her, she realized that she hadn’t eaten properly in quite some days. Eric had not cared much about her meals or what she ate, and she was often neglected by everyone in Gilmor castle, which had led to her losing a lot of weight.

“Eat,” the man said to her as he backed away entirely and sat back down on the sofa by the fireplace. Keira continued looking at him, not sure if she should eat. It was impossible for her to begin trusting him this quickly, but she could not help feeling slightly safe in his presence. As if he would protect her no matter what.

“I asked ye to eat,” he ordered, his tone just as commanding as earlier. Keira did not know what it was, but everything about him demanded obedience, and she did not like that. She could not deny him either.

“Will ye let me go, please?” she asked again, her mind thinking of ways to escape. She needed to escape.

He looked at her as if she had lost her mind, and she could not blame him. After she had told him that it was Eric who had given her these bruises, the fact that she wished to return to him would sound insane to anyone, but Keira knew she had no choice in the matter. She needed to find a reason to escape, and all she could tell him was she needed to go Eric. Keira could not tell this man her identity or who her father was. She did not know if she could trust him with this information.

Without replying, he simply stared at the food and then back at Keira as if silently asking her to eat. Not wishing to deny him, she slowly pulled the tray towards her and took a bite from a random plate. As food touched her lips, she realized how delicious it was and how long it had been since she had eaten properly.

Without thinking that he was still staring at her, she began to eat leisurely, feeling stronger with every bite. She knew she had gotten weak in the time she had spent at Gilmor Castle. She needed to regain her strength and think about leaving this place. Although for that, she first needed to know who he was and where she was.

“Will ye tell me now?” she asked, finally gaining courage.

“Tell ye what?” he asked back.

“Who are ye?”

“Laird MacPherson, but ye can call me Christian.”