Page 29 of The Highlander’s Hunted Wife (Legacy of Highland Lairds #2)

29

I f I wasnae certain of her feelings before…

Hector wished he hadn’t spoken. He could have retreated without Katie ever knowing he was there if it hadn’t been for that lumbering hound. Although, he had to admit some admiration for the beast. Pipkin was a fine example of a fearless protector, and Hector did not doubt that the mastiff would tear his throat out if he thought Katie was in danger.

“He wasnae barkin’ at ye,” she said sharply, her expression as bitingly cold as a Highland winter. “At least, I dinnae think he was.”

Hector frowned. “What do ye mean?”

“It doesnae matter,” she muttered, turning her back on him, swimming to the opposite side of the pool.

She was a gifted swimmer, her lean body well-suited to the fluid motions, gliding through the water. Hector couldn’t help but watch, her skin somehow illuminated by the water, gleaming like the purest marble.

Although, that wasn’t what he’d been doing when the hound had started barking. He had been scouting the area around the pool for any sign of the elusive stag, only just noticing that there was another elusive creature in the water when the dog gave its fearsome warning.

“Aye, it matters,” he said abruptly, slinging his bow over his shoulder.

Carefully avoiding the slippery spots, he made his way around the rocky edges of the pool to get to her.

“Dinnae get any closer!” she snapped, putting a hand up.

He threw his hands up in return, crouching down until he dropped into a seated position. “I willnae.”

He frowned at her, half-annoyed that he couldn’t just enjoy the sight of her in the pool, for something far more troublesome was nagging at the back of his mind.

“What was the dog barkin’ at if nae me?” he asked as an unpleasant sensation shivered up the nape of his neck to the base of his skull.

A familiar sensation. Likely the same feeling that made the mastiff bark like a lunatic—a sense of something amiss, something wrong in the air around them. Hector hadn’t felt it until that moment, too occupied with his search for a stag and the thought of putting venison on his wedding feast table.

Bein’ at peace has dulled me senses.

Katie shrugged, but she wouldn’t look at him. “I dinnae ken. Sometimes, he barks at rabbits and squirrels.”

“Ye dinnae look like a lass who has just seen a squirrel.”

Hector noticed the rapid rise and fall of her chest, refusing to be distracted by the swell of her breasts just below the surface and the memory of drawing her pert nipple into his mouth.

He needed to have a clear head for this. There was no possible way that a woman who swam in rivers with notoriously strong currents would be so out of breath from a brief swim in this placid pool. She was frightened, and she wasn’t saying why.

“Who was here?” he demanded to know.

Was it the ‘kindly’ guard who has been keepin’ watch over yer wee cottage?

A slithery feeling invaded his chest, weaving between his ribs, pulling the bones tighter in to squeeze his lungs to a burning suffocation. Had she invited that man to see her like this, beautifully, exquisitely bare? Had she invited that man to join her in the sanctuary of her future husband? Had the man run off when he’d spotted Hector approaching?

“I just told ye, I dinnae ken,” she retorted, turning her face away.

Hector didn’t want to scare her, but it took everything he possessed not to go to where she leaned against the rocky ledge and tilt her face up to him. He needed to see her eyes, to read them. Not that he was good at it—he still hadn’t quite deciphered the language of Katie Blake.

“Tell me,” Hector growled. “Now.”

Her head whipped toward him, fury blazing in her enchanting eyes. “I dinnae ken! I cannae be any clearer!” she hissed. “I was contentedly swimmin’ on me own, enjoyin’ a moment to meself, when Pipkin started barkin’ his great, big head off and somethin’ ran off into the woods!”

“What?” Hector’s senses prickled, on high alert.

She gestured toward the nearby trees—almost the same spot where he had seen her the second time she’d tried to run from him. He could still remember, in vivid detail, the way her eyes had widened at the sight of him without a stitch of clothing on, nearly dropping her lantern.

But no crackling warmth came with the memory, his blood running cold with rising unease.

“Somethin’ ran off into the woods,” she repeated, less furiously. “I dinnae ken who it was—or what it was. Could’ve been a deer. I didnae see it.”

“Ye’d ken the difference between a person and a deer, lass,” he told her, his keen eyes searching the trees all around, trying to pick a moving shadow from among the still ones.

It didn’t help that the sunset had dwindled into dusk, and the canopy blotted out most of the remaining twilight.

“It was probably someone from the castle—pickin’ mushrooms or berries or herbs or somethin’—who happened to see a naked lass swimmin’ and saw an opportunity to gawp in secret,” she said grimly, taking that moment to cover her breasts with her hands as if just remembering that she was naked.

Unslinging his bow, Hector got to his feet. “In which direction?”

“Pardon?”

He expelled a frustrated breath. “In which direction did they run off?”

“That way, I think,” she replied, pointing southward— away from the castle. “Wait… What are ye doin’?” Her voice took on a concerned note, her eyes unblinking.

“Makin’ sure yer theory is correct, then gougin’ out the eyes of whoever dared,” he replied, circling back around the edge of the pool.

Pipkin wagged his tail as Hector passed, confirming something at least—it wasn’t Hector he’d been barking at. And if Hector had known the dog better, and had some trust built with the hound, he’d have been tempted to take that fierce deterrent with him.

“Look after her,” he whispered to the dog. “Take her safely back to the castle.”

Pipkin gave a bark that sounded an awful lot like “aye,” making Hector wonder if the dog was perhaps wiser than he had given him credit for.

“Hector, wait!” Katie yelled, the sound of his name on her lips almost making him halt. An informality he hadn’t realized he missed.

But he didn’t stop, taking off into the depths of the forests he knew so well, determined to chase down the vermin that had dared to look at his wife while she swam naked. The wretch that had disturbed her peaceful moment and turned it into something tawdry.

Bow primed, his broadsword knocking against his leg, he knew he might not end the evening with a stag for the wedding, but he would not let any man who had seen what he had no right to, who had violated his bride like that, draw another breath.

Where are ye, ye bastard? I swear, I’ll be the last thing ye ever see.

Stubborn, stubborn man!

Hauling herself out of the water, dripping onto the rocks, Katie snatched up her clothes and dressed as fast as she’d stripped bare.

The chill of the evening nipped her damp skin, but that wasn’t what kept her frozen to the spot. She looked to her left, where Hector had disappeared after the unknown peeper, and then looked to her right, to the path that led back to the castle. She was unsure which way to go.

“What do I do, Pip?” she asked, her teeth beginning to chatter.

The dog nudged her hand—his sign that he wanted her to put it on his head, so he could lead her somewhere. Usually, it was to some day-old bit of meat she’d left on the side, that he couldn’t reach, or to a rabbit he’d stopped from eating her vegetables.

I’m nae a warrior. If I go after him, I have a greater chance of gettin’ lost and needin’ to be rescued.

She cursed, wishing she’d never bothered to leave her chambers, where her wedding gown lay unfinished. If she’d continued sewing until she couldn’t move her fingers at all, then none of this would be happening. No unknown shadow would have seen her, and Hector wouldn’t be charging through the woods after them, on some mission to seek justice.

“I didnae even ask him to,” she muttered. “Shouldnae punishment for that be up to me?”

She shook her head in a vain attempt to prevent her thoughts from tangling with each other. It was an odd feeling, to be so angry with someone yet so… touched by a foolish action. He hadn’t hesitated, but he also hadn’t heeded her call for him to wait.

He intended to marry her, yet he also didn’t want a marriage. He wanted to give her pleasure, but he hadn’t come to her chambers or sought her out. He had sequestered himself in his study, ignoring all summons for him to give his opinions about the wedding, yet he’d had a bow slung over his shoulder as if he had been out hunting something for the wedding feast. He behaved as if he didn’t care, then he saved her from brigands, saved her from scandal, and was currently running through the woods for her honor.

Ye’re a… wretched conundrum!

She rested her hand on Pipkin’s head at last, letting the dog decide the best course of action.

Wagging his tail, the mastiff turned and began to lead Katie north, to the castle. She followed along, praying that he knew his way back, but as she walked, she couldn’t help but glance back over her shoulder into the gloom, sending up a silent prayer…

Even though he’s a bloody devil, dinnae let any harm come to him.