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out into the sunlight and quickly closing the door. The door to the pub burst open behind them, and she looked over her shoulder to see Ian and Onyx being dragged out by their ears by the feeble old pubkeeper.
    “Are yer friends goin’ te be alright?” she asked.
    “Och , lassie. Me and me friends have been in worse situations than this afore.”
    He pulled her to the stables and into a stall, and started to saddle a horse.
    “Are ye takin’ me somewhere, Aidan?”
    “Aye. I’m takin’ ye somewhere fer the night where ye can sober up before ye do anything doitit.”
    “Me do somethin’ doitit?” she asked, finding humor in the situation. “I am no’ the one who started the brawl in the pub.”
    “Well, it’s no’ the first time me and me friends have been thrown out o’ the Horn and Hoof by old Callum MacKeefe, and it willna be the last time, I promise.”
    “Ye make me smile,” she said, when he turned to help her atop the horse.
    “I’m glad someone finds me amusin’ tonight.” He put his hands on her waist to lift her up, and Effie found herself enjoying the intimacy of it. She could smell the Highland air in his hair and the smell of whisky on his breath. Or mayhap that was her, she wasn’t sure.
    “I ne’er thanked ye fer savin’ me from those English curs,” she said, and before he could respond, she reached over and kissed him on the mouth. He pulled back and looked at her in shock, and then to her surprise, he put his hand at the back of her head and dipped down for another kiss.
    Effie was lost in the sensual act, knowing she’d lost her mind, and no longer caring. She’d never felt this way from a kiss before, but then again, the only kisses she’d ever gotten in her life we from gypsy men, not strong, handsome Highland warriors.
    His lips were soft and pleasurable, as he claimed her in a lover’s embrace. There was nothing shy about his kiss, and she could tell by the way his tongue entered her mouth that he was very experienced with the lassies.
    Her head dizzied and she didn’t know if it was from the kiss or the whisky. Either way, she liked it, and wrapped her arms around Aidan’s neck , pulling herself closer. And when she tried to repeat the action, wanting more, he just lifted her up and hoisted her into the saddle.
    “We need te get movin’,” he told her. “There’ll be time fer thet later.”
    “And I’ll be lookin’ forward te it,” she answered boldly.
    He climbed up behind her, reaching around her to grab the reins and direct the horse from the stall , and she felt like a caterpillar in a cocoon, enclosed in his warm embrace. She leaned back against him, once again feeling safe in his arms. She hoped what he said was true, as she really wanted another kiss from the madman sitting behind her.
    She thought he would head in the opposite direction of the pub where the fighting was still going on, but instead he rode right up to the door and hopped off the horse.
    “What are ye doin’?” she asked. “Ye’re mad if ye plan on goin’ back in there right now.”
    “ Aye, some people say thet.”
    “Let’s jest keep goin’.”
    “ I canna jest leave me friends,” he said, and headed for Ian and Onyx who were standing outside the pub.
     
    “Dagger,” said Aidan, “I am sorry fer hittin’ ye in the jaw.”
    “Dinna worry aboot it.” Onyx rubbed his face. “But if I dinna go back te me wife in one piece ye may have te worry aboot her comin’ after ye instead. After all, a bairned lassie has many moods thet I’ll ne’er understand.”
    “Why is she on yer horse?” asked Ian, looking over to Effie who was smoothing down her hair, and almost lost her balance and grabbed quickly for the saddle horn.
    “Becooz I canna jest leave her here .”
    “Becooz she’s yer angel?” he asked.
    “Nay. Becooz she had one wee dram o’ mountain magic and canna stand straight. No’ te mention, I was thinkin’ o’ what ye two said, and I need te make sure she