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We can’t keep pace.”
    A moment before, she had been complaining that he’d been going so slow that they were in imminent danger of being attacked by lame bandits who might be lurking about on foot.
    “Slow. Fast. Climbing a tower wall. Kenna MacKay, I don’t believe you could ever have any difficulty keeping pace with me.”
And that includes in bed making love
,
he added silently.
    His compliment silenced her for a couple of moments, and he took the opportunity to study her. The blanket was partially draped over her head and wrapped around her shoulders. But most of her curls were dancing in the wind, as free as her spirit.
    The day had been a long one for Kenna and Emily. Diarmad told him how he and his men had followed the two and their escorts from Craignock Castle through the countryside and how, at a crofter’s cottage, Kenna had delivered a bairn and most likely saved the mother’s life.
    She was obstinate and independent to a fault. But Alexander was impressed all the same. Of all the women he knew, there were none who could go through that and a kidnapping and an escape attempt and a long ride in a torn wet dress looking like hell and still keep their head up and ride beside him like royalty. None but his mother, Fiona Drummond Macpherson. He’d heard plenty of stories from his father. Alexander wondered if the two women had any idea how close in spirit they were.
    “We’re hungry and thirsty,” Kenna said finally. “We should stop.”
    “I know a place not too far from here where we’ll set up camp for the night. We’ll eat then.”
    She looked around at the rolling heath of gorse and scrub pine. Below them, a river disappeared into a forest of tall pine. “I don’t want to be sleeping out with wild animals. We should ride straight to Oban.”
    He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t care what you want or don’t want, wife. Have you forgotten that you’re the prisoner here?”
    “Nay, ogre. I’ve forgotten nothing. And your lack of consideration for anyone but yourself makes me think of strangling you with my bare hands.”
    “I like the sound of that. Do your worst, lass.”
    “Really?”
    “The last time you tried to strangle me, you ended up kissing me. So I won’t object.”
    Her eyes flashed like the blade of a dirk in the light of the moon. He remembered the weapon that she kept at her belt. She reined in and rode with her cousin for a few moments, but he was happy when she came up beside him again.
    “Emily wishes to ride straight to Oban, too,” Kenna pressed.
    “We’re staying overnight in the forest.”
    “Consider her reputation, blackguard.”
    Alexander slowed the pace of his charger and glanced over his shoulder at the other woman. “We need to stop soon. This darkness can hide many dangers.”
    “There’s no worse outlaw out here than you,” Kenna needled him. “Show some courage, Alexander. I’ll protect you.”
    “I’ve heard enough. We’re stopping now.”
    Turning down the hill, Alexander led them into a wooded glen beside the river. He dismounted on a flat area covered with soft pine needles. He could hear the burbling water through the gloom.
    Everyone had climbed down from their horses but Kenna. She was leaning down and speaking to Emily. It was not hard to read her thoughts. In a moment she would be taking off into the night. He approached them and took hold of the mare’s bridle.
    “I’m warning you, lass.”
    “Warning me?”
    “Aye, that I am. I’ll be coming after you if you make a break for it. And I’ll be catching you. And then there will only be the two of us in these dark woods.”
    “You cannot scare me.”
    “The sky will be our blanket, wife. The soft earth, our pillow.” He let the suggestive words linger between them. “Would you like me to explain more?”
    “I don’t care to hear any more of your dreams. And so you know, it’s a nightmare, to my thinking. Nay, I’m going nowhere.”
    It wasn’t his imagination. Her