Read My Captive Highlander (Highland Adventure Book 7) for Free Online Page B

the prisoner for the ransom."
    ***
    At noon the following day, Maili discretely gathered food in the kitchen for Shamus and wrapped it in a clean cloth. She feared if Elrick knew she was going to visit Shamus again, he might stop her, since he thought he was betrothing her to Sleat .
    Only one week until she became the wife and thrall of that goat? Over her dead body!
    She had hardly slept at all the night before as she tried to work out a solution in her mind. How could her brother be so vile as to arrange such a horrid marriage for her?
    Now she knew why MacDonald of Sleat had been staring at her as if she were an oddity. He'd been trying to decide if she were truly mad or a witch he might tolerate as his wife. Bastard!
    Well, she was having none of it. She would leave here with Shamus or die trying.
    She slipped out the kitchen doorway and took a roundabout way to the dungeon entrance so that neither her brother nor any of Sleat's men saw her. The guard was not surprised to see her and barely gave her a nod before he let her pass.
    When Maili's eyes adjusted to the dim torchlight of the dungeon, she couldn't believe how different Shamus looked. She hadn't even realized how dirty he'd been. His dark hair looked shiny and clean. Most of the swelling in his face had disappeared, too. 'Twas clear to her he was one of the best-looking men she had ever seen.
    "I thank you for sending the bath," he said. "Feels much better to be clean."
    She nodded and handed him the bread and cheese wrapped in a cloth. She couldn't tell him how much better he looked and how appealing she found him. She tried not to stare but found it difficult.
    "You're quiet this day, Lady Maili," he murmured, studying her with dark, spellbinding eyes while he ate.
    She shrugged and stared down at the bottle of ale in her hands so he wouldn't see how much she enjoyed looking at him. She was devastated at the thought she might be married to the MacDonald of Sleat chief within a week's time. If only Shamus were a free man who wished to marry her.
    Mayhap she could help him to be a free man.
    "May I have a sip of that?" he asked.
    She nodded and removed the cork.
    Taking the bottle she offered, he frowned. "Did your brother tell you not to talk to me anymore?"
    "Nay. Of course not."
    He drank a long swallow then moved closer to the bars. "What then?"
    She took a wee step back, not because she feared him, but because his magnetic presence disturbed her and sent her heart racing with excitement and awareness. " 'Tis naught."
    "Look at me, Maili," he murmured.
    When she did, his dark gaze in the torchlight penetrated into her very soul.
    "Do you not ken 'tis dangerous to look at a man like that?"
    He was teasing her again. She narrowed her eyes.
    He grinned. "Come here." His words were soft but firm, like a gentle command. One she wanted to obey, but still she feared what would happen if he touched her. She knew not whether she could trust him. What if he grabbed her and choked her to death? Nay, he would not do such a thing, would he? Her second sight and her instincts told her he was far more trustworthy than her own brother.
    Still, going near him made her nervous; she stood firm. "Why?"
    "I want to ask you something." His voice was the epitome of seduction. Not that she had ever been seduced. But his tone affected her in startling ways that confused her.
    "You can ask me from there." She placed her hands upon her hips.
    "I ken it, but ' twould be much more enjoyable to whisper it into your ear."
    The fear lingered. Would he grab her and hurt her? Or the opposite… grab her and kiss her? Either one was sure to change her world in unfathomable ways.
    She had been betrothed thrice, but never kissed. Most men feared her; however Shamus didn't… because he had no knowledge of her gift. Once he learned of it, he might want naught to do with her again.
    "You may tie my hands behind my back," he said.
    His words startled her. "What? Why would I want to do that?"
    "You