Read The Highlander's Runaway Bride for Free Online Page B

face grew any darker with anger, it would explode.
    â€˜Robert Mackintosh,’ he said as though introducing himself to her for the first time. ‘Your betrothed husband.’
    She gasped at his declaration. ‘Betrothed?’ she asked, shaking her head wildly. ‘We were not betrothed.’
    â€˜Aye, lady, we were. Your father and I signed the documents before he gave me his blessing and sent me off to look for his runaway daughter.’
    â€˜Nay!’ she cried out, trying to get to her feet in spite of her injuries and continued weakness. ‘I cannot marry you. You cannot force this on me!’
    He took her by her arms and pulled her up to him, their faces but inches apart. He stared at her, searching there for something.
    â€˜In the eyes of the Church and by the laws of this land, we are married, lady. The vows can be spoken when we return to Castle Varrich. The rest can wait until we arrive in Glenlui.’
    The rest? The rest! Eva would never share with any man what she’d given to Eirik.
    She balled up her hands and pushed against his chest with them, trying to force herself free. He simply held her tighter, giving her no chance to get away. Because he was so much taller and stronger than she was, her feet did not even touch the ground.
    â€˜You do not understand,’ she began to plead. ‘I cannot marry you. I...’
    â€˜Are you pledged to someone else already?’ he demanded. ‘Tell me why you cannot marry me.’
    She could not reveal the truth to him. Her father would be furious if she continued to fight this marriage. He was the only one who knew where her baby was and, if she did not do as told, the wee bairn would pay the price. Ramsey MacKay was a cold-hearted and ruthless man when it came to getting his own way. No one opposed him—not his wife, his daughter, his kith or kin—and not suffer for such defiance.
    â€˜And tell me who Mairead is,’ he said, in a quiet but no less dangerous voice. ‘Who is she?’
    He could have hit her and it would not have hurt as much as hearing her daughter’s name on his lips. The shock rippled through her and in the next moment, as he called out her own name, Eva fainted.

Chapter Five
    â€˜E va!’
    Rob swore aloud, but she did not even react to the coarse words he’d said. The mention of that name had caused this. Her eyes had been glaring at him one moment and then they rolled up into her head the next. Cursing her, her father, her mother, his friend and anyone else he could bring to mind in that second, Rob carried her to the pallet and laid her there, being careful of her injured leg and foot.
    She did not rouse. He tapped on her cheek, saying her name in as calm a tone as he could, but there was no sign of her coming around. Stalking as far away from her as he could get within the cottage, he watched her.
    Bloody hell! Damn this woman to perdition!
    She’d run from him. Refused to marry him. Worse, she placed herself in immeasurable danger because of her wilfulness. It was a miracle he’d found her in that cave before the storm blew in and flooded it. It was a miracle that she had not been attacked by ruffians or outlaws in the forests and on the roads between her father’s keep and this place. A miracle.
    He let out a loud breath then, releasing some of the pent-up anger within him. Walking back to her side, he knelt down and touched her cheek. Thank the Almighty—no fever. When she did not move or wake, he sought out the cloth and water and touched the rag to her head and cheeks and then along her neck. Rob repeated it several times before her eyes began to flutter open.
    Rob brought over the cup of ale and held it out when she looked at him. Without a word, she pushed up to lean on her elbows and took the cup. She averted her gaze and sipped several times before handing it back to him. As he watched, those blue eyes filled with tears that began to spill down her