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turned down in a petulant frown to be rather enticing. Full, strawberry-red lips. Perfectly kissable.
    “Why are ye staring at me like that?” she asked, indignant.
    Jamie cleared his throat, realizing that probably every lustful thought that had just crashed over him had shown on his face.
    “I stare at ye in no way other than at a mad woman whose tried to get herself killed in at least three ways since I first saw her today.”
    Her mouth fell open and a haughty wash of air pushed out. “How dare ye?”
    “How dare I? I was but coming to your rescue.”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. “I am not in need of rescuing.”
    “That ye know of.”
    “That I’m certain of.” The haughty lift of her chin made him want to grin, but he kept it hidden.
    Jamie shrugged. “I suppose a lass may not know when she’s in danger.”
    She waggled her dagger toward him again. “The only thing dangerous here, is ye. And your underlings.”
    “ Underlings?” He winged a brow and stared over his shoulder at Toby and Donald who looked on as if they’d not heard her just insult them. “I humbly disagree.”
    Her mouth fell open in exasperation. “Ye canna.”
    “Aye, I can.”
    “How?” She swept several errant strands of hair away from her eyes. The wisps appeared to be just as stubborn as she, however, and fell right back in the line of her vision. She puffed a breath and they flopped.
    Jamie couldn’t help but chuckle, which only seemed to enrage her more.
    “I asked ye a question, stranger.”
    “ Well, for one thing, Toby and Donald are hardly underlings. Ye insult their skill and intelligence.” He leaned closer, breathing in her floral scent. “Ye dinna think ye’re in danger, and yet ye lay upon the hill without an escort when any sort of man or animal could happen upon ye.”
    She rolled her eyes, but what Jamie found most pleasing was that she must trust him as she’d not tried to run away again, but rather stayed to spar with him.
    “And I see I was set upon by animals.”
    “Is that an attempt to insult me and my men?” he asked with a winged brow, thoroughly enjoying his baiting of her.
    “Humph.” She rolled her eyes again, flicking her gaze toward the castle, probably gauging the distance of her brother’s men.
    “And what other ways was I in danger then, stranger?”
    “The way ye ride. ’Tis reckless.”
    “And ye’re as much of a worry wart as an old bat,” she sneered. “Now, let me pass afore my brother’s men arrive and cleave ye in two. I’ve no wish to talk with ye further on all the faults ye find with me.”
    “Och, lass. I find nary a fault with ye.” Jamie let his gaze roam over her, taking in the beauty of her arched brows, high cheekbones and straight nose, the slope of her neck and the way her bodice hugged perky breasts and a waist that flared into round hips. Her legs straddled the horse, long , and he could imagine they’d be lithe beneath her skirts, hugging the side of her mare just as he wished they hugged their way around his hips. Desire shot straight to his groin. Again, he cleared his throat, hoping to clear his mind. “Shall I escort ye to the castle, lass?”
    She rolled her eyes. “I doubt the guards will take kindly to it. As I said, I’m in no need of saving.”
    “Aye, but I might be,” he teased.
    “What?”
    Jamie ignored her question. Only a few moments longer and her men would surround them. “What is your name?”
    “I’m not accustomed to sharing it with strangers.”
    “’Haps we’ve met before,” he offered.
    “I doubt it. I’d recall your face. I’m very good at remembering faces.”
    “I shall tell ye my name, then, as I’ve already shared the names of my men. I’m Jamie, Laird Montgomery.”
    The lass’s brows crinkled as she studied him, cocking her head to the side. “I dinna know any Laird Montgomery.”
    “May I have your name?”
    “Nay.” And with that, having caught him off guard, she kicked her horse into a run, never