Dangerous Read Online Free Page A

for him to go on, Elisabeth realized that he would say nothing further. She turned to look at him, watched the steel in his eyes warm to the color of a flawless summer sky. What that signified, she couldn’t say, but one thing was certain.
    She’d placed her life in the hands of a very dangerous man.
    ***
    “It’s not far now,” Eric said, pointing into the distance.
    Caileann Castle sparkled like a gem atop its defensive hill, walls spread like wings over the village they guarded. Constructed of pale gray schist, the fortress boasted eight towers that afforded guards an unobstructed view of the valley below. The tall keep rose from the center, flanked by buildings capable of housing dozens of people in times of danger. In a bright contrast to the fortress’s imposing façade, glass windows ringing the upper stories sparkled in the midday sun. A sharp-eyed sentry waved to them before turning away to call to someone in the bailey below. As they made the climb toward the castle, Eric noticed a flurry of activity on the other side of the tunnel-like barbican.
    Outside the main gates, he brought Micah to a halt and dismounted. After lifting Elisabeth down, he made a slight bow. “This is where I leave you, milady. I’ll return with your cousins as quickly as I can.”
    “Are you mad? After what happened this morn, how can you even think of going anywhere alone?”
    Considering she’d not spoken a dozen words during their journey, her sudden concern for his safety touched him. “I’ll manage.”
    After staring at him for several moments, her eyes widened with understanding. “They’re in the cave.”
    Her expression was difficult to read. Was she horrified to know she’d spent the night so near her dead cousins? Or was she relieved to discover their bodies had indeed been safe? Not wishing to upset her, he remained silent.
    “That’s why you told me not to wander,” she continued. “You didn’t want me to see them.”
    Those keen emerald eyes studied him with such intensity, he could scarcely meet her gaze. Slowly, she shook her head. “By the saints, I’ve no idea what to think of you. One moment you’re kind and caring, the next you slaughter an entire group of men with no thought of mercy. Are you a protector or a demon?”
    Filled with both praise and condemnation, her words drove deeply into a withered heart he’d believed could feel nothing more. Why he cared what she thought of him, he couldn’t say, but he couldn’t deny that it mattered to him very much. While he was pondering his unsettling reaction to her, she yanked the reins from his hand and strode toward the castle. Micah, blast his stubborn hide, trailed after her like a lovelorn colt. Heaving a sigh, Eric hurried to catch her.
    “If you’ll return my horse,” he snapped, “I’ll be on my way.”
    “Once we’ve spoken with my father,” she replied without so much as a glance at him, “we’ll discuss when you’ll be leaving and how many men you’ll be taking with you.”
    Her imperious tone infuriated him, and he strove to keep his voice down. “You can’t hold me here.”
    “Can’t I?” She stopped just the other side of the gates and turned to him with a sweet smile. “This is Redmond territory, Monsieur Jordanne, and you’ve little say in what’s done hereabouts. Even a warrior as skilled as you canna force his way through five score of Scotland’s best fighting men.”
    Five score? Surely she was exaggerating. He detected a motion on the battlements above and glanced up to find half a dozen men watching them. Further along, four more stood at their posts, the same number deployed on the other side and across the rear wall. Every third soldier held a bow in one hand, an arrow poised in the other.
    Judging by the Redmond’s heavy defenses, he’d landed in the midst of the very clan skirmishes he’d been trying to avoid. Not long ago, Eric would have found the irony amusing, but any trace of humor faded as two