Grant Clan 06 - My Desperate Highlander Read Online Free

with his fist and growling as he passed.
    Alex directed her into his chamber, holding his finger to his lips to encourage her not to speak until they were inside.
    “Alex, my thanks, but please remove me from these premises.” Diana had progressed to sheer panic after witnessing her betrothed’s behavior with a man of Alex’s stature. “He frightens me to no end.”
    “Diana, I cannot just remove you. I must have justification. This union received the king’s support, so we cannot break it without a good reason. I will find it, but it will take some time. In the meantime, you will sleep in my chamber, and I will post guards outside your door. Take your rest. He will not bother you today.” He kissed her forehead and headed out the door. As soon as it closed behind him, Diana fell onto the bed and cried herself to sleep.
    ***
    Micheil sat outside Diana’s chamber door, leaning against it for support, Alex’s two guards standing on either side of him. He had told Alex what he knew of Gow, but now he could see that it was unnecessary. The man had already shown his true colors. Hellfire, but this was not going to be easy. He’d like to shove a fist through the surly bastard’s face. It was unbearable to consider the possibility of her marrying that man. He had half a mind to wed her himself just to save her from this sorry situation, but it was not in him to settle down. His own brother, Logan, called him a lover of ladies, and he could not deny it. He loved to play with women. They were all beautiful in their own right—some saucy, some wenchy, and some so innocent. Logan had finally settled down with a powerful woman, Gwyneth, Micheil’s new sister-in-law. Micheil wouldn’t dare mess with his brother’s wife—he knew she’d cut his bollocks off for dinner if provoked—but he had a lot of respect for her.
    Diana Drummond reminded him a bit of her. She was strong and confident and not prone to intimidation, except in one area. Something told him Diana was not an experienced lover. How fun it would be to teach her the art of passion.
    Which brought him back to the reason he had sworn he would never settle down with one woman—they were each so different in the bed chamber. How could he possibly be expected to stay with just one? One day he loved curvaceous, voluptuous dark-haired women, and the next day he would do most anything to touch a long-limbed, willowy blonde. How did a man ever choose?
    No, he could never settle down—it was simply impossible, particularly since he did not take to the notion some men had of it being a man’s right to cheat. He knew how sensitive women were, so he could never, ever cheat on his wife. The look on her face would kill him.
    Which is precisely why he was destined for the life of a bachelor.
    The door flew open and he fell backward into the chamber.
    Diana stood with her hand still on the door, staring at him aghast. “Micheil? What are you doing?”
    Micheil brushed himself off and jumped up, executing a small bow in her direction. “Why, guarding your honor, my lady. Is that not clear?”
    She giggled, a musical sound he vowed to hear again. “Micheil, you cannot help but charm women, can you?”
    He wiggled his eyebrows. “I am not in a position to know. Are you charmed?” He flashed a grin her way, hoping it would have its intended effect to take her off her guard. It must have worked because she grabbed him by the tunic and pulled him inside her chamber, closing the door behind them. He stared at her in shock. “You are aware of how this looks, my lady?”
    “Do not ‘my lady’ me, Micheil. It does not suit you. But what am I to do? You can clearly see the man is a beast, a scum, a destroyer of women. I cannot marry him. What would become of me?” She stared at him with her arms crossed in front of her, her green eyes ablaze.
    Micheil’s grin disappeared. “I must admit he is definitely not an honorable man. My guess is that he has committed dastardly deeds