Highland Legends 04 - Captive Highlander Read Online Free Page B

leave now,” she said, backing
towards the door to his cell.
    “Could you help me to the table
first?” he asked.
    “Can you stand?”
    Ian tried to push himself from
the bed. His head throbbed. The blow to the head might have been a bit more
serious than he first thought. “My head spins when I try to move.”
    Her brow furrowed at his remark.
“Damn Keith and his happy hammer,” she muttered. “If you can manage to stand, I
can help you. I canna lift you without calling Keith back and I doubt he would
approve.”
    Ian gazed into the very heart of
her. “A little help might go a long way,” he suggested. Katie came close and
grabbed his arm, helping him to his feet. Taking immediate advantage, Ian pulled
her to him. “Thank you,” he breathed. He could feel her heart thundering in her
chest and her short excited breaths.
    “Let go of me!” She tried to pull
away. He held her fast.
    “Sweet Katie, I am so out of
balance. Help me back to the bed.”
    She snorted, but obliged. “You
promised not to misbehave,” she complained.
    “Is this misbehaving?”
    “Aye, so.”
    “One would not ken you felt so by
the shiver it caused.”
    “Arrogant ass! Fear makes my
heart thunder and my breath grow short.” She jerked away from him. Ian leaned
back on his makeshift bed.
    “So you admit it excites you.”
    “’Tis fear alone which makes me
react so,” she insisted.
    He smiled. “If that is what you
would like to believe, virgin Katie.”
    Shaking, she ran out the door of
his cell, slammed it closed, and locked it. “There is food in the sack. If
you’re lucky I’ll come back to replenish your stores.”
    “I shall look forward to it,” he
said, watching her flush in fury. She turned on her heel and fled the dungeon.
Ian let his eyes drift closed knowing exactly what would fuel his dreams in
this dark and dingy hole.

 
    Chapter 4
     
    Katie struggled composing herself
after her encounter with Ian. He was not what she expected. It confounded her
to no small degree that his touch made her feel alive in a way she had never
known before. She had no choice now. Her plan moved forward and she must finish
it for the good of all.
    Drained from lack of sleep, she
needed to make her presence known and hope Rannoch had not noticed her absence.
She wanted to see her father. It hurt to see him in his current state. She
didn’t know if she could bear it without some additional company. Katie would
gather her siblings and they would go as a group. To that end, she made her way
to the spot where she expected to find them.
    The sun came through the clouds
and lit the walled courtyard near the lower entrance to the keep. Brianna,
named for their father and two years Katie’s junior, tormented their younger
brother Jamie. “You canna have it,” she cried, holding a bejeweled dagger
behind her.
    “Da gave it to me,” he responded,
lunging toward Brianna.
    Her golden-brown hair flew in the
wind as she danced back waving the knife above her head. “You cut Tessa’s dress
with it.”
    “I needed to know if ‘twas
sharp.”
    Brianna resembled Highland laird
Brian Blackburn more than any of them did. She had his hair color and his green
eyes. Tessa, the youngest, came over and looped her arm around Katie’s waist.
“They fight again,” she complained.
    “Aye, ‘tis in their nature.”
    Smiling, Katie watched Brianna
and Jamie spar. Her brother’s golden hair did not match Brianna’s at all, but
they both shared the bewitching green eyes of their father. When their mother
died giving birth to Tessa, Katie became more like a mother to her fellow
siblings. Some days she resented it. Today wasn’t one of those days. Stroking
Tessa’s hair, Katie smiled. The child had the most fantastic coloring,
white-blond hair, and blue-violet eyes. “Dinna fear, little one. ‘Tis just a
spat. Did he really cut your dress?”
    “Aye,” Tessa responded. “‘Twas my
idea to test the sharpness of this blade.
    Katie burst out