Page 20 of A Hellion for the Highland Hawk
The back of her neck must’ve touched the cold stone. Either that, or his closeness had caused it.
“What was that?” he growled, his hand coming up to block her from hurrying off up the stairs, while his other hand itched to settle on the dip of her waist.
Nancy’s throat bobbed, her head tilted back to meet his gaze. “That was me trying to make it through breakfast. I asked to have it in my room, but your aunt said that would seem suspicious.”
“Ye were supposed to keep the story simple,” he reminded her, his voice low with warning. “Ye were supposed to act normal, but then ye stride out with a haughty look on yer face. Beathandoesnae ken what he’s done to offend ye, but ye’re a nursemaid, nae a lady. Ye cannae behave as if ye’re superior.”
Her eyes flashed with irritation. “He deserved it.”
“Ye willnae put me family in danger with yer antics, lass,” he continued, his gaze flitting to the column of her throat and the slope of her collarbone. There were faint freckles there, too. “Nay one must suspect that ye’re nae who ye say ye are. Nay one must think there’s anythin’ strange about ye, because there are people out there”—he pointed away—“that are lookin’ for any excuse to start a fresh fight.”
There were people within his own clan who would relish the excuse to get rid of him and put their choice in charge. He was never supposed to be the Laird of Clan Lochlann; he had never wanted the position, but the council had made their decision after the previous Laird died.
Sometimes, he wondered if it was his punishment.
“Do you agree with him?” Nancy asked sharply.
“Eh?”
She sniffed. “Beathan. Do you agree with what he said?”
“What did he say?” Hunter truly couldn’t remember; he’d been a little distracted at the time.
“That all a woman is good for is… is making babies. Breeding. Suitable for nothing else, even though that couldn’t be further from the truth!” she huffed, her face contorted with anger. “I mean, I guessed you’d all be fairly oblivious brutes, but just because I’m not where I should be, that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate it. Iwillchange things here, if it means not having to listen to that sort of… backward bullshit!”
He raised an eyebrow, drawn to the fire in her. Normally, he wouldn’t have allowed anyone to speak to him like that, with the occasional exception of his aunt, but there was something about Nancy’s defiance and steely courage that stirred him.
“Nay, I daenae agree,” he said, taking a half step closer, relishing the soft sound of her gasp as the distance between them shrank.
She cleared her throat and turned her head. “Well, thank God for that.”
“I think a lass is only good for the bedchamber, but I daenae think ye’d appreciate that either.” His lips curled into a smirk, meaning it as a jest… and to see just how hot that fire could burn in her when she reached the peak of her anger.
How much closer would she get? Would she grab him by the shirt? Tilt her head up so that the only thing he could do to quell her rage was kiss her? Would she dare to strike him? He didn’t know, but he was curious to find out.
Instead, she pressed herself harder against the wall and glowered at him as her breath sawed in and out, like she wasbuilding up to the height of her fury. Her cheeks were red with the heat of her ire, her eyes gleaming feverishly.
“Why am I not surprised?” she hissed, a cold smile twisting that pretty mouth of hers. “God, I hate this place. The funny part is, there are hordes of women where I’m from who’d fantasize about this, traveling to this other world where the men have never heard of boundaries or consent, to be… ravished by you bastards!”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Ravished, eh?”
“I’mnot one of them,” she spat. “God, why did I have to find that damn note? Why did I grab that damn tapestry? I should never have been in freaking North Carolina!”
Not a lot of what she said made much sense to him, his brain taking a few seconds to vaguely guess a translation, but ‘tapestry’ stood out. Was she admitting to being a thief? Who had she stolen from?
“What tapestry?” he asked.
She shook her head. “None of your business.” She turned to leave. “I should never have come down this morning. I should’ve stayed in my room. I get that things aren’t what I’m used to here, so I’m sorry for lashing out, but… I’m just going to stay out of the way.”
She made it one step before his hand shot out to stop her, catching her around the waist and pressing her up against the wall, no longer bothering to leave any polite gap between them.
Her breath caught in her throat, her bosom heaving in a frantic rhythm that drew his gaze briefly to the ripe, teasing swell of her breasts.
She’ll faint if she keeps breathin’ like that.
“What tapestry?” he repeated, his tone harder.
Nancy cleared her throat, her eyes flashing. “I was in my time, minding my own business, killing two birds with one stone, when I… touched a tapestry.”
