Page 9 of Wedded to the Devilish Highlander
Archer stared at her for a long moment, the air between them thick with implication. He could feel her breath against his neck, see the way her chest rose and fell with each shallow gasp.
The heat between them sparked, unfamiliar and sharp.
His eyes found her lips without meaning to.
Her voice came again, quieter this time. “P-Please.”
And it nearly undid him.
Archer exhaled hard, loosening his grip a little. “Do ye really have yer maid with ye? Ye snuck out of yer castle, but please tell me ye werenae lyin’ about that.”
She blinked twice, her eyes widening as if he’d caught her out. “Me maid is back at the inn in the village.”
Thank Christ.
“Well then, she’ll be brought here. Ye will both stay the night.”
“Stay the night?” she gasped. “I cannae do that!”
“Aye, ye can, and ye will. I’m nae leavin’ ye out here, with the O’Gunn’s plannin’ somethin’ and yer braither missin’. Would they have gotten to him first and taken him? Nay, I cannae think why they would do such a thing.”
She looked up at him, her eyes softer with gratitude and the hint of something else. He knew it was time to get off of her, but he enjoyed the way she looked at him, and he was curious about what she would do.
She didn’t squirm again, merely staring up at him, her body soft beneath his. Her cheeks were still flushed, her chest rising and falling as she licked her lips involuntarily.
Archer tried not to smile as he thought again about what was hiding beneath her disguise. Part of him wanted to tear the clothes off her, now that she was pinned to the ground, and she almost looked like she wanted it to happen.
She took a deep breath, then gasped softly as she realized the position they were still in.
“I should…” she trailed off.
Archer gave a half smile as he finally released her.
She stood up, looking down at the ground as she dusted dirt off her cloak. “Aye, we can stay here in the castle. If I have me maid with me, there willnae be any issues.”
Archer chuckled. “Issues? Between me and ye, or ye and yer maid?”
“Och, are ye always irritatin’?” she huffed.
“Ye willnae be irritated for long. Tomorrow, ye will be escorted back to McFair Castle, and yer family can deal with ye. They wouldnae want ye to go missin’ too. This isnae a place or an errand for foolish, unsupervised lassies, nae even when they do a fine impression of ale-swillin’ lads. And after ye’ve searched me dungeons, ye’re welcome to stay down there if ye’re so irritated.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Ye really are an arrogant arse, are ye nae?”
He smirked. “Ye have nay idea.”
He turned, expecting her to follow. She did after he had walked a little, keeping some distance between them. Her silence crackled with resistance.
3
Eileen stood in the stone corridor, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles ached, her breath still coming in short, furious bursts. She watched Archer disappear down the hall, his broad back vanishing with maddening confidence as if he hadn’t just pinned her to the ground like some wild boar.
As if he hadn’t just accused her of espionage and arrogance in the same breath.
“Daft brute,” she muttered, her teeth grinding. “Bloody. Daft. Towering. Brute.”
The gall of him.
She had come all this way to help her brother, to act while others sat idle, not to be manhandled against her will and insulted by some arrogant laird with a god complex.
