Highlanders Collection. Ann Lethbridge

see the torches lining the walls at Glen Arrin.

      In the distance, the faint grey light of morning was on the horizon. She wouldn’t have to wait too long for Alex to awaken.

      As she walked further, she ignored the unsettled worry in her stomach. By the time Bram discovered her gone, she would be talking to his brother.

      She could only hope that the chief would listen.

      Bram wondered what on earth Nairna was doing. He’d watched her take the bag of coins before she made her way down the hillside. Damn her. Where was she planning to go in the middle of the night?

      Though he wanted to throttle her for daring to leave, he took a few moments to prepare his horse. It would be easier to overtake her, since she’d gone on foot.

      He hurried to get the gelding ready, and within minutes he was following Nairna. Once he reached the bottom of the hill, he urged his horse into a hard run to catch up to her.

      He was torn between fury at her defiance and worry about why she’d left. He was the one meant to take risks, not his wife.

      There. He saw her walking closer to the keep, with her dog at her side. Her hood had fallen back and she was several paces away from the gatehouse.

      Bram gripped his horse with his knees, racing until he started to gain on her. Nairna glanced behind her; when she saw him, she stopped walking. It startled Alex, for he’d expected her to run from him, not wait.

      When he reached her side at last, he leaned down and picked her up, bringing her across his lap on horseback. A flush of guilt covered her face, but she held on to his waist for balance.

      Bram held her captive in his arms, demanding, ‘Where did you think you were going?’

      It occurred to Nairna that an explanation would only make Bram angrier than he already was. She was caught now; there was nothing else she could admit except the truth. He didn’t bother to wait for her answer, but wheeled the horse around to take her back home again.

      Weariness made her reluctant to provoke another argument, nor did she want to listen to more reasons of why she ought to stay home where it was safer.

       A woman holds power of her own, Jenny had told her. The power to bring a man pleasure.

      And though the idea of seducing Bram again was more than a little frightening, it was the only weapon she had.

      He dismounted from the horse, never once letting go of her. He brought her inside the house, locking his arms around her waist. ‘Did you think I wouldn’t know that you’d left, Nairna?’

      She wasn’t going to bother trying to convince him of anything. It was clear he wouldn’t listen to a single word. Instead, she reached up to his face, lifting her lips to his. She kissed him softly, as if to tame the beast.

      Bram’s mouth didn’t move and the coldness made her wonder if she’d made a mistake. When she pulled back, his dark eyes glittered with fettered frustration. ‘You’re not going to soften me with a kiss, Nairna.’

      She supposed it was naïve to think that were possible. So she ran her hands over his bristled face, down to his wide neck.

      ‘Where did you intend to go?’ he demanded, flinching slightly when she touched his shoulders.

      ‘I wanted to talk to Alex,’ she answered. She could feel the knotted tension in him, and when she slid one hand beneath his tunic the hot skin startled her.

      He jerked back, drawing her hands behind her.

      But instead of feeling trapped, it brought his chest up against her body, making her breasts grow aroused.

      ‘Why did you bring the coins?’

      She lifted her eyes to meet his. ‘You know why.’

      His grim expression was barren of all emotion, as though she’d betrayed him. But lurking beneath the surface was something more. He was fighting against himself and though she didn’t know what his thoughts were, she sensed that his control was slipping away.

      ‘You’re driving me to madness,’ he said, releasing her suddenly. ‘I don’t understand you.’

      ‘I don’t suppose you understand what it’s like for me, being left behind.’

      He was standing near the bed, staring at the doorway. He looked as though he wanted to say something to her, but he hadn’t decided what.

      Nairna moved closer, her pulse thrumming like a bird’s wings. If she let him push her away, their marriage would be no different than it was before. ‘You feel so helpless, afraid of what might happen.’

      She came so close; she rested her cheek against his, tracing her fingers over the scars upon his lower back. ‘I don’t want there to be anger between us. Not now.’

      He didn’t answer, but she lifted her face, hoping he would kiss her. Bram held motionless, letting her touch him. For the longest time, she continued stroking his scarred flesh.

      He lowered his forehead to hers, and she sensed him fighting the temptation. ‘There isn’t much time left, Nairna.’

      ‘Then let us make the most of it.’ She kissed him, no longer waiting for him to claim the right.

       Chapter Seventeen

      The light touch of her lips upon his was an invitation Bram didn’t want to accept. He wanted to chastise her for leaving him, to make her understand that he was trying to protect her, not imprison her.

      He took command of her mouth, letting her know that he wasn’t at all in the mood to be cajoled. But when her arms wound around his neck, he started loosening the laces of her gown. The fabric was so tightly drawn against her breasts, he could see the outline of her budding nipples.

      ‘This gown doesn’t fit you,’ he said against her mouth.

      Nairna’s hair had fallen wild against her shoulders, the cap forgotten upon the floor. Her green eyes were flooded with desire and need. ‘Then you should take it off.’ When he pulled against the laces, she stopped him. ‘It belongs to Marguerite. Be careful.’

      He wanted to rend the fabric from her body, tearing her free of the silken cage. Instead, he knelt down, lifting the surcoat away. Then he raised her kirtle from the hem. She wore nothing beneath the silken gown, not even a shift. His arousal deepened, seeing her bare skin.

      Nairna lifted her arms to help him remove the dress and the sight of her large, firm breasts was nearly his undoing. He stripped the gown away until she stood naked before him.

      He used his tongue against the smoothness of her throat, while he cupped her breasts with his hands.

      ‘Bram,’ she whispered, her breath hitching. Her eyes were hooded with desire, her skin prickled with goose flesh.

      ‘I haven’t finished with you yet.’ In the darkness of early morning, her features remained shadowed. ‘I can’t see you the way I want to. So I’ll have to find you by touch.’

      He took her hand and brought her to the bed, lowering her onto it.

      ‘You’re going to wish you’d never left our house,’ he said, stripping off his clothing. He needed to feel her naked skin against his, to know the response he’d provoked. She was shivering, but he used his body heat to warm her.

      He wanted to be inside her when she came apart. He wanted to be encased in her satiny wetness, feeling her violent tremors squeezing his shaft.

      ‘You’re not leaving me behind this time,’ she responded. ‘I’ll stay at Ballaloch while you go after Callum.’

      ‘You’re going nowhere, Nairna.’ He kept her hands pinned, while he worked his mouth over her throat, using his tongue to encircle her nipples again. When her body spasmed at the dark pull of his mouth, he reached between her legs to feel the creamy