A Highlander for Christmas (14 page)

Panting, he ran to check the security cameras on the far wall. All appeared to be operating normally, and no alarms had been triggered, inside or out.

What in the hell was going on?

Turning, he studied the woman on the sofa, frowning at the blood streaking her temple. “Maggie, can you hear me?”

His hands weren’t entirely steady as he moistened a towel with water and probed the angry welt. She winced, twisting restlessly at his touch. Gently, he cleaned away the blood, relieved when he found that the jagged gash was not deep. Jared’s medical knowledge was limited to basic field first aid, but he suspected the wound would heal without stitches. It was the impact of the fall that worried him. The sooner she woke up the better.

Pulling a first aid kit from Nicholas’s desk, he layered antibiotic cream over the wound, then stood up slowly. “Damn it, Maggie, wake up.”

She twisted beside him, muttering and flinging one arm out in panic just as she had done in the car. When he tried to hold her still, her fists tightened, flailing wildly at his chest.

Jared cursed as she caught his chin in a point-blank blow. “Stop fighting me.”

Her eyes opened, glazed with pain. “You’ll find naught here,” she whispered. “He has gone, and what you seek has gone with him.”

“Who? Who are you talking about?”

Her eyes seemed to glaze over. She struggled blindly and then went very still. After a moment she looked down, touching her dress, the sofa, her hands. And then she turned her head to stare at him.

Jared watched confusion inch into recognition.

“Jared?”

“Right here.”

“I-I don’t understand. Why are you here? I was in bed asleep and then—”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know. I think I heard a sound at the window. Or maybe it was the telephone.”

“It wasn’t the phone,” he said grimly. “You were outside, Maggie. I found you down by the moat.” He decided not to mention his icy sense of pursuit. He didn’t entirely understand it himself.

“Outside?” She stared at him in disbelief. “That’s impossible.” She tried to laugh, but the sound trailed away. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Dead serious.” So was whoever had watched them.

She brushed her forehead and gasped as her fingers came away streaked with blood. “Why is there blood in my hair? What happened?”

“You tell me.”

She closed her eyes. “I … don’t remember. I was asleep and then I was here with you.”

“Think,” Jared said tightly. “Something must have made you go outside.”

“I don’t
know
. Didn’t you hear me?” She tried to stand up and winced at the movement.

Her color fluctuated, and fresh blood appeared on her forehead. Arguing would get them nowhere, Jared thought. Grimly, he eased her back against the sofa. “Stop fighting me.”

“I didn’t leave the abbey. I couldn’t have.” Maggie flinched as a trail of blood slid onto her cheek. “I don’t even know my way, remember? Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because I was there, Maggie. I saw you.”

Jared released her. His stomach was twisted into knots, and his mind seemed locked, unable to function. Though their contact was broken, he still felt the stabbing pain of her wound. He also saw that she had no memory of being outside.

No one could lie that well, not through the link. She was just as confused as
he
was.

He ran a hand through his hair and decided that putting a few feet between them would be a damned good idea, although he was beginning to wonder if distance would help.

Before he could move, Maggie lunged unsteadily to her feet, color flooding into her face. “Why are you saying these things?”

At least she was fully awake now. Unlike before, she seemed perfectly rational. “Because I have to. I saw you, Maggie. Someone else was there, watching us from the woods. Now why don’t you stop arguing, sit down, and help me find some answers?”

“I don’t want to sit down.” She put a hand to her head, her voice trembling. “What you’re telling me is impossible.”

“I only wish it were.” Jared’s eyes narrowed. “You’re bleeding again.”

“I can handle a little blood. What I can’t handle is these ridiculous stories.”

“Someone was out there, Maggie. I saw his movement in the trees.”

“Why? Why would someone hide there to watch us?” Suddenly her body stiffened. “You think this is … because of my father.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to,” she muttered. “You’ve got ‘suspicious’ written all over your face.” She caught a jerky breath, “I want to leave.”

“You’re in no condition to go anywhere.”

“You can’t keep me here. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Jared’s eyes narrowed. There was one way to find some answers.

His jaw clenched. Touching her would tell him what he needed to know. Before this, he had been too distracted to understand what to look for, but now he would be controlled and prepared. The process would leave him drained, but it was a price he’d have to pay.

He took a step toward her.

“What are you doing?” There was a broken note of panic in her voice.

She slipped behind a heavy end table, and Jared followed. The contact would be painful, but if she was a threat to Nicholas, Jared had to find out now. He feinted left, then caught her shoulder as she spun in the opposite direction. When his fingers locked on her arm, the link slammed to life.

Fear. Confusion. Searing anger.

“Stop,” she gasped, trying to pull free.

“I’m afraid I can’t. Not just yet.” He stilled his breath, focusing deep and fighting his way past shadowy barriers of fear and uncertainty.
The heart
, he thought.
The heart never lied
.

“Why? Tell me what’s happening.”

“I can’t, damn it. I don’t understand myself,” he said grimly. “But I will.”

Then Jared opened his hands with icy focus and slid one palm slowly over her chest.

“Stop.”

She trembled as she spoke.

Jared tried to ignore the sound, willing her not to move. He needed only a few seconds of direct contact now. Then they would both be free.

His hand slid lower, rising and falling with each tug of her breath. There was no time for argument. He had to know exactly what Maggie remembered of her time outside, and if she had any clue to who had been watching them.

He closed his eyes, trying not to feel her softness beneath his fingers, trying not to notice her trembling or how much her warmth was affecting him.

No excuse for making it personal, fool.
But suddenly Jared couldn’t seem to do anything else.

She twisted against him, her hip jammed against his taut thigh. He grimaced, trying to ignore his body’s instant response, then moved his palm between her breasts and watched her face as his fingers opened gently over her heart.

The heart held the answers.

Panic. Confusion.

In a rush, her feelings battered him, but he held her still, forcing his way ever deeper into her mind. He needed all her secrets, no matter what they hid. He owed that to Nicholas.

Cursing, he tightened his focus. Burning shapes took form, designs for platinum and beaten gold so clear and sharp that his breath caught at their clarity.

So this was what Maggie Kincade saw when she worked. He hadn’t realized that images could be so compelling. Half lost now, he slid through the restless tides of her mind, caught by sunlight on a metal disk and sparks thrown from a newly polished ruby.

So simple
, he thought. And yet so hard to reach. There were dozens of designs now, each more striking than the last. Years of work were held there.

He pushed deeper.
Fury. Awe at the abbey around her. Leaden exhaustion.

Jared winced as the pain throbbing at her forehead shot through him. The gash was hurting her badly, but he couldn’t afford to spare her.

Or himself.

His fingers tightened. “Have you ever been to the abbey before?”

She blinked at him. “No, of course not.”

The truth.

“Have you ever wandered off like this before, without any memory of it?”

“I don’t know.”

Again the truth.

“Do you know who was watching us?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Her breath came in ragged puffs, and Jared touched her confusion, knowing it was utterly real.

Looking down, he saw her body strain. His hand was open, wrapped around the soft folds of her gown. He was shaking, sweating, fighting to keep his balance.

How had things shot out of control so fast? Second by second she was dragging him deeper, capturing him with the dance of her mind even as her warm skin seduced his painfully aroused body.

No excuse
, he told himself.

And no excuse for this damnable feeling of complete familiarity about her.

“Have we ever met before?” He hadn’t meant to ask, but somehow the hoarse question slipped out. Maybe this was the source of what he was feeling. Maybe she had some fragmented memory of him from long before.

“In New York.” She took an angry, shaken breath. “Why are you asking these things?”

“Before New York.”

“No. No.”

Absolutely true. Damn it, what was she doing to him? Why couldn’t he pull his mind free of hers?

He forced his fingers from her gown, sweating. Immediately she lurched away with a gasp. But distance made no difference. Every curve was imprinted on Jared’s brain. Every cell of his body carried the scent of her perfume and the heat of her skin.

He took a hard breath. “I’m sorry for that. There were things that I needed to know.”

“Like what? Whether you enjoyed touching me? Whether I frighten easily?”

Blood oozed from the wound on her forehead. “I won’t do it again, Maggie.” There was no need. All he had to do now was calm her down.

She backed toward the door, swaying. “And you think I’d believe you now?”

“You must.”

“Not a chance.” She took another jerky step, struck a lamp, and watched the brass frame clang to the floor. “You can’t push me around. You’re no better than those reporters in New York. At least they were honest about what they wanted. And they didn’t t-touch me.”

“You don’t understand.” Of course she didn’t, and there was no way in hell he could begin to explain.

“I don’t want to understand.” Her voice was strained.

“You have to try, Maggie.”

She covered her ears with trembling fingers. “Stop saying my name like that, as if you knew me well. As if we were old friends—or something more.”

So she’d heard it in his voice. Maybe she’d even felt the same hints of recognition that he had. “Listen to me.”

“No. All I want to do is get away. This house—you—I can’t stay here. Something’s wrong, terribly wrong.”

Jared’s eyes narrowed. “How do you expect to leave when you can barely walk?”

“I’ll manage,” she rasped. “Having a car crash would be a lot more pleasant than staying here with you.” She turned wildly. A pile of books toppled to the floor.

“Maggie, stop.” Jared strode after her. “I can’t let you go.”

“And you can’t keep me, either.” She backed another foot toward the door, clearly distraught. “I don’t remember, do you hear? Nothing about what happened tonight.” Her fingers dug at her head. “When I try, there’s only … shadows. Fear. Then pain. Terrible pain.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

“No?” She laughed tightly. “What do you call what you just did?” Her ankle struck the corner of an end table, and Jared snagged a priceless blue-and-white Ming vase before it toppled to its ruin on the floor.

The doorway was just behind her.

She saw her chance and lunged, gasping, but Jared managed to catch her shoulders and pin her against his chest.

Heat
. So much sweet, searing heat.