The Highlander's Curse (5 page)

I wasn’t
sure how much time had passed exactly, with only the sights and sounds of the
forest to gauge the time by. After I’d shimmied out of my clothes from under
shirt, I’d listened to the Highlander and his dogs shuffle around the camp
until they’d finally settled down. And in all that time, I hadn’t moved an inch
since I’d found my spot on the ground—not even when he’d laid something over me
to keep me warm. I was afraid that any movement would alert the Scot or his
dogs that I was awake, and I wanted them as far away from consciousness as
possible. It was hard to lay there. To not just jump up and make a run for it.
But I knew making an escape attempt too early would only result in failure.

And so
I waited. Waited until the fire died down, and only the hum of the red-hot
embers made any sound at all. Waited until the hounds were snoring away,
dreaming about chasing cats or whatever it was they dreamed. It was probably
about boars.

Finally,
I rolled, glancing over the barely lit embers at Cailen. It was dark out, and
with the fire having long since burned out, I couldn’t see him very well. He
was facing in my direction with one arm pillowing his head. I squinted, barely
making out his strong jaw and cheekbones, and the thick lashes of his closed
eyes. His brown hair fell loosely around his face, a few strands lying across
his cheek. It took me another minute to see the steady rise and fall of his
chest, and I watched him for some time, both to make sure he was sleeping, and
also to admire him in a way I hadn’t dared when he’d been awake. Cailen was
just as handsome in his sleep. Only now he didn’t seem as fierce, as primal. As
barbaric.

Had I
really called him that to his face? What was
wrong
with me? Watching him
now, the way he’d tackled me to the ground had seemed a distant memory. Now he
seemed as innocent as a child, his features relaxed as though he hadn’t a care
in the world. How had I called him a barbarian? He’d chased me, yes. Had
tackled me as well as any football player, but he hadn’t actually harmed me. He
could have done anything to me. Could have touched me against my will—or worse.
But he hadn’t.

He just
hadn’t wanted me to leave him.

And
that was the problem. He’d meant to keep me here. Who knew what his real
intentions were? He said that he planned to take me to town tomorrow, but that
didn’t mean he’d meant it. I wondered what his definition of town was,
considering he hadn’t even heard of Oban. Pulling my gaze away from the
dreaming Highlander, I peered at the star-filled sky above.

It was
time.

I
silently pushed to my feet and grabbed my shoes, which Cailen had somehow
grabbed without my seeing it during our trek to his camp. My purse was already
slung across my body, and I’d been using my clothes as a pillow, so at least I
didn’t have to waste time searching for those. I took one step farther away
from the fire pit, and then another, and another, making sure that my feet didn’t
land on anything loud as I snuck out of his campsite. I’d just rounded a tree
when I realized I still had his shirt. His only shirt.

I
couldn’t just take it.

Setting
my heels and purse on the ground, I untied the laces near my neck.

“What
dae ye think ye’re daein’, lass?”

“
Holy
freakin’ hell!
” I gasped, whirling around to find Cailen leaning against a
tree. My eyes had already somewhat adjusted to what little moonlight filtered
in through the trees, so I could see he’d folded his arms. “God, you scared me!
Can’t a girl go to the bathroom in peace?”

It was
by far the most reasonable excuse I could think of during my hours of lying on
the ground, and I was grateful that I’d had the forethought to think of one in
the event I got caught.

In the
very likely event, as it turned out. Damn him.

The
Scot’s eyes wandered down to my bare shoulders and the open gap of his shirt
over my chest. They lingered there, and my heart began to pound as his breath
grew heavy and his eyes lidded; his desire evident enough that I could see it
in the moonlight. I’d never seen such longing in a man’s eyes.

I
forced myself to cinch his shirt closed, and shrug the cloth back onto my
shoulders, which effectively broke whatever spell he was under.

“Dae ye
make it a habit tae undress each time?”

“Well,”
I replied, a little breathless from his stare. “I wouldn’t want to pee all over
your shirt accidentally, now would I?”

His
brows twitched and he pushed himself off the tree. “Dinna wander too far,” he
warned, giving me a glare as he bent and snatched up my high heels. “If ye run,
I’ll find ye and drag ye back myself. And I think I’ve made it verra clear
about ma thoughts on that.” He stepped away then, and I was left standing there
with my heart in my throat.

“Broch,”
he called after a short whistle. “Watch our guest. Oh, and Elizabeth? Be
careful, aye? There’s somethin’ in the forest, circlin’ our camp.”

Holy
crap. Was he serious? Or just trying to scare me?

Broch,
the lighter brown of the two hounds, trotted over to my tree and plopped his
butt on the ground, his dark eyes settling on me.

I dinna want tae keep chasing
ye, lass,
Cailen had said.
But make nae mistake, I will if ye run again.

And if
there was something else out here, it might not be him that caught me.

Great.
Now what was I supposed to do?

CHAPTER THREE

“Elizabeth. Elizabeth,
wake up.”

I
squeezed my eyes shut and groaned, rolling over to ignore whoever was talking
to me. I wasn’t done sleeping yet. Or, I wasn’t until my face landed in
something damp. I leaned up on my elbows and blinked, focusing on whatever
plant was in my face.

“Oh no,”
I groaned, falling against the ground again. That rough, Scottish voice had
called me Elizabeth, and I was sleeping outside, which meant one thing:
yesterday wasn’t a dream.

I had
ended up peeing in some bushes last night, under the watchful eye of Broch the
Hound, afraid that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get another chance to sneak away
again. There hadn’t been any toilet paper in sight, and the Highlander hadn’t
offered any—not that I was under any assumption that he even owned a roll.
Thank God I had sanitizer in my purse.

After
Cailen had ordered Broch to keep an eye on me, I’d stood there, arguing with
the damn thing for a few minutes, telling him to turn his back and at least give
me some privacy. But the dog wouldn’t have any of it—just kept his eyes trained
on me as his master had ordered. And to make it more humiliating, I could have
sworn I’d heard the Highlander chuckling from somewhere in the distance. At my
expense, no doubt.

When I’d
finally returned to Cailen, with his dog trailing closely behind, I’d sat down
on the ground next to the newly rebuilt fire, folded my clothes up once more as
a makeshift pillow, and threw his blanket at him.

He’d
tossed it back. “Cover yerself. I’ll no’ hae ye catchin’ a chill on ma watch
because ye dinna ken how tae dress yerself.”

“No.” I’d
chucked it to him, this time narrowly missing dumping it right into the fire. “I’m
already wearing your shirt. I really don’t think I could handle any more
hospitality.
”

“Fine,”
he’d barked, checking the blanket for any sign of damage. “But ye canna say I
didnae warn ye.”

I’d
rolled away from him, wondering exactly what he’d meant by that. It was a while
later when I’d finally peered over my shoulder to see if my captor had fallen
asleep yet, only to find him watching me, his eyes dark and angry, sinister as
the firelight cascaded over his features. I’d laid my head down again, angry at
him for keeping me there against my will. I’d planned to wait until I heard him
snoring away before I made another play for escape.

Apparently
I’d fallen asleep instead.

“How
much longer dae ye plan tae sleep?”

“‘Til I’m
dead.” I groaned again and eyed the Scot with as much sleepy anger as I could.
His chest rose and fell in a silent snort and he turned away.

“If we’re
goin’ tae get a good start, ye’ll need tae wake up. Dae ye no’ want tae go tae
town?”

I
bolted into a sitting position. “Town? You’re really taking me?”

“Aye. I
told ye I would. But first, we must buy ye a proper gown. We canna hae ye
wanderin’ the countryside in those clothes, and I dinna think folk will take
kindly tae ye wearing ma shirt.”

Reminded
of what I was wearing, I picked up my clothes and ducked my head into the tent
I currently had on.

Cailen
sputtered. “What are ye
daein’
?”

“What
do you think I’m doing? I’m getting dressed.” I spat back as I yanked on my bra
from under his shirt. I stood and shimmied into my skirt and shirt before
pulling off my makeshift nightgown. “I’ve seen plenty of women since I got here
and only one was wearing a dress.”
And a lot of luck she had with it—she’d
gotten kidnapped in a horse-drawn carriage
, I thought with a shudder.

I hated
Scotland.

“I
dinna care what ye think ye’ve seen. We need tae get ye dressed proper. I willn’ae
be responsible if somethin’ happens tae ye because o’ yer…
attire
.”

I
sighed, exasperated. “Can we just drop my clothes?”

His
eyes widened and a deep flush covered his face.

Realizing
how he must have understood that, I added, “I mean, can we just let it go?
These are my clothes and they’re just fine.”

“I’ll
only
‘drop it’
once ye’re in a proper gown.”

I slid
my purse over my shoulder. “Oh my gosh,
fine
.”

“Good,”
he said, looking and sounding a little too smug. It irritated the crap out of
me. “Now, how much money hae ye?” He stood and stepped toward me, offering his
hand, palm up.

I
handed him his shirt before swiping at the dirt on my legs. “As long as they
have a credit card machine, I’m golden.”

The
Scot scowled and reached for my purse, yanking it off over my head even as I
tugged back.

“Hey!”

“Ye
speak verra strange. Can ye no’ just answer a simple question?” He stepped back
from me, purse in hand, and hesitantly zipped it open with a confused
expression on his face. “Look at that, nae buttons, nae hooks. Where did ye
find such a tidy wee fastener?”

“Oh my
gosh, it’s just a zipper. Now give it back.” I made an attempt to get my purse,
but he dodged me, a little too easily.

“Ye’ve
a nice stash o’ money,” he said, even more surprised after he spent time
zipping and unzipping my bag. “Ye can purchase a new dress and hae plenty left
o’er.”

“Great,”
I replied monotonously. I couldn’t help my irritation at Cailen playing keep
away with the only thing I had left to my name. “Can you give me my purse back now?”

He
looked as though he were about to nod when his eyes narrowed and he peered once
more into my bag. “Another compartment?”

No,
no, no! Not that one!
I surged forward
again, trying to keep him from opening my purse, but he unzipped the inner
pocket. “Stop Cailen. Don’t. Just leave it alo—”

My
voice died away as he pulled out the tiny silver bullet I’d stashed in my
hidden pocket before coming to Scotland. Heat flamed across my face, chest and
ears.

“Dammit,
can’t you just leave my stuff alone?” I felt more embarrassed than I ever had
in my entire life. Leave it to this infuriating Scot to find my toy. “Give it
to me.” I held out my hand, demanding him to place it in my palm.

He didn’t
of course, and instead, handed me my purse before inspecting the bullet-shaped
vibrator. “Shiny wee thing, is it no’?” He blinked, looking up at me
questioningly. “What is it?”

Oh
my God.
I rubbed my hands over my
forehead, still feeling the heat on my own skin. “You know what? It doesn’t
matter what it is. I’m not going to use it ever again now anyway.” Not now that
he’d had his dirty paws on it. I turned away and zipped up my purse, slinging
it across my body and grabbing my heels before I stomped out of his camp.

“Elizabeth,”
Cailen called out, catching up to me in seconds. “I’ve no’ meant tae anger ye.”

“You
didn’t
mean
to anger me?” I stopped walking and faced him, feeling like
a midget compared to his damnable size. “Are you kidding? Excluding everything
that happened yesterday and the fact that you sent your dog to watch me pee,
what part of you going through my personal belongings
shouldn’t
have
pissed me off?”

“I
wouldn’ae’ve had tae go through yer belongings if ye’d just gi’en me a straight
answer, woman,” he said, his voice taking on a low growl.

“It’s
my choice what kind of answer I give you. That doesn’t give you the right to go
through my shit.”

He
blinked in surprise before his brows lowered. “Proper lassies dinna speak that
way.”

“
Ugh!
Proper, proper, proper! Proper dress, proper speak, blah, blah, blah,” I ranted,
not caring that my hands went flying. “Seriously. What’s your deal?”

Cailen
eyed me until my hands returned to their normal, probably not-so-violent
position. He looked uncomfortable then, and held my toy out to me. “I apologize
if I’ve offended ye, Elizabeth.”

Well,
he could just stew on it. I sure as hell was.

He
walked by my side, steering me through the forest toward what was, hopefully, a
nearby town. I let him, hoping that my irritation would keep him from doing any
other pig-headed moves.

“So, what
was that?”

I
froze, gaping up at him. “Oh my gosh. Really? Do you really want me to say it?
Fine, women use it to pleasure themselves, okay? Happy?”
Asshole!

He
remained silent for a while, and as we gained ground through the thick forest,
I kept an ear out, hoping that I’d hear a car or, even better, a highway. At
least then I could flag someone down and find my way back to Oban, or at least
get some sort of cell service and call Shannon and my dad. At this point
though, I’d even gratefully take one of those stupid carriages if I had to.

“Is the
town we’re going to close?”

“Nae,”
Cailen replied quietly. This was the first time since his apology that we’d
spoken. “Nearby is too dangerous. We’re far too close tae Dunollie Castle. The
MacDougalls dinna take verra kindly tae havin’ squatters on their clan lands,
especially no’ so close tae where their chieftain is.” He peered at me then, a
small smile forming at his lips. “Nae matter how bonny that squatter may be.”

Really?
Was he actually trying to flirt with me? After everything?

My
heart
didn’t
just skip a beat. It didn’t.

The
Scot stepped up onto a trunk and turned, holding out a hand toward me.

I
glared at Cailen and his proffered hand before finally giving him mine. The
warmth of his hand enveloped mine and he gently pulled, helping me up onto the
fallen tree, before he dropped down on the other side. Without my heels, I felt
everything I stepped on, and the rough bark scraped at my feet. Before
realizing what he was doing, Cailen turned and grabbed my waist, slowly
lowering me back down toward the ground. Our eyes met, and I gripped his arms,
steadying myself until my feet touched the damp earth. My heart hadn’t sped up
at the feel of his hands on me. It probably just sped up because my feet hurt.

I
cleared my throat as we started walking once more. “Where are we going then?”

“Kilchrenan.
I ken a seamstress there. Let’s just say she’s proven tae be discreet when
certain folk dinna want the entire town tae ken who’s been tae her. Besides, I
could dae wi’a new shirt.”

“Great.”

“I’m
sure we could bribe her tae get ye a new pair o’ shoes as well.”

“What’s
wrong with these?”

He
flicked his gaze at the heels dangling from my fingers and gave me a shake of
his head. “Correct me if I’m wrong, lass, but I’ve yet tae see ye actually wear
yer ‘shoes’. And they shouldn’ae be so revealing.”

“Wow,
everything about me is too revealing for you. Gotta watch out for this chick,
her toes peek out from the tips of her shoes.”

He
shrugged. “Glad we kin each other then. Oh, careful o’ the midge, there.”

I
looked down to where he gestured and slapped at a humongous mosquito, squashing
it. “Holy crap. What is that thing?”

“A
midge. Let’s hope ye dinna swell up tae twice yer size.”

“
What?
”
I gaped just before my foot landed on something hard. I pitched forward,
stubbing my toes on something, and fell to the ground as my foot erupted in
pain.

Cailen’s
hands were on me in the next instant, pulling me to my feet. “Are ye all right?”

I
nearly replied that I was, but couldn’t as pure agony shot up my leg.

He must
have seen the shock in my face because he stepped back and looked down. “Ye’re
bleeding.” The Highlander’s hands left my shoulders before one looped behind my
back and the other went behind my legs. And then I was up in his arms, unable
to squeak any type of protest. “Elizabeth, ye’re turnin’ red. And ye’re no’
breathing. Ye need tae breathe.”

I
fixated on his swollen nose and inhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my
breath. Growing up, whenever I’d gotten hurt or scared, I’d stopped breathing
until I either passed out or someone reminded me. I couldn’t count how many
times I’d terrified the bejesus out of my parents and friends, only to find out
when I came to sometime later. No matter how much I tried to overcome it, apparently
it still stuck with me.

“Sorry,”
I said. “I sorta do that without knowing.”

Cailen
carried me to a large boulder and planted me firmly on it. I closed my eyes,
too stunned to look at what was wrong, and instead, concentrated on the cold
rock that instantly chilled my thighs. I braced my hands on the Scot’s
shoulders as he lifted my foot with his warm hands.

“Does
it hurt still?”

“Mmm
hmm.”

“We’ll
need tae get it cleaned up. I canna see how bad it is wi’all this blood.”

Oh,
God.
I squeezed his shoulders as panic
shot through me. “Is there a lot?”