Free The Highlander's Servant: Book One of the Highlander Possession Series by Savannah Vining

only a mere foot away that he could easily see the bed was absent of her sleeping form. He carefully looked around the room as if confirming his suspicion, and then brusquely turned foot and left.
    Worried thoughts raced in his mind. With the Ruskin Clan causing mayhem throughout his lands, he could not help but think the worst for the small blonde.
    Lachlan did not bother to alert his men of her disappearance, for they were drunk and would only think lesser of him if they knew of his weakness. Lachlan was stubborn as a mule, but he was also all-knowing in many ways. He knew where to look for Kirstin before he asked for assistance in finding her, and he could only hope that she was there.
    He swiftly opened a large door that led to the darkness of the night sky. Only a couple of stars twinkled above, and a full moon hid behind the few clouds that were there.
    Lachlan did not halt his movements as he continued rushing to the far side of his manor, and went into the woods. He ignored the crunching of leaves beneath his feet and the many branches that reached out to him.
    When he approached the end of the woods that encircled the field, his eyes scanned the area rapidly. His search came to an end when the full moon came out from the clouds and its light briefly fell against the tall grass. Lachlan did not miss the small girl that lay in the center of it all. He instantly became relieved and walked towards her.
    By the time he stood over the girl, he saw the opened book that lay next to her. Lachlan refrained from chuckling at first, and instead felt a mix of annoyance and infuriation. How could Kirstin be so irresponsible and fall asleep amidst a darkened field? Surely the girl was much too naïve in her ways.
    Kirstin temporarily stirred in her sleep when Lachlan picked the journal up from the ground. He held it loosely under his arm and then, not wanting to wake her, Lachlan carefully slipped his hands beneath Kirstin. He effortlessly picked Kirstin up and held her against him as if she was his most precious possession.
    Kirstin unconsciously nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. Her breath against his skin made the hairs on Lachlan’s arms rise, as it was a feeling he much enjoyed.
    While Lachlan was carrying her back through the woods towards his manor, she dazedly mumbled his name. Instead of answering her though, he kissed her temple, and she simply dozed off again. Kirstin did not awake again after that.
    Lachlan made sure to enter the manor through a side door, because he did not want another man’s gaze on the beauty who lay in his arms. He also did not want for her to awake from their loud drunken voices.
    He silently walked back to his own chambers, to where a single candle was lit in the largest of rooms. Lachlan gently laid Kirstin down on his bed. He watched as she curled up against the soft furs that covered the mattress, and then he lay down next to her.
    Lachlan easily hid the journal in a drawer next to the bed, and then he did not hesitate to take Kirstin into his arms. He put his chin atop her head and breathed in her sweet scent. Lachlan fell asleep to the sound of her beating heart.
     
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                  Kirstin awoke in a daze. She had dreamt that she was being carried in the strong arms of an all too familiar highlander, and that she had awoken in a strange room. When her eyes had fully opened, she then realized that she had not been dreaming, because she was in a strange room.
                  Kirstin panicked, remembering her foolish act of falling asleep in the field after she had read another entry to Lachlan’s journal. She quickly sat up from the bed and gazed around the unfamiliar room that lacked any presence but her own.
                  It was most certainly morning because the sun’s rays beamed through the curtains. The light allowed Kirstin to observe the many dressers and shelves against the walls. She took notice to the adornments of fur