Free How to Handle a Highlander (Hot Highlanders) by Mary Wine

like she could feel the shift in his emotions. Which was far too much of an intimacy.
    “But ye are no girl. Ye are mature enough to understand me.” His tone was solemn. “Listen to me, and I will make sure you have a way out of here.”
    It was so tempting— he was tempting. Moira shook her head. In a flash, the fragile trust she’d decided existed between them shattered, revealing the very real threat he posed. The man wanted his way and planned to get it by whatever means necessary. She raised her chin, refusing to cower.
    “Ye praise me for being past me tender years, but somehow think I do nae know what becomes of girls who ride off with men they are nae wed to?” She settled her hands on her hips. “Best ye listen well, Gahan Sutherland. I was shocked by me first kiss, which is why I did nae slap ye for taking the liberty. But ye are a rogue to have done it, for ye have made no offer for me. Ye should be ashamed to do something like this on me wedding day. I am no less honorable than ye and will nae discard me duty the moment someone steals a kiss in the shadows.”
    It was exactly what she had been raised to believe, yet it felt wrong to chastise him.
    Gahan chuckled. The sound was chilling, because it made her feel like a game animal being cornered by something very dangerous.
    “First kiss? Well, there is another thing I can detest yer half brother for. As pretty as ye are, at least one of his men should have tried to win yer affection.”
    “I am nae pretty.” She covered her lips when she realized she’d spoken. “At least, ye should nae be saying I am.”
    “Would ye have me lie to ye?”
    He reached out and stroked her cheek. A shiver raced down her body in response.
    “I’d have ye stop toying with me.” She was pitifully close to begging, but he had such a devastating effect on her. “I must try and make the best of this match. Do nae fill me head with fanciful ideas of offers ye have nae made.”
    “I keep me word, Moira,” he informed her in a hard tone. “I offer to make sure ye have a way out of this keep. I do nae need to promise nae to leave ye stranded on the road, for I am no villain. Never accuse me of dishonor again.”
    She backed away from him, holding up a hand when he began to follow. “I wonder, would ye like yer own sister riding off without the blessing of the Church? With someone ye know has reason to want vengeance against her clan? With no promise of anything, except the sure knowledge that she’d be dishonoring her own kin?”
    She’d silenced him. It would likely only last a moment, but she took advantage of it and left. She listened for his footsteps behind her, but there were none. He might be many things, but it appeared Gahan was a man who understood sense when he heard it. Only children lived in a world where everything might be put aside in favor of their feelings.
    So ye admit ye have feelings for him?
    She cringed but continued out into the sunlight. Bari was her laird, and it would be her brother she had to depend on once Gahan Sutherland rode back to his father’s land.
    ***
    “Ye kissed her?”
    “I am nae in the mood to be lectured, Cam,” Gahan growled.
    His sibling wasn’t put off by his tone. In fact, Cam reached out and placed a solid hand on his shoulder to keep him from following Moira out into the yard.
    “I see what sort of mood ye are in. Have ye forgotten that she’s kin to Sandra?”
    Cam was incredulous, and his sobering words broke through the spell Gahan seemed to be under. He’d never been a man who gave much thought to superstitions. But his forehead was moist with perspiration, and if Cam hadn’t stopped him, he’d be standing behind Moira like a devoted slave. The woman was obviously more accomplished in wielding her feminine wiles than he’d given her credit for.
    “I was trying to get her to refuse to wed.”
    Cam cocked his head to one side. “Well…that’s more than I would have done, but I suppose it makes sense. No