Free Binding Vows by Catherine Bybee Page B

doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
    He considered her choice of words. It was exactly how he felt since he had sat in her lap. “It makes plenty of sense.” He smiled at Tara’s friend, feeling a kinship with the woman who looked over his lady.
    He thought for a moment about how his mind had drifted to those words, “his lady.” Tara wasn’t his. In no way could she be, yet it was how he felt.
    “Oh... No!” Cassy interrupted his thoughts, and looked across the room. “Tara isn’t going to put up with that.”
    The music had changed, and with it, so had Tara’s dance partner.
    She stood eye to eye with him. His girth matched his obviously intoxicated state. His attempt to pull Tara close was met with resistance and brought Duncan to his feet, with murder in his eyes.
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    He looked every bit the medieval knight as he marched through the crowed with hardly a glance.
    He watched the man’s hands slip below her waist.
    She struggled to put distance between them, only to be harshly tugged next to the ogre.
    Duncan couldn’t remember feeling as bloodthirsty for a man in all his warring days. The rogue would pay for touching her.

    ****
“Get off!” Tara yelled at the slobbering drunk.
    She pulled her hand away only to have him place a vice grip on it.
    “What’s the matter lil’ lady, I know you’ll like what I got.” His tongue darted out of his mouth to catch the drool beginning to fall from his lips.
    Tara was about to knee the man’s groin when she heard the sound of steel against steel. In a flash, she saw a three-foot long blade with a deadly point edging to the side of the drunk’s neck. Frozen in place, all Tara could do was stare.
    Everything went silent. Abruptly the voices and music stopped, a deafening quiet in a crowded room sent shivers down her spine.
    Only the voice of one pissed off Scott could be heard. “Unhand her,” Duncan ordered.
    The drunk froze as the blade nicked his neck, drawing a tiny drop of blood. To the man’s embarrassment, his bladder let loose, further adding to his humiliation. It was amazing how still he stood with his eyes so glossed over.
    “I didn’t mean any harm. Just havin’ a little fun, mate.”
    Duncan pulled Tara to his side.
    Stumbling back, the drunk tripped on a table, righted himself, and then ran from the room. Only then did Duncan put his sword back in its sheath.
    Once the man was out of sight, Duncan shifted his eyes to Tara’s. “Are you all right?”
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    Her jaw dropped.
    “Would you like to take a walk?”
    Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded.
    Cassy stood and clinked a spoon against her half-empty glass. “All right folks! The show’s over!
    Done. Go back to eating and whatever.”
    Fin directed Grainna’s man to the drunk who needed to be put in his place. Duncan slipped away from the people with Tara on his arm. Alone.

    ****
She was having a hard time processing what had happened. Never, not even in her wildest dreams, would she ever have imagined a man drawing a sword on another on her behalf. It was one of those defining moments, the kind that made her glad she was a girl. Her heart gave a flutter when she replayed the scene in her head.
    It wasn’t that she felt very threatened by the man. Annoyed was a better word. The fact that Duncan was ready to shed blood for her gave her a power she never thought possible.
    They walked in silence for some time before Tara said, “Thank you.”
    “’Tis nothing.”
    “Are you kidding? That man was a jerk. Before I knew what was happening there you were, putting him in his place.” She turned to him, smiled. “And all this time I thought this was a prop.” She touched the edge of his sword.
    “What is a prop?”
    “A fake. You know, part of a costume,” she explained.
    “Oh.” His hand rested over hers. “Nay, ’tis no prop.”
    “It looks heavy. Is it?” She grasped its hilt.
    He drew it out for her, placed it in her hands.
    “You tell