Free The Bruised Thistle (The Order of the Scottish Thistle) by Ashley York Page B

remains of the fire and removed any trace of the time they had spent in the area. Seumas directed Calum to get back on the horse. He had no problem finding the deer path leading further into the woods—he knew the area from hunting. There was a cave not far away, if he could just find it. And if it was large enough for all of them to hide in.
    Within minutes, the sound of several horses came from the distance. There were voices, but he could not hear what was being said. He saw the cave, and they ducked inside. Calum jumped off the horse and led it further away from the entrance. Seumas wanted to stand watch at the cave mouth to see who was chasing Calum, but Iseabail came first. She moaned, her pain visible. Damn, he had thought her better.
    Light filtered in from overhead. He went deeper into the cave and eventually found both Calum and the horse. Stalactites hung from the roof of the cave, their sparkling flecks reflected in the wet cavern walls around them. Calum’s mouth hung open; he was enthralled by the sight. The horse nudged his hand as if to ask for an explanation of their whereabouts. He stroked her nose.
    “It is beautiful, ” Calum exclaimed, delight evident on his face. “How can they be so thin and not break?” He reached as if to touch them but thought better of it. “They are perfect.”
    Seumas sat on the floor against the far wall and rocked Iseabail in his arms. “Shh,” he crooned to her. “All is well. We are safe now.”
    She murmured her agreement.
    He motioned to Calum to bring the skin from his saddlebags.
    Calum dropped down on the ground beside him and handed him the water. “Are they gone yet?”
    Seumas held his finger to his lips to silence him. He took a sip and licked his dry lips. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to hear what he could not see. Before long, he heard the men pass on by and knew they had not seen the cave.
    Seumas opened his eyes and smiled at Calum. “Close call, lad. Ye must be more careful.” He handed the skin back to Calum, who took a sip and nodded his agreement. “It is my horse, ye know, so ye were not even stealing. But ye were right to run so ye would not be discovered.”
    Calum nodded with a big yawn but said no more, and it was not long before he was propped next to him, sleeping snuggled up to his arm. Seumas tucked the arm around the boy, who continued to sleep, his head dropping heavily against Seumas’s side.
    Seumas yawned and struggled to keep his eyes open. Holding Iseabail, on the other hand, was no struggle at all. Her small bottom rested in his lap and her soft body molded to his chest, her head tucked under his chin. She felt so good in his arms. He wanted to bury his face in her hair and listen to her moans of pleasure when he nibbled her neck. With his free hand, he pushed her hair away from the sensitive area. He wanted to kiss her there, to taste her. She snored. He dropped her hair.
    Despite the trouble she had caused him, he was undeniably drawn to her. She made him want what he could not have. In a different life, he might have taken her to wife, and she would have been in his bed pleasuring him instead of traipsing through the woods. It would have been his honor to be her protector. He would also have taken her to task for putting her life and the life of her little brother in peril.
    As it was, he had no physical reaction to her. He was better off just seeing her on her way. And if he decided she would be better off, he would turn her over to whoever hunted her himself. Intruder or not.
     

Chapter 11
     
    Iseabail awoke to find herself lying on the ground, her brother sleeping in front of her. The light from the fire reminded her of the castle and reignited her fear. For a moment, she believed she had not escaped, but then the memories came rushing back.
    The pain in her head had lessened. The pain in her leg had not.
    “Oww.” She hissed through her clenched jaw.
    Seumas was right there, bending over her. She remembered his