Free Margo Maguire by The Highlander's Desire Page B

mind. One step more and they would be touching.

 
    Chapter 10

    E very nerve in Lachann’s body urged him to close the distance between himself and the lass. Her damaged voice and her fiercely flashing eyes were far more appealing than they ought to have been. She was possessed of a fiery innocence that drew him like a moth to flame.
    “I am a servant here, sir,” she said firmly, gesturing vaguely toward the keep. “My tasks take me all over the castle grounds.”
    “Ach, aye?” He sensed she was not being entirely forthright, and it occurred to him there was a good chance she’d brought her injured friend to the castle and hidden her nearby. Without permission. Not that she needed to worry that he would divulge her hiding place to anyone.
    “Of course,” she said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have much to do before I can retire for the night.”
    Without thinking, he stopped her with a light grasp of her arm. He found himself stepping closer, breathing in her scent, a heady combination of kitchen spices and the sea. Her breath was warm on his neck, and Lachann tipped his head down, his mouth so close to hers, his body reacting like a satyr in the presence of a nymph. He wanted to taste her, wanted to—
    Gesu, he must be mad. He did not take advantage of servants, especially when he was about to betroth himself to the mistress here.
    He drew back, releasing her. Anna stood still for a moment, and Lachann had to clench his hands at his sides to keep from reaching for her again, for her chest rose in quick breaths, a clear sign her reaction was as potent as his own.
    A complete diversion was necessary.
    “Will she be safe back here?” he asked, tipping his head in the direction from which Anna had come. “Her husband doesn’t know of this place?”
    She looked sharply at him. “I— N-no. No one will think of it.”
    “Good.”
    She started past him, and Lachann watched as she returned to the keep, her thick plait of pale golden hair swinging seductively down her back.
    He shook his head as though to clear away his momentary lunacy and followed her toward the keep. He had no intention of risking his heart again—and he was quite certain there was no chance of that with Catrìona.
    There was no chance with Anna, either, for he would not allow any such thing to happen.
    Still, ’twas no hardship to walk behind the lass, and he enjoyed the fetchingly ingenuous sway of her hips as she walked. And if his presence made her the least bit uncomfortable, she did not show it. There was an air of confidence about her that he’d sensed in only a few other women—in his grandmother, his sister, and Dugan’s wife.
    She pointedly ignored him behind her, and when they reached the keep, she disappeared down a few steps to what Lachann supposed must be the kitchens. He paused for a moment, then started for the main road that led down to the pier; Duncan was waiting for him near the gate.
    They started walking together, down the path toward the pier. “Where is Kieran?” Lachann asked. ’Twas a simple question in a situation that was not simple at all.
    “He’s staying to see what Macauley has to say if he ever comes out of MacDuffie’s room.”
    “Better him than me,” Lachann retorted. “I’ve been this close to running him through ever since we got here.”
    “I could see it, Lachann. You held your temper very well. We all did.”
    “Mayhap. But I make no promises for future encounters.” Nor was he sure about further encounters with the serving maid, Anna. She was so far off-limits the thought of her should not even cross his mind. But her smudged face and the intense way she cared for her friend would not leave him.
    It did not take long for the two men to reach the expansive wooden pier that jutted into the water. “The harbor is as much a weakness as an advantage to the isle,” Lachann said, welcoming a logistical discussion with Duncan. “ ’Tis deep enough for ships to sail right in and men to