Free Seducing the Highlander by Emma Wildes

shivering, Leanna could not believe she had just seen three men killed before her eyes, and that the tender lover who had brought her to the peak of ecstasy time and again had cut them down with such ruthless skill—it all seemed a dream. The sickening stench of coppery blood made her stomach lurch, and she fought the urge to scream hysterically at the sight of the sprawled bodies. It was a nightmare, she promised herself, and closed her eyes.
    The commotion had roused others too. She could hear doors opening, and seconds later, a low whistle rang out. Reluctantly, her body trembling, she lifted her lashes. Robbie stood in the doorway as he took in the carnage. His sword hung in his hand and he was bare chested, clad in only a pair of doeskin breeches. “What do we have here, cousin? By God, Ian, couldn’t you have saved one for me?”
    Ian shrugged, still naked and blood spattered. “I tried. He wouldn’t listen.”
    “Oh, dear Lord in heaven,” Rossie cried, peeking out from behind Robbie’s tall form, her horrified gaze fastened on the fallen men. “What kind of madness is this?”
    “Frankton’s work, no doubt,” Ian explained with a grim smile. “He has discovered where Leanna is and, in his usual way, tried the underhanded approach first. If I weren’t a light sleeper, I suspect I’d be dead and she would be on her way back to England as we speak.”
    Frankton. England. Ian . . . dead?
    Belatedly, Leanna remembered she was nude and snatched the sheet up to cover herself, but not before Robbie noticed her state of undress, his smile holding a wicked glint. Shifting his gaze back to his cousin, Robbie said, “He’ll know now you are on your guard. That helps, because he won’t have a choice but to come himself.”
    “And believe me”—Ian’s voice was chillingly cold—“I can’t wait.”

Chapter 6
    “I ordered Harry to follow them and take two more well-armed men.” Ian stood high up on the castle walk and watched as, far below, Robbie led Leanna from the courtyard, the gleam of her bright hair unmistakable in the sunlight. “I am reasonably sure that no one else could slip through the guards I have posted, but then again, I certainly did not think three men could penetrate our defenses so easily and gain entrance to my own bedroom.”
    “They murdered the sentries in cold blood,” Angus said bitterly. “Typical brutality for such a conscienceless Sassenach, damn his black soul straight to hell.”
    “I should have doubled the watch. It is all my fault.”
    “Don’t flay yourself any more over it, lad. You killed the English hireling bastards. That’s some justice for our fallen men.”
    It was easier said than done to salve his conscience; Ian knew that. The men the baron had hired to murder him had been thorough and well trained, and they had killed four of his clansmen, loyal McCrays with families. He would provide for their wives and children, but that didn’t make up for the loss of a husband or a father. “Dammit,” Ian muttered, “I just want him to come and face me.”
    “All of this over one woman.” Angus shook his head.
    “It isn’t about Leanna. It’s about Frankton’s greed.” Ian was quick to defend her, surprised that Angus would dare voice such a thought out loud.
    “Aye, yes, but there’s more trouble ahead, the dastardly baron aside.”
    Ian glanced over with a low sigh. From their high perch, Angus watched the young couple as they left the protective courtyard walls, Robbie courteously taking Leanna’s arm to aid her over the rough patches in the path. “You mean Robbie, of course.”
    “That I do, lad. He fancies himself in love with your woman, Ian; make no mistake about it. You are not there to see his face when you follow her so eagerly upstairs. His tortured expression tells me he goes to sleep imagining you between those pale legs, taking your pleasure.”
    “He has more lasses than he knows what to do with,” Ian protested in open