Free To Capture A Highlander's Heart: The Beginning by Teresa Reasor Page B

thoughts, triggering feelings he had tried to deny but
couldn’t. Fed by the knowledge that she had already been inside his
home, he found himself envisioning her in his cabin, preparing a
meal, mending his shirts, sleeping beside him. The images had taken
root in his mind and whetted his desire for —something more than
imaginings.
    He had hoped to speak with her at the evening
meal, but she had accompanied Lady Mary to attend a sick child in
the village. Now that she had returned, he saw his chance and rose
from his seat. He quickened his pace as she slipped between the
heavy wooden tables in the great room crowded with men finishing
their meal.
    A long muscular arm whipped out from one of
the tables and caught her about the waist. Bruce Campbell dragged
her down onto his lap.
    Grace’s eyes looked large and startled as she
stared at the clansman.
    Too far away to hear what was said, Gabriel
bore down on the couple in time to see Grace shake her head and
push against Bruce’s shoulder.
    The other men at the table laughed, and her
cheeks flushed berry red. She gripped the edge of the table and
attempted to lever herself out of his grasp, but the man held on.
Ignoring her struggles, he buried his face against her neck.
    With the speed of a loosed crossbow, an
emotion Gabriel had never experienced shot through him. Mine. The
word reverberated through his mind. Outrage fueled his temper as
every protective instinct in him took aim at the man holding Grace.
As he reached them, he gripped Bruce Campbell’s wrist and peeled it
loose from her waist. He grasped her forearm and, with an easy tug,
plucked her free of the man’s lap. Pushing her behind him, he
turned to face Bruce. Consternation clouded the clansman’s face as
he half rose. Gabriel shoved him back into his seat and thrust his
face close. “I’d hate to split your head over a woman, but I’ll do
it if you press the matter, Bruce.”
    The surprised look on Bruce’s face, as well
as the other men seated at the table, brought Gabriel’s temper
under control. He’d as good as laid claim to the lass before the
whole company. For one long tense moment, silence reigned.
    Bruce spread his hands in an acquiescent
gesture. “There are always other lasses, and I winna have to suffer
a broken noggin’ to have them.”
    Gabriel nodded. “’Tis a wise decision, my
friend.” He turned to capture Grace’s hand and tugged her toward
the antechamber to one side of the great hall.
     
    ****
     
    Grace’s breath came in stumbling breaths as
Gabriel drew her into Lord Campbell’s antechamber. With the door
finally closed behind them, he released her and began to pace the
room, his movements agitated.
    He’d fought for her. Fought over her. What if
he had done so simply out of kindness? She struggled to suppress
her excitement.
    A huge table and chairs dominated the room.
Just off center, sat a basket filled with wild hyacinth blossoms.
Wary of the anger still imprinted on his face, she moved to touch
the flowers and stir their fragrance.
    “Your basket dinna survive your treatment,”
Gabriel said. “Since ’twas my fault I thought to replace it.”
    “Oh—Gabriel—” Grace’s heart beat a frantic
rhythm. Tears blurred her vision as her fingers dwelt upon the lip
of the new basket. No man had ever given her a gift. But what if
she should misunderstand his meaning?
    “Do the flowers please you, then?”
    “Aye.” Her attention focused on him as a
small niggling hope bubbled up inside her. “Aye, a great deal”
    “That day upon the path, you were lying
amongst them—” Color touched his cheekbones. “I have been thinking
about that.”
    He saw her. He finally saw her.
Joy whipped through her and she smiled.
    His gaze settled upon her lips and his
features took on an intent expression filled with heat and promise.
“Walk with me.” He offered her his hand.
    Her heart beat a heavy rhythm against her
throat as she grasped it. His warm calloused palm melded