“How about I tell Shaggy Maclean what I saw and let him sort it out?” she asked.
God preserve him, she was a determined woman. If she went running to Shaggy with this tale now, none of the MacDonalds would escape tonight. Alex ran his hand through his hair. He could tie her up and leave her in the storeroom. But he didn’t like the idea of leaving her helpless, not knowing how long she might lie here—or who might find her.
“If ye tell Shaggy, he’ll kill me,” Alex said, attempting to reason with her.
“It wouldn’t be my fault,” she said. “A man should pay for his sins.”
Hadn’t Teàrlag said something like that to him?
“Ye wouldn’t be that heartless,” he said, though Glynis was looking as if she damned well would. “And I’m telling ye, I didn’t sin with Catherine.”
Not this time, anyway.
“I’ll do what I must,” Glynis said with that stubborn look in her eyes. “There are hundreds of men here. My father won’t know it was you I left with, if that’s your concern.”
With her father attacking Mingary, he wouldn’t even know she was missing for days. Still, it was too foolish.
“The truth has a way of coming out.” Alex folded his arms across his chest. “Have ye thought of what your father will do if he finds out I’m the one who stole ye away? Angry as he would be, he’d demand a wedding.”
For the first time, Glynis looked uncertain. It grated on him that the possibility of being forced to wed him was the only part of her ridiculous plan that gave her pause.
“I’ll have to take the risk,” she said in a hard voice. “Now, do I go bang on Shaggy’s bedchamber door, or will ye take me?”
CHAPTER 10
Let’s go,” Alex said.
Glynis sucked in her breath as he pulled her tight against his side. Her feet barely touched the ground as they passed the kitchens and started up the stairs.
What was she doing, putting herself into the hands of a man she barely knew? What made her trust this too-handsome warrior from a different clan? He owed her no allegiance. And he was angry that she’d coerced him into taking her. He could abandon her in the wilderness.
This was the most outrageous thing she had ever done, except perhaps stabbing her husband. But sticking Magnus was something that just happened—she hadn’t planned it.
The cool night air hit her face as they left the keep, but Alex’s heat radiated through her. He had a warrior’s body, powerful and graceful, and he held her with a sureness that sent her heart hammering.
Would Alex expect to be more than her escort?
That might be a reasonable assumption for a man to make—especially if he was the sort of man who was accustomed to having women offer themselves to him. If half of what she’d heard about Alex Bàn MacDonald was true, he was that sort of man.
“If anyone sees us,” Alex said in a low voice, “we want them to believe we’re a pair of lovers sneaking off for a tryst.”
Alex only meant to pretend they would. Glynis was, of course, relieved that Alex had not mistaken her intentions.
“’Tis fortunate I have a companion with so much useful experience,” she whispered.
“Keep your head down,” Alex said. “We don’t want anyone to recognize ye.”
“I suppose it won’t matter if they recognize you,” she said. “In fact, it might seem suspicious if a night went by without someone seeing ye sneak off with a lass.”
“Shhh.”
They were walking along the castle wall, in sight of the gate now. Glynis’s heart raced. Would the guards stop them? Would they demand to know who she was and call her father? Alex slowed his steps. When he leaned down, the warmth of his breath in her ear sent a tingle all the way to her toes.
“Play along with me,” he whispered.
She nearly yelped when he slid his hand under her cloak and along her ribcage. It was far too close to her breast.
She grabbed his wrist and hissed, “I cannot breathe with your hand there.”
He chuckled deep in his throat, but he didn’t remove his hand. Instead, he nuzzled her neck. “Have ye changed your mind?” he said against her skin. “Because if ye want to go to Edinburgh, we must first get out of the castle.”
She heard the sound of boots coming around the corner of the keep. The next thing she knew, Alex had her flattened against the stone wall. His mouth was on hers before she could think, Oh, God, he’s going to kiss me!
And it didn’t seem like a pretend kiss at all. His body was hard against hers, but his mouth was soft and warm. As Alex kissed her again and again, her knees grew so weak she had to put her arms around his neck to keep from falling. He held her tighter as he deepened their kisses, his tongue in her mouth, probing, seeking.
Her insides turned to liquid, and her head spun. The things other women said about kissing were true after all. That was her last clear thought.
His hands were moving under her cloak, gripping her hip, sliding up the sides of her breasts. When she felt his hard shaft against her belly, a groan escaped her throat. She tangled her fingers in his hair, urging him closer still.
Suddenly, Alex broke the kiss. He was breathing hard, and he still had her pressed against the wall so that she felt every inch of his heat through her clothes.
He framed her face with his hands and looked into her eyes. She blinked, trying to take in what had just happened to her and what it meant.
“Do ye think we convinced the guards,” he asked, running his thumb across her cheek, “or should I kiss ye again to be sure?”
She was mortified. It was all a joke to him.
* * *
How had he lost control like that? God help him, he’d wanted to lift Glynis’s skirts and take her right there against the castle wall with the guards walking by.
Alex thought he could rely upon Glynis’s good sense. Ha! She melted in his arms from the first touch of their lips—and he’d lost his mind.
How would he ever manage to make it all the way to Edinburgh?
This was Teàrlag’s fault. He should have tied Glynis up instead of following the seer’s admonition to help the women who called on him. And if he fulfilled his deep desires with this one, she was sure to bring him danger. Bedding an unmarried chieftain’s daughter was a grave offense that justified the harshest possible punishment—death or marriage.
Alex ignored the guards’ jibes about getting sand in their hair—and various private places—as the men let them out the gate. Glynis tried to tug her hand away, but he ignored that, too. Holding her tightly, he led her down to the shore.
“Over here,” Duncan called.
Alex followed Duncan’s voice until his friend’s outline emerged from the darkness.
“I ‘borrowed’ this skiff from the Macleans for ye,” Duncan said. “It’s old, but it should get ye across to the mainland.”
“You’re a good man,” Alex said. “You’d best be off as well.”
Their men and galley were ready and waiting for Duncan in the next cove. Despite Glynis, all had gone well so far. But at any moment, someone in the hall could wake and notice that all the MacDonalds of Sleat were missing.
Duncan’s gaze shifted from him to Glynis and back again, asking for an explanation.
“Ye never saw her,” Alex said. “This was her plan, not mine. She wants me to take her to her relatives in Edinburgh.”
“Mistress Glynis,” Duncan said, “are ye certain ye want to do this?”
“I can take ye back to the keep, and no one would be the wiser.” Alex held his breath, waiting for her answer.
“I’m going,” Glynis said, and climbed into the boat.
It appeared Alex was in for an adventure. Teàrlag said three women would require his help, and he hoped to hell the old seer had miscounted.