His words silenced her.Still, Gabriella knew better than to trust the words of any man, especially one who had hunted her to use her as a bed slave.
The horse slowedto navigate a particularly rocky patch of trail.
Gabriella shifted uncomfortably,then cleared her throat. “I need to…” She hesitated, her cheeks coloring slightly. “Nature calls.”
The Laird glanceddown at her, his jaw tightening. “We’re nearly there, lass.”
“I cannae wait,”she insisted, her voice rising with practiced urgency. “Please. Just a moment by those bushes.”
Hector sighed,but reined the stallion to a halt. “Make it quick, then.”
He dismounted first,then reached up to help her down. His hands around her waist felt strong and steady, and as he lifted her out of the saddle, an unexpected tingle spread through her body at his touch, catching her by surprise.
The firm musclesbeneath her fingers sent an unfamiliar shiver up her spine—a reaction that both confused and alarmed her. After months of fearing men’s touch, why did this contact affect her so differently?
Gabriella pushedthese strange feelings aside, focusing on what she needed to do.
The momenther feet touched the ground, she swayed deliberately, grasping his arm for support.
“Ye need me to…”
“I can manage,”she said, pulling away. “Just… turn around.”
He hesitated,suspicion flickering across his features.
“Please,”she added, crossing her legs for effect. “It’s hardly dignified.”
With obvious reluctance,he turned his back. “Dinnae wander far.”
Gabriella limpedtoward a cluster of hawthorn bushes, making a show of each painful step. Once behind their cover, she cast a quick glance back. Hector stood with his back to her, his hand resting casually on his dirk.
Her heart hammeredagainst her ribs.
It’s now or never.
She bolted.He’d expect her to head toward the path they’d taken, so she veered left, down a slope dotted with bracken. Her weakened legs screamed in protest as she half-ran, half-stumbled through the undergrowth.
Each footfall sentbolts of pain through her, but freedom lay in the dense woodland ahead.
The slope helpedher gain momentum despite her weakness. Her lungs burned, but a wild exhilaration drove her forward.
She’d done it!The fool had actually turned his back on?—
“Goin’somewhere, lass?”
The deep voicestopped her cold.
Impossibly,the Laird stood directly in her path, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Not even breathing hard. Not a hair out of place.
Gabriella skidded to a halt,disbelief creasing her features. She glanced back up the hill. How had he?—?
Her legs gaveway beneath her. She collapsed to her knees, frustration and exhaustion overwhelming her. She pitched forward, pressing her forehead to the soil, her fingers clawing at the earth.
“Nay!”The word escaped her in a whisper, then grew into a choked sob.
She pressedher forehead against the cool earth, her shoulders shaking with silent grief as tears carved paths through the dirt on her face.
Hector’s shadowfell across her prostrate form. “Are ye quite finished?”
