Page 23 of Highland Ruse

“I’m sure I’ll find it.” He jerked forward.

She stepped back in time to avoid the slash of the blade.

Strong arms came around her shoulders, locking her in place. “Get the man,” a gruff voice shouted against her ear. The man squeezed her against him. “I’ll take care of this pretty alone.” The sickly sweet odor of rotting teeth swept over her.

Delilah swallowed against the rise of disgust in her throat. This man had obviously been hiding in the woods in wait for this perfect opportunity. And she’d given it to him.

The odds were no longer as carefully balanced as she’d initially assumed.

The man in front of Delilah ran to join the one already fighting Kaid. The tall man was covered in blood, and the swing of his axe was weak.

He would not survive much longer.

Obviously the man holding her knew this.

“While they’re busy…” He said in her ear, and the weight of her skirts was shoved upward.

Summer air bathed her legs and buttocks, and a gasp tore from her throat.

It was one thing to delicately thwart an attack. It was quite another to allow herself to be exposed and possibly raped.

“Get off of me,” Delilah growled through clenched teeth.

The rough hair of the man’s legs rasped against her naked calves, and he laughed in her ear. “Ye may like it.”

She brought her elbow back as hard as could and connected with his ribs. Her skirts fell back into place, and he gave a hard grunt.

She burst from his embrace and spun around, bringing her knee up as she did so, landing it directly into his groin. He pitched forward to the ground.

Delilah put a step of distance between them and cast a quick glance at Kaid. The taller man lay in the mud at his feet while his battle with the shorter one continued.

Their attackers were better fighters than most. Obviously this was not their first raid, and obviously they were usually successful.

How many men had they killed? How many women had they raped?

Delilah’s stomach churned.

She stared at the writhing man on the ground. Perhaps she ought to pull the dagger from her pocket.

But ladies did not slit men’s throats.

Her attacker cupped his nether region and groaned. He was not going to get up any time soon.

She took another step back to wait for Kaid when the man gripped the back of her heel and pulled. The world swirled around her and she landed hard on her back.

The man moved with the nimbleness of a cat and leapt on top of her. “Ye may be a powerful bitch, but ye missed.” He gave a great, huffing laugh and bathed her face with his rotting sweet breath so thick and awful, it clogged in her chest.

He shoved a blade against her throat. “But I find I dinna want to have ye anymore. I want to kill ye.”

Her right arm was pinned in place. There was no way she could reach her pocket for her dagger.

She brought her shoulder up hard and shoved him back. It was only an inch, but it was enough time to get her left hand to her busk to grab the hilt of her hidden blade there.

Except it was empty.

Shock.

Confusion.