Page 16 of A Mountain Man Christmas

Something was approaching. Or was itsomeone?

Before she could figure it out, Tristan pulled her behind the tree and held her close to him, his hand still covering her mouth. He was completely still, but she could feel his heart thudding against her rear chest. His breath was warm against the back of her neck. Lyla’s heart pounded in her chest. It almost made no sense to be afraid when she had no one after her, but the mere fact that Tristan was unsettled put her at unease. If this big man was scared, it was only wise that she should feel terrified, too.

The footfalls slowed as whoever was headed toward them drew closer. And then they stopped.

Lyla held her breath, remaining as still as she could, with her heart threatening to burst out of her chest. She couldn’t see anyone, but there was someone around here, alright. And that person had come here for them.

“Not…a…sound,” Tristan whispered in her ear.

Lyla was barely paying attention. She had suddenly become aware of something hard pressed against her bottom. A gasp rose in her throat as she realized what it was, but Tristan’s hand kept her from letting it out.

Stay still, she told herself.

It was hard to ignore what was going on. Tristan’s heart wasn’t the only part of his body she could feel throbbing. Lyla’s heart raced, but whether with fear or excitement, she was unsure.

The footsteps resumed but faded in another direction. Tristan and Lyla remained as they were. How long they stood there, she had no idea—perhaps a few minutes or several deliciously warm days—but he finally released her.

“He’s gone,” he said. “That must have been one of Angus’s men.”

Lyla let out a shuddering sigh of relief, although she wasn’t sure what exactly she was relieved about. “Yeah, probably.”

“We need to be quieter. We can’t afford to get caught.”

She didn’t even have the presence of mind to tease him. She nodded, refusing to meet his dark gaze. “Uh-huh.”

“Let’s go,” he told her. “We need to move quickly.”

“Right,” she said breathlessly.

Chapter Six

The Rope Bridge of Doom

“I’dkillfor a hot cappuccino right now,” Lyla grumbled.

“As long as you’re not killing me,” Tristan replied.

She shot him a half-amused look. “Right now, I’m not at all opposed to the idea.”

He refrained from giving a response. It was a wonder that neither of them had tried to take out the other over the past four days. They still had not been able to remove the shackles, and Tristan suspected Lyla was just as annoyed about it as he was.

They continued traveling through the woods, deciding the trees would provide them more cover in case Angus and his men got close again. He led the way, although he remained close to her. He half-wished she was several paces—no, severalhills—behind him. He could do with some time alone with his thoughts, away fromher.

Next to him, Lyla tried to make conversation every few minutes or so. Tristan was seriously contemplating the benefits of dislocating his wrist and fingers in order to slip out of his restraints and get away from this woman. The longer he was bound to her, the more of a thorn in his side she became.

Then again, he couldn’t pretend there hadn’t been…interesting moments with her. He remembered the way she’d felt wrapped in his embrace as they slept in that cave the other night. And later, when he pulled her against that tree so that her soft body was pressed against his….

Good thing she had her eyes on his face instead of much lower right now. The last thing she needed was for her to notice the disturbance in his trousers.

“So…” she began, ignoring his groan. “Got anyone back home? In Elton, I mean.”

“Elron,” he corrected with a smirk.

“Whatever.” She pushed on, undiscouraged. “Do you have someone back home? A friend? A brother, maybe? A family? A wife?”

Tristan shook his head. He’d never bothered to take a wife. He’d claimed he was simply uninterested in matters of marriage, but often, a part of him wondered whether his reasons were rooted in subconscious fears. After all, if he never sired a child of his own, he would be reducing the chances of prolonging the curse that had haunted the Harrison bloodline for centuries. He suspected Ariadne believed the same.

“I have a nephew,” he admitted. “Lewis.”

---