Page 9 of In Bed with a Highland Beast

“Aye, but ye seem more than capable on yer own,” Alaric pointed out. “Ye proved yer point. Ye can fight an’ ye can fight well. Better than most men, in fact. So why dae ye need me tae help ye?”

With a long-suffering sigh, Lucia grabbed her mug of ale only to find it empty. Then, she reached for Alaric’s and drained the rest of it, looking at him over the rim of the mug.

Once she was done, she said, “Because they will never allow a lass tae enter their ranks alone. If I have ye, then they may be more inclined tae let me prove me worth.”

O’ course… she only needs me as a pawn.

“There are better ways tae dae this,” Alaric said. Surely, infiltrating the ranks of a dangerous gang was one of the worst ways to get what she wanted. “Ye said ye want justice. If I speak tae me braither?—”

“We have nae evidence they killed him,” Lucia said before Alaric could finish his suggestion. “Who will believe us? Nae one. All I have is me word against theirs.”

“But everyone kens what they are,” Alaric reminded her. No one would doubt Lucia when it was known the Ravencloaks were nothing but criminals. “The men who killed yer braither are brigands. Nay one will think o’ them as innocent.”

“The man responsible fer me braither’s death isnae some lowly brigand,” Lucia said. “An’ if it is me word against his, then… then I dinnae ken if anyone will believe me.”

“Who is it?” Alaric asked, but Lucia didn’t respond. She only averted her gaze, glancing over his shoulder at the new fight.

After a while, it became evident to Alaric that she would not respond at all. Instead of trying to force her, Alaric began to write his letter to his brother, telling him—just like Lucia had told him—that it would probably be a while until he could return home.

CHAPTER FIVE

Pushing the door open with her foot, Lucia entered the little room she had booked for the night for them. Tomorrow, they would have to leave and get on with her plan, but for now, she could rest. She had earned it after that fight, and after Alaric’s rescue. Even if he was never in any real danger, Rory’s men had done a number on her.

Cursed amateurs. They dinnae even ken how tae stage a fake fight.

At least they had gotten her what she wanted. A few hours of rest should be enough to get her back in top shape, even with her newly acquired injuries. This wasn’t the first time she had been involved in two fights in one day, nor were these fights anywhere near the worst she had ever had.

Once in the room, she turned to look at Alaric, her hands coming to rest on her hips. “Get out,” she barked. “I need tae change.”

“Is this how ye always speak tae people?” Alaric asked. “A lady?—”

“I already told ye I’m nae a lady,” Lucia reminded him. “Will ye go out or will I have tae force ye?”

Alaric seemed to consider his options for a moment before he silently left the room, much to Lucia’s relief. She didn’t want to be involved in a third fight that day, after all, even if she could win it, considering how badly injured Alaric was.

Cursed amateurs!

Rory’s men should have never injured him like that, she thought. What use was a hurt man to her? With all the blows he had received to the head, they could have even killed him and then Lucia would have had to find someone else to take his place.

The moment Alaric was gone, Lucia rummaged through her things to find her nightclothes. It was only then that it occurred to her Alaric had nothing with him but the clothes on his back, but it would have to do. They could get him everything he would need with the coin Lucia had won—a small sacrifice considering what she would gain out of having him on her side.

She began to undress, letting her plain brown tunic fall down. Just then, the door opened and Lucia, startled, whipped her head to look at the intruder, only to find Alaric there, frozen by the door. She knew what it was that had rendered him both motionless and speechless—not her nudity, but rather the jagged, pink scars that ran down the length of her back.

“Get out!” Lucia screeched and it was that which sent Alaric into frantic motion. He fled the room, slamming the door behind him, but he had already seen everything Lucia didn’t want him to see.

She would have much rather shown him any other part of her body than her back. Now she could only hope Alaric wouldn’t ask any questions about it. The last thing she wanted was to be questioned about her past by a man who wasn’t supposed to know anything about it in the first place.

With trembling hands, Lucia continued to undress before slipping on her nightclothes. Then, she folded her tunic, placed it on the dresser, and promptly got under the covers, at the very edge of the bed farthest from the door.

“Come in!” she called. The door opened slowly, timidly, and Alaric poked just his head inside, as though he hadn’t already barged in once without knocking into the room. When he stepped fully inside, Lucia sat up a little, glaring at him. “Would ye like tae explain why ye came intae the room when I told ye tae stay out?”

“I wished tae grab me cloak,” Alaric said stiffly, pointing at the cloak that was draped over the rickety chair in the corner of the room. “I didnae realize ye would already be… undressin’. I apologize.”

He said nothing more on the matter. He didn’t ask Lucia any questions or mention her scars at all. Instead, he only removed his tunic, keeping the rest of his layers on as he slid into bed nextto her, he, too, keeping to the other edge so that there was some space between them.

Nowhere near enough space, in Lucia’s opinion, but it would have to do. They both needed a good night’s rest if they were going to leave the following morning, so she tried her best to ignore Alaric and the fact that they were so close that she could feel the heat emanating from his body.

It was nothing new, she told herself. This was not the first time she had had to sleep next to a man. If anything, there had been several instances when she had had to sleep among several men and it had never been an issue before. Then again, those men hadn’t been strangers. Lucia had been one of them, part of their ranks, and save for a few notable exceptions, none of those men had ever caused her any trouble.

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