Page 1 of Intrigued By A Highlander

CHAPTER 1

Dru mumbled as she walked through the woods to the loch, mimicking Mother Abbess. “You know the rules, Dru. Wash the stink off you, every part of you or you cannot stay here.” She glanced at the offensive chunk of soap in her hand that would rob her of her only defense—the stink she wore as a shield.

No woman traveled alone through the Highlands. That she would meet with danger was guaranteed. Her situation had left her no choice and the only way she could stay safe while traveling was to smell foul enough so that no one would come near her. Of course, there were those occasions where some smelled worse than she did, but she had managed to avoid such situations thus far.

Winter brought its own difficulties with life on the road, and she was grateful to Chieftain Ryland of Clan MacLeish for allowing her to shelter with his clan throughout the winter. That was where she would be now with winter only a few weeks away, if a mercenary wasn’t searching for her.

Knox was his name, a sizeable man from what she heard, and he was on a mission for the vicious Lord Torrance of Clan Glencairn. Knox was to find Lord Torrance’s half-sister, Autumn. Rumors circulated about why Torrance wanted Autumn to be brought to him and none proved safe for the woman. Most speculated that she would either meet with an unfortunate accident or Torrance would arrange a marriage that would benefit him and could prove dangerous for Autumn. Knox intended to seek Dru’s help in finding Autumn since she picked up information living her life on the road that could not be easily found by most.

However, she had no desire to help Knox with his task. Lord Torrance was a dreadful man, and she wanted nothing to do with him. Because of that, her only recall for surviving the winter was to seek refuge at Cramond Abbey. The only reason Mother Abbess allowed her to stay now and again without any thought of her making it permanent and taking vows was because of the many favors she had done for the abbey. The strict rules and endless confinement weren’t to her liking, but there was much about life that wasn’t to her liking, and she had learned at an early age to adapt, when necessary, but to never surrender completely.

So, she would wash her sink away for now and outwait Knox. He had a mission to complete, and he couldn’t waste his time continuing to look for her. He would be on his way soon enough, and then she would return to Clan MacLeish to winter there.

She hurried the rest of the way to the loch, eager to be done with her task since the water would be cold. She placed the clean, brown novice robe on a low tree branch and gave a quick glance around to make sure no one lurked about. Then she hurried out of her garments and her worn boots and, gripping the soap, she rushed into the loch.

She gasped and shivered, the cold water rushing around her and she rushed to wash herself, her shivers growing worse. Once lathered, she submerged to quickly rinse herself off but found it difficult in shallow water so she ventured a bit deeper to hurry and see it done more easily. Her mum had taught her to swim at an early age, so she had no fear of drowning like most did.

The deeper water made it easier to get the soap out of her hair and she hurried to surface and leave the loch behind when she bumped into something hard. She gave whatever it was a good kick to swim away, but something locked onto her leg. She tried not to panic. Panic would do no good. She had to free herself or risk being pulled under and drowned. She reached for whatever it was that had caught her leg to rip it off only to discover it was a hand. The hand released her leg quickly but grabbed her wrist and yanked her hard. She smashed into a body that felt as hard as stone, then in the next second, she found herself tucked under an arm and lunged up out of the water.

Dru coughed and spattered and was surprised to hear a concerned voice ask, “Are you all right?”

She pushed soaking wet strands of her hair off her face to see a massive, muscled chest, the bottom half of him submerged, her eyes followed up to the most breath-catching male face she had ever seen, intense, dark brown eyes and his light brown hair streaked by the sun.

Her first thought was, Please don’t let it be him.

The need to get away from him, fearing it was Knox, the man she was trying to avoid, had her ordering, “Put me down!”

He paid her no mind as he glanced around. “You are alone?”

This was not a good situation—alone and tucked naked under a giant of a man’s arm.

“Wee bit of a thing—foolish,” the man said, shaking his head as he headed to shore.

“Put me down,” she ordered again and pounded on his chest as she wiggled to free herself.

It worked. His grip slipped and she fell into the water, going under, though not for long. She was once again yanked up and tucked so tightly under his arm that she could barely breathe.

“Stay put,” he ordered, sharply.

She pounded his chest with her fist, not that it did much good, but it got his attention and when he saw she was having trouble breathing, he loosened his hold, then his two large hands were suddenly at her waist, and he held her up in front of him as he came to a stop.

His eyes narrowed with annoyance, as if it should be enough for her to pay him heed, then he glanced at her small breasts, and she rushed her arms across them.

“Do not fear me. You are too tiny for the likes of me.”

His blunt remark hurt, though it made no sense to Dru why it should. She should be glad he didn’t find her appealing. And he was right. She was too tiny, her breasts not even a handful and barely a shape to her, but it worked in her favor, and she was grateful.

“We need to dry and get warm,” he said as he tucked her under his arm again, not as tightly this time, and finished walking out of the loch.

Dru tried to avoid looking past his waist, but it was difficult with the way he carried her. One glance was all she needed before she looked anywhere but there. He was right, she was way too tiny for him.

His abrupt stop at the water’s edge and the way he lowered her slowly to her feet had her fearing what he saw. She was afraid to look worried that a band of thieves or mercenaries stood there.

It was far worse than she expected… it was Mother Abbess.

CHAPTER 2

“Shame on you, Dru!” Mother Abbess scolded and threw the blanket she was holding at her. “Cover yourself.”

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