Page 14 of Intrigued By A Highlander

She leapt over a pile of firewood, skidded past a trio of old women balancing baskets on their hips, and ducked under a clothesline, sending a row of damp tunics flapping in her wake.

Seth barreled right through them. One got tangled around his face.

His rapid-fire oaths had her glancing back and seeing him battling tunics no way near triumphantly, she nearly tripped laughing.

“You’re dead when I catch you!” he roared, finally ripping the cloth free.

“Oh, please, you can barely catch your breath,” she shot back, narrowly missing a cart piled high with turnips. She reached for the edge, yanking a handful free and tossing them over her shoulder.

One hit him square in the chest.

Seth let out a strangled growl. “You’re done for, Dru!”

She picked up her pace, but her laughter nearly cost her. She turned at the end of a merchant’s table too fast, slipped, and slammed into something solid.

No—not something—someone.

A steel grip caught her before she hit the ground, and when she looked up, her heart jolted.

Knox.

His dark eyes flicked to her, then past her. “Trouble?”

“Not at all,” she said, breathless.

He kept his voice low so only she would hear him. “I forgot. You can take care of yourself.”

“Exactly,” she said, though she couldn’t deny, to herself at least, that she was glad to see him.

Seth was upon them soon enough, panting and red-faced, his fury reignited at the sight of Knox gripping her arm. “Step aside. She’s mine to deal with.”

Knox didn’t move. Didn’t so much as blink. “She’s mine.”

The quiet, deadly way he said it sent a shiver through Dru.

Seth hesitated, but pride pushed him forward. “She insulted me!”

Knox cocked his head. “And?”

“And she—” Seth’s mouth opened, closed. He waved his arms like a man drowning. “She threw turnips at me!”

Knox exhaled sharply through his nose. If Dru didn’t know better, she’d think he was trying not to laugh.

He released her arm and stepped forward, slow and deliberate. Seth stepped backward as he did until they were in full view of everyone. Voices softened, glances shifted, and Dru wisely edged aside.

“Walk away, or else,” Knox said, his voice low and even.

Seth puffed out his chest. “Or else what?”

Knox moved so fast it was a blur. One second Seth was standing tall, the next he was flat on his back in a pile of turnips.

The village went silent.

Knox dusted his hands. “Or that.”

Dru folded her arms and looked down at Seth, sprawled and groaning. “The difference between a man and a load of lard.”

Knox shot her a sharp look. “And you.” He reached out, catching her chin between his fingers and tilting her face to examine her. “Are you hurt?”

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