An Oath Broken Read Free

gaze.
    She tilted her head in defiance. Then, her nostrils slightly flared and she looked away.
    His body thrummed with unspent energy, unsure if he should be pleased or aggravated by her bravado.
    After a sip from her goblet, she leaned over, whispered to the priest, then pushed her chair back and stood.
    “You will nae avoid me this time,” he breathed. Giric snatched the cloth nearby, wiped the grease from his mouth and hands, then tossed it aside.
    Colyne laughed as he watched the heiress depart. “Methinks the rose has thorns.”
    “A blasted bushel of them.” Giric shoved to his feet. Rushes crunched beneath his boots as he strode after her. He kept his pace steady. Nae too fast as to alert the guards or her of his intent, but enough to keep her in sight.
    Three blasted days now she’d made him and his men wait, and with her heading to her chamber, the lass would make it four. By God, he would speak with her this night!
    Once shielded from the great hall, he took the steps up the turret two at a time. A wisp of her ivory linen gown twisted ahead of him with an elusive swirl, then was lost in the shadows.
    Giric rounded the corner and caught her figure clearly silhouetted within the torchlight from the wall sconce. “Lady Sarra.”
    Leather kid slippers scraped over stone as she turned. The flutter of flames outlined her like a dark angel. Wariness flared in her eyes.
    He took a step closer, damning her beauty, lured by her spirit.
    Her hand slid to the side of her gown. With a flick of her wrist, she withdrew a slim dagger from the folds. “Halt.” Her ominous warning echoed in the darkened void, edged with a hint of fear.
    Saint’s breath, did the lass think she could intimidate him with a mere blade? “I mean you no harm, my lady. I wish but a brief moment of your time.”
    That small pert nose lifted a fraction, like a warrior would raise his shield. “How dare you steal about and corner me in my own home.”
    “If you had talked to me instead of avoided me, I would nae have had to resort to such extreme measures.”
    A sliver of torchlight glinted off the dagger in her hands. “Leave me. I will grant you an audience when I deem the time appropriate.”
    If she believed he could be swayed by flashing a weapon before him or a terse command, she was about to learn otherwise. He wasna one of her servants she could order about. He took a step closer. “We need to discuss our departure.”
    She flinched, but she held her ground.
    Determined to keep his temper, he drew a calming breath. “My lady, our acquaintance has begun poorly.” Her narrowing eyes chinked at his hard-won control, and the fact that she hadna lowered the blade didna help either, but he pressed on. “Let us begin anew, this time in the proper manner. Let me introduce my—”
    “No!” She stepped forward, the dagger tight in her grip. “I will leave Rancourt Castle at my discretion. Your name as well as your demands are of little consequence. Try my patience further, Sir Knight, and you will find yourself housed within my dungeon this night instead of on a pallet of straw.” As regal as a queen, she sheathed her dagger and strode up the steps.
    Fury slammed through Giric. He was wrong. With a woman like her, nae even a saint could keep his temper in check.
    On a curse he bolted up the steps.

CHAPTER 2
    T he angry scrape of the knight’s steps gave Sarra a second’s warning as the Scot caught her arm, then pinned her against the wall.
    The coldness of the stone seeped through skin as his hard, sculpted body leaned inches from hers. She stared at the large hand clasped against her skin, lined with scars. On an unsteady breath, she looked up.
    His muscled frame blocked the light, casting his face in a partial shadow. Hard, unforgiving angles that served a fitting canvas for ice-blue eyes that held no quarter. And his devil’s black hair added an ominous edge to his dark looks.
    Fear surged through her, threatened to undermine her