Captured Heart Read Free Page B

body at him. Waiting and listening for the faintest sound of human life. Waiting for his blasted eyes to adjust to the dark.
    With another long blink, the outline of a huge beast standing over a lump came out of the inkiness. A foot. There was a small foot sticking out from under the wolf.
    “Don’t move, lass.” Caden spoke in English using the most unaggressive voice he could muster with the blood pounding through him, urging him to lunge. “I’ll lure him out.”
    The beast growled low again and Caden wondered briefly how heavy the creature was.
    “Scotsman?” Her soft voice penetrated the darkness.
    “Aye,” he answered and blinked hard at the strange sight.
    The woman sat up and pushed her hands against the side of the wolf.
    “ Stad , wait,” he gritted out as calmly as he could.
    Caden took another small step forward in the tight space. Even bent, his shoulders grazed the ceiling. The wolf leaned back on his hind legs and snapped as if he were about to jump.
    “Nickum, no!” The woman pulled her legs out from under the beast. “I know him…well, perhaps not really…” She stood, her hand stroking the enormous creature.
    She pointed at Caden. “Your weapon. Put it down and he won’t attack, at least not unless you threaten me.”
    Caden lowered his dirk but kept it poised to throw. He could hit the beast right between its yellow orbs if it turned on the girl. The wolf relaxed into a sitting position. He stared at the two for a long moment.
    “Ye have a wolf,” was all he could think to say.
    “My escort,” she said with strength in her voice. In the dim light that filtered into the cave, she was a darker blur against the rock. “Your head? You are well?”
    “That’s the largest wolf I’ve ever seen.”
    The woman patted the beast’s head. “I made sure he was fed well as a pup. He grew large…and protective,” she stressed. “Your head?”
    Caden replaced the dirk in his boot. “Will heal.”
    “You need to clean it.” She motioned to the mouth of the cave. “In the stream. I have a poultice that will help it heal without taint. I can give you some to apply.”
    When he didn’t move, she shooed him toward the door again. “Go wash it.”
    “I’m not leaving here without ye,” he said, the words surprising him. Her eyes grew round. “Not until I know ye are safe,” he added.
    The woman stood bent over in the small cave. She picked up a bag and dug out a leather jar. “I am safe with Nickum.”
    When she threw it to him, he caught it but didn’t move. The presence of the wolf and her odd behavior caught him there. For a long moment they all stared at one another.
    “How,” he said slowly, “do I apply it?”
    The woman huffed lightly and moved forward. “Go out so I can see.”
    Caden stepped into the bright light, made certain they were alone, and turned to the woman. She blinked up at him. Her forehead drew together when she examined the cut on his head. Her lips, pink and soft, opened slightly. Caden shifted.
    “Aye, my ointment will help immensely.”
    “Ye are a healer.”
    “A dab of this.” She took the leather cup from his hand. Her finger brushed his, her skin cool, thin, not the overly oiled skin of the pampered, but soft nonetheless.
    “I have men who could use yer poultices.”
    Concern warred with refusal across her lovely features for a long moment. He watched the tiny scrunch reappear between her sloped brows as she considered his request.
    “Of course they could.” She uncorked the vial, dabbed some on her finger, and reached up to touch the cut over the bump. Caden hardly noticed the intense sting with her so close, just under his chin.
    She stepped back, dropped the vial back in her bag, and eyed him warily. “You handled that much better than Nickum,” she said with a casualness that contradicted the stiffness in her stance.
    “Yer wolf’s name is Gaelic.”
    “I know some of your language,” she answered.
    “‘Mischievous’?”
    “I