Highland Knight Read Free Page B

he glanced across the width of the bed to see her still standing there. Only one branch of candles remained lit, and they were on his side of the bed. The light from them made her eyes gleam despite the shadows she stood in. It only added to the feral air that clung to the girl. Then he looked over her slender body, saw how her gown was laced up the side, and almost smiled.
    “Come to bed,” he ordered.
    “This bed? Beside you?” She shook her head. “Nay, I think not.”
    “Fine.” He closed his eyes. “Stand there all night, glaring helplessly. I care not and it matters not.”
    The word helplessly made her snarl. If her chain were a little longer she could use that extra length as a mace to beat him. Avery savored the image for a moment, then sighed. Even if she had enough chain to flail him with, it would not work. She doubted Cameron would just lie there and let her beat him senseless.
    What truly annoyed her was that he was right to call her helpless. At the moment, she was. He was also right to think it nothing but foolishness to stand there all night, but she heartily wished she could do it. There was no hint of the ravisher about him, but Avery knew how quickly a man could change from friendly to threatening.
    Slowly she sat down on the floor and leaned against the side of the bed. Her head rested against a down-filled mattress, a luxury that surprised her. She idly wondered if it was his or if his hosts, the DeVeaux, had become so rich they could afford such pampering of their hired swords. It was tempting to crawl up on the bed, to sink her battered body into the soft folds of that mattress, but she fought the temptation. It would be the height of folly to crawl into bed beside a man she did not know, and one who felt he had a righteous grievance against her family.
    She frowned and briefly peeked at his long body stretched out on the bed. He had not said how he intended to use her to gain that revenge that he felt was so just. Since he believed her brother had raped his sister, it was quite possible he thought to repay that insult in kind. Yet he made no move to touch her despite the fact that they were alone and she was chained to the bed.
    Just the thought of someone accusing Payton of rape made Avery angry all over again. The fact that this fool believed such a tale made her positively furious. He could be excused in some way, she supposed, since the accusation came from his sister. However, before he dragged her into some act of revenge, he at least ought to make certain that the revenge was truly deserved.
    And just what form was that revenge going to take, she wondered. The more she watched him, the less she thought him a man who would stoop to rape. He certainly looked big, dark, and dangerous, yet she felt no sense of impending peril. Avery hoped she was not allowing herself to be fooled or beguiled by his handsome face. If she relaxed her guard too much, she could be too slow to save herself if she proved wrong about him.
    “What do ye intend to do to me?” she demanded, no longer able to silently endure the confusion of her own thoughts, and in desperate need of a few answers, no matter how chilling they might be.
    Cameron opened one eye and looked at her. Sitting as she was, her face barely topped the edge of the bed. Despite the very adult look of anger on her face, she looked young, delicate, even appallingly innocent. There was a part of him that was thoroughly disgusted by what he was planning. There was also a part of him that was so strongly attracted to her fey beauty that it urged him onward with his plan, ruthlessly arguing away each newly born twinge of doubt. Revenge and desire combined too well to ignore or resist. And, he told himself in an attempt to soothe a pang of guilt, he would not hurt her. He would treat her far more kindly than many another would, given the same circumstances.
    “I intend to seduce you,” he answered, a little piqued when her expression ofastonishment