Highland Promise Read Free Page B

and pushed against a pair of iron arms. "Put me down, you big...big... Oh Lord, you are big."
            "Who is the plump lassie to be calling a body big?" Roland chuckled.
            The warrior, who held her, continued to stare. Faith couldn't read his thoughts and prayed he wouldn't see through her disguise. As a rule, she didn't allow most people to come this close to her lest her deception be discovered and she inadvertently enticed another to sin. Without clearly thinking, she quit shoving against his arms and settled her hands on his shoulders as his gaze once again held her prisoner. He had fringes of darker blue rimming his pupils that added to their appeal and long, blond eyelashes that would appear feminine on any other man. A tingle sizzled through her flesh from his fingertips. Her heartbeat turned erratic and she sucked in a deep breath. She sent up a quick prayer that she not throw up on the man. He didn't look like one to tolerate the mess.
            "Why did you ask Roland how he knew your name?" he asked quietly.
            His deep burr held a musical quality that warmed Faith to her toes, and she didn't think she would lose her meal after all. She decided then and there that she wouldn't mind looking into those flawless pools for the rest of her days. She couldn't help releasing a small sigh.
            His eyes took on an angry glitter, and he gave her a slight shake. "I asked you a question, lass."
            "My name?" she asked in a breathless voice.
            He nodded.
            She suddenly felt the urge to laugh like a loon. She couldn't think of her own name. All she could think about was his wonderful eyes and his appealing scent. He smelled like sweat and leather mixed with the autumn forest. He made her feel all shivery and warm at the same time.
            "Faith, laird, the lass is daft," Michael announced.
            She shook her head and looked at the stranger's corded neck in an effort to break the spell of his gaze. "Faith. My name is Lady Faith."
            Several gasps exploded behind her, and the breath was almost squeezed from her body as the steel hands tightened around her waist. "Where do you hail from, Lady Faith?"
            She pressed against his shoulders and tried to contain the fear spiraling through her. "From Hawkhurst. Please release me. You are hurting me, and I truly came to help you."
            His brow gathered into an angry scowl. "Hell."
            He muttered the expletive so low that Faith thought no one heard him except her. He eased his grip, but didn't set her down. Who did he think he was to intimidate her? "'Tis a good name. Now let go of me, you big ox." She thumped his shoulder. "And you may not curse in my presence. I shall not allow it."
            A scar that she had just noticed on his bronzed right cheek turned white and twitched. "I do not take orders from you, woman."
            Her gaze fixed on the pulsation in his cheek. Faith tightened her jaw and clenched her fists to hide the alarm rushing through her.
            "What think you, laird?" Roland asked. "Do we take her and head home?"
            Faith gasped and pounded on Laird, ignoring that he was three times her size. "I am not going with you. Ouch!" She shook the sting out of her hand. "You are as hard as a stone wall."
            "And you are soft and mushy like porridge." With little effort, he slung her over his shoulder and walked toward the trail. "We still go to court, Roland. I have business with King Henry."
            "I am not going with you!" She pummeled his back. "I do not wish to die today, and he will butcher me too if I am with you!"
            A large hand popped her bottom and settled there. A sudden chill from such continued familiar handling by the man swept through Faith. She sensed it was from something other than fear, but didn't have time