Highland Storm Read Free Page B

that.”
    “Don’t be—”
    “I dinnae want any more help!”
    He scowled at her, his blue eyes burning. She glared back.
    “I’ll be damned if you’re not the most stubborn lass I’ve ever met,” he declared. “A Forbes to the bone, to be sure.”
    “And I’ll be damned if you’re not—”
    “Dinnae make me shut ye up again!”
    “Och, how I wish my foot wasnae broken, for then I’d use it to give ye a good kick in the—”
    Thunder crashed, obscuring the final word of her would-be threat. The angry gleam in Alexander’s eyes said he’d got the message regardless.
    “Well, fine,” he said, rising. “I’ll leave ye and your lame nag here, and if ye die of the cold or get eaten by a wild beast, then hell slap it intae ye!” He stalked away, taking long, purposeful strides towards his horse.
    The hail had turned back to rain and was quickly re-soaking his shirt and tartan. The muscles of his back tightened slightly beneath the pathetic cover, tight with obvious agitation. She tried not to admire the way they shifted, or how smooth his stride was. She was no more successful in that than she was in quelling the unease that twisted her stomach as Alexander untied his sorrel stallion, led it out of the trees and mounted, heeling it into a trot that was rendered risky by the weather.

Chapter Two

    Isla tipped her head back against the tree and shut her eyes. Maybe she should have left out the bit about kicking him. How would she get to where she was going? Briar was still favouring his injured foot, and she was certainly in no condition to walk, either. She opened her eyes and squinted at the road, where Alexander sat as straight in the saddle as ever, riding resolutely away. A heavy feeling settled into the pit of her stomach, and she closed her eyes again, not wanting to watch him disappear.
    She let her eyelids flutter open several minutes later, when rustling heather and the sound of a horse’s heavy breathing caught her attention. A rebellious mixture of excitement and reluctant gratitude surged through her when she saw Alexander walking towards her, leading his sorrel through the grass. Was his horse hurt now, too? It seemed to be walking normally, but that was without having to carry a rider’s weight. Perhaps it had slipped and injured itself—the idea was not far-fetched, considering how quickly and carelessly he’d ridden through the slick mud. Would they be trapped here together as the storm raged, side-by-side under the shelter he’d built? The idea caused something very like hopeful excitement to rise up in Isla, even as she struggled to feel disgusted by it.
    “Damn it!” Alexander snapped after he’d tethered his horse beside Briar again. “I cannae abandon an injured lass, especially on such a wretched day!”
    He scowled at Isla, who sat staring up at the fuming Highlander from beneath the shelter he’d built over her. He stood tall and angry, scarcely a pace away from her, and she was alarmingly close to being able to see up his kilt. That mortifying thought kept her from immediately producing a scathing reply.
    “Dinnae give me the bit about where you’re goin’ bein’ none of my business again, because I’m takin’ ye there,” he continued, fixing her with a firm glare. It was so intense that she feared his blue eyes might bore right through her and into the trunk of the pine behind her.
    “All right!” she said, remembering how it had felt to be left alone beneath the pines with her broken foot and lame horse, all the while trying very hard not to recall how warm and strong his arms had felt. “It’s just up the road a bit.”
    She’d barely finished speaking when Alexander stooped quickly to pick her up, swinging her into his arms, his hair dripping onto her cloak and the front of her dress. He marched over to his horse and wasted no time in depositing her onto its back, just behind the saddle.
    “Ah!” she cried as her foot bumped a stirrup. Her foot was still