Laird of Darkness Read Free

from the castle and not return for days. He’d found friends among the common crofters. Anything to escape his father’s fists. Finally, his father had simply taken to ignoring him.
    “You demon! Leave me be.” Alana sprinted toward the loch.
    She thought him a demon, did she? Nay, he was no demon, but he would show her he’d use any means to get what he wanted. He reached out, his hand sliding off her shoulder when she changed direction abruptly. She headed straight toward the women of her party and a break in the bushes near the cliff.
    “Hurry, m’lady! It is nigh upon you!” her maids screamed.
    It? He was no it.
    Nay, the cavelike space beneath the bushes couldn’t prevent Duncan from capturing her now. She halted abruptly. He bumped into her back, but slid an invisible arm around her waist and caught her before she could stumble forward.
    She twisted and shoved at him, trying to pry herself from his grip, but he was far stronger. Though she thrust her elbow against his torso, it felt like a mere tap. ’Twould do her no good to fight him; she would only injure herself.
    “Turn me loose.” She kicked backward, missing his leg by an inch. “Blast!”
    Though she struggled, he seized her legs and swung her up into his arms. She weighed less than a thistle flower, and her soft form against him awoke all his primal instincts and urges. He ignored them and carried her from the bush, back along the trail.
    “Release me, you blackguard. And show yourself.”
    Duncan didn’t appreciate the careless insults she tossed his way. Most people were too terrified to insult him in such a way. He didn’t know whether to laugh or spank her. Mayhap he would do both later.
    He made sure her skirts and cloak ensnared her limbs, then made himself visible.
    She jumped, glaring up at him. “Bastard! You shall pay for your crimes, I vow.”
    He smirked and flicked what he hoped was a disparaging glance down at her. Did she truly think he would heed any of her warnings?
    “I demand you take me to MacClaren at once.”
    He chuckled. He couldn’t resist, given that she appeared about as frightening as an incensed rabbit. “Do you now?”
    “Indeed.”
    “’Tis unfortunate then that I’ve never taken orders from lasses, and don’t intend to now.”
    “I am Lady Alana Forbes. Sister of Chief Malcolm Forbes.”
    “How grand for you.”
    “You will have both my brother and my future husband to contend with if you do not release me at once.”
    Though her maids kept their distance, huddling near the supplies and campsite, Duncan was certain they were getting an eyeful of his nude body. Her men were a different story. Swords drawn, they limped and stumbled toward him. He couldn’t help but admire their tenacity.
    “Close your eyes, lass,” Duncan ordered.
    She didn’t.
    He vanished and they shot toward the sky.

Chapter Two
    Duncan lifted Alana higher and higher into the cool evening air, farther from her clansmen. Her stomach flipped and spun, as it had the first time Duncan had performed this flying trick.
    She prayed silently, squeezing her eyes closed.
    For several seconds, she soared, screaming and wiggling, through the night sky. But Duncan held her arms and legs tightly.
    “Release me!”
    “Be still,” he growled. “You don’t wish me to release you now, else you’ll fall onto the rocks below.”
    ’Twas almost as if she’d turned into a bird—a very unnatural state. The shadowy bushes and trees below were tiny. What if he dropped her from such a great height?
    But his strong arms were reassuring. Though he had again vanished from sight, Duncan’s body was well wrapped around hers, his intense heat seeping into her skin.
    “Where are you taking me?”
    “Shhh,” he breathed into her ear.
    She shivered. “Nay. Take me back to my party.” What would he do to her? Rape, torture, murder? Her eyes burned, but the wind chilled the wetness on her cheeks.
    Moments later, they landed roughly upon gray stone