Seducing the Highlander Read Free Page B

McCray, laird of what was reputed to be one of the fiercest Scottish clans, a powerful lord with a reputation as a talented swordsman and an even more talented lover. Even with her sheltered upbringing, Leanna had heard of McCray. It was obvious from the things he’d said that her fiancé, Baron Frankton, had done something to one of the laird’s own family and, in turn, brought swift retaliation from a for midable foe.
    The greedy fool , she thought with exaltation.
    She was free!
    Well, not precisely free, but she was never going back into that tower to be locked away like some exotic bird. Never . It was a vow, a pledge to herself. Being confined for weeks on end had been the worst torture imaginable, and the prospect of having to give her body to her loathsome groom-to-be had loomed like a poisonous cloud on the horizon. Were it not for the knowledge that the baron’s wedding settlement would help her impoverished father properly present her sisters—four of them, all younger—into society so they might make respectable marriages, she could not have borne the dread she felt for her upcoming wedding night.
    “What would you do now, if you were in my place?” she asked the woman in the portrait, musing aloud. “It seems to me I have been rescued by a dubious knight, it is true, but rescued still. The marriage settlement was paid when Baron Frankton escorted me from my home to his holding. It cannot be taken back, not when this is not my father’s fault.”
    Quite naturally the painted image on the canvas offered no advice, but it didn’t matter. Crossing to the window, Leanna stared out, seeing sunshine pour over the unfamiliar rolling hills, the sea glimmering in the distance like some jeweled beast. It was a rugged, harsh land, she mused, but beautiful. Rather like McCray himself. She remembered his tall, well-muscled body, that broad chest, his classically handsome features and thick dark hair worn loose like a warrior, brushing his shoulders.
    The very first thing she needed to do was get rid of her virginity.
    Baron Frankton had valued that as much as her beauty, going so far as to insist she be examined by a physician to confirm her purity. Every time she recalled the look that crossed his face when he mentioned their upcoming wedding night, she felt sick. He wanted a terrified virgin because he reveled in the idea. She had realized it even with her lack of sexual experience. The fact she despised him and was marrying him only to save her family aroused him.
    The door behind her opened. “You demand an audience, I understand, lass.”
    The sound of the deep voice sent a small tremor through her body. Leanna whirled around, her heart beginning to race. Framed in the doorway, Ian McCray looked taller than ever, his long legs hugged by black breeches, a full-sleeved white shirt spanning his wide shoulders. The laird’s booted feet were apart, and one ebony brow slowly eased upward in open amusement as she stared at him. His eyes were as dark as his glossy hair, the corner of his well-shaped mouth lifting slightly as he stared back.
    “G-good morning,” she stammered ridiculously. Her palms were suddenly damp and warm.
    He laughed, showing white teeth. “I am pleased to be greeted with such polite friendliness. Since I snatched you from your bed and carried you halfway across Scotland against your will, I thought you might be a little perturbed with me.”
    “You did me the most enormous favor imaginable,” Leanna told him honestly, recovering a measure of her poise.
    His face registered a shade of surprise, his eyes narrowing slightly in sudden comprehension. “I see.”
    “I take it you wish to trade me back to the baron for his assurance he will repair whatever damage he has done to your family.”
    Ian McCray murmured, “Aye, something like that, lass.”
    Wondering just how much she would have to do to persuade him, she cleared her throat. “Can we strike a bargain between us , my lord?”
    “Are