Surrender Read Free Page A

that man."
    Now and then, she lifted the kilt to her face
and inhaled. An enticing scent. Pine and sandalwood blended
together.
    "Ah." Joneta's eyes smiled at her. "At least
you were not kneeling in the muck of the pigs' sty."
    "Or sitting on cow pies in the middle of the
pasture like last summer." Ada's grin spread from ear to ear.
    "True, but snuggling atop a naked man brings
a lot more trouble than needing a hot bath," Joneta said as she
shook her head.
    "I dreamt about the black wolf again. Only
this time, he turned into a man." She stopped and shrugged. "Almost
a man. All but his head."
    "How did you go from sitting under the tree
to being atop him?"
    Ada looked eager to learn it all.
    Elyne shrugged her shoulders and spread her
hands wide.
    "I heard his boots striking the stones and
did not want anyone to see me. So, I climbed the tree."
    "He didn't have boots on when we got there."
Joneta looked at her, and seeing her blush, nodded. "You watched
him bathe? Your brother Ranald has told you many times that your
curiosity was going to get you in trouble."
    Elyne sighed. She rubbed the kilt across her
nose again, pretending she scratched an itch, and took a deep
breath. Likely, he slept beneath the stars and traveled through
forests for many days to have such a fresh, exciting scent.
    "You think I meant to spy on him? I couldna
very well tell him I was in the tree near nekid, now, could I?"
    She blurted out the rest of what happened
after the man undressed. But not all of it. Why, he had taken
delight in handling his secret parts until he spent himself on the
ground! She couldn't tell anyone about
that
. She cleared
her throat.
    "I truly did not expect him to strip and
bathe. No man but Ranald would wash at the well when the water is
near ice," she added, knowing her face flushed. "He, um, looked up
at the night sky when he scrubbed, his, uh, stomach. That's when he
spotted me. He believed I was a servant girl seeking a bed partner
and grabbed my foot."
    "Ah. The limb broke." Joneta looked down at
her hands, then back up to study Elyne's face. "Did he take
advantage of your inexperience and mayhap, um,..."
    "Nay!"
    Joneta's eyes sparkled. "Well, now, if I were
many years younger, I would gladly change places with you."
    Ada giggled. "Mayhap we could lure him to the
well again?"
    "Not if he looked at you as if he wanted to
slit your throat, you wouldn't." Elyne huffed in annoyance.
    "Hm. There is that." Lady Joneta sighed and
nodded.
    "Father won't kill him, will he?"
    "Nooo. If that was my brother's intention, he
would have done it right away."
    Elyne had to agree. Unfortunately. Not that
she wanted the man dead. But she didn't like the other solution,
either.
    If her aunt had not been visiting Raptor
Castle, Elyne would be below listening at the door to her father's
solar. With Ada beside her. When she was alone again, perchance she
should gather supplies together in case she had to flee in the
middle of the night.
    Her stomach gurgled at the thought.
    This time, it seemed unlikely she'd find an
easy way out of her problem.

Chapter 3
    Graemme stood in the dim solar, a guard on
either side, and eyed the large, heavy man sitting in near-shadow
across from him. A brace of candles stood no more than five paces
behind the chief. Their weak light accented the stubborn set of the
lord's jaw on the right side of his face. Graemme knew from earlier
this eve when he had entered the keep, that the man's hair was dark
brown or near-black like his eyes. For certs, his neck looked
strong enough to support the head of a bull.
    This angry Scot was not unlike Graemme's own
father in coloring. Huh. Not unlike in body build, either. They
both could be mistaken for Zeus in human form.
    "Ye'd best tell me how ye lured my daughter
to swive with ye right out in the open where any randy bastard
could watch!"
    Chief Broccin slammed his fist down on the
table, causing the pewter cup to tilt and splash near half the ale
onto the wood.
    "I have told