Susana and the Scot Read Free Page B

and the neighboring lairds are getting more aggressive.”
    Susana nearly growled. For one thing, the way he rolled the s ’s in her name sent a ripple of displeasure over her skin.
    For another, she was damn tired of men and their posturing. From Stafford, the laird to the east who had been launching raids on their land, to Scrabster, the laird to the west, with similar outrages.
    But the most galling by far, was this man. This cocky, smirking, arrogant peacock. A man who was far too handsome for his own good. A man who’d always had things his way. A man who took what he wanted and then, when he was done, tossed it aside for the next best thing.
    Infuriating.
    He took her silence as an invitation to continue, although it most certainly was not. “No doubt Stafford and Scrabster see your father’s illness as a weakness, an opportunity—”
    â€œMy father isna weak,” she retorted. She didn’t have much patience on a good day and this was proving, already, to be a very bad day. Aye, Papa was ill. He’d been ill for a while and was recovering from an attempt on his life—most likely orchestrated by Stafford’s minions. But he wasn’t a weak man.
    â€œWhen they see that Dunnet has taken charge of the land and has the strength to hold it, they will have no choice but to back down … unless they want an all-out war.”
    It aggravated her that he was right. With the ramparts bristling with Dunnet’s men, Stafford would think twice about staging another incursion on Reay lands. And the good lord knew she desperately needed the help. Since Hannah and Lana had left, all of their duties had fallen in Susana’s lap, along with her own. What she wouldn’t give for the luxury of handing this weight over to someone. Someone competent. Trustworthy.
    But not him.
    Susana didn’t want Andrew Lochlannach here. In her home. Under her roof. Near her daughter.
    Her soul howled at the thought.
    He had to go. There were no two ways about it. He had to turn tail and hie back to Dunnet. The sooner the better.
    But if he did, indeed, come to Dounreay, and if he did, indeed, try to take over her duties of protecting her home, she was going to make his life a living hell.
    This she vowed.
    She would send him packing or die trying.

 
    CHAPTER TWO
    Susana Dounreay’s glare darkened as she stared at him; her displeasure was clear. Andrew was fairly certain she was annoyed that he’d interfered with her capturing the criminal, but he suspected there was a deeper displeasure there as well. A pity he didn’t know what had spurred it.
    If there was ever a woman he did not want to displease, it was this one.
    What an irony that only minutes ago he’d been so certain he would never meet a woman who sparked a fraction of his interest. And now here she was. A woman who fascinated him. It wasn’t just the red hair or the snapping green eyes. It was more than that. It was the way she’d felt in his arms, her warmth, her scent perhaps. Something had unlocked the flood of need he’d worked so hard to contain.
    Granted, the reason for his fascination could be that she reminded him of Mairi. Mairi had hailed from Ciaran Reay. No doubt they were kin, which would explain the undeniable resemblance. The urge to ask rose within him, but he pushed it down. Judging from Susana’s expression, this was probably not the time to ask.
    And while she might look like Mairi, she wasn’t. Though her hair was red, like Mairi’s, Susana’s was a deeper, richer hue. Her eyes, though the same glimmering green, were sharp, like a predator’s. Mairi’s had been softer and dewy. And filled with love.
    And then there was Susana’s form.
    As delectable as Mairi’s had been, this woman was far more lush with a trim waist and flared hips. Breasts that made his mouth water. Long legs encased in those provoking breeks …
    Breeks, for God’s