The Viper Read Free Page B

lamely.
    Her question seemed to amuse him, if the twist in his mouth could be construed as a smile. "Waiting below."
    "How did you get in here? What happened to the guard?"
    "Guards," he corrected. He gave her a hard look. "I thought Buchan did not suspect anything?"
    Bella almost laughed. All her husband did was suspect. Falsely--not that it mattered anymore. But she knew that Lachlan was referring to her plans to crown Bruce. "That's not why he has me watched."
    He gave her a questioning look but didn't ask what she meant. She wouldn't have told him anyway.
    The brigand had extinguished his pleasantries--if they could be called such--and was obviously anxious to get on with his reason for being here. He moved to the window, careful to stay out of sight but sneaking a glance at the courtyard below. "Come." He took her elbow, and every nerve ending sparked at his touch. "We have to go. There isn't much time. Fetch your cloak and anything else you wish to take with you. But be quick about it."
    What was he talking about? They weren't supposed to leave until tomorrow. Nothing was ready. She'd left the evening meal early to start gathering their belongings.
    Bella jerked her arm from his hold, having no wish to go anywhere with him. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what this is about."
    She didn't think it was possible for his face to grow more menacing. He leaned closer, his eerie, piercing eyes pinning her. Green, she realized. Even in the darkness his eyes glowed like two golden emeralds in the sun.
    "What this is about?" he repeated. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he thrust her toward the window. "It's about those banners in the distance just beyond the trees. In about ten minutes your husband and his men are going to ride through that gate, and if I were you I wouldn't want to be here when he arrives."
    She gasped, the color draining from her face. Her eyes searched the brigand's hostile, merciless gaze and read the answer to her question: Her husband knew. Somehow, Buchan had learned of her plans.
    And God help her, he was going to kill her.
    Lachlan saw her blanch and almost regretted his harshness. Almost. But the way the haughty little countess looked at him, the way she flinched from his touch, pricked.
    It shouldn't.
    God knows he was used to suspicion and disdain--hell, it was warranted. Bastard. Ruthless. Predatory. Opportunistic pirate. Those were a few of the more flattering things he'd been called. Most of them were true. Even among the other members of the newly formed Highland Guard he was suspect.
    He didn't give a shite what anyone thought. Usually. But the scorn in those big, flashing blue eyes set him on edge. Actually, a number of things about Bella MacDuff set him on edge.
    Christ . He could still feel the bolt of lust reverberating through his body. He hadn't felt anything like that since ...
    His mouth flattened. Not since the first time he'd seen Juliana. If there was anything guaranteed to chill his blood, it was the thought of his deceitful bitch of a wife. But Juliana was no longer his concern and hadn't been for eight blessed years. She was where she belonged: in hell, tormenting the devil.
    On the surface, Bella MacDuff didn't look anything like his dead wife. Juliana had been tall and slender, with delicate features, and hair as pitch black as her heart. The countess was fair, with hair the color of flax and bold features, of medium height, and curvy. Very curvy, if the weight of those breasts on his arm had been any indication.
    Both women were attractive--beautiful even--but that was not what made them alike. It was that indefinable quality, that je ne sais quoi as the French called it, that stirred the blood. It was the slant in the eyes, the curve of a mouth, the raw sensuality that grabbed a man by the bollocks and didn't let go.
    They were the kind of women men wanted to fuck.
    Had he left it at that with Juliana, he would have saved himself a lot of trouble. But lust had blinded