Page 39 of Kidnapped by a Rogue
This lass was entirely too forgiving.
When another wave sprayed over the side, Margaret huddled against him and burrowed her head into chest.O shluagh!Even in the midst of a gale, her lithe body pressed against his drove him mad with desire.
This Lowland noblewoman, his captive, should not feel so good—so damned right—in his arms. She was a dangerous lass. If he had any sense, he’d be praying the storm would pass quickly so he could release her, instead of hoping it would last all the way to Aberdeen.
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Margaret was far too cold to object when Finn put his arms around her. As his warmth enveloped her, she finally stopped shaking, but she also became all too aware of his body, the hard muscles of his thigh pressed against hers, the strong arms around her, and the broad chest beneath her head.
The storm ceased to frighten her. Inside the cocoon of his embrace with Ella on her lap, she felt safe. For the first time, Margaret imagined what it would be like to share responsibility for this precious child with a man and to make a family of three, rather than just the two of them.
That was just a foolish dream left over from her childhood. Though the Highlander was willing to give them protection from this storm on their journey north, he would not be there for the other storms of life. No one would.
She would have to be strong for Ella, for they were good and truly alone in the world.
CHAPTER 11
Margaret felt as if she were still at sea and the ground was rolling under her feet as she attempted to cross the wooden dock at Aberdeen. Finn caught her arm and steadied her. So much for her plan to keep a respectful distance between them after she’d practically glued herself to him on the boat for the last two days and nights. Naturally, now that they were on shore, the skies cleared.
“Are ye ready to meet a good friend of mine?” Finn asked Ella as they started into the town. “Most lasses are quite partial to him.”
Margaret’s pulse jumped. “Someone else is traveling with us?”
“Don’t fret, lass, I’m only speaking of my horse,” Finn said. “I boarded him with a tavernkeeper here when I sailed from here to Edinburgh to find you.”
She thought she’d kept her alarm from her tone, but Finn was disturbingly perceptive.
“I named himCeò, which means mist,” he told Ella, “because he’s gray and can creep up on an enemy like a Highland mist.”
After paying for his horse’s keep and extra oats inside the tavern, Finn took them around to the stables behind it. A handsome gray horse snorted and stamped its foot as soon as it saw Finn.
“I know you’re annoyed with me for leaving ye,gràdhan,”darling, Finn murmured to the horse as he rubbed his nose and fed it a handful of oats, “but I told ye I’d be back.”
Margaret sighed. Finn was even charming to his horse. Did he have to make it so difficult to remember she must not let her guard down and trust him?
He saddledCeòand tied on his blanket and supplies. When he attempted to tie Ella’s enormous basket as well, the horse shied, stepping sideways with wild eyes.
“Ye can’t blame a fine animal likeCeòfor refusing to be treated like a mule,” Finn said and carried the basket himself as he led the horse out of the stables.
They continued through the town until they reached a church that sat on a small square.
“There’s something we need to discuss, wee one,” Finn said, crouching down beside Ella. “Ye see that woman over there on the steps of the church holding a babe? Looks to me as if she hasn’t got much and could use a bed for her babe. As you’ve grown too big for your basket, I wondered if you’re willing to part with it.”
Ella sucked harder on her thumb as she shifted her gaze to the woman in the ragged cloak. This was a battle he was sure to lose. Margaret was tempted to intervene, but Ella was not afraid of Finn, and he would not push her too hard.
“I’m taking ye to stay in a big castle,” he said, stretching his arms out wide. “You’ll have a fine bed to sleep in with piles of blankets and soft feather pillows.”
After turning to look at the woman and babe one more time, Ella gave a slow nod. He patted her on the back. When he stood up with victory shining in his deep blue eyes, Margaret’s heart actually fluttered. The man was sinfully handsome and dangerously charming.
“My mother warned me about silver-tongued devils like you,” Margaret told him in a low voice. “Do ye always succeed in persuading females to do what you want?”
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“I do my best,” Finn answered with a wink.
But if he were that persuasive, he and Margaret would be in bed in a room above the tavern right now. By the saints, having Margaret in his arms during the storm had driven him to the point of madness. When they finally got off the boat, he wanted to kiss the ground, grateful his torture was over.
Margaret responded with an amused smile as she gave Ella the rag doll and blanket from the basket to hold. They were so ragged and dirty that Finn wondered again about the woman Margaret had entrusted with her daughter. At first, he assumed Margaret was more concerned with keeping her secret than with assuring her daughter’s wellbeing. Now he knew she was just too damn trusting, for she was clearly devoted to the bairn.
