Page 19 of Surrendering to her Highland Captor
5
SHADOWS OF TRUST, BLADES OF FEAR
Taryn blinked, her eyelids heavy and crusted over. It took her several seconds to realize that the darkness wasn’t from some kind of blindness. It was night once more. Panic threatened to consume her. She had no way of knowing how many days she had slept or how she had been kept unconscious for so long. Shifting off her side forced her to acknowledge that her hands were tied behind her back. The roughness of the rope burned the fragile skin around her wrists. It was so tight that it made it difficult for her to twist herself around.
Slowly, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she began to make out her surroundings. Snow-covered tree limbs layered over each other, blocking out the stars and the moon. In front of her, a soft warm glow bounced off the trunk of the tree she had been laid in front of and reflected in the dark green leaves of the holly bush that was close enough she could almost touch it with her nose.
“What—” she whispered to herself.
The word came out a hoarse growl, but even the dryness of her throat wasn’t enough to distract Taryn from figuring out where the little light was coming from. She moved as slowlyas she could, not wanting to draw attention to herself in case whoever had taken her wanted to drug her again.
A fire. He was building a fire. A small stack of wood and kindling burned several feet away from Taryn. Though he kept his back to her, she could see that he was trying to build it to grow bigger.
He’s distracted. This is perfect.
It wasn’t often that Taryn relished when someone underestimated her, but this was a time that played in her favor. She ever so slowly took in a deep breath, trying to calm her heart rate and steady her nerves as fast as she could. She would need to act quickly and without hesitation for her plan to work.
Under half closed eyelids, she scanned the rest of the area, making sure there was only one attacker. Pleased to find no one else, Taryn waited.
The man turned towards her, and she let her eyes drift nearly closed. She needed him to think she was still asleep, still harmless until she was ready to strike. Luckily, he gave her a passing glance before turning his attention to the woods around them. He stalked off, the light shining behind him, leaving his face in shadows.
It was hard to tell from her angle on the forest floor, but the man seemed tall. His shoulders were broad, blocking nearly all of the light from the fire. He would not be an easy opponent, but Taryn was more than willing to fight for her freedom. It wouldn’t be the first time she had to do so, she doubted it would be the last.
Once she was sure that the man was far enough away not to hear her movements, Taryn curled her spine backyards, arching so her hands that were still tied behind her could reach the edge of her boots. She said a silent prayer of thanks that Sorcha had always insisted she carried one in her shoes, no matter howuncomfortable it was or how sure she was of where she was going.
Turning the hilt of the dagger up, she sliced through the ropes and freed her hands easily enough. She was tempted to rub at the sore skin on her wrists but didn’t want to risk the man coming back and seeing her. Instead, she tucked the dagger under her leg and left the rope dangling around her wrists, giving the appearance of still being tied up.
She couldn’t tell if it was minutes or hours later, but the man returned, his arms full of wood. It took all of her willpower to keep from shivering, the snow having melted under her and seeping through her cloak. Once again, the man didn’t pay her much attention as he stomped back to the fire. Unceremoniously, he dropped the wood, letting it fall in a heap at his feet. He crouched, picking up two of the logs and tossing them on the now smoldering embers.
Seizing the moment, Taryn moved as slowly as she could, one inch at a time, careful not to make a sound. Once standing, she launched herself at the man, dagger out and ready. Her hands wrapped around his neck and her legs curled around his waist. She squeezed as hard as she could.
It took him a moment to register the attack, but then his hands were clawing at her arms, trying to pull them off so he could breathe. He pried one hand off, and she used it to bring the hilt of her dagger down on his head. Before she could make contact with it, his beefy fingers snatched the weapon from her and flung it into the trees. She knew that he would be a formidable opponent, but she had underestimated just how well he would be able to anticipate her moves.
“Ye think that will work on me?” he mocked.
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, the thought registered that the voice was vaguely familiar. It was like something out of a dream. But she didn’t have time to try to place it as the manstood and backed away from the fire. She clung to him, one arm still wrapped around his thick neck, the other hand clawing from his eyes. He spun quickly so that their backs were to the growing flames. In one swift motion, he bent and threw her over his head hard enough to dislodge her arm. She landed on the ground with a resounding thud that knocked the wind out of her.
It was then that the man stood, taking with her all of her thoughts and determination to fight. The light danced over his shadowed features, but it was enough for her to see his face. She would recognize him anywhere, even if it had been years, even if she was seeing him upside down.
He took advantage of the shock and placed a heavy boot on her midsection, pinning her to the ground. The humiliation of his actions snapped her out of it. She twisted, weaving her legs around his and rolled, forcing him to lose his balance. He tumbled to the ground beside her, grunting as he fell. All sense of victory vanished when he moved like lightning, rolling over her, his hands pinning her shoulders to the ground, his feet staking her thighs down.
His breath was warm on her cheek as he smirked. There was no playfulness, no sign of fond familiarity, though there was little question that he knew who she was.
“Took ye long enough to wake up. I had to carry ye half the day back to my horse.”
She sputtered, her thoughts racing. Nothing made sense. And she couldn’t seem to get her thoughts in order with him on top of her, pressing down on her like he was.
“James,” she breathed out.
She had given up hope a long time ago of ever being able to see him or Laura again. They had been her two favorite people in the world once upon a time and she had abandoned them, stealing his horse and leaving Laura in the dust. It wasimplausible that he had found her now. The hatred she saw brimming in his eyes made even less sense.
“Hello, Taryn,” he growled.
“What are ye doing? Why did y-ye take me? Why did ye attack me like that?”
He scoffed. She blinked, wanting to shield herself from the cold, burning anger he carried.
“Dinnae act so innocent. Ye cannae be so foolish as to nae ken that there is a hefty price on yer bonny head.”
