Page 14 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

Grasping her chin gently, he lifted her gaze to his. “Ye are not a young lass, Gemma. Ye have seen more of the world than ye should. Perhaps more of a man than ye want to admit. So look into my eyes, and tell me that ye doonae feel desire when ye see me.”

He thought she’d been with another man, and he still wanted to wed her. When she was younger, her father would never leave her alone for fear that she’d be like her wicked mother and ruin his chances of selling her.

All she wanted to do was run, to pack up her things and never look back. But in Theo’s gentle hold, she met his gaze and tried to deny the truth. Her stomach twisted, and she swallowed hard. He was a big man—as big as any brute she’d ever met—and she’d heard the stories of his deeds as his father’s son.

But in his eyes, she saw gentleness and the fierce need to protect.

Maybe, one day, she would see love.

“I do want you,” she whispered, “but desire is not enough for a marriage.”

His thumb stroked along her chin. “It’s more than most marriages have.”

He was right about that. “Running is still an option for me. Laird MacSeaver’s recourses are not strong enough to chase me too far.”

“Then run, Gemma. I will give ye money and lend ye someone to escort ye.”

“And you will marry another?”

“Aye. At some time, I will marry another, but none from Loch Moran.”

“What?” Furious, she jerked her head back and glared at him. “You made a promise!”

“I told them I would consider it, and I have. I made an offer, and it was refused.”

“But these people are counting on you!”

“And I wilnae let them down, but I can better things without marrying one of them.”

Maybe, but he would never have their trust, and if he didn’t have their trust, he would have a much harder time protecting them.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she hurried to her cottage. She needed to get away from him for just a moment to think. Her mind had been muddled with anger and fear ever since she’d gotten the letter.

She’d be lying to herself if her first thought hadn’t been to marry Theo, but she’d banished it just as quickly. She couldn’t marry one to avoid another. Her dreams were more prominent than that.

Cameron. David. Agnes. Harris. Were her dreams bigger than them?

“What is that overpowering scent?” Theo asked as he came up behind her.

Gemma didn’t even blink as she walked into the kitchen and took off her cloak. “Honeysuckle.”

“And why is it everywhere?”

Because it represented all the hopes of the people of Loch Moran—their unwavering desperation to believe in someone.

“Gemma?”

“It’s here because I am to be married,” she said finally.

“To MacSeaver?”

“No, you idiot. I am marrying you.”

Theo smirked. “Ye are the first lass that I have ever proposed to, but I imagine there is usually more romance involved in the answer.”

“Yes, well, I have a feeling there isn’t going to be much romance in this marriage.” She stared at him. “I would rather run, but Loch Moran has sheltered me, kept me safe, and given me a good home. I believe that you will protect them, but they never will unless you marry one of them. I owe them everything, and this does solve a problem of mine.”

“Gemma,” he murmured, “there is something that ye should know.”