Highland Hunger Read Online Free PDF

to help the others, but she wished she had had the chance before fleeing Dunmorton to grab a few supplies, especially a blanket. The hard rock floor was sure to leave her with a few new aches in her battered body.
    “Ye can share my bedding,” said Raibeart as he set aside his boots, placed his weapons close at hand, and stretched out on the bedding. “There is room.”
    Even though there was the fire between them, Raibeart watched her tense and lean away from him. She may not have suffered rape at the laird’s hands, but she had no trust in men. Her beauty guaranteed that she had been the victim of unwanted attentions, especially if she had been alone and unprotected for any length of time. There were too many men out there who had no respect for women and little care, thinking it their right to take what they wanted even if the woman did not want to give it. Una Dunn was going to be a difficult woman to woo, he mused, and he now had every intention of wooing her.
    It would amuse his friends and family to know how hard and fast he had fallen. Her grace and beauty had caught his eye first, but that was no surprise. Una was a woman made to catch a man’s eye. It was what he had learned of her as they had talked that had grabbed hold of his heart and would not let go. Her loyalty to her fellow prisoners, her need to free them at any cost to herself, her clever escape, and her courage all drew him to her. He could only hope she would see something worthy in him in time.
    “I willnae touch ye, lass,” he said and then smiled. “Wheesht, in a wee bit I will be as near to dead as any mon can be anyway, at least until the sun begins to set.”
    “Ye sleep that deeply?” she asked, wrestling with the urge to take that next step in trusting him and sharing that much more comfortable sleeping space.
    “Near to. Come, ye will be safe with me. I swear it on my life.”
    Una cautiously approached him. She remained tense and wary as she sat down to remove her boots. It was frightening to be so close to such a big man even though she was inclined to believe in his promises. She was still a maid, but she had fought hard, too many times, to stay that way. Nor had she ever found a man she trusted enough to allow him to know her secrets. Raibeart knew what she was for he was the same. It was enough for her to trust him in some things, but not all. She kept her body tense, ready for flight, as she settled down on the bedding, keeping as much space between their bodies as possible. When he tucked the blanket over her, she stared at him in surprise, for the way he did it was gentle, almost tender.
    “Ye are akin to one of the horses I train to accept MacNachtons,” he said as he turned onto his side to watch her. “Skittish, wary, wanting to trust all while ye want to run.”
    She blinked, uncertain as to whether she was amused or insulted to be compared to his horses. “Ye are comparing me to a horse?”
    “I ken horses. Dinnae ken people as weel, especially women. But, I mean to teach ye that ye can trust me, trust my clan. I mean to calm your fears, to show ye that the beast ye scent in me will ne’er hurt you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I mean to woo you.” He kissed her on the cheek and then turned so that his back was to her.
    Woo me? Una touched her cheek. The spot his lips had touched burned and that warmth seeped through her body. She may have found herself an ally, but Una began to think that she had also stumbled into a lot of trouble.

Chapter Four
    I mean to woo you.
    Una glared at Raibeart’s broad back as they rode through the forest. He had kissed her cheek again to wake her up. As before, he had quickly moved away from her after kissing her, this time to prepare some food before they began the journey to Cambrun. By the time she recovered from the shock of being kissed, he was well out of reach and acting as if he had done nothing unusual.
    She knew that part of her anger was born of how that innocent touch of