In Bed with a Highlander Read Online Free PDF Page A

a Cameron hand on his kin.
    With a snarl of rage, he charged forward, grasped the woman by the shoulder, and hurled her aside. Crispen stood against the tree, his mouth open. Then he saw Alaric and all but leapt into his arms.
    The sword fell to the ground—another sin of neglect—but in that moment Alaric didn’t care. Sweet relief staggered him.
    “Crispen,” he said hoarsely, as he hugged the boy to him.
    A shriek of rage assaulted his ears just as he was hit by a flying bundle of woman. So surprised was he, that he stumbled backward, his hold on Crispen loosening.
    She wedged herself between him and Crispen and landed a knee to his groin. He doubled over, cursing as agony washed over him. He fell to one knee and grabbed his sword just as he whistled for his men. The woman was demented.
    Through the haze of pain, he saw her grab a resisting Crispen and try to run. Several things happened at once. Two of his men stepped in front of her. She halted, causing Crispen to slam into her back. When she started in the opposite direction, Gannon raised his arm to stop her.
    To Alaric’s astonishment, she swiveled, grabbed Crispen, and fell to the ground, her body huddled protectively over him.
    Gannon and Cormac froze and looked to Alaric just as the rest of his men burst through the trees.
    To further confuse the hell out of all of them, Crispen finally wiggled out from underneath her and threw himself on top of her, scowling ferociously the entire time at Gannon.
    “Don’t you hit her!” he bellowed.
    Every one of his men blinked in surprise at Crispen’s ferocity.
    “Lad, I wasn’t going to hit the lass,” Gannon said. “I was trying to prevent her from fleeing. With you. God’s teeth, we’ve been searching for you for days. The laird is worried sick over you.”
    Alaric strode over to Crispen and plucked him off the huddled woman. When he reached down to haul her upright, Crispen exploded again, shoving him back.
    Alaric stared at his nephew with an open mouth.
    “Don’t touch her,” Crispen said. “She’s badly hurt, Uncle Alaric.”
    Crispen chewed his bottom lip, and it looked for the world like the lad was going to break down and cry. Whoever the woman was, it was obvious Crispen didn’t fear her.
    “I won’t hurt her, lad,” Alaric said softly.
    He knelt down and brushed aside the hair from her face and realized she was unconscious. There was a bruise on one cheek, but otherwise she didn’t look injured.
    “Where is she hurt?” he asked Crispen.
    Tears filled Crispen’s eyes, and he wiped hastily at them with the back of his grubby hand.
    “Her stomach. And her back. It hurts her fierce if anyone touches her.”
    Carefully, so as not to alarm the boy, Alaric pulled at her clothing. When her abdomen and back came into view, he sucked in his breath. Around him, his men alternately cursed and murmured their pity for the slight lass.
    “God in heaven, what happened to her?” Alaric asked.
    Her entire rib cage was purple, and ugly bruises marred her smooth back. He could swear one of them was in the shape of a man’s boot.
    “He beat her,” Crispen choked out. “Take us home, Uncle Alaric. I want my papa.”
    Not wanting the boy to lose his composure in front of the other men, Alaric nodded and patted him on the arm. There would be plenty of time to get the story from Crispen later. Ewan would want to hear it all.
    He stared down at the unconscious woman and frowned. She had offered her body for Crispen’s, and yet she wore the colors of Duncan Cameron. Ewan would be beyond control if Cameron had any involvement in Crispen’s disappearance.
    War. At long last, war would be declared.
    He motioned for Cormac to tend to the lass, and he reached for Crispen, intending that the boy ride with him. There were several questions he wanted answered on the ride home.
    Crispen shook his head adamantly. “Nay,
you
take her, Uncle Alaric. She has to ride with you. I promised her that Papa would keep her