My Cursed Highlander Read Online Free PDF Page A

half step in front of her and led them between two rows of citrus trees. She dodged clumps of fruit with the same accuracy as he. How could he trust anything she said when he was certain the woman lied about being blind? A quick glance over his shoulder assured him he would not be caught if he tested her. He brought his hand up swiftly in front of her face as if he might slap her with an open palm.
    She didn't flinch. "If there is naught else you wish to discuss, I would like to return to the courtyard. I'm not as familiar with the grove's layout as I am the palace."
    "Ye seem to be getting along rather remarkably for a blind woman." Just as he offered the back-handed compliment, her foot twisted on two rotten oranges. She released her skirt and held her hands out in front of her. Before he could catch her, she fell forward and landed flat on the ground, giving him a glimpse of her ankles.
    Air rushed from her lungs with an audible gasp. " Uffa! "
    "Forgive me." Taveon grasped her around the waist and yanked her back to her feet. Like a clumsy lad, he picked out the debris tangled in her black locks and brushed the tendrils away from her face.
    "You insufferable Scot!" A litany of Italian curses followed. Her face reddened from embarrassment or anger, he didn't know which, but the flare of her nostrils and tilt of her chin told him he was about to be scolded.
    "How can you promise to protect my life when you cannot even escort me through the grove?"
    He was a complete arse. "I have my reserves about your sight."
    "I am blind. It is a flaw most prefer to ignore." She tried to push out of his arms, but he refused to let go.
    With his hands wrapped around her shoulders, he held her in place. "I'm not ignoring it, so much as questioning it. You looked directly at me in the courtyard and pointed out Remi's blinking habit. Ye stepped over the fruit with ease as well as the branch. Forgive me, but I'm hard-pressed to believe a blind woman is capable of any of these tasks."
    "You were touching me," she blurted out and became even more flustered with this statement. Her lips tightened as did her fists.
    The woman spoke in circles. Taveon searched for a reply to her response, but could find no words. The bit of orange he wiped from her neck led his wandering eyes straight to breasts which were impossibly farther out of her gown. He swore if she inhaled, her nipples would pop out. Saliva pooled in his mouth waiting for that fantasy to come true.
    "And stop staring at my breasts," she yelled through clenched teeth.
    "Weel, if ye wore a gown that covered your favors, I would not be tempted to ogle ye so." Taveon gripped the front of her bodice with both hands and yanked upward.
    "Unhand me, you goat." She pinched a cluster of hair on his forearm and yanked.
    "Shite!" Mayhap that tactic would be effective on the battlefield. "Why would ye lie about your sight?"
    "I am not lying." She swatted at his hands until he finally backed away. "Take me back to the courtyard."
    "I will after ye tell me why ye pretend to be blind."
    Her hands shook, her chin quivered. Viviana was afraid. Of him? Or mayhap someone else? He could protect her if need be. "Are ye in danger?"
    Ignoring his question, she reached out and fumbled her way to the trunk of a fruit tree. Another few steps put her in alignment with the next tree. Why her actions angered him he didn't know, but his temper spiked just the same. He grabbed her wrists and flanked her up against him. "Tell me how a blind woman knows when a mon is eying her favors."
    Her head shook, her eyes squeezed tight.
    "Tell me."
    "I can see through your eyes." She slumped against his chest. The heat of her breath warmed his skin through his tunic, and her closeness soothed his ire, but her statement only confused him further.
    "I dinnae understand."
    "Nor do I, but the amulet allows me to see through Angelo," she paused and loosened her fists, "and now you."
    'Twas impossible. "Prove it."
    Her face rose to him.